Shatter Me

“I only know now that the scientists are wrong. The world is flat. I know because I was tossed right off the edge and I’ve been trying to hold on for 17 years. I’ve been trying to climb back up for 17 years, but it’s nearly impossible to beat gravity when no one is willing to give you a hand.”

This quote highlights Juliette’s emotional state when she was growing up, developing the theme of The Impact of Physical and Emotional Isolation. Abandoned and isolated, she was devoid of any interaction with other humans, and although she was always willing to help others, no one ever wanted to help her.

“The weather, the plants, the animals, and our human survival are all inextricably linked. The natural elements were at war with one another because we abused our ecosystem. Abused our atmosphere. Abused our animals. Abused our fellow man.”

The world in which Shatter Me takes place is devasted by pollution and climate change, and it is being ruled by a totalitarian government. In this passage, Mafi highlights the connection between the abuse of nature and the abuse of human rights. She emphasizes that as soon as people stop taking care of nature, they become insensitive to each other and prone to manipulation.

“No more stupid languages and stupid stories and stupid paintings above stupid mantels. No more Christmas, no more Hanukkah, no more Ramadan and Diwali. No talk of religion, of belief, of personal convictions. Personal convictions were what nearly killed us all, is what they said.”

Trying to transform the society into a group of people devoid of any cultural heritage, The Reestablishment has decided to burn all the books and to ruin all cultural artifacts. This quote shows how the erasure of all diversity can serve as a necessary precondition for the creation of a totalitarian society.

“The Reestablishment promised a future too perfect to be possible and society was too desperate to disbelieve. They never realized they were signing away their souls to a group planning on taking advantage of their ignorance. Their fear.”

When The Reestablishment came to power, it convinced people that there was not enough food for everyone and that meals had to be rationed and distributed by the government. But when Juliette arrives at Omega Point, she learns that it’s a lie used by The Reestablishment to control people. In this passage, Mafi brings to the fore the use of fear and ignorance as a means of manipulation.

“Most civilians are too petrified to protest but there are others who are stronger. There are others who are waiting for the right moment. There are others who have already begun to fight back. I hope it’s not too late to fight back.” 

Juliette demonstrates unparalleled hope and resilience despite being in dire circumstances. Although she is locked in the cell and has no contact with the outside world, she believes that there are people who are willing to risk their lives in order to fight for a better future.

“‘You don’t understand that power and control can slip from your grasp at any moment and even when you think you’re most prepared. These two things are not easy to earn. They are even harder to retain.’”

When Warner says these words to Juliette, he is showing unusual openness and trust because he never shares his fears with other people. Although Juliette feels a sense of empathy toward him, she doesn’t understand his desire to gain and maintain power. On the contrary, this passage demonstrates how different Juliette’s values are from Warner’s priorities.

“I don’t know how to find the white bird. I don’t know if it will ever fly by.”

This quote illustrates Juliette’s self-doubt and her skepticism that one day she can be free and live a normal life. After being forced to watch how Warner shoots one of his soldiers, Juliette begins to believe his words that she is a monster like him. Although she loathes his cruelty, she realizes that she has the power to kill within herself.

“‘I’ll find a way to talk to you,’ he says, and his hands are reeling me and my face is pressed against his chest and the world is suddenly brighter, bigger, beautiful. The world suddenly means something to me, the possibility of humanity means something to me, the entire universe stops in place and spins in the other direction and I’m the bird. I’m the bird and I’m flying away.”

When Adam first shows his affection toward Juliette, and when he demonstrates how much he cares for her, her sense of hope is renewed. His firm belief that Juliette would never intentionally hurt anyone with her touch gives her the reassurance she needs and lays the foundation for her transformation from a self-loathing to a self-confident person.

“Hope is hugging me, holding me in its arms, wiping away my tears and telling me that today and tomorrow and two days from now I will be just fine and I’m so delirious I actually dare to believe it.”

Adam’s care has changed the way Juliette sees herself and her future. After he tells her that he loves her and assures her that she is the kindest person he knows, she, too, begins to believe in her humanness and the possibility of freedom.

“‘The world is disgusted by you,’ he says, his lips twitching with humor. ‘Everyone you’ve ever known has hated you. Run from you. Abandoned you. Your own parents gave up on you and volunteered your existence to be given up to the authorities. They were so desperate to get rid of you, to make you someone else’s problem, to convince themselves the abomination they raised was not, in fact, their child.’” 

When Warner tells Juliette these words, he hopes to appeal to her desire for revenge against those people who have mistreated her all her life. However, even though Juliette has had many traumatic experiences, she didn’t turn into a hateful and vindictive person. Warner’s words hurt her and bring back agonizing memories, yet she doesn’t give in to his manipulations and doesn’t become obsessed with the desire for revenge.

“You’ve been on the edge of insanity your entire life, haven’t you? So many people called you crazy you actually started to believe it. You wondered if they were right. You wondered if you could fix it. You thought if you could just try a little harder, be a little better, smarter, nicer—you thought the world would change its mind about you. You blamed yourself for everything.”

This passage emphasizes how well Warner understands Juliette and how much he wants to use her weakness to his advantage. Warner sees Juliette’s desire to be loved and accepted, and he tries to exploit it. Even though he has done extensive research on her, he fails to notice that her kindness is far greater than her resentment toward those who hurt her.

“I killed a little boy in a grocery store simply by helping him to his feet. By grabbing his little hands. I didn’t understand why he was screaming. [...] I wanted to help him. I felt such a surge of sudden anger toward his mother for neglecting his cries. Her lack of compassion as a parent devasted me and it reminded me too much of my own mother. I just wanted to help him. I wanted him to know that someone else was listening—that someone else cared.”

The day when Juliette accidentally killed a little boy became a turning point in her life. Before, even though she had an isolated life, she could live at home and go to school, but after the accident, she was taken to a detention center. Her reason for helping the little boy at a grocery store proves how much she struggled because of her parents’ neglect. She felt such sympathy for the boy whose mother was ignoring him that she forgot about the impact that her touch could have on him.

“Heaps and heaps and heaps of trash, dangerous scraps of iron and steel glinting on the ground. Lonely trees waving at the wind.”

When Juliette looks out of her window in Sector 45, all she sees is a devasted landscape. Animals and birds are almost non-existent, the sky is grey, and the vegetation is dead. Mafi is using this setting as a graphic warning against the anthropological impact on the environment.

“‘You never asked for anything from anyone.’ He finally meets my eyes. ‘But no one ever gave you a chance.’”

Adam had been watching Juliette for many years when they went to school together, and since he was too scared to come and talk to her, he admired her kindness from a distance. He noticed how at school Juliette was always the one to make sacrifices for the sake of others, while her peers only bullied her.

“‘Warner spent months collecting information about you: addresses, medical records, personal histories, birth certificates, blood tests. The entire army was talking about this new project; everyone knew he was looking for a girl who’d killed a little boy in a grocery store. A girl named Juliette.’”

Warner’s obsession with finding Juliette foregrounds how much he wants to use her gift as a weapon. Although he has collected a lot of information about her, he doesn’t seem interested in Juliette’s psychological or physical well-being. Instead, he wants to get to know her only to spot her weaknesses and eventually exploit them to his advantage.

“‘No. Warner’s wrong about you,’ Adam says. ‘He wants you to be someone you’re not, and you can’t let him break you. Don’t let him get into your head. He wants you to think you’re a monster. He wants you to think you have no choice but to join him. He wants you to think you’ll never be able to live a normal life...’

‘But I won’t live a normal life.’ I swallow a hiccup. ‘Not ever—I’ll n-never...’

Adam is shaking his head. ‘You will. We are going to get out of here. I won’t let this happen to you.’”

Adam believes in Juliette and her chance for a normal life. He doesn’t let her give in to Warner’s manipulations and promises her that they will run away together. Unlike Warner, Adam wants Juliette to be a warrior and not a weapon, and his determination and resilience help Juliette get rid of the stigma that she’s a monster.

“I always choose a dress with pockets because I don’t know where else to store my notebook. It doesn’t carry any incriminating information, and the one piece of paper that bore Adam’s handwriting has since been destroyed and flushed down the toilet, but I like to keep it close to me. It represents so much more than a few words scribbled on paper. It’s a small token of my resistance”

Juliette’s notebook was the only thing that was keeping her company in her confinement, and now that she is in Sector 45, she treasures it even more than before. For Juliette, the notebook is not only a symbol of her connection with the outside world but also a symbol of her resistance to the dehumanizing attempts of The Reestablishment to destroy all written artifacts of humanity, underscoring The Importance of Resisting Tyranny.

“‘Laughter comes from living.’ I shrug, try to sound indifferent. ‘I’ve never really been alive before.’”

When Juliette and Adam flee from Sector 45, they finally break through the constraints imposed on them by the regime. Although they realize that Warner’s soldiers are chasing them, Juliette is so happy to taste the freedom that she feels alive for the first time in her life.

“It feels so private, so personal, this relationship between Adam and James. It’s the kind of bond I’ve never had, will never have. But being around so much love has managed to thaw my frozen parts into something human. I feel human. Like maybe I could be a part of this world. Like maybe I don’t have to be a monster. Maybe I’m not a monster.”

This passage signifies the beginning of Juliette’s transformation from a self-doubting to a confident person. When she sees how close Adam is with his brother James, she believes that she can have similar relationships in her life. Although Juliette has never felt that kind of love and devotion before, she begins to have hope that she is just as capable and worthy of love as everyone around her.

“We might all die today. The facts are obvious. But we know we need to take the chance just the same. Because moving forward is the only way to survive.”

This quote highlights Juliette’s resilience and determination to keep fighting. Even when it seems like all odds are against her, she doesn’t lose hope and remains persistent in her desire to help others, Embracing Hope as a Form of Defiance.

“Each space is buzzing with bodies, each body adapted to a particular routine. People look up when they see us. Some wave, smile, delighted.”

The people Juliette meets at Omega Point are completely different from those who live in civilian compounds under the rule of The Reestablishment. While the latter always seem downcast and scared, the former are open and friendly. Since those who live in Sector 45 are constantly crippled by fear, they gradually lose their humanness and become more like robots and less like human beings.

“‘We are the only hope our civilization has left.’” 

When Juliette meets Castle, she learns that he, too, has been planning to find her in order to use her gift. But unlike Warner, he wants to use it in the fight against The Reestablishment. When Juliette sees Omega Point and everything they are doing, she believes that human civilization has a chance for a better future.

“‘We are fed lies because believing them makes us weak, vulnerable, malleable. We depend on others for our food, health, sustenance. This cripples us. Creates cowards of our people. Slaves of our children. It’s time for us to fight back.’”

This passage explains how The Reestablishment managed to ruin a democratic society and to turn people into helpless creatures. The new government deprived people of their independence and their basic rights, and as a result, the regime received total control over the population. Yet people like Castle understand that the main asset of The Reestablishment is not their access to resources like food and water, but the fear they instill in people.