Cinder Sparknotes

“You can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs.” This common idiom is relatable to the novel Cinder by Marissa Meyer. In the book, Prince Kaito (Kai) clearly struggles with his royal identity as he makes sacrifices to protect his country, the Commonwealth, from war. However, his struggles do not start at the very beginning of the book. Instead, they develop after Kai loses his father, a role model who he has been close to. He believes that he will never be as perfect as his father, which only stokes the flames of his struggles. They grow even more as he is forced to make sacrifices, such as giving up his desired life and Cinder, as will be explored. Kai’s struggles started only after Emperor Rikan (his father) died from the spreading

As much as he wanted to grieve over him, Kai barely gets any time as he receives a comm (a message) from Queen Levana of Luna. As he talks with Levana, who arranges to come to Earth the very next day, Kai realizes that he must move past his father’s death. He now has much more responsibilities as a soon-to-be crowned emperor, and must be strong in the face of the Commonwealth as he is to meet Levana in hopes of bargaining a peace treaty. Kai’s struggles with royal life are shown as he wants to grieve over his father, but is not given time or space alone. Rather, he must continue what his father did and keep the war with Queen Levana at bay. The New Beijing prince’s struggles are further shown as he keeps thinking that he will never be like Emperor Rikan. Kai himself states that “he was an imposter” as he moves to take the emperor chair during a world leaders’ meeting. All of his life, he looked up to his father as a role model, but having died so early, Kai isn’t sure that he can be just like

And it just occurred to me that she might be right.” While the death of Rikan Kai’s thoughts as himself being inferior to his father fan the flames of Kai’s struggles, he shows this struggle in several ways. For one, Kai has the struggle of balancing his royal life and his life outside the palace. Being the prince, his royal life consists of several formal meetings and tough decisions to keep the Commonwealth safe. At the same time, he is only an 18-year-old who wishes for a care-free life. His liking of Cinder was disapproved by his advisor Konn Torin, who told Kai at the ball that he must stop being a “love-sick teenager”. Kai knows that he must make decisions that will ruin his life (namely marrying Queen Levana in the name of peace), but also wants to have a normal life. One of the toughest decisions that Kai had to make highlights the contrast between his desire for a normal life and his royal duties. During the ball, Queen Levana strikes a deal with Kai; either he can turn Cinder over to her or go to war with Luna. The first choice would go against Kai’s deepest wishes, but the second choice would ruin his