Betrayal and revenge can be powerful motivators in a story. Legend by Marie Lu follows June Iparis and Daniel Wing, also known as Day, living in the Republic. The Republic forces children to take a test called a Trial when they reach a certain age, so while June scored perfectly, Day scored below average, forcing him to run away from his family to live as a criminal on the streets. When June’s brother is killed, everyone suspects Day as the culprit. The Republic sends June undercover to find and arrest Day for his crimes. Throughout this story, Lu presents the themes of betrayal and revenge. She shows that betrayal can only be done for the right reasons and revenge never makes up for what the person is getting revenge for. Betrayal plays an important role …show more content…
When June goes undercover to find Day on the streets, not only does she find him, but she also gains his trust and affection. When Day finds out the truth about June, he realizes, “They've sent her to hunt me down,” (103). This realization first caused Day to feel rage, but after the anger passed, all he felt was the sting of betrayal. When June went to the authorities to turn in Day, his family had to pay the consequences. Day’s mother and older brother are killed and his younger brother is taken into custody as a result. June quickly feels guilty for what she did to Day and realizes that she betrayed him even when she knew he was a good person on the inside. After June decides that Day is not the one that murdered her brother, she begins looking for new suspects. She finds out that her brother’s best friend is really the one who did it. When she realizes, she thinks,