Social Risks In Brave New Girl

Lucia Brewer
Mrs. Khunen
ELA (3)
12/26/22
Creative Title When one lives with 5,000 other people, it shouldn't be too unusual for someone to stand out. Think of how many people a person could come across in a single day, each with a distinct personality and expression. Now, imagine that 4,999 of these people are entirely identical, in the way they think, the way they act, and the way they speak. They are all clones, and only one stands out. Only one has unique perspectives and ideas. In a crowd of 5,000 identicals, should standing out even be attempted? Is the social risk worth the rewards this unique perspective could bring? These are the questions Dhalia must explore in the dystopian novel Brave New Girl by Rachel Vincent. In a futuristic

After meeting Trigger, a defense cadet who should have never spoken to her; Dhalia begins to explore a new side of herself. Disastrously, the government discovers Dhalia’s secret and threatens to destroy her and her 4,999 identicals. Her only family for 16 years of her life. With this in mind, Dhalia is forced to question whether the risks continue to be worth it. If she dies her unique ideas die with her. The compelling theme in the dystopian novel Brave New Girl, by Rachel Vincent, is that people should prioritize their unique needs over society's oppressive expectations. Readers begin to understand how prioritizing unique needs is essential when Dhalia learns that defense cadets are all different, allowing them to be successful. While in the broken-down elevator with Dhalia, Trigger reveals a "long, jagged scar winding around the flesh below his elbow," (Vincent 26). He

Dhaila describes it as "perfectly formed and covered in a thin reddish skin. Though it was grown without fertilizers constant attention or proper spacing, I see no obvious flaws in this wild peanut," (Vincent 82). This is significant because the contrast between wild peanuts and those grown within the city is comparable to the difference between "wild" people, and the government clones. At this moment, Dhalia discovers that this wild peanut is just as perfect, if not more perfect than those grown in the city. This peanut had to focus on its own unique needs because where it was grown it was facing challenges that other peanuts weren't. If it had attempted to follow the exact expectations of nutrients that other peanuts had, it would not have reached its full potential. This circumstance is the same for Dhalia because, for 16 years of her life, she has denied that she has different needs and perspectives than her identicals. Furthermore, she is realizing that due to this she has been holding back on many accomplishments. This idea is continued as Dhaila states, "I want to know if peanuts that grow all on their own, with no one micromanaging their environment, can possibly be as strong as peanuts grown side by side in a bed of thousands under ideal circumstances," (Vincent 83). This passage further highlights how this