The Declaration is a novel written by Gemma Malley in 2007. It is set in the year 2140, in a world where The Declaration controls living. A drug called Longevity allows people to live forever. Because of this, children are not allowed to be born unless their parent is dead or doesn’t take Longevity. These children are surpluses, meaning that they have to live in surplus halls which teach them to be a ‘valuable asset’. This essay will cover three points; Anna and Peter running away, Mrs Pincent shooting her ex-husband, and Anna’s parents dying. These points will describe the significance of The Declaration in the novel, and explain how it affects the character's actions and motivations.
In this novel, Anna and Peter escape from Grange Hall. The Declaration states that they must stay in a surplus hall because they are both surpluses. However, Peter grew up outside a surplus hall, so he was exposed to different ideas and understood that surplus halls are wrong. Once he convinces Anna to run away with him they escape through secret tunnels at Grange
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“It had been the only thing she’d ever really wanted” (Pg. 246). She confronts her ex-husband about this and forces him to tell her the truth. In her rage, she shoots him so that her son will be able to be legal. “And right then, she pulled the trigger”. This event directly quotes the declaration, stating “What is it that the Declaration says…A life for a life...A surplus will no longer be a surplus if one or other of its parents dies” (Pg. 277). Mrs. Pincent was unable to have her baby, because of the declaration not allowing people to have children. It is clear that Mrs Pincent never got joy out of life once her son was taken away from her, and the declaration made her life terrible because she never got the one thing she ever