Authors Note: This is my theme analysis essay on the book "Delirium". I decided to write this essay on this book because I just recently finished it, and I thought that it was really well written. It kept me wanting to keep reading more, and the themes were meaningful.
People, living their lives as if they're zombies. Living as if there's a constant bubble separating them from the real world. Finding out that their entire life has been a lie. Magdalena Tiddle, otherwise known as Lena, lives in Portland, Maine where there is no such thing as love. "Amor Deliria Nervosa", is thought of as a disease, where the side effects can be things like depression, fatigue, and even death. In the heart-breaking but fervent story “Delirium”, by Lauren Oliver, the main theme is courage because of the passionate actions shown by the main character.
Seventeen-year old Lena Tiddle has lived her life in captivity, even though she has just realized it. She has always been the shy girl, that always goes along with what people say, so that she doesn’t get into trouble. But when she meets Alex Warren, she finds out what her life has really been like. The government has been lying about everything for the past 64 years, when they discovered that love was a disease called “the deliria”. Alex tells her the truth about everything. How the Invalids do exist, and that they all live in the Wilds. There are many sympathizers and resisters living a secret life in Portland. When Lena thought that the sympathizers and resisters were executed, they were actually just people living normal lives. Sympathizers and resistors are people that resist getting cured, so they get thrown into the Crypts, where they are left to rot. Discovering so many new things about her life made Lena bring up the courage to do what she believes in, and to do what she thinks is right. She won’t let the government control her, and she gains a huge amount of courage throughout this novel.
Although Lena represents courage through standing up for what she believes in, she also expressed it through protecting the people she cared about. When Lena discovered that her best friend Hana was planning on going to a party with loud music and boys, she was worried about her, because party’s are majorly illegal. But Lena brought up the courage to go to the party, because she wanted to show Hana that she isn’t as scared as she thought she was. At the party, Hana was frantic that Lena decided to come. Lena needed a lot of courage to go to that party, because she had always been so scared to go against the rules; she went because her best friend wanted her to. Lena also finds Alex at the party, but she is still afraid because she doesn’t know what to think of him. They both know it’s illegal for them to interact with one another, but they do it anyways. The first time that Alex and Lena meet together, is at East End Beach. That’s where Alex tells Lena that he is an Invalid; he never was cured and he was born and raised in the Wilds. Alex and Lena both portray a lot of courage, because they trust one another, and they know they will keep one another secrets.
The main characters in “Delirium” illustrate courage, but they aren’t the only ones. Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games”, by Suzanne Collins, also demonstrates quite a lot of courage. “The Hunger Games” is about 12 districts within the country of Panam; the Capital holds The Hunger Games every year, and they choose one boy and one girl from each district to fight to the death. This event takes place so that the Capital shows power and control over the districts, and so that they stay in line. Prim Everdeen, Katniss’ sister, got chosen to be in the games, but Katniss volunteered herself to take Prim’s place. Katniss represented loads of courage, because there was a very slim chance that she would survive. Authors Lauren Oliver and Suzanne Collins both have the same type of theme in their books. Each contains the main theme of Courage because of the Government Control that happens in the books.
Courage is the main theme because of passionate actions demonstrated by the main character, in the heart-breaking but fervent novel “Delirium”, by Lauren Oliver. People try to blend in, and some aren’t brave enough to be themselves or standing up for what they believe in. Lena and Alex are big examples of exempting courage, because they stood up for what they believed in; they wanted to make things right. Courage isn’t just a theme, it’s most definitely a life skill that everyone should learn.
