Searching Within This essay is about a book by Daniel O’Malley titled, The Rook, a story of a skilled, high-ranking operative, named Myfanwy, who protects Great Britain from an old, dark emerging force of destruction. This story reflects the struggle and journey of discovering one’s self-identity shared by every human being in life. The Rook also tells of Myfanwy’s struggle with her strengths and weaknesses as she tries to understand the life she inherited. When confronting her fears, she makes room for courage that aids her in discovering her unique abilities. Using both her strength and courage, she becomes an unstoppable heroine; One who doesn't fit the typical female protagonist’s description. The author cleverly combines a serious tone
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Having no memory of herself prior to that moment, she frantically searches her coat pocket and finds a letter from her mother, who occupied her body prior to her awakening, briefly explaining the situation at hand. It begins, “Dear You, The body you are wearing used to be mine” (O’Malley 1). After escaping the park and finding a safe location, she reads another letter from her mother, informing her of only two possible courses of action: A, either find out what happened that led them to the current situation; or B, to leave the country and live a free life on her own. People are also given choices in life: either fight to create a life on wants, or take life as it is. Myfanwy chooses to seek out her mother’s assassin; however, with this decision she faces many obstacles, one of which is to find out who she is, or rather who her mother was. To do this, she had to rely on one-way communication through written letters from her mother to find important clues as to who wanted her dead. In addition to that, is the fact that she has to get reacquainted with her old life, which includes who her acquaintances are, her job as an operative in a secret government called the Chequy, understanding her unique powers she inherited, certain key habits her mother had, as well as possible allies and enemies. This way, to other operatives and members of the Chequy, it would seem …show more content…
That journey can be divided into different stages: childhood, preteen, teenager, young adult, adult, and senior citizen. In The Rook, Myfanwy’s clues about herself came in the form of notes and dossiers left by her mother; In life, clues to one’s personal journey often come through in the form of passion, an unexplainable love or enjoyment in something and through experimenting in different areas of life. Myfanwy’s fear of not knowing her past and an unforeseeable future were one of her obstacles. (INSERT BOOK QUOTE) The main villainous group in The Rook, called the grafters an old horror thought to no longer exist, emerged from the shadows using technology and other heinous operations to animate mutilated bodies to assemble an army. Ron Hogan best describes her discovery of the group by writing, “…on her first day back at the office, she supervises an interrogation that reveals the return of the Grafters, a secret society of Belgian genetic engineers who first tried to invade England back in 1677.”
Having no memory of herself prior to that moment, she frantically searches her coat pocket and finds a letter from her mother, who occupied her body prior to her awakening, briefly explaining the situation at hand. It begins, “Dear You, The body you are wearing used to be mine” (O’Malley 1). After escaping the park and finding a safe location, she reads another letter from her mother, informing her of only two possible courses of action: A, either find out what happened that led them to the current situation; or B, to leave the country and live a free life on her own. People are also given choices in life: either fight to create a life on wants, or take life as it is. Myfanwy chooses to seek out her mother’s assassin; however, with this decision she faces many obstacles, one of which is to find out who she is, or rather who her mother was. To do this, she had to rely on one-way communication through written letters from her mother to find important clues as to who wanted her dead. In addition to that, is the fact that she has to get reacquainted with her old life, which includes who her acquaintances are, her job as an operative in a secret government called the Chequy, understanding her unique powers she inherited, certain key habits her mother had, as well as possible allies and enemies. This way, to other operatives and members of the Chequy, it would seem …show more content…
That journey can be divided into different stages: childhood, preteen, teenager, young adult, adult, and senior citizen. In The Rook, Myfanwy’s clues about herself came in the form of notes and dossiers left by her mother; In life, clues to one’s personal journey often come through in the form of passion, an unexplainable love or enjoyment in something and through experimenting in different areas of life. Myfanwy’s fear of not knowing her past and an unforeseeable future were one of her obstacles. (INSERT BOOK QUOTE) The main villainous group in The Rook, called the grafters an old horror thought to no longer exist, emerged from the shadows using technology and other heinous operations to animate mutilated bodies to assemble an army. Ron Hogan best describes her discovery of the group by writing, “…on her first day back at the office, she supervises an interrogation that reveals the return of the Grafters, a secret society of Belgian genetic engineers who first tried to invade England back in 1677.”