Malala's pro-west attitude

Once Malala and her family left Pakistan, she began to give interviews to major media sites. When asked who her favorite politicians were she listed; Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Benazir Bhutto and President Barack Obama. Malala explained in the book that she admired Obama's spirit as he came from nothing, built a name for himself and is now the president of the United States. Although Malala's explanation is reasonable and educated, the Taliban took it as an attack on the Pakistani government. A spokesman for the group stated, "Anyone who sides with the government against us will die at our hands" (257). Malala, however, did not retract her statement, instead she has met with Obama and has given him advice on the drone usage in the Middle East. Malala does not apologize for what she believes in and this is one of the many reasons people respect her a believe in her.

Malala's family

In my last few blogs I have been raving about how extraordinary Malala is, although this is true, as I read further in the book I realize that her entire family is equally extraordinary. Malala's father founded the Women's School that Malala attended. He believed that all people deserved to be educated. Moreover, Malala explains that in the Pakistanis culture, if you are the first born is a girl, it is a sign of being unlucky. Malala goes on to say that when she was born, her father not only did not believe this, but he encouraged everyone that came to see the baby to put dried fruit and rice in her crib, which is customarily for boys. The rest of Malala's family has moved to England to help her pursue her dream of bettering the world.     

Malala's love for education

Malala discusses within this book her love for learning and going to school. School became her refuge as the rest of her city was overrun by the Taliban. She explains that she would look forward to school because it was a place of learning and she didn't have to worry about any outside problems. As the Taliban does not support women's education Malala and her friends were forced to hide their school books under their shawls. Although this was very dangerous, she and her friends did not care because they wanted to learn. This is one of the primary reasons that Malala has now devoted her life to supporting women's education. I think that her and her friends eagerness towards learning is remarkable. In the US we take education for granite whereas these girls must work hard for it.

Entangled Love Triangle

        The book City of Bones contains an entangled love triangle that slowly unfolds as the novel continues. For example, Clary and Jace, shown by the yellow arrow, are in love with each other. Clary's best friend Simon is in love with Clary, Jace's shadow hunter friend Alec is in love with Jace, Isabelle likes Simon, and finally the warlock is in love with Alec. This love triangle evokes jealousy among the characters and causes tension that leads to fights and arguments. These entangled love triangles also shows the characters' age by the display of young teenage drama often associated with teenager's relationships. The otherwise dark and serious tone of the book, these love triangles bring a light attitude to the story line and  familiar actions seen with teenagers.

Appearance

        Appearance is  important to ones self and is how the world views us from the outside. The main character Clary in the novel is insecure with her own appearance, often describing herself as short and not beautiful. Clary even says her mother is more beautiful than her. Clary describes Isabelle throughout the book as a very attractive girl with long black hair that all the guys spoon over. Clary is critical about her own appearance, but complements others on their own appearance. She also describes the other character's appearance in much detail and pays a lot of attention to describing their eyes and hair. Clary seems like a shallow character on the surface because of her great attention on appearance, however her attention to appearance depicts a typical teenage girl  

Religion in City of Bones

       Religion is a theme in the book because the plot contains this world of angels and demons. The shadow hunters are half angel half human and they kill demons on earth. The novel also shows the shadow hunters living in churches and cathedral type buildings. Their weapons can also be found in churches, synagogues, or temples under the alter. Although  a specific type of religion is not mentioned in the book, the theme of religion is depicted through the references to Christianity throughout the book. One of the main characters Jace is confronted with his religious beliefs in the novel when Clary asks him if he believes in God while they are in a church. Jace responds by saying he is not sure if he does believe in God because in all his years of killing demons he has never seen an angel. He says that whether you believe in God or not you are on your own in life. This shows how religion plays a role in the shadow hunter world and is depicted in the novel.

Love is to Destroy

               

                     Love is a motif in the novel,  City of Bones as it is the driving force for the relationships depicted in the book. The main character's love for her mother causes her to go on this dangerous and unknown journey to find her. Clary's relationship with Jace leads to love, which causes tension among the characters. In the novel love is problematic and it obstructs the character's mission of being a successful shadow hunter. Love is also depicted as something that leads to disappointment. For example, Clary falls in love with Jace but later finds out that he could possibly be her brother. Although love leads to disappointment, it is inevitable and this is shown in a passage in the book when Jace talks about a falcon his father gave him when he was six years old to train. Jace tamed the falcon and began to love it, but his father broke the neck of the bird because Jace was supposed to train the bird, not teach the falcon to love him. This passage shows love is depicted as an obstruction to obedience and to one's mission. The quote "love is to destroy" by Jace holds true throughout the novel.