Leviathan

“The worst thing was, if the boffins didn’t let her into the Service, she’d be spending tonight in that horrible rented room again, and headed back to Scotland by tomorrow. Her mother and the aunties were waiting there, certain that this mad scheme wouldn’t work, and ready to stuff Deryn back into skirts and corsets. No more dreams of flying, no more studying, no more swearing! And the last of her inheritance wasted on this trip to London.”

This quote introduces Deryn’s core desires and raises the stakes of the story, introducing tension. Here, Deryn is characterized as having traditionally masculine desires and hating the feminine way of life her mother and aunts wants her to emulate. This quote also shows the reader that Deryn is Scottish, which explains her characteristic phrases and dialect.

“A few people—Monkey Luddites, they were called—were afraid of Darwinist beasties on principle. They thought that crossbreeding natural creatures was more blasphemy than science, even if fabs had been the backbone of the British Empire for the last fifty years.”

This quote provides important context for the fantasy world Westerfeld creates. This is the first time fabricated beasts are mentioned, and the way Deryn thinks about them demonstrates how “normal” they are in this world. This quote also shows how some members of society view the fabricated beasts, which becomes important when Alek first boards the Leviathan.

“Count Volger crouched beside him, yelling over the rumble of engines and gunfire. ‘Take heart at this impoliteness, Alek. it proves that you are still a threat to the throne.’”

This passage highlights the internal conflict Alek experiences. Though he has been raised as a prince and heir, he knows he has no actual title or power. However, Alek doesn’t know that his parents’ marriage was secretly legalized, making him the Archduke of Austria-Hungary now that his father has died and the eventual heir to the throne. Even though Alek doesn’t know this, the Germans pursuing him do. Without revealing the secret, Volger hints at Alek’s true place in the world.

“This was his first real battle, when only hours before, he’d been playing with tin soldiers. The rumble of explosions and the shriek of engines somehow filled the hollowness inside him.”

This passage highlights the stark contrast between the life Alek has known and the life he is entering. Before, he was a child dreaming of the glory of war. Now, Alek is experiencing how terrifying and dangerous war actually is. His perspective shifts as he experiences more of real life.

“Volger smiled. ‘For most people, perhaps. But some of us are born without the choice. The game of nations is your birthright, Alek. Politics is part of everything you do.’”

This quote clearly lays out who Alek is and his role in the world, even though he does not accept or understand it yet. It also highlights Volger’s role as Alek’s mentor and father figure. It foreshadows how Alek will think later in the book, as politics dictates who is enemies or allies, and Alek has to know who he can trust.

“Alek had slowly come to understand everything his men had given up for him: their ranks, families, and futures. If they were caught, the other four would hang as deserters. Prince Aleksandar himself would disappear more quietly, of course, for the good of the empire. The last thing a nation at war needed was uncertainty about who was heir to the throne.”

This quote demonstrates Alek’s character growth. At the start of the book, he was entitled and selfish, but now, he understands that the men around him have their own lives, which they are sacrificing to keep him safe. His understanding of the world and his place in it expands through each experience. He understands how high the stakes are and what he and his men will lose if they are caught and he understands how unbalancing his presence is for his country, which is why the Germans want him dead.

“Two weeks ago Alek would have found the contraption fascinating, but now the jittering toy seemed childish. And it was insufferable that this commoner was calling him a boy. […] Alek’s hand went instinctively to his side, where his sword would have normally hung. The man’s eyes tracked the gesture. The room was dead silent for a moment.”

This passage shows that though Alek has grown as a character, his old instincts and entitlement still come through. He is still prideful and childish, willing to duel a man for being sarcastic. This makes Alek a realistic and believable character because his growth is not linear or perfect. It also shows how much Alek’s world has changed in two weeks because the toy would have fascinated him before he learned to operate a full-sized stormwalker. It also shows that his bearing as a prince shines through regardless of how Alek is dressed or told to act. It is part of his identity.

“As Alek glared at the newspaperman one last time, an unsettling realization overtook him. He spoke French, English, and Hungarian fluently, and always impressed his tutors in Latin and Greek. But Prince Aleksandar of Hohenberg could barely manage the daily language of his own people well enough to buy a newspaper.”

This quote demonstrates Alek’s character growth as he experiences the daily life of his people. As his perspective expands, he accepts that he doesn’t know as much as he thought he did. All of the information Alek thought was necessary turns out to be inconsequential in his daily life.

“Alek kept his eyes ahead, not answering. He didn’t feel proud, having left that rider behind, lying broken in the grass. The man had been a soldier serving the empire. He couldn’t have understood the politics swirling around him any more than those commoners back in Lienz. But he’d lost his life just the same. Alek found himself split into two people, the way he did when he was alone on watch, one part crushing down his despair into its small, hidden place.”

Though Alek first saw his common people as trivial and ignorant, this quote demonstrates that he can be compassionate as well. He also witnesses death for the first time. This overwhelming feeling of despair hints at how he feels about war and the fact that many people will die for politics that they do not understand.

“But the Leviathan felt like part of Deryn now, her first real home since Da’s accident. The first place where no one had ever seen her in a skirt or expected her to mince and curtsy. She couldn’t lose her position here just because some boffin needed transportation!”

This passage increases the story’s tension. Deryn truly loves being part of the Leviathan and doesn’t want to risk her place on the airship. It also demonstrates her ongoing struggle with her identity as a girl. Deryn loves being on the airship because it allows her to be who she wants to be instead of what society (and her mother) tells her to be. She is afraid of losing that.

“Deryn took the bag and bowed again. ‘Of course, ma’am. Sorry to be so thick. It’s just that…no one told me you were a lady.’ Dr. Barlow laughed. ‘Not to worry, young man. The subject has occasionally been debated.’”

This quote introduces another important character, Dr. Nora Darwin Barlow, though no one knows she is Darwin’s granddaughter. The quote highlights the fact that Dr. Barlow is a female scientist, which Deryn didn’t even know was possible. Women were not allowed to hold many stations during the World War I era, which is why Deryn is pretending to be a boy and why she is so surprised to find out the important scientist is a woman.

“As another female, Dr. Barlow might notice a few odd things the other crewmen hadn’t. And she was a clever-boots, with all that science under her bowler. If anyone was going to guess Deryn’s little secret, it would be this lady boffin.”

This quote again demonstrates how the stakes are raised in Deryn’s life. The further into the adventure she gets, the harder it is to keep her identity a secret, and the more she has to lose. It also hints at the theme of secrets and how damaging keeping they can be to one’s relationships.

“You see, my grandfather’s true realization was this: If you remove one element—the cats, the mice, the bees, the flower—the entire web is disrupted. An archduke and his wife are murdered, and all of Europe goes to war. A missing piece can be very bad for the puzzle, whether in the natural world, or politics, or here in the belly of an airship. You seem a fine crewman, Mr. Sharp. I’d hate to lose you.”

At the time of this quote, Deryn and Dr. Barlow are studying the bees that live inside the airbeast and produce honey. Dr. Barlow uses the opportunity to explain how closely connected everything in the world is and how one event can cause an imbalance and disrupt all of society. This quote highlights the theme of subterfuge by stating how detrimental a missing piece of a puzzle can be. Nations are keeping information from other nations, which causes tension, misunderstanding, and, eventually, war. Similarly, Deryn is keeping a secret from Dr. Barlow, and Dr. Barlow is keeping secrets from Deryn. Though Deryn doesn’t know it at this time, the grandfather Dr. Barlow is referencing is Charles Darwin.

“Alek turned away, gripping the parapet. A sharp edge of broken stone cut into his fingers. Suddenly he could hardly breathe. ‘But…all this happened two years ago? Why didn’t he tell me?’ Volger snorted. ‘Aleksandar, you don’t trust a mere boy with the greatest secret in the empire.’ A mere boy…the moonlight on the snow was suddenly too bright, and Alek squeezed his eyes shut, his whole life unwinding inside him. He’d always been an imposter in his own house, his father unable to leave him anything, his distant relatives wishing he’d never been born. Even his mother—she was the cause of it all. She’d cost him an empire, and somewhere deep down that fact had always stood between them. how could the abyss that had defined his life disappear so suddenly? The answer was, it hadn’t. the emptiness was still there.”

This quote captures the moment after Count Volger tells Alek that his father, the Archduke, had officially legalized his marriage to Alek’s mother, making Alek the heir of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Volger’s response to Alek’s question highlights Alek’s struggle with his identity and his transition from boyhood to adulthood. Alek has never been sure where he belongs, and now he is told he belongs on the throne. This quote also mentions secrets and demonstrates how they impact relationships, like the one between Alek, his father, and Count Volger. This also applies to nations and political powers.

“‘Haven’t you been listening?’ Volger cried. ‘You’re heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. Your duty is to the empire, not to those men out there.’ Alek shook his head. ‘At the moment there isn’t much I can do for the empire.’ ‘Not yet. But if you keep yourself alive, soon enough you’ll gain the power to stop this madness. Don’t forget: the emperor is eighty-three, and war is unkind to old men.’ With those last words, Volger’s voice broke, and suddenly he looked ancient himself, as if the last five weeks had caught up with him. Alek swallowed his answer, remembering what Volger had sacrificed—his home, his rank—to be hunted and hounded, to go sleepless listening to wireless chatter. And with safety finally at hand this obscene creature had fallen from the sky, threatening to wreck years of planning. No wonder he wanted to ignore the airbeast dying on the snows a few kilometers away.”

This passage characterizes Alek and Volger, demonstrates the costs of war, and foreshadows a choice Alek will have to make. Preceding this quote, Alek suggested helping the shipwrecked men, which shows him to be kind and selfless because the shipwrecked men are enemies. Volger could appear selfish in his response, but his true desire is and always has been to protect Alek and all of Austria-Hungary. For the first time, Alek sees the toll the past weeks of hiding have taken on the older man and remembers what Volger had to give up to do what he believed was right for Alek and the Empire. In spite of Volger’s advice, Alek still considers using some of the castle’s resources to help the shipwrecked men.

“That young airman, Dylan, might have frozen to death if he’d lain in the snow all night. But Alek had saved him from frostbite. Maybe this was how you stayed sane in wartime: a handful of noble deeds amid the chaos.”

Alek decides to help the shipwrecked crew despite Volger’s advice, showing that Alek is growing into a man who can make his own decisions. Alek is also learning what is important to him and the man he wants to be, which is someone who helps those in need. He is building his own philosophy.

“Alek rolled his eyes. ‘It’s called Latin, you simpleton. Bella gerant alii means ‘Let others wage war.’ She was saying we don’t have to fight each other.’”

This quote summarizes the theme of resolving differences between competing groups. Though the Darwinists and Clankers are at war with one another, the crews of the Leviathan and Alek’s stormwalker realize they need to work together to escape the Germans. They decide that they do not need to fight each other just because their countries are at war. Instead, Alek and Deryn become friends.

“‘A bit rude?’ Alek sputtered. ‘I brought you medicines. I saved you from…frostbitten bum. And when I asked you to keep quiet, you set those awful dogs on me!’ ‘Aye,’ Dylan said, ‘But you were running off.’ ‘I had to go home!’ ‘Well, I had to stop you.’ Dylan folded his arms. ‘I took an oath to the Air Service and to King George, to protect this ship. So I couldn’t go making promises to some intruder I’d just met, could I?’ Alek looked away, his anger suddenly exhausted. ‘Well, I suppose you were doing your duty.’ ‘Aye, I suppose so too.’ Dylan turned with a huff and started walking again. ‘And I was going to thank you for not shooting me.’”

This passage of dialogue highlights the theme of Resolving Differences Between Competing Groups. Though Alek and Dylan have completely different goals, they are able to see each other’s side of the situation, which lays the foundation for the friendship they will build over the remaining chapters. Alek’s ability to understand Dylan’s duty to the Air Service returns later in the book when Alek reminds Dylan of his duty to King George.

“Deryn remembered after Da’s accident, her mother and the aunties trying to turn her back into a proper girl—skirts, tea parties, all the rest. As if they wanted to erase the old Deryn and everything she’d been. She’d had to fight like mad to stay who she was. That was the trick—to keep punching, no matter what.”

At the time of this quote, Alek has just told Deryn and Dr. Barlow that is the heir of Austria-Hungary and that his parents were murdered five weeks ago. Deryn can sympathize with his loss and confusion over his identity by remembering how her life changed after her father died. This quote characterizes Deryn and her passion for flying and provides context for why this way of life is so important to her and why she will fight to maintain it.

“‘I know that,’ Alek sighed. ‘Everything you’ve done has been to protect me. But I’ve chosen a different path now—one less safe. Either you recognize that or we part ways when the ship lands.’”

Alek is speaking to Count Volger while the two throw the gold bars from the airship. This quote shows how Alek has transitioned into manhood and has found his place in the world. At the beginning of the book, Alek was a spoiled prince who had to do whatever the elders told him to do. Now he is his own man who has chosen his own path and decided to stick to it, even if it means losing his closest advisor.

“Deryn frowned, looking down at the Leviathan’s flanks. The cilia were stirring madly, weaving the airflow around the ship, somehow adding the currents of the sky to the raw power of the engines. ‘We’re something different now,’ she said, ‘A little of us and a little of them.’”

This passage describes the airship after the engines from Alek’s walker have been added to it. The Leviathan is a symbol of opposing forces working together and demonstrates what can be accomplished when competing forces have a common goal. Deryn’s comment explains how the airship has become a combination of Darwinist and Clanker technology, becoming something neither side has ever seen before.

“Deryn opened her mouth, but no words came out—something was shifting inside her. On her way here she’d hoped Alek would give her permission to tell the captain, solving the whole dilemma. But now an entirely different desire was creeping into her mind. What she really wanted, Deryn realized, was for Alek to know that she’d lied for him, that she would go on lying for him. She suddenly had that feeling again, the same as when Alek had told her his parents’ story—a crackling in the overheated hair. Her skin tingled where he’d hugged her.”

This quote introduces and reinforces a new internal conflict within Deryn: romantic interest in Alek. Throughout the book, Deryn has been repressing her feminine side, happy to be thought of and treated as a boy. However, she now wants Alek to think of her differently, which arises in a conflict of interest between her sworn service to King George and her innermost desires.

“‘You don’t have to,’ Deryn argued, but she knew Alek wouldn’t listen. He wouldn’t listen. He wouldn’t believe she was safe from hanging unless he knew the truth. Strangest of all, she almost wanted to tell him, to trade her secret for his.”

Deryn’s romantic interest in Alek has grown, and she is tempted to tell him her secret and almost does so before getting interrupted. This quote demonstrates how secrets inhibit relationships, as Alek and Deryn cannot truly trust one another unless they know the truth. Deryn’s desire to tell Alek shows her desire to be known fully and completely, as both a soldier and a girl.