Intertextual connections : Poison Study

The Declaration shares the theme of freedom and fear with another novel, titled Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder. Although, both having completely different stories set in unique worlds, they both have a woman as the main protagonist of the novel and they struggle for a better life filled with freedom, but are oppressed by fear and painful pasts.  In poison study, Yelena, the protagonist, lives life as a food taste for the leader of Ixia. If she refuses, well, as a prisoner for killing a general in Ixia she would be hanged. She takes up this opportunity and lives life carefully on the balance and finds it difficult to trust people when her past had been quite the horrific one. Anna and Yelena both have suffered from forms of beatings, cruel punishments and both had lived out harsh lives on a daily basis. However, they both put the past behind them, learning to trust others and strive forward into the present and future.

Important quotes:

“You can't let the past ruin your future.” – Maria V. Snyder

“Surplus meant unnecessary. Not required.

You couldn’t be a Surplus if you were needed by someone else. You couldn’t be a Surplus if you were loved.

”  ― Gemma Malley 

 

“Many have tried to kill us. All have failed.” - Maria V. Snyder

 

“Many people lost their lives fighting for these rights - to vote, to be free, to work, to be able to get on the same bus as someone considered their superior. And it was the next generations who embedded these changes, who came to view women as equals to men, who came to understand that skin colour is of no relevance. Young people are the future. Without them, the world stands still.”

―  Gemma Malley

“Trusting is hard. Knowing who to trust, even harder,” – Maria V. Snyder

“The further away from something we are, the more we tend to mistrust it, Peter. we dislike the unknown, we reject anything alien to us: people with views that contradict ours, societies that are run along very different lines.” – Gemma Malley