Essay Questions

What does Day and June’s reconciliation at the end of Champion represent?

Despite the fact that Day does not regain all of his memories, he and June reunite anyway, and decide to continue their relationship in spite of the burdens that they both bring with them. Their reunion represents the ability to move on from violence and war, even if its effects can never truly be recovered from. While the war may haunt Day and June, both emotionally and physically, in reuniting with each other, they represent the ability to find happiness after trauma, and to make an attempt at recovery even when it is difficult.

What is the effect of a plague acting as the central villain of the story?

While the characters in the Republic experience threats from the Colonies, one of the central “villains” of Champion is the plague that sweeps through the Republic, infecting thousands of people. Unlike in the case of a traditional war, there is no clear person to fight in the case of a plague. Instead, while effort may be put into developing treatments and preventing the spread of disease, there is nothing to do except wait for the plague to pass and to save whoever it’s possible to save. As a result, there’s a general sense of hopelessness surrounding the conflict in Champion, because there is no one clear person or army that the Republic can fight: they’re at the mercy of science and time, which leads to them having their hands tied for a large chunk of the novel.

Explain Thomas’s identity within Champion: is he a villain, or something else?

Thomas represents the epitome of someone brainwashed by a military culture. In recounting his story to June, he reveals that he did have genuine feelings for Metias that made him hesitate in carrying out Commander Jameson’s orders, but eventually, the military training that had been drilled into him overpowered those feelings, and he killed him anyway. Thomas isn’t necessarily a villain, even though he’s done horrible things to the people he loves. Instead, he exists in an area of moral grayness that comes from being indoctrinated by a military culture that emphasizes obedience and violence over personal relationships. He makes brutal decisions, but part of the reason he makes them is the culture in which he has been raised, which adds questionability to his moral identity.