Essay Questions

Alec Lightwood has close friends and family who openly defy the Clave, but he strictly adheres to authority and resists going against protocol. Why is he so insistent on following the rules?

Alec is the oldest Lightwood child and has a close relationship with his parents, meaning that he’s had the greatest exposure to his family’s history. He knows first-hand the consequences that his parents faced after Valentine’s circle fell, so he understands what happens to people who defy the Clave. He shapes himself into the ideal Shadowhunter both to ease the shame his family experiences from their affiliation with Valentine and to prove that he’s worthy of recognition in the Shadowhunter world, even if his parents might not have been. Furthermore, Alec is gay in a world where the Clave ostracizes LGBT+ Shadowhunters. His desire to follow the rules and become an ideal Shadowhunter also comes from a desire to become an exemplary warrior and be recognized for his skill in spite of his sexuality.

How do the different parent-child relationships in City of Bones reflect the effect that parenting can have on how children grow up?

Jace and Clary exist in stark contrast to each other in terms of personality, because they were raised by such different parents. While Jace was raised by Valentine, who was abusive towards him (he used physical punishment on him, killed a beloved pet to teach him a lesson, etc.), Clary was raised by a kind mother who still kept secrets from her. As a result, Jace is extremely guarded and is reluctant to develop relationships with anyone, because he fears that they’ll abandon him like his father did. On the other hand, Clary is able to form close attachments with others, reflecting the nurturing environment that she was raised in, but once she learns of her mother’s lies, she becomes defiant and resists authority. She’s afraid that the new authority figures in her life will also lie to her, so she lashes out against them, fearing that they’ll mimic her mother’s actions.

Throughout the course of City of Bones, Clary comes to learn more about the Clave, an ancient authoritarian order that rules over the Shadowhunter world. How does the Clave represent an organization that has failed to keep up with changing times?

The Clave socially ostracizes and/or excommunicates those who defy their rules: Alec lives in fear of what will happen if anyone finds out about his sexuality, and Shadowhunters like the Lightwoods who fought against the Circle’s rules face harsh sanctions decades after the fact. Furthermore, in spite of the fact that Downworlder communities have fought and advocated for greater rights and protections under the Clave’s rule, centuries have gone by with little action. In spite of tremendous protest, both nonviolent and violent, the Clave refuses to change their rules to accommodate the needs of marginalized populations or function more democratically, just like real-world institutions that refuse to change to keep up with the times do.

Clary’s perception of Luke changes dramatically throughout the novel. How does this perception reflect Clary’s own personal journey?

Luke is a werewolf, meaning that like Jocelyn, he has connections to the Shadowhunter world that Clary didn’t know about. When she first confronts him after her mother’s disappearance, he says that he wants nothing to do with her and leaves, representing yet another authority figure Clary believes that she cannot trust. This initial distance from Luke is a symbol for Clary’s removal from her old life, a removal exacerbated by her belief that Luke is working for Valentine. However, their initial reconciliation allows Clary to regain some connection to her old life, and also helps her understand that she can fix relationships with authority figures in her life even after learning that they’ve kept things from her. With her mother still in a coma, it’s left to Luke to explain her actions to Clary, and these explanations help Clary readjust her views of both him and her mother: that they’re not perfect people, but that they’re human and had reasons for acting in the way they did.