In the novel Batman: Nightwalker Marie Lu employs countless examples from Bruce Wayne’s experiences and internal conflict in order to convey the gifts Bruce Wayne has and the burdens he faces due to those gifts Ultimately illustrating the gifts a person inherits can make them feel like they have a certain responsibility to use their gifts to better their surroundings.
Marie Lu provides countless examples from Bruce Wayne’s experiences in order to show the gifts a person inherits can create a sense of responsibility to use the gifts they have to better the world around them. Throughout the whole book Bruce has access to many resources due to him being a Wayne and being a part of Wayne enterprises. He gets himself arrested and having to do community service due to trying to stop a criminal and interfering with the police. Because Bruce inherits the gift to be a part of Wayne Enterprises and gets access to things most people in Gotham do not, he is able to investigate the Nightwalkers. Consequently, Bruce begins to realize that the gift of Wayne enterprise gives him the opportunity to take down crime in Gotham and help improve the city. Thus, due to the resources Bruce inherits he feels a responsibility to take on the crime in the city and take down the Nightwalkers which ultimately gets him arrested and having to do community service. Marie Lu continues to provide countless examples from Bruce Wayne’s story in order to show the gifts a person inherits can create a sense of responsibility to better the world around them with their gifts. While Bruce was working his community service job the gift of his intelligence gets him more involved in the Nightwalker case. His intelligence and wealth makes it feel like he cannot just ignore the people around him so he goes and talks to Madeleine Wallace, who was a girl that was locked up in Arkham Asylum and is revealed to be a part of the Nightwalkers, and she actually talks to him unlike the guards in the Asylum. Because Bruce is working his community service, he is granted the permission to talk to the intelligent inmate Madeleine to see if he can get any information out of her about the Nightwalkers. Consequently, Bruce being the only one being able to have a direct conversation with Madeleine is once again provided with exclusive information that is very valuable. Thus, Bruce’s privilege of being a known figure, and a very intelligent person helps him uncover clues to help eventually take down the Nightwalker because he feels like it is his responsibility because of the gifts he inherits.
Marie Lu not only uses countless examples but also internal conflict to show that the gifts a person inherits can create a sense of responsibility for that person to improve the world around him. Throughout the book Bruce has an internal conflict of whether he should do the job by himself and with his own rules or he should follow the laws of the police. He later decides to go investigate on his own because he feels like he has to uncover the truth with the resources he has been gifted and he also feels that he might be able to see things the police might have missed. Especially after speaking with Madeleine. Because, Bruce has all the keys and is the only one Madeleine will give hints to he feels it is his duty to uncover the secrets of the Nightwalkers. Consequently, Bruce has an internal conflict on whether he should take this case on by himself or he should follow the law. Thus, Bruce decides to use his smarts, and resources he inherits to solve this case and do the job by himself because he feels it is his responsibility. Marie Lu continues to use internal conflict to reveal the effects of a gift a person inherits. Bruce feels conflicted about whether he should continue to trust Madeleine Wallace or not because he is interested in her intelligence but he also feels like she may be manipulating him. Madeleine is known to manipulate the people around her and Bruce knows that trusting her could put himself in danger, however, he is drawn to her because he believes she may provide information that can help him stop crimes from happening in his city. Because Bruce is given the gift of being the only one that Madeleine will talk to, he feels it is his responsibility to use the information she gives him to stop crimes from happening. Consequently, Bruce feels like she is putting him in danger and struggles on deciding if he should continue to talk to her or not. Thus, the conflict shows that the gift of his intelligence provides conflict on whether he should continue to follow her leads which he ultimately decides it is his responsibility to stop the Nightwalkers. Overall, in Batman: Nightwalker, Marie Lu shows through Bruce Wayne’s adventures and internal conflict that the gifts a person inherits can create a sense of responsibility to use those gifts and improve the world around them. Through Bruce’s wealth, intelligence, and exclusive opportunities such as having leads to the Nightwalkers and having the ability to communicate with Madeleine Wallace, Marie Lu reveals that there is a pressure that comes with the gifts a person inherits. By showing how Bruce struggles to decide how to use his gifts, Lu reveals the conflict a person faces to better the world around them with their gift.
In the book Warcross, Emika Chen's sacrifice of her safety, financial security, her relationships, and a chance at an easy comfortable life shows that she values the truth, doing what’s morally right, and the freedom of people.
Emika has to make many sacrifices to reveal the truth, two of them being her safety and her financial security. Emika Chen sacrifices her safety when she chooses to investigate the Zero and the NeuroLink system. In the beginning Emika is just trying to survive and make money, however when she discovers there was more going on she continues to investigate even though it puts her in danger. She knows getting involved with these people could lead to her getting hurt or killed but she was determined to discover the truth. Because Emika wants to expose the truth, she is willing to sacrifice her safety in order to do so. Consequently, her beliefs and values motivate her to continue to push through the danger. Thus, Emika Chen values the truth and doing what is right so much that she is willing to sacrifice her safety. Emika not only sacrifices her safety but also her financial security. Emika makes another pretty big sacrifice when giving up her financial security. At the beginning of the book Emika is struggling to pay her rent and needs money badly. When Hideo hired her she was given stability. However, when Emika realizes Hideo’s plan could harm people she decides she must go against him and risks losing her financial security when she could have stayed quiet and kept it. Because Emika values justice and the truth she is willing to sacrifice her financial security to keep those things in tact. Consequently, Emika took a huge risk and fought for what she thought was right even if it hurt her in the long run. Thus, Emika Chen values the truth and doing what is right so much that she is willing to sacrifice her safety.
Emika not only sacrifices her safety and financial security, but also relationships, and a chance at a normal secure lifestyle in order to fight for what she values. Emika sacrifices her relationship with Hideo because she values doing the right thing over feelings. Emika grows close to Hideo and begins to trust him throughout the novel. This makes it hard for her to go against him. However, when she discovers the truth of his plans she chooses to go against him even though it meant losing that relationship. It would have been way easier for her mentally to stay with him however, she cannot follow what she thinks is wrong. Because Emika values doing the right thing, she is willing to go against Hideo despite growing close to him. Consequently, this decision leads to her having to deal with emotional pain to do the right thing. Thus, Emika Chen values doing the right thing so much she is willing to sacrifice her relationship with Hideo in order to do so. Emika also sacrifices the chance to live a normal, comfortable life for the well being of other people. Emika sacrifices her chance at an easy, normal, comfortable life in order to reveal the truth of the NeuroLink system. She knows that she could have stayed on Hideo’s side and lived comfortably, however, her integrity would not allow her to do so. So she sacrificed her easy life in order to expose the truth and result in her life becoming more difficult and uncertain. Because Emika believes the people deserve the truth, she sacrifices her easy life to reveal the truth. Consequently , this decision results in her having to live a difficult, uncertain life when she could have lived an easy one. Thus, Emika Chen values the freedom of others so much she was willing to sacrifice her chance at an easy life to give the others the truth.
Ultimately, Emika Chen’s sacrifices reveal that she highly values the truth, doing what’s morally right, and the freedom of people. Emika is willing to go through many challenging situations despite having better options for herself to make her values come through. Emika believes in the truth, doing what’s morally right, and the freedom of people.