In Legend: The Graphic Novel, Marie Lu employs scenes of violence in order to convey the citizens' fight for freedom, ultimately conveying the human need to fight for what's right. Marie Lu initially utilizes scenes of violence in order to demonstrate a corrupt society’s downfall.
To begin, when Metias Iparis finds out about the government's corruption of making citizens sick on purpose so they can upsell medical supplies as well as force citizens to take tests to scale their intelligence and putting the people with low intelligence to death, Metias secretly fights against the government while finding evidence. Later, during Metias’s search for Day Altwing, Metias gets killed by a fellow soldier after the government finds out about his disloyalty. Due to Metias’s disalignment with the government's beliefs, he gets murdered. Consequently, the government uses this as a way to corrupt other citizens by claiming it was Day who murdered Metias. Ultimately, showing how corrupt the society is.
Additionally, Marie Lu employs another scene of violence to show the citizens' fight from the government through Day Altwing. Day was one of the people who failed the intelligence test and was put to death, but Day survived and escaped, unable to return home to his family where his brother was sick from the virus the government put into the air. Due to the corruption of the government, Lu uses Day as a symbol of hope for the citizens as he breaks into hospitals to obtain medicine for the sick. Because of Day’s knowledge of what the government is doing, he fights against it. Consequently, the government tries to hunt down Day to put him to death as it poses a threat to the people, while the people in society know about the government's corruption and slowly start to join Day. Ultimately, showing a corrupt society’s downfall as fighters for freedom arise.
To continue, June IParis is used as a symbol of hope through a scene of violence during Day’s death penalty scene as she fights against the government. As the government starts to notice June might be disloyal they lock her up so she can’t stop Day’s death but, she has a group of citizens ready to fight against the corrupt government on her side. As she fights her way out to save Day’s life, the rebellion fights with her. Because of June’s knowledge of what the government is doing, they try to outsmart her so Day can be killed to demonstrate to the civilians that anybody who doesn’t follow their rules will suffer consequences. Consequently, June makes moves against the government and continues her fight, showing the civilians that the government is not all powerful. Ultimately, showing the citizens fight from the corrupt government and symbolizing hope.
Overall, Marie Lu uses scenes of violence as a symbol representing the fight for freedom and hope in order to show the citizens that they need to take a stand against corruption through standing up and fighting for what they believe in. Ultimately showing the human need to fight for what's right.