61 pages • 2 hours read
Scarred
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Symbols & Motifs
The Crown
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and physical abuse.
The crown passes from Michael’s father to Michael at the beginning of the novel, after Michael has killed his father. Then, when Tristan murders Michael, the crown passes to him, and he later passes it on to Simon. Throughout these many transfers, the crown comes to represent The Struggle Between Duty and Personal Desire, as well as The Convoluted Road to Redemption. As a powerful symbol of both authority and ambition, the crown sometimes becomes associated with a darker sense of corruption, especially in Michael’s hands. Although Michael was the crown prince and was therefore always destined to become king, he tormented the young Tristan because he believed that his father preferred Tristan over him, and he later grew so impatient to become king that he was willing to poison his father rather than waiting to inherit the throne naturally. This choice haunts Michael, who begins seeing his father’s ghost.
For Tristan, however, the crown symbolizes his hatred for Michael and his desire to punish his brother both for Michael’s childhood abuses and for his murder of their father. Yet, despite Tristan’s animosity toward Michael, he must contend with the fact that Michael is the rightful heir to the throne; in this light, Tristan’s revenge plan likewise becomes a form of betrayal to his own royal duty as he seeks to become a usurper. Ultimately, Tristan does gain a form of redemption, but only because he passes the crown to Simon, Michael’s only child and the rightful heir to the throne.
The Jackal
Throughout Tristan’s quest for the throne, he must navigate a treacherous political landscape and outmaneuver his brother, Michael, in order to seize political power. Within the world of the novel, a “jackal” is a pejorative way to refer to someone who is poverty stricken; the term is used by the wealthy to dehumanize those who belong to the lower classes. However, Tristan retakes the symbol of the jackal, tattooing it onto his chest, and it then becomes the symbol for his rebellion. He uses the symbol of the jackal to rally his followers and inspire their loyalty. Thus, the recurring image of the jackal, which is intimately connected to Tristan’s rebels, also comes to represent Tristan’s own cunning, as well as his ability to manipulate others in his pursuit of power.
The jackal ultimately connects to the novel’s thematic focus on The Convoluted Road to Redemption; just as a jackal is neither purely good nor entirely evil, Tristan also straddles this line and occupies a morally ambiguous position in the novel. Although he does cruel and terrible things and becomes consumed by his desire for revenge and power, he also shows moments of vulnerability and compassion toward Simon and Sara. Ultimately, Tristan helps rebuild Gloria Terra and Saxum, taking steps to ameliorate the damage that his fiery rebellion has done, and he passes the crown on to Simon, who began life as a “jackal” in the sense that he occupied a lowly social status, living in obscurity as a boy after the rebellion and the damage done from setting the city on fire. After rebuilding, Tristan hands over the crown to his nephew, Simon.
Tristan’s Scar
Tristan’s facial scar serves as a powerful symbol of his past trauma, his inner turmoil, and the flaws in his character. Physically, the scar marks him as “different” and has earned him the nickname of the “scarred prince,” which he both hates and uses to his advantage. Tristan’s scar is a constant reminder of Michael’s cruelty and of others’ indifference to this long-standing injustice. Tristan first got the scar when Michael destroyed his sketchbook and struck him with a poker during the ensuing scuffle. Michael was determined to make sure that Tristan did not look so much like their father; his ultimate goal was to make their father favor Tristan less. Ultimately, Michael gave Tristan the scar to assuage his own sense of jealousy, and his behavior toward Tristan warped both brothers for life. Tristan became obsessed with torturing and killing Michael, while Michael ultimately lost any sense of the difference between right and wrong, even going so far as to kill his own father to take the crown. Likewise, incensed by a lifetime of injustices, Tristan embarks upon his own journey to start a rebellion and kill his brother, thereby perpetuating the cycle of violence represented in his scar. The old wound also highlights Tristan’s determination to take control of his destiny, for although he was given the scar against his will, he now willingly tattoos artwork onto his body, deliberately altering his appearance in a way that allows him to take ownership of his identity.
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