64 pages • 2 hours read
Shadows of Sherwood
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Themes
The Role of Youth in Social Change
In an important sequence in the book, Robyn meets the wise elder Eveline in her search for answers. At first, Eveline doubts that Robyn is the child of her visions, but by the end of their conversation, she calls Robyn a “moon child” (164), the hope of the ancients. Eveline’s mystical statements can be read as a metaphor for the role of youth in sparking social change. The idea of a young leader is central to the moon lore since a moon child is born every few generations. It is this moon child who brings together the elements and fights against oppression. Thus, young people represent hope, creativity, and the power to change the status quo. The novel develops the mystical idea of the moon child as an allegory about young people disrupting entrenched belief systems in the real world.
With the dissenting adults of the novel’s world jailed, disappeared, or underground, it is up to young people like Robyn and Laurel to change the status quo. The narrative plays with the idea of how children slip between the cracks since they are deemed to be small and insignificant. Ironically, it is the very ability of Robyn, Laurel, Key, and Scarlet to run fast, slip through tiny spaces, and appear harmless that makes them so dangerous. While people like Marissa Mallet buy into the myth that children are weak, the canny Crown knows that young people are the most disruptive element in society. Regretting her poor assessment of Robyn, Mallet reflects that Crown was right: “[I]t was the children he had wanted, as much as the dissident Parliament leaders themselves” (251). Crown can see that children are dangerous because they are future leaders. Another aspect that makes children the harbingers of social change is their ability to move beyond their context. Merryann, for instance, ultimately refuses to side with her uncle and tells Robyn that “anyone can decide to be different from their family” (317).
An important way in which the youth in the novel become a part of social change is by questioning their world. When young people examine official narratives and learn how the world works, they see the underlying structural injustice. For example, Key can clearly see that Crown’s hoarding of food and medicine is a deliberate strategy to marginalize and eliminate the poor. Laurel knows that the rebellion can never end because inequality is persistent. Privileged young people like Robyn are open to reconsidering their beliefs when they are faced with the reality of social inequality. Her character arc shows that becoming aware of one’s history, relying on multiple sources to ascertain the truth, and asking critical questions are the first steps toward social change.
The Ethics of Resistance Against Oppression
Central to the Robin Hood legend is the figure of the Sheriff of Nottingham, the villain who levies unreasonably high taxes on the poor. The sheriff of the legend has his men patrol Sherwood Forest, keep an eye out for outlaws, and guard the sheriff’s deer. These markers of Nottingham’s tyranny encapsulate important and universal ways in which oppression works. The sheriff—representing larger forces of wealth and power—robs the poor through taxes. Then, he denies them their share of common resources, such as the forest and its deer. With inequality as the norm, Robin Hood’s quest to steal from the sheriff’s men becomes legitimate: Although Robin is called an outlaw, he rightfully secures what belongs to him and the people, whether it be taxed money or common resources. The novel deftly adapts this tension between Robin’s resistance and Nottingham’s oppression to a contemporary context.
In Shadows of Sherwood, one of the first oppressive steps Mallet and Crown take after the Purge is blocking the commons of Nottingham Forest. Visiting the forest is now a crime, but the novel questions how people can be barred from that which belongs to everyone. Another act of tyranny is banning street vendors and controlling the food supply. Getting food from any place other than a government depot or grocery store is now an outlawed act. Against the backdrop of these inequalities, trespassing in forests and stealing hoarded food cannot ethically be viewed as crimes. Instead, they are acts of justice and resistance. Robyn makes this clear when she leaves behind her first note, which says “the food was confiscated from its rightful owners, the people of Sherwood. Consider it confiscated back” (248). In an earlier scene, Robyn felt guilty when she stole oranges from a vendor; however, she experiences no such guilt when stealing from the food depot, as the government has seized that food from the vendors in the first place.
Because Robyn and her friends view the theft as lawful, the text invites readers to question definitions of what constitutes an outlaw. What if the established law is ethically questionable? Would breaking that law then be wrong? The text suggests that if a non-violent act of resistance secures social and economic justice, it cannot be viewed as unethical. The novel also explores resistance in other forms. A key way in which oppression works in the novel is through surveillance of people and through control of media. Key explains to Robyn that Crown has jammed all broadcast frequencies in the city, ensuring only his propaganda is transmitted on screens. Voices of dissent, such as young broadcaster Nessa Croft, are outlawed. In this context, speaking out becomes an act of resistance, whether it be Nessa’s broadcast or Robyn’s holographic projection.
The other way in which characters resist oppression is through continuing their belief in the moon lore. When Robyn and Tucker discover the moon shrine, Tucker explains how the moon lore and its symbols have been systematically suppressed, with Nottingham church’s wealthy commissioners razing the moon temple and building the cathedral on top of it. The commissioners hoped that by doing so, they could homogenize society and draw people into the religion of the church. The people’s persistence in their unique, diverse beliefs in the face of homogenizing suppression is thus an act of rebellion.
The Importance of Teamwork and Solidarity
Although Robyn is a moon child, a Chosen One figure meant to be a leader of the Crescent rebellion, the novel underscores the point that Robyn cannot achieve any of her goals alone. From the onset, it is hinted that the rebellion is not one person, but all its people. When Robyn behaves in a high-handed manner, Key reminds her that the rebellion is “about all of us. All of Sherwood” (275). The Crescent Rebellion itself has been going on for a long time before Robyn’s birth, with leaders like Nyna Campbell and Nessa Croft putting their lives on the line to continue the resistance. Moreover, the novel shows that finding solidarity with her friends, community, and tradition is central to Robyn’s quest to free her parents and end the current cycle of oppression. Thus, the novel puts a new spin on the Chosen One trope of young adult and children’s fiction, where a single heroic figure is key to redeeming humanity.
The conversations between Eveline and Robyn are important in understanding the novel’s transformation of the Chosen One trope. Robyn’s destiny might make her a savior archetype, but Eveline emphasizes that Robyn is “a” rather than “the” moon child: “You are not the first moon child nor will you be the last” (340), Eveline tells Robyn. The cyclical nature of history means Robyn is not a messiah, but simply a leader who becomes a rallying point for the rebellion. The collaborative nature of Robyn’s mission is spelled out even by the moon verse, which describes that “all elements unite” (313) for her quest to work. The elements refer to Robyn’s friends with their unique, elemental qualities. Further, the moon lore’s braid metaphor evokes ideals of solidarity and cooperation. Robyn is only able to make sense of the moon verse when she braids the six strands of the curtain together. Similarly, the rebellion asks for her to bring together the skills and talents of diverse people.
The lesson on teamwork applies to Robyn’s character as well. Robyn, who at the beginning of the novel operates as a solo player, must learn to work in a team. Though Robyn is shown as willing to risk her life to help others, her flaw is her tendency to ignore her teammates. An example of Robyn acting rashly is her repeated propensity to leave her friends behind during adventures. Robyn gets so consumed with her mission that she tends to forget about her teammates, especially Laurel. After Tucker draws Robyn into Nottingham Cathedral to save her from an MP patrol, Robyn loses track of time, fascinated by her discovery of the moon lore. When Robyn finally gets to the tree house, an overwrought Laurel reminds her, “you were gone forever” (217). It is only at the end of the novel that Robyn realizes she must try to always communicate her plans with her teammates, so they are not left in the dark.
As Robyn’s character evolves, she begins to see that she cannot operate in a vacuum. No longer a kid making adventurous runs to a junkyard, Robyn begins to see that her increased responsibilities mean an increasing reliance on collaboration. The novel shows how various people come together to help Robyn, such as Merryann and Scarlet in the pharmacy heist. In the novel’s climax of the burning of T.C., the entire crowd helps Robyn escape, carrying her “like a ship rocking at sea” (332). The last chapter of the novel sees Robyn pulling off a heist, with Laurel, Key, Merryann, Scarlet, and Tucker all playing their part. Setting up their group dynamic for future operations in the series.
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