Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Mortal Engines, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Social Class
Sacrifice
Dangers of Technology
The Importance of History
Prejudice and First Impressions
Friendship
Summary
Analysis
In his daze, Tom dreams of Katherine. He wakes in a small room with wooden walls and flooring. Hester sits awake nearby. She explains that Wreyland drugged them and now they’re locked in the wooden room. About an hour later, Wreyland opens a small hatch on the door that looks like a cat-flap. He apologizes for locking them in but says times are hard, so he has to sell them as slaves in order to afford new engine parts.
Tom and Hester decide they have to escape. Tom manages to pry a wooden plank off the wall and sticks his head out. He sees that Speedwell has made it to the trading cluster. Just then, he hears Wreyland shouting that he has two nice slaves on sale as well as other supplies. Tom tries to make his hole in the wall bigger. Hester stays back, looking sick, but all of a sudden, she comes over, gathers her strength, and knocks a whole section of planks down with a few kicks.
Hester reveals that she has surprising strength even when she seems to be weakened. Her actions in this scene show how her circumstances have forced her to be strong to survive. The flimsy wooden planks of the prison show how little power Wreyland has compared to the mayor of a big city like Crome in London.
Themes
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Shrike finds part of the torn piece of Tom’s shirt that Hester used as a bandage. He tries to find Hester’s scent to follow her.
Shrike’s reliance on his sense of smell makes him seem more animal than human, emphasizing how instinct drives his character.
Themes
