On (Falsely Perceived) Racism in Carve the Mark

NOTE: This is not a full review of Carve the Mark, it is only a response to the general perception that the book is somehow racist. If you want my actual review, see my previous post.

OTHER NOTE: This post will contain many spoilers. If you haven’t read the book, and plan on doing so, proceed at your own discretion.

And now to business. Believe it or not, the first I heard of this unpleasantness was after having finishing the book, while browsing through the internet to see how others might have liked it. (Yes, I confess to living under a rock sometimes.)

What I found was not insightful reviews and thought-provoking conversation, but rather a large number of well-known bloggers, reviewers, etc. trashing Veronica Roth for use of racist tropes. Now, I’m a reasonably perceptive reader, so I was surprised that so many had picked up on a glaring fault that I hadn’t. Then I continued digging, and found something that infuriated me: At least half of the reviewers that most viciously roasted Carve the Mark admitted to not having read the book, and based their scathing remarks only on something they’d heard.

In the interest of staying on topic here, I won’t elaborate on what I think about that. Instead, let’s take a look at what aspects of the book might have caused people to see racism.

Here’s the deal: The Shotet, the people of one of the two nations that occupy the planet Urek, typically have brown skin. This is to be expected as their lands lie along the planet’s equator. The Thuvhesit, who live closer to the planet’s north pole, are lighter skinned. It is worth noting that this isn’t even a solid rule. For example, Eijeh Kereseth, a Thuvhesit, is described as having brown skin, while Ryzek Noavek, The Shotet leader is pale-skinned. It is explained that there is a lot of mixed ancestry on both sides.

The problem seems to come from this: Early on in the book: The Shotet are described (From a Thuvhesit point of view I might add) as being savage and aggressive. Apparently, that was all it takes for everyone to ditch all rational thought and scream “RACISM!” as loud as they can.

If only we could see the Shotet from a different point of view. An insider’s perspective perhaps? Oh right, the main character is Shotet. From following Cyra’s experiences, we see the Shotet as a vibrant community possessed of a rich and intriguing culture. Even Akos comes to be impressed with the Shotet, to the point where he is unsure of whether he is more Thuvhesit or Shotet.

Even the Shotet custom of marking kills on one’s arm by way of scarification tattoos is explained by Cyra to be a recording of personal loss, rather than of a kill. I find this sentiment to be a powerful one, as it is a recognition of the inability of a person to be psychologically unaffected by the taking a life, with consideration to the way killing has become a normality in our culture’s media (YA included).

The distortion of this custom points to the true fault of the Shotet: their leadership.

Cyra reveals that the Noavek family dynasty is responsible for the change in Shotet culture, causing the people under their rule to embrace brutality over the true essence of their culture’s customs. The change is fairly recent, and there are plenty of people within the Shotet nation that disagree with the regime and actively seek its collapse.

All of this leads me to conclude that the Shotet as a people are not cast as a savage, overtly aggressive, or in any way inferior race. Thus, Veronica Roth is absolved of any accusations of racism.

This is not to say that the relationship portrayed between the Shotet and the Thuvhesit is not racist. I’d argue that as far as racism goes, it’s quite mild, as any time we actually see Shotet and Thuvhesit meet through the eyes of Akos or Cyra, there is hardly any abrasiveness toward the other that a character wouldn’t normally show to any person of their own nationality. But nonetheless, prejudice exists between the two cultures.

This does not make Veronica Roth a racist.

Why? Because this is exactly what has happened in the real world almost every time two nations, cultures, or ideologies have been at war. Make no mistake, the Shotet and the Thuvhesit are at war. Each has their own story explaining how the other was the true aggressor, but it makes no difference. The result is the same.

To ask Roth to omit prejudices from the relationships between these cultures is to deny that these same problems exist in the real world. They do.

If you’re not convinced that Carve the Mark is not inherently racist, I’ll direct you to this response by the wonderful Sabaa Tahir.

Until next time,

-Sal