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Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Cinder, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Bravery and Sacrifice
Power, Greed, and Evil
Stereotypes and Discrimination
Secrecy and Manipulation
Resourcefulness, Kindness, and Perseverance
Summary
Analysis
A med-droid wheels Cinder into another room, releases her from the table, and leaves. Cinder sits up and puts on her gloves and boots. She takes out the wrench that she stored in her calf, glad to feel a little less vulnerable. The door is locked, but Cinder is able to look at the netscreen that contains her holographic image. Suddenly, the door opens behind her, and Dr. Erland enters. He introduces himself as the leading scientist on the letumosis research team. Cinder raises the wrench to strike him, but suddenly she freezes—she doesn’t want to hurt him. She drops the wrench and notices that the orange light on her retina display is flashing—but how could Dr. Erland be lying if he hasn’t said anything?
Here, it’s revealed that Cinder has a lie detector light as part of her mechanical brain interface. This is an example of how her cyborg identity makes her more capable than the average person, not less. Cinder doesn’t yet understand how Dr. Erland could be lying without speaking, but the light nevertheless lets her know that Dr. Erland is keeping something from her—he’s probably not being entirely forthright with Cinder about who he is.
Themes
