Trisha Janella M.

Cabral 1A6 ENG 2

Destroy Me
By: Tahereh Mafi

In Tahereh Mafis Shatter Me, the first book in the trilogy Juliette Chronicles was written

in the perspective of Juliette Ferrars using flowery descriptions and strikethroughs. She has a

power to paralyze and kill someone whoever touches her but she did not know where she got her

powers because both her parents were normal people. The book started with Juliette in an asylum

because she murdered a little boy. This made her parents despised her more and surrendered her

to the Reestablishment, the government. For three years, she was locked up in a cell alone but it

did not made her nonsensical unlike the other prisoners. She was given a notebook to convey her

feelings because she has no one to talk to. Soon, she got a cellmate named Adam Kent. He

reminded her of someone she knew when she was free back then but she convinced herself that it

was impossible for him to be there. She spoke to him about what happened outside the asylum

and learned that theres a war between the rebels and the government. She also taught him how

things worked in the asylum. One day, Juliette was ushered to a young man named Aaron

Warner. Aaron was the leader of the Sector 45 of the Reestablishment and wanted to use Juliette

as his weapon because of her fatal touch. He threatens her with death and Juliette did not do

anything but to obey him. It was revealed that Adam is really a soldier working in Sector 45 of

the Reestablishment and became the guard of Juliette to assure she did not try to kill anyone.

Aaron treated Juliette like a princess in their first dinner. It went well but Juliette did not like the

attitude that Aaron was showing her. As time passed by, she learned many things about him but

what she have found out made her dislike him more but Aaron kept on complimenting her and

how powerful she was. During her captivity, she developed a romantic relationship with Adam
and found out that she already met him. He was Juliettes childhood friend and was in love with

her a long time ago. They also found out that Adam can touch Juliette without getting killed by

her. Eventually, he helped her escaped from the hands of Aaron. While escaping, Aaron held the

ankle of Juliette without getting killed which means, he can also touch her. Adam and Juliette

met Adams 10 year old brother, James, at Adams house. One of Adams fellow soldiers, Kenji

Kishimoto, showed up and told them that he was being tortured by Aaron about their

whereabouts. They were going to leave the place and go to a safe place that Kenji talked about

but the Reestablishment showed up and tried to shoot them. They formulated a plan that Juliette

and Adam split up with Kenji and James. When they split up, Adam and Juliette was captured

and Adam was shot by Aaron. Aaron dragged Juliette in a broken building. Aaron hugged

Juliette and told her how he loves her and he wanted her to choose him. Juliette tried to seduce

him and shoot him using his gun. She went to Adam and drove him to Kenji and James. Kenji

brought them to an underground place and there theyve met Castle, the director of Omega Point.

The Omega Point is a resistance against the Reestablishment. Juliette ended as confident to take

down Aaron.

Tahereh Mafis Destroy Me was written in the perspective of Aaron Warner. It started

with him enduring the pain that he got when Juliette shot him. His soldiers were panicking what

to do with him that made him irritated and said that he was still alive. He went back to the

Reestablishment and recovered from his fatal wound with the help of his loyal soldier, Delalieu.

Aaron did everything using his power to keep his soldiers in checked and suppressed any

mention of rebellion. Still, he was obsessed with Juliette and his priority was to search for her

and bring her back. Also, He wanted to dispose Adam and Kenji, the two traitors, when he sees

them. When Paris Anderson arrived in the Reestablishment, the Supreme Commander of the
Reestablishment, and the father of Aaron, he corrected his sons mistake and showed that he

have different plans for Juliette. With his help, Aaron found Juliette in a barren field but Juliette

saw and ran away from him. In Destroy Me, Tahereh Mafi illustrates how Aaron Warners

perspective about love, friendship, and leadership can be significantly influenced by challenges

and relationships.

Aaron Warner struggled after he had been shot by Juliette but his physical pain is nothing

compared to his emotional pain whenever he remembered a situation that connects to Juliette. It

showed how he has been longing for his love to her:

The many buttons she ripped open. Its a small reminder but, its enough to spear me. I try to

fight it off but it lingers and the more I try to ignore the memory, it multiplies into a monster

that can no longer be contained. I dont even realize Ive fallen against the wall until I feel

the cold climbing up my skin; Im breathing too hard and squeezing my eyes shut against the

sudden wash of mortification. (Mafi, 2012, p.19-20)

Mafi wanted to tell her readers that Aaron Warner loves Juliette Ferrars so much because

he would not be suffering such unbearable humiliation if it is only because of her sexual

attraction. He wanted her so much more than just her body. (Mafi, 2012, p.21) He loves her so

much that even if she left him, he still searched for her. Though, he only found a notebook that

tells the struggles of Juliette when she was in an asylum and her past experiences which broke

his heart.

Mafi showed what love can do. People can feel shame, cowardice, weakness and strength

and see things that cannot be seen. Loving and pursuing the person that you love even if he/she

doesnt love you back is what a martyr can do. In love, martyrs are person who love someone
and forget things the wrong things their lover have done even if they suffer from great pain and

know that it will only lead in a sad ending:

So much so that some days I manage to forget that shes the one who put this bullet hole in

my arm. I almost forget that she still hates me, despite how hard Ive fallen for her. And Ive

fallen. So hard. Ive hit the ground. (Mafi, 2012, pp.184-185)

Friendship was also what Aarons been longing for. He has been losing his mind since he

was young because of a lack of companionable conversation (Mafi, 2012, p.29) which caused

him to build his self as a feared leader and no one dared to speak to him as anything but the

chief commander (Mafi, 2012, p.30) that led him to be hated by all of his soldiers but because

of a soldier named, Delalieu, he may consider that after many years he found a friend:

Delalieu is the only person her who does not hate me.

I can feel it, though I dont understand it. Hes likely the only person in this building whos

pleased that Im not dead. (Mafi, 2012, p.24)

Mafi wanted to show that having a friend/s can change who you are. Someone who will

stay by your side, can exchange of jokes, listen to your problems, give advices, do things

together and someone you can show who you are and is not afraid by you no matter what your

standing is. That is what Aarons been longing for that he have found in Delalieu.

Paris Anderson is feared by everyone. He is a dictator that and made all of his people his

puppet and messenger even his son. The news of his arrival in the sector made the soldiers feel

terrified that even Aaron felt like a coward. (Mafi, 2012, p.71)
 Mafi showed that one of the reasons why Aaron Warner became a ruthless leader and it

was because of his father. The cruel things Paris did influenced Aaron and killed a lot of people

but if he will be compared to his father, he has a heart. Paris didnt have remorse to people that

he even tried to kill his son because of his disappointment of him.

Mafi also compared Paris and Aaron based on their intellectual behavior. Aaron had a

hard time thinking of where did Juliette went. When they got to the suspected place, he did not

see anything but a barren field and thought of nothing but Paris answered the problem and

revealed something that Aaron has been thinking about:

She is not normal, he says, leaning back in his chair. And she is not the only one of

her kind. (Mafi, 2012, p.157)

Mafi wanted to show how the influence of our parents can lead us. It could affect our way

of thinking and how we treat other people. It could also affect how we lead others.

Tahereh Mafis Destroy Me wanted to show that people come and go in our lives. There

are people who dont like to stay in our lives and affect us. There are people who is afraid of who

we are but they accept and treat us as a friend. There are people who have greatly influenced us.

She wanted to show how our relationship with these people. There are times we encounter some

challenges and problems with them and because of it, we are who we are right now.

I think Tahereh Mafis main reason in writing the book is not just to entertain but also to

let the readers understand Aaron Warner more. In the first book, he was misjudged by a lot of

people based on what Ive read in the reviews and I think changing the bridge book to the second

book in Aarons point of view can add more thrill when the readers read the second book. I also

think why the book was titled as Destroy Me because of the point of view of Aaron. I think it is a
message for Juliette that she was destroying him inside and out when she left him. I like the

strong personality of Aaron Warner and I think Mafi based it in the personality of her husband,

Ransom Riggs, the author of Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. I wonder if Ransom

and Aaron have the same method in showi8ng their love and being obsessed with the girl they

love.
Bibliography:

Destroy Me (n.d.). Retrived May 21, 2016 from

http://shatterme.wikia.com/wiki/Destroy_Me

Destroy Me (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2016 from

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13623150-destroy-me

Double Review: Destroy Me and Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi (February 4, 2013).

Retrieved May 21, 2016 from http://ratherbereadingblog.com/double-review-destroy-me-

and-unravel-me-by-tahereh-mafi

Review: Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi (March 13, 2013). Retrieved May 21, 2016 from

http://nickandnereydasinfinitebooklist.com/2013/03/review-destroy-me-by-tahereh-

mafi.html

Review: Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi (April 21, 2013). Retrieved May 21, 2016 from

http://www.newadultaddiction.com/2013/04/review-destroy-me-by-tahereh-mafi.html

Shatter Me (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2016 from

http://shatterme.wikia.com/wiki/Shatter_Me_Wiki