Words of Radiance

“Think of a man who gets angry often. Think of how his friends and family might start referring to that anger as a beast, as a thing that possesses him, as something external to him. Humans personify. We speak of the wind as if it has a will of its own.”

Jasnah depicts spren as the manifestation of human ideas, using the example of how humans personify the natural and emotional world. She describes how anger can be personified as an external force that influences a person, rather than an internal emotion, demonstrating how spren manifest in the physical world. Not only do they appear as human feelings outside the body, but they also come to represent natural forces, giving such things as the wind an identity.

“Aladar, like most of the other highprinces, used Sadeas’s philosophy on bridge runs. Quick, brutal assaults that treated manpower as an expendable resource. It hadn’t always been this way. In the past, bridges had been carried by armored troops, but success bred imitation.”

The Alethi operate in a hierarchical society in which lighteyes exploit darkeyes and parshmen. The bridge crews are the greatest example of this skewed system, as highprinces like Aladar and Sadeas sacrifice enslaved, darkeyed men to distract their enemies just so their soldiers can claim a jewel to expand their wealth. This becomes a popular method because of how effective it is, demonstrating a widespread lack of concern for the lives of those low in the social hierarchy.

“Kaladin drew in more Stormlight. The raging tempest filled him, as if it were battering against his skin, a captive trying to find a way out. He drew the Stormlight into his hand and pressed it against the wall, painting the stones with luminescence.”

When Kaladin uses Stormlight, he feels as though there is a storm within him. Stormlight represents the extent of his power, associating it with natural forces. It replicates the highstorms, with its incredible winds and powerful rain. The Stormlight fills Kaladin with energy, allowing him to perform inhuman feats and to heal himself from life-threatening injuries. Just as highstorms are the extreme weather in the novel, Stormlight makes Surgebinders the most powerful humans.

“Eshonai passed dwellings—ramshackle things constructed of hardened crem over frames of shell, huddled in the leeward shadow of lumps of stone. Most of those were empty now. They’d lost thousands to war over the years.”

In this excerpt, Eshonai walks through her mostly abandoned city. The empty dwellings reflect the devastation of the war with the Alethi and mirror the view on the other side of the Shattered Plains, in which Dalinar’s camps are empty after Sadeas’s betrayal left his army decimated. This scene draws a comparison to the Alethi, showing that the war is having the same impact on both groups.

“‘I shouldn’t have asked,’ Shallan said. ‘I already know the answer, and it is a very human one. These people seek to control the knowledge so that they can profit from it. Profit from the apocalypse itself. We’re going to see that doesn’t happen.’”

As Shallan sets out on her own, she becomes more confident and certain of her ability to help save the world. She realizes that her enemies seek similar information as she does, but with a different goal in mind. While she wants to prevent the apocalypse, her opponents want to catalyze it, using it to consolidate their power and control others. Therefore, her mission to prevent devastation becomes multilayered, as she must halt the destruction and those who work to make it worse.

“The Surges—the forces that run the world—are more pliable to spren. Or…well…since spren are pieces of those Surges, maybe it’s that the spren are better at influencing one another. Our bond gives me the ability to manipulate one of the Surges. In this case, light, the power of Illumination.”

Shallan discovers that she and Pattern have a symbiotic relationship in which each gains essential abilities through the other. Pattern is a piece of a natural force and helps Shallan to manipulate the world around her through Lightweaving. Conversely, Shallan is a presence in reality, providing a means by which Pattern can ground himself in the physical world and develop a consciousness.

“‘If you’re going to learn to do this,’ Tyn said, ‘you have to be comfortable in situations like that. You can’t be embarrassed when you pose as someone else. The more outrageous the attempt, the straighter you have to play it. The only way to get better is to practice—and in front of people who very well might catch you.’”

As Shallan apprentices under Tyn, Tyn demands that she be stronger and tougher if she is to be a successful conwoman. Shallan strongly holds to social conventions, shying away from situations in which she must act below her station. Tyn warns that this will limit her ability to trick people and that if she is to practice meaningfully, she must take risks. Shallan listens to this criticism and learns from it, later using Veil to overcome her fears and develop a new side of herself.

“Got to move, Kaladin thought. Before he summons that Blade again. Unfortunately, he failed to shove down the horror at having lost the hand. No more spear fighting. No more surgery. Both men he had learned to be were now lost to him.”

Kaladin’s identity is tied to what he can do with his hands. In his short life, he works to become two different men, both of whom save lives. The first is a surgeon like his father. Later, he becomes a soldier, possessing a unique talent with the spear. When Szeth kills his hand with a Shardblade, Kaladin briefly reconsiders who he will be, feeling as though his identity is severed with the use of his hand. He feels anxious about the future, feeling the need to learn to be someone else.

“The storms were violent, they were dangerous, but they were also things of discovery. Within them, the familiar became something grand, majestic, and terrible. She did not look forward to entering them, but when she had to, she always found the experience thrilling.”

While the Alethi hide from the highstorms, the Parshendi view them as an opportunity. Though still dangerous to the Parshendi, the highstorms offer a time of reflection and transformation. Parshendi can only change form during a highstorm, as they manipulate the power from the storm to do so. When Eshonai goes into one to change into stormform, she feels both anxious and excited, knowing that the storm is an opportunity to discover something new.

“The Alethi way. You could abandon an ally on the battlefield, and everyone could know it—but an offense in person, well, that just wouldn’t do. Society would frown on that.”

Society in Alethkar is simultaneously ruled by strict social convention and by competition for advancement. It is normal to betray allies to gain a personal advantage, but petty insults at court are looked down upon. This reflects the skewed sense of honor that pervades Alethi society, in which honor is thought of primarily as a skillful demonstration of manners.

“He passed piles of bones and wood, overgrown with moss. On one pile, rotspren and lifespren spun about one another, little motes of red and green glowing around the vines that sprouted incongruously from the mass of death.”

Throughout Words of Radiance, nature features prominently around the characters. Shallan is interested in nature, drawing any new plants she sees. The balance of nature, as well as life and death, is depicted in the form of highstorms and the conflict between the Alethi and Parshendi. In the chasms, lifespren and rotspren exist side by side, demonstrating the natural cycle of life and death, where dead soldiers nurture the vines and plant life around them.

“He didn’t bear a grudge about the incident with his boots. It simply typified how, to a lighteyes, men like Kaladin were playthings. You toyed with darkeyes, took what you needed from them, and gave no thought to having left them far worse for the interactions.”

Kaladin possesses a very rigid opinion of lighteyes, believing that they all look down on darkeyes. In this instance, he remembers how Shallan took his boots as a joke and reflects on how this matches his expectation of lighteyes disregarding how their actions impact darkeyes. He believes Shallan sees him as a disposable object without any care for the consequences her actions will have on him.

“But capturing Adolin’s attention with illusions would lead her down a difficult path. She couldn’t wear an illusion always, could she? In married life? Better to see what she could do without one, she thought as she climbed out of the carriage.”

As Shallan’s betrothal becomes essential to her success at the Shattered Plains, she must decide where to draw a line between using her abilities for gain and being her genuine self. In this case, she considers using her abilities to convince Adolin to like her, but she realizes that this could set a dangerous and unsustainable precedent in her life. She decides instead to be her authentic self, relying on her true identity to convince Adolin to be with her, foreshadowing her need to be honest with her past to grow.

“The horizon had bled from light to dark, like a man flushing with anger. Shallan gripped the railing, watching the entire world transform. Vines withdrew, rockbuds closed. Grass hid in its holes. They knew, somehow.”

The nature of the world in Words of Radiance is ever-present and alive in ways that contribute to the fantasy qualities of the novel. In this world, plants react to the highstorms and other threats, withdrawing into themselves. They are alive and react to stimulants, demonstrating a nature that is wholly different from reality. These small details help solidify Words of Radiance as a high fantasy novel, constructing a fictional world entirely separate from the real world.

“Kaladin wasn’t giving those two enough credit. They might ignore him, but they weren’t actively mean to him. They were happy and pleasant. Why did that annoy him so?”

As Kaladin becomes closer with Shallan and Adolin, he begins to question his stance on lighteyes. Though influenced by Amaram’s crimes, he catches himself discounting and criticizing Shallan and Adolin with no real reason to do so. He begins to realize that his annoyance stems not from anything they do but from his rigid view of lighteyes. As the novel progresses, his stance is challenged, and he is eventually forced to reconsider it.

“We don’t have time for games! Stop being a child, and start being a soldier! You’ll go to prison, and you’ll go happily. That’s an order. Do you listen to orders anymore?”

When Dalinar chastises and punishes Kaladin for his challenge of Amaram, he criticizes Kaladin’s lack of focus on the greater good. He believes Kaladin is too focused on petty revenge and selfish ambition, not committing truly to being a soldier who will work for greater goals. In this moment, they are foils to each other, their personal codes of honor leading them in different directions.

“I know that you have forgotten much of what once was. Those lies attracted me. But you cannot continue like this; you must admit the truth about me. About what I can do, and what we have done. Mmm…More, you must know yourself. And remember.”

Pattern and Shallan’s relationship is often dominated by Pattern’s insistence that she remember his role in her life. He is attracted to the lies she uses to formulate her identity, protecting herself from trauma. However, these lies keep her from realizing her full potential and working with Pattern to the best of their combined abilities. The most substantial change that Shallan needs to undergo during the novel is to remember her past and use it to propel herself into the future.

“For the good of the kingdom, for the good of Dalinar Kholin himself, the king had to die. Some people—like a festering finger or a leg shattered beyond repair—just needed to be removed.”

When Kaladin decides to help remove Elhokar from the throne, he rationalizes his choice through a comparison to surgery. Kaladin credits much of his moral code to the lessons he learned while training to be a surgeon. He thinks of Elhokar as a destroyed limb, not lost but not worth saving, as it could risk the health and life of the body. By using this description, Kaladin can more comfortably envision how killing Elhokar will help not only Dalinar but all Alethkar

“I have to go, Amaram. The answers are out there, not here. It’s like we walked all the way to the shore, then huddled there for years, peering out at the waters but afraid to get wet.”

With Shallan’s reports on Jasnah’s studies, Dalinar realizes that his and the Alethi’s priorities on the Shattered Plains are wrong. He explains this to Amaram with a simile, in which the Alethi are afraid to pursue their goals. Their pursuit of gemhearts distracts them, preventing them from venturing out into the deep, where real justice and knowledge are. Now, Dalinar is ready to do exactly what needs to be done and drive the Alethi into the figurative depths.

“We are the only victors this day. Our healers, who earned the respect of all sides. Our comforters who helped the dying pass. Their highlords brought them only misery. You brought them life and hope.”

King Taravangian plots to unite the world through manipulation and morally ambiguous means. This scene, in which he sees how his healers earn him favor, is a manifestation of his work. He begins the war that causes so much pain through the murder of other powerful people. He works in the shadows and then sends his healers to help in the aftermath, making him appear benevolent.

“‘It frightens me,’ Shallan said, ‘because we all see the world by some kind of light personal to us, and that light changes our perceptions. I don’t see clearly. I want to, but I don’t know if I ever truly can.’”

Shallan is very conscious of The Construction of Personal Reality through Lightweaving and the lies she uses to protect herself. In this excerpt, she understands that every person enjoys a unique reality dominated by their experiences and thoughts. By describing this as seeing the world illuminated by a specific light, she highlights how her lies and refusal to acknowledge the past skews her view of the world and herself.

“Dalinar leaned forward, spreading his hands to the sides, his shadow falling on the battle maps. Very well. I did not come all this way to timidly wait upon Parshendi whims. We’ll march inward tomorrow, threaten their city, and force them to engage.”

Dalinar plots for a long time to finally defeat the Parshendi. In this moment, as he surveys the maps, his shadow covers the battle maps. This imagery symbolizes how this plan is a culmination of his work and represents his legacy. Even though other highprinces join him, he is in charge, solidifying his status as the true leader of Alethkar.

“Adolin pressed her with a burst of swordplay, then he flagged, presenting her with an opening. She took it immediately, swinging for his helm, which leaked from an earlier blow. Yes, she was fully caught up in the Thrill. That lent her energy and strength, but it drove her to recklessness. To ignore her surroundings.”

When Eshonai changes to stormform, power emboldens her while weakening her sense of caution. While the Parshendi notice this in her approach to the conflict, Adolin observes it in her fighting. He takes advantage of her need for victory to draw her to the edge of the chasm, eventually throwing her off. He realizes that she is too focused on him, demonstrating Adolin’s ability to use strategy rather than mere force to overcome an opponent.