Kaz and Wylanās potential to become each other
Wow, you guys were a lot more excited about this than I was expecting! I made a post briefly mentioning this idea and it got way more attention that I was expecting, so as promised here is my explanation and Iāve tagged people who asked for it at the end :)
*WARNING: CONSTANT SPOILERS AHEAD*
Ok so the driving forcing of this comparison is rooted in the similarities of their characters and their backstories. Both of them lost a close family member, were abused by men with power over them, and experienced a form of ārebirthā by nearly drowning in the Ketterdam canals. They also both experience disability; Kaz using a cane for a broken leg that didnāt heal correctly, and Wylan having severe dyslexia that prevented him from learning to read. A key difference that separates them, and arguably is a representation of the difference in the way their experiences have shaped their personalities as well, is that Kazās disability is a direct result of his chasing after vengeance, whereas Wylanās disability was used as an excuse for his father to abuse him for what we as the reader see to be a minimum of eight years. (Iām assuming this because he is 16 in the book and was 8 when his mother ādiedā, which is the point that he describes he father to have āgiven up on himā)
Iām gonna quickly hop to parallels between Kaz and Pekka Rollins, bare with me I promise itās relevant, which are quickly established as a key part of the novels. When Inej compares them, Kazās reply is āI donāt sell girls, I donāt con helpless kids out of their moneyā to which she gently responds ālook at the floor of the Crow Club, Kazā. Aside from this being the heartbreaking line that it is, it also does a very good job of highlighting their similarities and a similarity that they share with Jan Van Eck. When they meet the merch at the end of the first book they meet on an island called Vellgeluk, which is described as being popular with smugglers and slavers like those who kidnapped Inej. The other Crows are surprised Van Eck knows about Vellgeluk, but Kaz simply says āmaybe he isnāt the upstanding merch he appears to beā. Great subtle foreshadowing for his double cross, and great establishment of the link between these three characters. In fact, Van Eck and Kaz echo each other more than you might think. Just as Kaz states āGreed bows to me, it is my servant and my leverā, Van Eck says āYes, Chaos will come. And I will be itās masterā. In their first meeting, Van Eck accuses Kaz of murder and gambling with peopleās lives, and in return Kaz points out that 1 in 5 of Van Eckās ships will never return because they will sink or āfall prey to piratesā, so they are both doing the same thing, and that they both have the same motivations for this bloodshed: āprofitā.
Now consider how often Wylan echoes Kaz, and therefore whether he echoes his father as well. They both have exceptional memories, Kazās being photographic/eidetic and Wylan being able to put words to music in his head to remember pages worth of infomation - this is even emphasised by Kaz being able to count cards when he gambles, saying āhe could keep track of the game for up to three decksā and Jesper asking Wylan if heād be able to apply āthat trick to counting cardsā to which he replies āprobably. But I wonātā. They also both have impressive intellects, which could have placed them far higher up in the world than theyāve found themselves if it werenāt for cruel circumstances - Van Eck even comments on this, saying it angers him that Kaz has so much potential but does nothing with it. Then thereās their tendency to avoid being vulnerable. I think we too often overlook the fact that no-one knows Jan Van Eck hired two men to kill his son, not even Jesper, and that not even Inej knows what happened to Kaz on the Reaperās Barge. Jesper believes that Wylan left his house as a result of his fatherās abuse but that it was still his choice, and Inej has no information beyond āPekka Rollins killed my brotherā and the explanation of the con when Kaz faces off with Rollins in Crooked Kingdom. I genuinely believe that the biggest thing separating them is where they place blame for their situations. Kaz blames Pekka Rollins. Wylan actually blames himself.
Arguably, although he catalysed the events, if Rollins hadnāt conned Kaz and Jordie they still would have suffered in an almost identical way: they would both contract the Queenās Lady Plague, they wouldnāt have enough money for both medicine and boarding, and Jordie would die. In that scenario Kaz would have still been left penniless and alone with nowhere to go, but he wouldnāt have had anyone to blame. In fact, he may have died as well because itās really his drive for vengeance that makes him strive for survival. When heās on the Reaperās Barge he wonders if itās worth trying to survive because thereās nothing waiting for him in the city, but then he realises that the chance of revenge is waiting for him, and that thought drives him to stay alive every day that follows. Without Rollins, Kaz probably would have blamed himself for Jordieās death, and Iām backing that up with the singular moment when heās first attacked by parem-high tide makers and has a brief āboyās fearā that they are ghosts. He thinks, for a split second, that a ghost has come to kill him and what does he say? He says āJordie had come for vengeance at lastā. This is chapter three. We have no idea who Jordie is. With the limited information we had at the time and what weād just seen happen to Big Bolliger, I assumed it was someone in Kazās gang that he had backstabbed and who has died because of what he did. But no. This single line leads me to wholeheartedly believe that Kaz blames Rollins, who realistically was only a small part of his suffering, quite so vividly to emotionally avoid blaming himself.
Wylan blames himself until around chapters 14 to 16 of Crooked Kingdom. His experiences with mental, emotional, and physical abuse have actively convinced him that his so-called āinadequaciesā caused a change in his fatherās behaviour. But Wylan not being able to read didnāt magically turn Van Eck from a lucky family man into someone willing to try āspecialists, tonics, beatings, [and] hypnotismā against his child. The fact is that Van Eck, like many abusers, is masterfully manipulative in everything he does. Wylan describes seeing his parentsā marriage as a happy one, but he also says āthe argued all the time, sometimes about me. But I remember them laughing a lot tooā. Heās quick to defend their relationship as if it isnāt supposed to be marred by argument and he lays blame on himself by suggesting that he was the root of their unhappiness. He also says that around Alys, Jan Van Eck becomes who he once was around Marya; a kinder, gentler man. I donāt think weāre meant to assume that heās acting any differently with Alys in private right now, but I do think weāre meant to assume that he would have done down the line if he hadnāt been arrested (and presumably she filed for divorce). In chapter 14 of Crooked Kingdom, Wylan learns that his mother is still alive but that his father had her committed and declared insane so he could use it as grounds for divorce and marry Alys instead. And you know what happens? Wylan blames himself. He says, verbatim, to Jesper: āYou donāt understand. Itās my faultā. He explains that Van Eck did this so he could have a āreal heirā; because Marya produced a āfaultyā child he needed a new woman to give him the child he wanted. Thatās a messed up thing to think on so many levels, but Wylan doesnāt blame Van Eck because he is still being conditioned by his abuse. He and Kaz experienced different kinds of abuse, and Kaz wasnāt conditioned to blame anyone but his abuser, so thatās what he does. When Wylan does begin to blame Van Eck, he is immediately taken in by this same idea of revenge. Kaz says āyou were angry. I needed you righteousā when explaining why he sent Wylan to St Hilde blind in chapter 16. Wylan was angry with his father before, but he wasnāt actively seeking vengeance. Now that he has a cause, someone other than himself to fight for? He tells Kaz āwell, now you have meā.
Both of them have this potential to be fuelled by revenge or self-hatred, and although they go about it in different ways and lean towards different sides of the scale they are both balancing between those two extremes for the entire duology. Their past experiences have, and their future experiences could, tip them further either way but right now they are almost playing with the line.
Thank you so much if youāve bothered to read this far, sorry for the long post but you did ask for an essay, so there you go. Tagging the people who asked - @kazooyay @mikasimaginairyworld @sunseeking-cyptid @moonlit-aura @alexplutoplanet @gandalfsmallnaturals @livsarthaven @goodomenstrack23 @origami-butterfly @flower-biatch @bookworm010307 @thesunniest @wherela @space-ace-thoughts @sixofbabycrows @antisocial-burrito
Sorry if I missed anyone!!!
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