The fictional, sci-fi universe of the Red Rising book series, written by Pierce Brown, includes a discussion of cultural identity and societal inequality on a far-reaching scale. Brown’s fictional world includes human beings that have genetically evolved into different Colors, 14 to be exact, that all exist in a social hierarchy. At the top of the social scale are the Golds, a physically and mentally superior caste of humans that rule over the other colors in a ravishing display of pride and power. At the bottom of the totem pole are Reds, lowly miners that exist to act as servants and pioneers, mining the valuable chemical Helium-3 for the other Colors to use.
The book centers around Darrow, a lowly Red miner that faces tragedy at the hands of the Gold ruling class and fights back, undergoing a surgery to become a genetically enhanced Gold. Throughout his journey, Darrow must confront the reality of a socially segregated system, and fight through the distasteful realities of a humanity separated into castes. Darrow learns to live for more, to live not for vengeance, but for a dream that he might one day see his people free. His newfound status evokes strange emotions as he struggles to retain this dream for his people on the other end of an unjust society.
The structure of power in this story is inherently complex, as Darrow must balance his upbringing as a slave with his new status as the “master.” Darrow experiences, as de Beauvoir would describe it, a transition from “the Other” to “the One” (deBeauvoir). He must break down the injustices of his society from the position of the oppressor. In writing the Red Rising series, author Pierce Brown undoubtedly wanted to make the reader question our own society. His literature mirrors life in uncanny ways, even touching on the brutality of the police and military towards civilians of different ethnic groups. Brown wants the mistakes of his fictional society to be examined critically, to ensure that similar rifts that we see in the modern day are addressed in order to form a more equitable tomorrow. Darrow’s journey is long and arduous, but Brown wants to show us that the path to equality is never easy. However, all it takes a dream and a people willing to rise up and stand strong for what is right.
