Daja's Book is the third book in the Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce. Many important and thought provoking things have happened to the main character, Daja Kisubo in the beginning of the book.
The book starts off by discussing a conflict that is both internal and external for Daja. Although it had been plaguing her thoughts for a while, she never realized that she was going to have to face it. When Daja's family's ship sunk, she was the lone survivor. Her people, called Traders, consider it bad luck to be a lone survivor, so she was removed her from their society. They call those people trangshi, and "by Trader law [they] don't exist" (13). While Daja is traveling with her friends Sandry, Tris, Briar, and their teachers, they meet up with a Trader caravan. The Traders treat her like she doesn't exist, because that is what the tradition says to do in the presence of a trangshi.
After reading this part, a reader's first instinct would be to think about how unfair and irrational the Traders were being. It wasn't Daja's fault that her family's ship sunk and she survived. She wishes that her family was still alive, and she definitely didn't choose the trangshi lifestyle. Also, isn't it lucky to survive?
After thinking it through, one realizes that the Traders shouldn't be blamed. Traders were brought up with that custom, and many others that could be thought of as unusual. They never knew any other way to treat people with bad luck. They had probably never even seen a trangshi! When someone is taught something as a child, they aren't very willing to give the idea up. For example, when people are younger, their parents teach them that it is bad to insult people. Since they've had that idea for most of their lives, they believe that it is correct.
It's not fair for Daja to hate the Traders for treating her the way they did. Since she grew up with trader customs, she probably treated trangshi the same way that the Traders are now treating her. She definitely has a right to feel hurt and sad among her people who are ignoring her, but she also has to understand that this is the custom of her people; she is just on the bad end of it.
This part of the book shows a big moral to readers: treat others the way you want to be treated. Daja, who followed the trangshi custom when she was on the better end of it, is now on the bad end of it. Not every Trader will be treated like a trangshi, but every Trader should realize that under the bad luck there is a real person. Although it sounds very cliché, it is an important lesson, whether you live in a fantasy realm or the United States.
The book starts off by discussing a conflict that is both internal and external for Daja. Although it had been plaguing her thoughts for a while, she never realized that she was going to have to face it. When Daja's family's ship sunk, she was the lone survivor. Her people, called Traders, consider it bad luck to be a lone survivor, so she was removed her from their society. They call those people trangshi, and "by Trader law [they] don't exist" (13). While Daja is traveling with her friends Sandry, Tris, Briar, and their teachers, they meet up with a Trader caravan. The Traders treat her like she doesn't exist, because that is what the tradition says to do in the presence of a trangshi.
After reading this part, a reader's first instinct would be to think about how unfair and irrational the Traders were being. It wasn't Daja's fault that her family's ship sunk and she survived. She wishes that her family was still alive, and she definitely didn't choose the trangshi lifestyle. Also, isn't it lucky to survive?
After thinking it through, one realizes that the Traders shouldn't be blamed. Traders were brought up with that custom, and many others that could be thought of as unusual. They never knew any other way to treat people with bad luck. They had probably never even seen a trangshi! When someone is taught something as a child, they aren't very willing to give the idea up. For example, when people are younger, their parents teach them that it is bad to insult people. Since they've had that idea for most of their lives, they believe that it is correct.
It's not fair for Daja to hate the Traders for treating her the way they did. Since she grew up with trader customs, she probably treated trangshi the same way that the Traders are now treating her. She definitely has a right to feel hurt and sad among her people who are ignoring her, but she also has to understand that this is the custom of her people; she is just on the bad end of it.
This part of the book shows a big moral to readers: treat others the way you want to be treated. Daja, who followed the trangshi custom when she was on the better end of it, is now on the bad end of it. Not every Trader will be treated like a trangshi, but every Trader should realize that under the bad luck there is a real person. Although it sounds very cliché, it is an important lesson, whether you live in a fantasy realm or the United States.
