Summary:
The Institute takes place in the fictional town of DuPray, Minnesota. Twelve-year-old, Luke Ellis lives with his parents. A gifted student already enrolled in MIT classes, Luke is also a magician with telekinetic powers, meaning he can move things with his mind. Strong emotions, including anger and frustration, trigger his ability. Luke’s parents worry about him. Life isn’t easy for a child genius who also has supernatural abilities. They encourage him to keep his power a secret, but this just makes Luke feel lonely and isolated. He thinks that no one understands what it is like to be him. All he wants is to fit in somewhere and find real friends. One night, Luke’s world is turned upside down. A black SUV drives up to his house and strange men jump out. They break into Luke’s house and murder his parents before bundling him into the SUV. Terrified, Luke has no idea where he is going or what these strangers want from him. Before he can react, the men knock him out, and he falls unconscious.The SUV stops, and Luke wakes up.
He is at a place called the Institute. Here, he is surrounded by other children with special abilities. Some can read minds, others can manipulate fire, and a few have telekinetic powers. No one cares about how smart Luke is or his college prep classes. All that matters to the Institute is how strong his telekinetic ability is.Luke has his own room at the Institute. The room is modeled on his own room at home. The only difference is that the room has no windows, and it feels more like a prison than a bedroom. The room is in what is known as the Front Half of the Institute, which is where the brightest children live. Elsewhere is the Back Half, no one really knows what goes on in Back Half. Everyone just knows it isn't good. The next day, Luke meets fellow inmates Nick, Kalisha, Avery, George, and Iris. They warn him that the only way to survive at The Institute is by keeping his head down and doing exactly what the staff tells him to do. The scariest staff member is the director, Mrs. Sigsby. Disobey Mrs. Sigsby once, and he will end up in the Back Half. She only cares about extracting power from the children; if she can’t make the children do what she wants, they will never see daylight again.
Luke can only watch as, one by one, his friends disappear to the Back Half of the Institute, it's only a matter of time before he ends up there, too. He can’t control his powers and he can’t summon them on demand. As the days go by, Luke endures horrible medical experiments. The doctors don’t treat him like a human. To them, he is nothing but a test subject. Like the others, he is punished with isolation if he doesn’t live up to the strict expectations placed upon him. Worst of all, he is physically tortured and brutalized.
Finally, Luke is bale to create a master plan, breaking his way out of the Institute. Once Luke is safe from the confines of the Institute, he learns more about the purpose of the place and why gifted children are so important to its continued survival. They use the children to kill who they think are potential terrorists and keep the world away from war. Luke and the other kids are able to destroy all the institutes around the world and save multiple kids from experiencing the torture they had to all endure.
He is at a place called the Institute. Here, he is surrounded by other children with special abilities. Some can read minds, others can manipulate fire, and a few have telekinetic powers. No one cares about how smart Luke is or his college prep classes. All that matters to the Institute is how strong his telekinetic ability is.Luke has his own room at the Institute. The room is modeled on his own room at home. The only difference is that the room has no windows, and it feels more like a prison than a bedroom. The room is in what is known as the Front Half of the Institute, which is where the brightest children live. Elsewhere is the Back Half, no one really knows what goes on in Back Half. Everyone just knows it isn't good. The next day, Luke meets fellow inmates Nick, Kalisha, Avery, George, and Iris. They warn him that the only way to survive at The Institute is by keeping his head down and doing exactly what the staff tells him to do. The scariest staff member is the director, Mrs. Sigsby. Disobey Mrs. Sigsby once, and he will end up in the Back Half. She only cares about extracting power from the children; if she can’t make the children do what she wants, they will never see daylight again.
Luke can only watch as, one by one, his friends disappear to the Back Half of the Institute, it's only a matter of time before he ends up there, too. He can’t control his powers and he can’t summon them on demand. As the days go by, Luke endures horrible medical experiments. The doctors don’t treat him like a human. To them, he is nothing but a test subject. Like the others, he is punished with isolation if he doesn’t live up to the strict expectations placed upon him. Worst of all, he is physically tortured and brutalized.
Finally, Luke is bale to create a master plan, breaking his way out of the Institute. Once Luke is safe from the confines of the Institute, he learns more about the purpose of the place and why gifted children are so important to its continued survival. They use the children to kill who they think are potential terrorists and keep the world away from war. Luke and the other kids are able to destroy all the institutes around the world and save multiple kids from experiencing the torture they had to all endure.
Themes:
Leaving comfort- leaving our comfort zone can provide many benefits to an individual so we should continuously try new experiences even if we're scared of them.
Awareness- Don't grow relaxed with a situation because it can all change in a matter of seconds and change everything you ever knew.
Individualism- Develop individual thinking and own personal beliefs, even if they aren't commonly shared beliefs.
Awareness- Don't grow relaxed with a situation because it can all change in a matter of seconds and change everything you ever knew.
Individualism- Develop individual thinking and own personal beliefs, even if they aren't commonly shared beliefs.
Favorite Quote:
"All that aside, honesty was the best policy, if only because lies- especially in an age when almost all information was available to anyone with a keyboard and a Wi-Fi connection- usually came back to haunt the liar” (13).
This was my favorite quote because it shows why lying is becoming harder to do nowadays with how easy information is to obtain about almost anyone. Instead of lying, choose honesty because honesty is a lot easier to deal with.
Argument:
Forever living in fear allows for no change, less fun, and not as much knowledge or wisdom to be obtained.