Theme of Power in The Testing By Joelle Charbonneau

"Power is a dangerous thing. Be careful that you don't abuse it or let it make a tyrant of you." - Author: Louisa May Alcott. In The Testing by Joelle Charboneau symbolism is used many times to show the importance of government control in the book. The main character Cia Vale gets chosen for The Testing, a test used to select a few from the new generation to rebuild what is left after the seven stages war. In the novel, it is shown many times that the government is controlling and is hiding information from its people. In the novel, it is shown that if people get too much power they might abuse it

In many ways, it is shown that the government is very controlling. After graduation, Cia gets told to go meet with Magistrate Owens to talk about her future. When she gets there she finds out she got chosen for the testing along with people she graduated with. Among them is a testing official. One of the people Cia graduated with asks the testing official if they have to do the testing and the testing official tells them that if they don't go they will be punished. "'...According to the law, not presenting oneself for the testing is a form of treason.' And the most common punishment for treason is death." This shows that the people that created the testing do not want people who got chosen to not do it. They are gaining full control of their decision by making them fear the consequences of not doing the testing. In addition, after the testing ends and Cia gets her results they erase her memory for her to not remember anything from the testing. "I must have tried to avoid the memory loss. And still, I  failed." The testing officials erase the memory of the candidates for them to not remember anything about the testing for people to not find out the truth of the testing. This shows that the government wants its people to believe them and for them to get chosen for the testing but not know what happens.

The people who created the testing or run it could take advantage of things they need for the testing. Cia was looking at the identification bracelet of a girl they found dead when she found three small holes behind the symbol on the bracelet and came to the conclusion that it is a microphone to listen on the testing candidates."Someone is listening… Have the Testers been recording every word we have spoken?" Although this could be part of the test, they could use it to listen to the candidate's conversations to maybe find out if they know what is really behind the testing. Cia sees a gray-haired man and he tells her that at the end of the testing they give the candidates a drug for them to tell the truth. "'Before the interview begins, they will give you a drug to encourage you to answer the questions honestly, without holding back anything you wish to keep secret.'" As said before, although this is used to evaluate something in the testing, they could use this to their advantage to find information about someone or something. The people who made the testing might have done this on purpose to their advantage.

In the book, they wanted to show how controlling the government is and that they are abusing their power. The people who run the testing can control what the candidates know and can say because they erase their memories and kill them if they don't show up for the testing. They also could have taken advantage of things they use for the testing to still keep control. In the book, the government's lies have put people's lives in danger, but this could happen in real life too if the wrong person gets their hands on power and abuses it.