The Last Graduate

In these chapters, Novik dives deeper into the lives and experiences of characters, further developing the relationship between El and Orion. As the two focus on the pitfalls and challenges of Coming of Age Without Adults, El is also forced to contend with new ethical considerations that force her to reexamine her assumptions about The Tension Between Individualism and Collectivism. As she navigates increasing internal conflict over The Moral Implications of Survival Tactics, El reaches a pivot point in her character arc and makes a conscious decision to implement a plan that is designed to benefit the entire student body, not just herself and her allies.

Thus, El’s maturation becomes more firmly rooted in her experiences inside the Scholomance as she slowly transitions from a distrusting isolationist stance and embraces a greater willingness to take responsibility for the safety and welfare of others. Her rise to leadership is therefore a result of the partnerships and friendships that she has developed, and these bonds fill the void left by the absence of adult guidance, becoming central to El’s coming-of-age journey. Similarly, her burgeoning romance with Orion also reflects her accelerating maturation and highlights the complications involved in Coming of Age Without Adults to provide a mitigating influence on teenage misconceptions. Notably, El’s tortured approach to her relationship with Orion arises from her failure to understand why anyone could love her, given the dark prophecy that surrounds her. However, despite this difficulty, she finally begins to allow herself to let someone else in, and the kiss that happens in the library stands as the culmination of her willingness to open herself to the vulnerability of love. In this context, Orion’s decision to flee delivers a stinging lesson on the more adult aspects of romance, as it is clear that some connections are destined to fail. El learns still another lesson about romance when Aadyha takes her to task for engaging with Orion in ways that could ultimately result in sex and pregnancy. Aadhya’s chiding forces El to realize that her own desires must sometimes be sacrificed to her commitments to others. 

Novik also explores the moral implications of the students’ decisions prioritize their own survival over that of others. The fallout from El’s spell in the gym on Field Day represents the struggle to redefine morality within the unforgiving confines of the Scholomance. El’s decision to redirect Zixuan’s spell to the gym creates an unusual moment of beauty in the Scholomance and saves El’s life. However, El’s actions also lead to a level of fear, anguish, and chaos that damages the students’ mental health and indirectly results in the deaths of several students in the ensuing stampede. El’s impulsive actions come from her instincts to simply survive a deadly situation, but this episode also critiques the use of impulsive actions that inadvertently result in the deaths of others.

Novik adds further complications to the novel’s focus on The Moral Implications of Survival Tactics by showing the complications that come along with Orion’s apparent heroism. Most people see Orion as a hero because he saves their lives. However, during two different instances in these chapters (his pursuit of the quattria to the gym and his pursuit of the slitherjaw), Orion’s heroic antics cause the deaths of students who might be alive had he refrained from his reckless actions. He is so single-minded that his pursuit of heroism ironically threatens the lives of specific students, suggesting that stereotypically “noble” behavior can become harmful if it is applied without moderation.

One of the biggest complications of the school’s survivalist ethos comes with the students’ evolving perspective on their responsibilities during graduation day. For example, when El’s group recruits, Jowani, a mediocre wizard, El goes along with this decision because she and her allies have affection for him and are well aware that he will not survive without their help. This development contradicts the hard-nosed survivalist stance of the Scholomance, proving that even this harsh world is not proof against human emotion and connection. Jowani has created a sense of community by reading his book of poems to the group in the cafeteria, and the students discover the value in having emotional sustenance, recognizing this form of support as an asset that will help them all to survive the Scholomance.

Thus, these chapters highlight a shift on The Tension Between Individualism and Collectivism. Specifically, the novel’s key events begin to show the slow erosion of individualism as the primary motivator for action. With El as an example, the other students in the Scholomance increasingly choose collectivism as a proper survival strategy. For example, although Khamis is initially so selfish that he spares himself during the gym runs and leaves others open to attack, he responds to Aadyha’s criticism by taking on greater personal risks for the sake of the group. Not only does he begin to take the more exposed position during the runs, but he even goes so far as to risk his own life to save Nyoko’s—all for the collective good of the alliance.

As this shift gains momentum, it is clear that El and her alliance are the primary motivators for the student body’s pivot to collectivist action as a survival strategy. Their choice to enter the gym early in the morning, before anyone else, violates the students’ usual approach to survival. Their new method of taking the first run and clearing out real mals allows them to use their advanced experiences to collaborate with groups that come after, thereby buying goodwill that result in real benefits such as healing spells. El takes the shift to collectivism even more seriously, for her commitment to helping everyone to escape the school represents a radical departure from the individualist ethos that has characterized her actions so far.