None of our characters are really ones to sit around talking or thinking about their friendly feelings for one another, so in Leviathan, we see evidence of friendship mainly through actions.
There are several different levels of friendship going on here, too. Leviathan is a war novel set among an (allegedly) all-male military, so we see lots of bro-tastic camaraderie going on, and the second half of the novel deals heavily with the slow development of Deryn and Alek's friendship, as they finally come to trust each other. Plus there's the mentoring Volger provides Alek and Dr. Barlow provides Deryn, which might be best described as friendship dressed up as tough love.
Questions About Friendship
- Before they meet each other, do Alek and Deryn have any other friends?
- What is the basis of the friendship that begins forming between Alek and Deryn? Why do they latch on to each other?
- Almost every major character keeps some kind of secret. Can there be secrets between friends? Besides Alek and Deryn, are there other major friendships in the novel? Who else could be called friends?
Chew on This
Wildcount Volger bickers with every person he considers a friend, but only for their own good.
Alek and Deryn's friendship is based mostly on their loneliness as individuals.