Violence has a pretty epic range in Artemis Fowl—its most telling quality though, is that it's completely tailored to the person committing it. Artemis commits violence on a grand scale by issuing orders, making plans, and never once getting his hands dirty, which seems appropriate for a super rich evil genius. Butler, however, is violent in a dispassionate way born out of a lifetime of training, while Juliet is violent (though we don't ever see it in this book) in the fashion of a flamboyant wrestler. Holly, on the other hand, commits violence only when absolutely necessary, and does it with classic bravura.
Violence in this book packs a meaningful wallop, and offers meaningful clues about characters' priorities and personalities based on what kind of violence they prefer, how into it they get, and how they get into it in the first place.
Questions About Violence
- Who wins the violence contest? Which person (not counting the troll—too easy) is the most violent?
- Does the book's fairly in-depth look at the grisly fightingscenes and the hypothetical mechanics of blood spurting through a human neck condone violence? Or is there a way to describe violence without taking a side?
- How does the violence that occurs between Artemis and the fairies fit into the long history of violence between the two species?
Chew on This
Even though he never lifts a finger to harm anyone, Artemis is by far the most violent character in this book because his goal is to break a person down without physically harming them.
Violence is an unending cycle in this book—even as it ends, violence looms on the horizon.