Flawed

Celestine, a 17-year-old girl who lives in the fictional country of Humming, is the protagonist and narrator of Flawed. When describing herself and her sister Juniper, Celestine states: “With a black dad and a white mom, we have inherited Dad’s skin. We also have Dad’s brown eyes, his nose, and his hair coloring. We have Mom’s cheekbones, her long limbs” (30). Celestine is characterized by her love of mathematics. She tells the reader that she is “a girl of definitions, of logic, of black and white” (1).

At the beginning of the story, Celestine follows the Guild’s moral principles to the letter. She is “one of [Judge Crevan’s] greatest supporters” and prides herself on being a model of perfection (20). When she helps the Flawed man on the bus, she believes her actions are morally justified because she acts out of logic, and is taken aback when the Whistleblowers arrest her.

Over the course of the story, Celestine’s worldview, social status, and identity are challenged, prompting her to declare that her “black and white is now fuzzy and gray” (96). She struggles to reconcile her view of the Flawed trials as an unjust system with her ideals of compassion and honesty, which in turn leads to an identity crisis.