49 pages • 1 hour read
Holly Black, Cassandra ClareThe Iron Trial
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Callum Hunt
Twelve-year-old Callum Hunt, known as Call, is the protagonist of The Iron Trial. Call is a moody and solitary child, qualities illustrated by his “perpetual scowl” and “suspicious gray eyes” (13). He is often excluded at his non-magic school due to his disability, which leads him to walk with a painful limp; he cannot participate in school sports and is picked on by bullies. Call’s father used to be a mage, although he stresses to Call that the world of magic is a dangerous one to avoid at all costs. Alastair warns Call, “The mages don’t care about anyone or anything except advancing their studies. They steal children from their families. They are monsters. They experiment on children. They are the reason your mother is dead” (80-81). For this reason, Call approaches the trial for the Magisterium (which is compulsory for all children who display signs of magic) with dread and fear. However, despite his father’s warnings to intentionally fail the trial, Call feels inherently drawn to the world of magic and the Magisterium.
At the Magisterium, Call finds purpose and companionship for the first time. He grows close to both Aaron and Tamara, Master Rufus’s other apprentices. It becomes clear that Call’s solitary nature is self-protective and due to years of bullying and exclusion; he demonstrates loyalty and love for his friends once he realizes that, to his surprise, they respect and appreciate him. Call’s friends demonstrate this respect and appreciation when they defend him against Jasper’s nasty slights. Furthermore, Call finds his magical education to be exciting and scintillating, after a boring initial few weeks sorting sand. Friendship and Belonging is an important theme in Call’s positive experience at the Magisterium.
Throughout the story, the mystery surrounding Call’s identity grows. The Prologue introduces this mystery in the carved message left by Call’s mother, Sarah: “KILL THE CHILD” (12). Furthermore, Alastair Hunt, Call’s father, tells him, “You don’t know what you are” (220). At the novel’s climax, the mystery is resolved in an unexpected twist: The real soul of Callum Hunt was supplanted by Constantine Madden, the infamous Enemy of Death. Call keeps this revelation a secret from Master Rufus and his friends, fearing that his magic will be bound if he tells the truth. At the close of the novel, he continues to grapple with his identity, especially as it brings him into competition with his friend and fellow Makar, Aaron.
Alastair Hunt
Alastair is Call’s father. He attended the Magisterium, where he met Call’s mother, Sarah. The devastating events of the Cold Massacre, especially Sarah’s murder by the Enemy of Death, irrevocably change Alastair’s relationship with the magical world. Alastair urges Call to intentionally fail the Magisterium trial, but Call is selected despite his uniquely low entrance scores.
Alastair’s fear surrounding Call’s induction into the world of magic, which Alastair associates with death and danger, is characterized by his “clawlike grip” on Call’s arm as he implores Master Rufus not to take his son to the Magisterium. He demands of Rufus, “Haven’t you killed enough of my family?” (75).
Alastair suspects that Constantine Madden’s soul supplanted that of his son, Callum Hunt, when Call was an infant at the Cold Massacre, but he loves Call, nonetheless. To protect Call from the knowledge of who he really is, Alastair hopes that Master Rufus will agree to bind Call’s magic. However, Call discovers the truth of his identity from Master Joseph, who shows Call memories and visions from the past. Alastair is at times distant and cold with Call, which emphasizes his compunction and confusion around his son’s true identity. This distant relationship is illustrated in the impersonal mail he sends to Call at the Magisterium, which gives Call the sense that “[he is] someone [Alastair] hardly even [knows]” (208).
Jasper
Jasper, a fellow apprentice, is initially characterized as the story’s antagonist, but he is a dynamic character who evolves as the story progresses. In the exposition, he taunts Call during the aspirant’s trial. After Call causes the red ball to explode, Jasper mocks, “I hope the next test doesn’t involve explosions. Or, oh, wait—I hope it does” (44-45). Jasper takes joy in watching Call’s humiliating failure at the tasks and in drawing the other students’ attention to it. His disdain for Call only increases when Master Rufus chooses Call as an apprentice, despite Call’s scores being the worst in the group. Jasper hoped to be in Master Rufus’s group himself and therefore loathes Call for usurping the space Jasper thinks he deserves due to his higher trial scores: “Jasper rose and walked to his place beside Master Milagros, with a single hateful look in Call’s direction” (79).
Later, Jasper’s rude manner toward Call is contextualized when Jasper shares that his family lost everything in the Second War and that he feels immense pressure to resurrect his family’s reputation and fortune. Jasper sees Call as getting in the way of this vitally important goal. His frustration is only intensified by Call’s seeming indifference to the Magisterium training. He tells Call, “If I make something of myself […] if I’m the best—it could change all of that. But for you, being here means nothing” (238). Later, Jasper’s bravery and kindness are revealed when he saves Call from the river when Call falls and becomes entangled in the riverbed rocks, despite Jasper’s dislike of the protagonist.
Aaron
Aaron is a fellow apprentice who, like Call, is selected to be in Master Rufus’s group. Aaron is characterized as kind and unpretentious; while the other students mock and avoid Call at the trial, Aaron “[throws] him what look[s] like a sympathetic smile” (44), even though Call almost soaks Aaron with ink. Later in the novel, Aaron shares that he lived in many foster homes throughout his childhood; he views the Magisterium as an amazing opportunity that lifts him out of his life of poverty and neglect.
Aaron discovers that he is a Makar, a powerful mage who can create magic from nothing and therefore can control chaos. For this reason, the Masters tell Aaron that he is the Magisterium’s answer to defeating the Enemy of Death. This role places a lot of pressure on Aaron, who feels overwhelmed and intimidated by the responsibility. Aaron speaks to Call about the pressure of being a Makar. He is expected to stand up against the Enemy, a dangerous position to be in: As Aaron points out to Call, “[t]he last Makar died at age fifteen” (351). For this reason, Call volunteers to be Aaron’s counterweight (a magical role that enables Aaron to access greater magic); however, Call turns out to be a Makar, too.
Tamara
Tamara, like Aaron and Call, is selected to be in Master Rufus’s group. Tamara is under pressure from her ambitious family; she is initially characterized as a high-strung rule follower who yearns for greatness: “She [knows] a lot about the Magisterium from an older sister who, according to Tamara, was the best at absolutely every single thing at the school. Troublingly, Tamara [is] vowing to be even better” (81). Call infers from Tamara’s serious disposition and zealous determination that Tamara’s family is disciplinarian and harsh: “Tamara bit back a laugh and looked almost guilty. Call got the feeling she didn’t come from a family where people laughed very much” (81).
Tamara is a dynamic character who evolves through the course of the story. She comes to realize that her family is overly focused on appearance and prestige. She breaks away from familial expectations when she decides that she wants to be someone who focuses on righteousness, not reputation. This decision is illustrated when Tamara determinedly follows Havoc to find Aaron rather than remaining in the school as they are supposed to. She tells Call, “I want to do the right thing. I don’t care if we have to lie or cheat or cut corners or break rules to do it” (391).
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