Downfalls of Losing Yourself in the Arms of Another

In this essay, I will be analyzing Dreamland by Sarah Dessen for feminist themes. Sarah Dessen is not a self-proclaimed feminist, but this book does have topics that relate strongly to feminism. It is a book about intimate partner violence, family dynamics, and a girl’s journey to self-discovery. It starts out as a typically books where a female meets a “bad boy”, but things soon take a dangerous turn. It shows how power and control in relationships can be very unhealthy, and also focuses the blame on the perpetrator, instead of the victim like many other books fall in the trap of. The book also, like most, has some downfalls, most clearly is the lack of diversity within the characters. While this book might not be intentionally feminist, I think it shows many feminist themes when depicting the families dynamic, the abusive relationship, and the aftermath of the relationship.
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen is about a 16-year-old girl, Caitlin, who wakes up one morning to find out her older sister had runaway instead of going to college. Caitlin has always felt as though she was in her sister’s shadow, and is forced into the forefront when her sister disappears. She soon meets Rogerson, and see’s a way to reinvent herself as completely different from her sister, through him. In the beginning, they are inseparable, her coming along with him when he sells drugs, and becoming immersed in his danger. However, he soon starts to become controlling, and begins to hit her when she is late, or talked to a male classmate. Caitlin never tells a soul about what was happening; because she loved the way he makes her feel, like she hasn’t always been in second place her entire life. She soon becomes to long the invisibility she once felt, to get awa...

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...onship between Caitlin and Rogerson has a clear power imbalance, and shows the struggles women, especially teenager women, go through in relationship like these. Caitlin’s family showed the decay of the traditional family, torn apart by a loss of a child. It also called into question why do men abuse women, and why do people so close to the victim do nothing about it. This was a story about a girl, who got broken by a male, and was able to put herself together again. While it could have some easily included some more feminist messages, I think it did quite well.

Bibliography
Shaw, Susan M., and Janet Lee. Women's Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.
"What Causes Domestic Violence? -." PsychCentral.com. PsychCentral, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. .