More handpicked essays just for you.
Theme of light and dark in heart of darkness
Theme of light and dark in heart of darkness
Theme of light and dark in heart of darkness
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In Roxane Gay’s book Bad Feminist (2014), she writes an essay, “What We Hunger For”, about the difference between strength and surviving, and the importance of strong female characters. She argues that surviving something doesn’t mean you are strong; life throws unendurable circumstances as people all of the time, and people manage to overcome them and survive, but that doesn’t make them strong. Gay uses Katniss in The Hunger Games trilogy as an example of a relatable, strong female character. Gay describes her as a “heroine with issues” (p. 146). Also in the essay, Gay refers to Meghan Cox Gurdon’s article in the Wall Street Journal about how Young Adult fiction is too dark for its intended audience. Gay argues against it, stating that …show more content…
The first is if strength and survival the same. In other words, does surviving something mean that you are strong. The second questions whether or not Young Adult fiction is too dark for its young readers, or if those readers need to be exposed to the dark circumstances life may hold. Roxane Gay compares Katniss in The Hunger Games to herself in a personal story to show the difference between surviving something and being strong. She also use them to argue against Meghan Cox Gurdon’s thesis that young readers should not be subjected to the darkness and pain that Young Adult fiction usually offers. In “What We Hunger For”, Roxane uses two texts and one personal story to make her arguments. Although at first they don’t seem like they fit together, Roxane Gay pieces them together to form and support her thesis. The first is The Hunger Games trilogy, which follows Katniss Everdeen as she is forced into unendurable situations, and yet, finds a way to overcome them and becomes even stronger because of it. Gay (2014) mentions how the intensity of the traumas that the characters went through struck her, and how dark and brutal the story was. But she also states that the trilogy “offers the tempered hope that everyone who survives something unendurable hungers for” (p.
The Scarlet Letter can easily be seen as an early feminist piece of work. Nathaniel Hawthorne created a story that exemplifies Hester as a strong female character living with her choices, whether they were good or bad, and also as the protagonist. He also presents the daughter of Hester, Pearl, as an intelligent female, especially for her age. He goes on to prove man as imperfect through both the characters of Dimmesdale and of Chillingworth. With the situation that all the characters face, Hawthorne establishes the female as the triumphant one, accomplishing something that, during Nathaniel Hawthorne’s time, authors did not attempt.
I want to make it clear, to those who may question my positionality, that I do not believe that my journey as a white person is somehow special or better than anyone else’s. I do not believe that I hold some sort of special looking glass through which the solution to whiteness can be seen. I am a production of whiteness, and I am also a human being, which means I have many, many, flaws and blind spots that I continue to work on while simultaneously being inhibited by this blindness in my effort to see past it. What I do believe, as Roxanne Gay so beautifully said in Bad Feminist, is that,
It has often been said that there is nothing new under the sun. In this vein, authors across all literary genres often borrow themes and plot from the stories of long ago. Many of those authors choose to borrow from the rich mythology of the ancient Greeks. Suzanne Collins has been asked on numerous occasions where the idea for The Hunger Games originated. She readily admits that the characters and plot come from Greek mythology and more specifically, from Theseus and the Minotaur (Margolis 30). One familiar with both both stories can easily recognize the identical framework upon which each of these stories are built. Both Theseus and Katniss Everdeen, Collins’ heroine, volunteer to go into battle for their respective homelands, they both fight beasts of strange origin, and they are both brave in battle and emerge victorious, but it is the uniqueness of the characters that makes each story appropriate for the time period and audience to which it belongs. Collins modernizes the classic hero of Theseus by changing his gender, his motivations and altering his selfish personality, and by doing these things she creates a heroine that better resonates with today's audience of young adults.
The Hunger Games film, based on the books written by Suzanne Collins, has received much praise from adolescents and adults alike. Having never watched or had interest in the film I became more and more curious as to what the film is about and the type of message ascribed. People expressed their anticipation and excitement for the release of the film. Most of the eagerness indicated was due having read the books, – which are designed for tweens, adolescents, and young adults despite all of the gore being referenced, – wanting to see Katniss in action and others bought into the hype created by the media (“Anticipation builds…,” 2012, “Movie Anticipation…,” 2012). Other websites referenced anticipating the film because the lead character’s strength, caregiver qualities and warrior qualities could be a role model for young girls. In addition, Katniss was praised for being a caregiver to her family and served as a savior for taking her young sister’s place in the game (Brewster, 20...
Although it is easy to classify people with gender roles, there will always be exceptions to the rule. Carefully scripted to defeat gender stereotypes, The Hunger Games breaks the norm by both challenging and affirming Deborah Tannen’s views. The film portrays Katniss as an example of a woman who is capable of filling masculine roles that are usually reserved for men. While Katniss does reveal an underlying need for intimacy, she is capable of exceeding society’s gender roles by providing for her family, defying the system, and in doing so, showing her independence.
"There is no week nor day nor hour when tyranny may not enter upon this country, if the people lose their roughness and spirit of defiance" (Walt Whitman). In the novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Katniss is a young girl from District 12, who lives in a society which finds great entertainment in the organized killing of children. These bloodbaths are constructed by the Capitol into an event known as the Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games, kids are thrown into a huge arena and forced to fight to the death. Katniss`s younger sister Prim is chosen to participate in the Hunger Games but Katniss volunteers to take her place as tribute. Over the course of the Hunger Games and the events that proceed it, Katniss changes from being impulsive and feeling impotent into a rational revolutionist, who quietly defies the capitol and takes a stand for what is right.
In our Society when you don't follow the rules, you become an outcast to the rest of the society. Suzanne Collins’ novel series, The Hunger Games criticizes our society and its demands for people of specific genders to act in certain ways and become certain things. Stereotypes concerning gender are prevalent in our society and all over the world. However, The Hunger Games gives a very refreshing tone of “mockery” to these stereotypes. Katniss Everdeen isn’t your typical 16 year old girl, and neither is Peeta Mellark a typical 16 year old boy, especially when they are fighting everyday just to survive. The Hunger Games is a work of social commentary, used to convince us that there can’t and shouldn’t be any defined “roles” based on gender. A mixture of “stereo-typical” gender roles within a person and their actions is what people need just to survive in our world that is changing every day.
“Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor.”, a very well known quote from the book series The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, Pg 19). The Hunger Games Trilogy written by Suzeanne Collins has become enormously popular. The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay are the three works that make up the series. A major motion picture was released titled The Hunger Games, after the first book in the series, and it instantly became a box office hit. Those who have not read the books may be left wondering why a book series focused on kids ages 12-18 are put into an arena and fight to the death is creating such a commotion. Not only are the books popular among adolescents, many adults have also found the series captivating as well. With books so focused on violence, there must be an underlying factor that draws readers in and makes them feel so passionately about the characters in these books. In all three books, but particularly in the first, Suzeanne Collins captivates readers by creating such vivid and emotional relationships between the characters. Suspense is created by the anticipation of not knowing what will happen between the characters. A strong bond between sisters, a broken mother-daughter relationship, and a love triangle are some of the main relationships built and focused upon throughout the book that draw readers in.
Everyday we observe people’s contrasting opinions. Whether it be in politics, school, or in one’s personal life, emotions are often a major factor when it comes to expressing one’s ideas. In writing, an audience must be aware this, and decide for themselves if an author is being bias or equally representing all sides to a situation. In both Into the Wild and In Cold Blood, the authors form distinct opinions about their main characters and believe family structure heavily influenced their future.
Coming of age novels are very inspirational for young readers to teach them how to grow up and become a successful person in our society. Two coming of age novels that show independent strong characters are the novels The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. The main characters in both these novels, Katniss and Karana, show that they independent, courageous, true to who they are, and stand up for what they believe in. These are a few desirable character traits that make the main characters development throughout the novel interesting. Therefore, coming of age novels can be very significant to young readers.
As human beings, we thrive to find the meaning of our existence and also the truth. In the books and movies, The Hunger Games trilogy, the very heroic character Katniss Everdeen is on a quest to find truth. As she peels back the layers of lies that swaddle her world, she finds truth within herself and everything around her. To reflect on the novels and films, we must look at the principles of axiology and also examine the plot, characters and how they react to each situation; for reflecting on “the girl on fire” we must study the grounds of epistemology with her own identity. The whole story starts off with the day of the reaping when Prim, Katniss’ sister is selected to enter the Hunger Games, a game created by the government at the time to keep the society scared. One boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected by an annual lottery to participate in the Hunger Games, an event in which the participants (or "tributes") must fight to the death in an outdoor arena controlled by the Capitol, until only one individual remains.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian author who has received numerous awards and distinctions. Her main argument is that everyone should be a feminist not because of our gender, but because it is what is right. Adichie has been featured in Beyonce’s song, “Flawless”, spreading awareness to the idea of feminism. “We Should All Be Feminists” is a book about her experiences in Nigeria, where men are more powerful than women. The intended audience of the passage is each and every person residing in heavily patriarchal societies. Hesr thesis is “we should all be feminists”.
Katniss Everdeen, the core character, demonstrates a perfect role model that shows persistence and resilience. Through Katniss’s conscience, the author, demonstrates that its wrong to kill others.
Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” shows in society how a woman should be placed and what it means to be a woman. A women doesn’t question her partner, instead she is subservient to him. A woman’s duties include staying at home taking care of the children and cooking; while the man works and brings home the money. A feministic approach to Kincaid’s “Girl” points to the idea of the stereotypes that women can only be what they do in the home, they should only be pure and virtuous, and their main focus should be satisfying their husband.
In the book Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center written by bell hooks, an African-American author, social activist and feminist first published in 1984 the author explains what she believes are the core principles of feminism. Throughout the book the author examines the early feminist theory and goes on to criticize it saying that it did not aim for a systematic change also that the movement has the potential to improve the lives of both men and women immensely. In the book the author investigates the performance of African-American women in the movement and what is needed to drive the movement towards ending oppression of all kinds.