...Suzanne Collins penned her dystopian fiction novel, The Hunger Games, in 2008, portraying heroic qualities through the characters and themes within. A hero is defined as a person that is admired for their courage, achievements or noble qualities. The plot follows Katniss Everdeen, the main protagonist, as she endures many trials and challenges throughout The Hunger Games. She is joined by many other characters that portray heroic qualities, as well as herself. Katniss Everdeen, the main, shows many qualities, the most evident of which is her resilience and determination. Peeta Mellark, one of the love interests in the novel, shows his sense of identity in his actions, and Rue, Katniss’s ally in The Games, shows her loyalty and trusting nature in her behaviour towards Katniss. These qualities are all imperative in a hero....
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...YA Dystopian Steffan Larsen’s chief points from the article “Why does dad not want to read ‘The Hunger Games’” Young Adult Dystopian fiction has grown as a genre and continues to evolve. But not every generation follows the new genre. Steffen Larsen is giving his thoughts on, why YA Dystopian has not reached his generation, where as books such as Harry Potter have appealed to several generations, including his own. YA Dystopian is one of the biggest and most popular genres today, which is accomplished by hitting the right target group (the teenagers). Steffen Larsen argues why YA Dystopia has not reached his generation as follows: “But most of all- I think- the books tells about manipulation, newspeak and the limits of reality shows”. Here Steffen Larsen reveals his negative view on ‘The Hunger Games’ but also the genre YA Dystopia by using words as manipulation and limits of reality. Particularly the concept of a “reality show” does not have a good renown, especially not in the older generation, where Steffen Larsen belongs. Steffen Larsen’s criticism of ‘The hunger games’ and the genre, could be reasoned with “times have changed” as he also points out: “In the reddish seventies where you overturn capitalist’s and than every thing went good. That is not how it is anymore”. Furthermore, Steffen ironically praises Suzanne Collins for being the only one who tries to dissimulate a new utopia – a dissimulation from which...
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...difficult to be yourself and find your identity amongst the unachievable standards of society. This struggle to find yourself is becoming increasingly popular in Young Adult books and movies, as teenagers are able to relate to this struggle more and more. The films The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Divergent by Veronica Roth, and the novels The Maze Runner by James Dashner, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky all, in different ways, portray the struggles that teenagers go through whilst they are undertaking the journey to find themselves. The two significant connections that I have made using these texts is the fact that strong, independent woman have a hard time being able to express themselves, and that your past, whether you like it or not, affects who you are today. The Hunger Games is the story of a head-strong, independent young girl who lives in a dystopian North America called Panem, which is split into 13 Districts. 74 years ago, the 13 Districts rebelled against the government Capitol, but it ended horribly for the Districts, with the result of District 13 being bombed to the ground. Ever since then, the 12 Districts have each had to supply one boy and one girl between the ages of 12-18 to compete in the annual Hunger Games. These children are pitted against each other to fight to the death in an arena, until only one Victor remains. The story follows a 16-year old girl named Katniss, who volunteers for the games in place of her sister, who’s name...
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...In society today, one barely has any time to take care of one’s children. They are left alone and uncared for which often causes them to either react badly in every day life or to become accustomed to their solitude and learn to fend for themselves. Such realities can also be portrayed in works of fiction such as The Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies, two stories that may seem very different in content, but are based on very similar ideas. In these two stories, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Lord of the Flies by William Golding, there are two main characters by the names of Katniss and Ralph who both go through their life journeys isolated from society and in each story, their situations becomes a disadvantage for them. Lord of the Flies and The Hunger Games are novels that portray an abuse of power as a result of leadership roles in society, an absence of identity used as camouflage, and finally, a loss of innocence among the characters as a result of living in a corrupted and chaotic environment. In both stories, there is an abuse of power, which destroys the main characters’ lives. In Golding’s Lord of the Flies, once Jack had decided to run the island the way he sees fit, things started to go downhill for Ralph. When Ralph was chief of the island, the children tried to stay as civilized as they could, and even started establishing rules and tasks for each person to accomplish. When Jack started to take control of the island, however, everything was completely ruined...
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...they have today. It was with the rise of Elizabeth I in England that a new approach to women throughout literature and the media can be seen. She has been celebrated as an English embodiment of feminine strength and was patron to Shakespeare and Marlowe Elizabeth strayed from being the traditional women figure, and became a brave and rebellious leader. Of course Elizabeth did not act this way for fun, she did it as she felt it was the necessary action to take. Today, females in books and movies have strayed further from traditional roles in order to lead successful lives. Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games trilogy faces the pressure of the capital and wishes to fight to make change. Hanna, from the 2011 film Hanna, is raised through the teaching of her father to become an assassin in order to avenge a murdered mother. Beatrice, in the Divergent trilogy works to hide her true identity of being divergent as she knows the consequences if her truth be revealed. Later, of course, she too becomes an agent for change. Each character, then, coming from different backgrounds and lifestyles, must break away from tradition and take action to bring balance to their worlds and take revenge on those who have harmed them. All three women must learn the actions, attitudes and ways of what is known as the avenging angel. They must rise out of their traditional female roles in order to become great fighters so that they can continue to live their lives. The traditional view and role of women...
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...The Running Man and The Handmaid’s Tale offer perspective on dystopian societies. The Running Man, by Stephen King, is set in 2025 where society crumbles economically and TV networks now run society. They show sadistic game shows that are popular with the masses. The most popular is The Running Man, a show where a contestant is hunted by Hunters and the entire population for the grand prize of a billion dollars. The Handmaid’s Tale explores a dystopian society through the eyes of a woman who has to adapt to her new way of life. Both these novels have universal praise. Their innovation, thematic concepts, and perspective will be analyzed thoroughly. Observing both their protagonists and societies they live in. Both authors explored the themes of their respective novels mostly differently. The Handmaid’s Tale sees resistance against their oppressive society more internally than externally. Offred constantly battles internal...
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...CONTEXT Growing up, Suzanne Collins was a military brat. Her father was a career airman in the United States Air Force, as a result, Collins and her siblings—two older sisters and an older brother—moved around frequently, spending time in numerous locations in the eastern United States as well as in Europe. The military, in fact, played a leading role in the family’s history. Collins’s grandfather had served in World War I, her uncle served in World War II, and the year Collins turned six, her father left to serve his own tour in the Vietnam War. War, consequently, was a part of life for Collins, something very real and not just an abstract idea. While her father was gone, she would sometimes see video footage of the war zone on the news, and she recognized that her father was there fighting. Though her father returned after a year, Collins’s connection to war didn’t end. In addition to being a soldier, Collins’s father was also a military historian and a doctor of political science. That knowledge and experiences serving in the Air Force and fighting in Vietnam had a profound effect on his relationships with his children, and he made sure they learned what they could about war. While other girls’ fathers were telling them fairytales, Collins’s father educated her about military history. When the family was moved to Brussels, Belgium, for instance, her father educated her about the region’s violent history and took her on tours of the country’s historic battlefields. Eventually...
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...Simmons, A.M. (2012). Class on fire: Using the Hunger Games trilogy to encourage social action. The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 56(1), 22-34. Abstract This article explores ways to utilize students’ interest in fantasy literature to support critical literacy. Focusing on Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games series (2008, 2009, 2010), the author addresses how elements of the trilogy relate to violent acts in our world, helping student understand that violence and brutality toward children is not fiction, but very real, and that they can play a role in its abolishment, just like Katniss, through social action projects. Issues such as hunger, forced labor, child soldiers, and the sex trade that appear in both the fictional series and our world are discussed, encouraging students to assess their world and advocate for change. Examples of social action projects that utilize multiple literacies are suggested as a way to inspire students take action in the community and to stand up to injustice and brutality in hopes of creating a better world and a better human race. Using popular literature to pique student interest, this article explores how to incorporate the books in the Hunger Games series into the ELA classroom to support literacy and critical goals. Class on Fire: Using the Hunger Games Trilogy to Encourage Social Action Introduction The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, comprising The Hunger Games (2008), Catching Fire (2009), and Mockingjay (2010)...
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...Durga Prasad Ghimire Eng.555: Themes and Trends in Fiction Dr. Dhurba Karki August 12, 2015 Characters Psychology Determined by Economy in Wuthering Heights Emile Bronte’s Wuthering Heights embodies an accurate picture of an individual’s psychology determined by the economy. A nineteenth century fiction evokes the photographic resemble of human consciousness obtained by concrete conditions in their world. Getting and keeping economic power is the motive behind all human psychology, including social, economic, political, philosophical and educational activities. Economic conditions, are referred as material circumstances and the psychological atmosphere generated by quantifiable achievement evokes his/her consciousness in the sense that he /she behaves, nurses, and govern their phenomenon according to their concrete prominence. The Bronte’s narrative explores the psychological state of beings launched by the commercial gain, where major characters Heathcliff, Catherine, Edgar, Hindly, and Isabella are steered by substantial belongings. Their individual psyche and its root in the family complex distract the relation to each other. The economic system structures, social, familial, and human behavior. It is a ground where every character plays the game of grade to examine their attainment in the society. At one point Marx underscores capitalism (economy) “every family wants to own its own home on its own land” [Tyson: 56]. In other words it promises to gain...
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...The Hunger Games: Action-film feminism is catching fire Lisa Schwarzbaum Burning up Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen is both strong and vulnerable – a new kind of action heroine who has powered The Hunger Games: Catching fire to a $158m US debut. (Lionsgate) Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen is a new type of female action film icon, and moviegoers should be very excited about that, writes Lisa Schwarzbaum. As Catching Fire ignites on movie screens around the world, this is what we know about the 21st Century heroine called Katniss Everdeen: she is strong but also soft. She is brave but she has doubts. She is a phenomenal fictional creation, yet is real enough that moviegoers can draw inspiration from her values, her resourcefulness, and her very human inner conflicts. And she is played by Jennifer Lawrence, who appears not only to be handling her current duties as Hollywood’s finest model of well-adjusted millennial female stardom but doing so with charm. Everdeen and Lawrence: golden girls both. Personified in Lawrence’s lithe movements and cool, focused gaze, Katniss is a brave, resourceful and independent-minded fighter; but she is also a troubled and vulnerably guilt-ridden human being. Nina Jacobson, the producer of the Hunger Games film franchise, puts it this way: “She is a singular heroine in that the burden of survival weighs on her. She has a ton of survivor’s guilt. And she keeps surviving.” Girl on fire It is strange that behaving like a well-adjusted...
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...Social networking plays an important role in our workplace In recent times, more workers around the globe are using social networks. People of every age group, big or small, know how to use the different social networking sites. A US survey showed the habits of 1,600 Internet users from the U.S., UK, Germany and Japan and found that over the past two years, social networking users in the workplace has risen from 19% to 24%. Is it being used to drive our businesses ahead, or if we’re instead wasting our companies’ time and money? Now let we see what the company and employees use it to do: In China, Renren and Xiaonei social networks are very popular now. There is no doubt that it has become one of the best ways to meet people in different parts of the world. People of every age group big or small are using numerous networking sites and creating their profile. They share information and communicate with each other. Social network provides the opportunity to strengthen the bonds between employees in a work place. Social network helps to establish interaction and information sharing between users. With the rapid growth of online users, it has helped the company to promote their business and in reality it has become a marketing tool of driving business. Companies also use it as a platform to distribute product information and some of them have translated into sales. Now look as below the SWOT analysis of social network in our workplace: Strength: It promotes and facilitates communication...
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...Assignment 2 Question 1 Essay theme : Contestations around indigenous peoples and their knowledge. 1. Discuss the challenges Khoe-San in southern Africa have faced in reclaiming their indigenous identities and their rights to territory and resources. Introduction This essay I will aim to highlight how the Khoisan group “continue in post-Apartheid South Africa to struggle for the protection of their key collective and human rights as distinct ethnic communities as stipulated by the standards set out by the UN about indigenous people” (Hitchcock 2002). The Khoe and San are still not officially recognized and statistics does not show their presence in South Africa. The Khoisan are made up of five main groupings, namely San, Griqua, Nama, Koranna and the Cape Khoi. However there is no precise number of Khoisan people that currently live in South Africa (Hitchcock 2002). The Khoisan are not constitutionally recognized as Indigenous communities. “The current legal institutions continue to classify them as “Coloureds” just like the apartheid regime did” (Barnard 1992). The San people also called Bushmen, or Basarwa all considered pejorative to some degree are members of various indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples of Southern Africa, whose territory spans Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa (Barnard 1992). There is a significant linguistic difference between them. The definition for indigenous people is a broad one and is defined differently according...
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...class of novel that deals with the coming-of-age or formative years of an individual”. Furthermore, in a bildungsroman, a main protagonist usually undergoes some transformation after seeking truth or philosophical enlightenment. In Morrison’s novel, the plot follows the main protagonist Milkman as he matures within his community while developing relationships with others and discovering his individual identity. The symbolism of flying is very relevant to issues of identity. Milkman struggles to break away from dependence of Macon II is really the main struggle throughout the novel on an individual level. As he tries to break away and reach his full potential, he is able to fly at Guitar. He does not do this alone however, through all of the differing point of views, Morrison and her characters guide Milkman onto the path of self-discovery. Many examples are in the story, from Robert Smith flying, to Milkman peeing on Lena, and ending with Milkman flying at Guitar, and there are any more throughout. Morrison's general theme of the novel certainly had to do with one's struggle for identity Through the enlightenment of this one man, his...
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...As You Like It Summary How It All Goes Down Sir Rowland de Boys has recently died, leaving behind sons Oliver and Orlando. Since Oliver's the eldest son, he's inherited just about everything. This includes the responsibility of making sure his little bro finishes school and continues to live the kind of lifestyle he's become accustomed to as the son of a nobleman. (By the way, this lifestyle looks like a sixteenth-century version of MTV's Teen Cribs.) Oliver, however, treats his little bro like a servant – he refuses to pay for Orlando's education and never gives the kid any spending money. Also, he tells the local court wrestler it would be a good idea to snap Orlando's neck, but Orlando doesn't know about this. Naturally, Orlando is ticked off that Oliver treats him so badly and he's ready to "mutiny" against his older bro. Instead, he channels all of his pent up anger into a wrestling match, where he beats the court wrestler to a bloody pulp. Orlando's wrestling skillz catch the eye of a local girl named Rosalind, who has her own family drama to worry about. (Ros is the daughter of Duke Senior, who used to rule over the French court but was overthrown by his snaky, backstabbing brother, Duke Frederick. Because Rosalind's dad is living in exile in the Forest of Arden, Rosalind has been crashing at the palace with her BFF/cousin, Celia. Did we mention that Celia is the daughter of snaky, backstabbing Duke Frederick? And you thought your family had issues…) Rosalind...
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...Red Feather Journal 73 “Be Sure You're Right, Then Go Ahead”: The Davy Crockett Gun Craze by Sarah Nilsen In April 2005, sixty thousand members of the National Rifle Association gathered in Houston, Texas for their 134th Annual Meeting. The keynote speaker for the event was embattled U.S. House Majority Leader, Representative Tom De Lay. After his speech, De Lay was joined on stage by Lee Hamel dressed as Davy Crockett in full buckskin attire and a coonskin hat. Hamel presented De Lay with a handcrafted flintlock rifle that he had made for the event with his mentor, Cecil Brooks. The presentation of the reproduction rifle to De Lay is part of a long NRA tradition that began in 1955 when Walt Disney‟s Davy Crockett series first appeared on television. When Charlton Heston received his handcrafted flintlock rifle in 1989, he uttered his famous words, “From my cold dead hands.” President Ronald Reagan and Vice President Dick Cheney also joined the list of those who received facsimile Davy Crockett flintlock rifles from a man dressed in Crockett buckskin attire. This tradition is part of the NRA‟s efforts to represent the gun as a key instrument in the founding of the United States. It secured this ideological representation in part by appropriating the mythology of early American heroes like Davy Crockett. Davy Crockett became emblematic of the gun mythology of early American life. This mythology was synergized by the NRA and popularized through children‟s television...
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