Lily Eisen
Ms. Mason
10 IB/Advanced English
September 4, 2014
City of Thieves: Reshaping Gender Roles as We Know Them High heels were originally worn by Persian, male soldiers while riding horseback around 1600. It was not until much later that high heels became a fashion statement for women. High heels are just one of many examples that people believe are and always have been exclusively for women. Gender roles tend to seem more defined during war time, as the men are expected to go off and fight, while the women are expected to flee or take care of the home. David Benioff’s City of Thieves shows both sides of the story with characters who both defy and obey conventional gender roles. The women of City of Thieves represent both ends …show more content…
Kolya’s character perfectly epitomizes a young soldier during war. His God complex masks any trace of fear or ambivalence about fighting and the war in general. One can argue that Kolya did change throughout the course of the book and his arrogance was actually just confidence and acceptance. “Kolya was a braggart, a know-it-all, a Jew-baiting Cossack, but his confidence was so pure and complete it no longer seemed like arrogance, just the mark of a man who had accepted his own heroic destiny” (Benioff 116). Kolya was considered masculine, even during a time of war when men were expected to be “manly” and defend their countries. He even mentors Lev on women and encourages him to explore his sexuality. Lev, who is not nearly as confident as Kolya struggles with finding himself. However, when he meets Vika things seem to begin to change. “But there was nothing to chaste my hunger for Vika. I wanted to jump on her, my pants around my ankles” (Benioff 150). Lev’s vulnerability is less typical of a young male during war and makes him an easy target for others as he was not a typical “manly”