...twenty first century stereotypes of gender roles. All the novels in the trilogy— The Hunger Games (2008), Catching Fire (2009), and Mockingjay (2010)— as well as a criticism from Kristi Tyson, author of Modern Literary Theory of Sexes (2011). The essay explores the question of whether gender is a determining factor of what makes a strong character. Through the research and analysis of the pieces, the essay resolves that Collins actually by-passes gender roles, focusing more on a character's ability to adapt to both gender stereotypes in order to have a well rounded understanding of society. Genders are not the determining factor of a strong character, because gender roles do not matter in the long run of being a human being in general. Word Count: 212 On September 14, 2008, Suzanne Collins published her novel, The Hunger Games. The twisted story line of a barbaric showdown was an instant hit. Katniss Everdeen, the main protagonist of the series, became an idol— girls thought she was a new symbol of independence, and guys loved the lack of romance and emphasis on gore. The novel centers around Katniss in the futuristic society of Panem, which is dictated by the Capitol. After a rebellion arose against the Capitol, the Hunger Games was formed as a reminder to the people of Panem of the rule the Capitol has over their lives. One boy and one girl from each...
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...of Gender and Language, Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet discuss how the connection between language and gender enables a “continual performance” of gendered interactions (33), which, in turn, enables “social reproduction” founded on the separate categories of male and female. They argue that language not only reflects gendered categories but “constructs and maintains these categories” (34). Being such strong categories, they claim it is “impossible” to escape gendered behavior and not influence others to give gendered responses (50). In a later chapter, Eckert and McConnell-Ginet discuss how “gender schemas and ideologies” are implied and interpreted (203). Using an example from a university setting, the authors illustrate their point that the assumption of gender may not result from “the particulars of our exchange but in familiar gender stereotypes” (204). If no specific clues or pronouns are given during the exchange of information, presuppositions relying on stereotypes often emerge. Not only do stereotypes and behavior fill the linguistic gaps, but the power in individual words alone is a cause for concern. Sally McConnell-Ginet explores this further in her article “Words in the World: How and Why Meanings Can Matter.” She argues that single words can carry multiple meanings in each use whether the speaker means them to or not (497) and that “certain aspects of meaning arise, are sustained, and are sometimes transformed in social practices” (506). To describe this...
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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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...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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...For my book analysis I chose the “hunger games” by Suzanne Collins. This book follows the story of Katniss Everdeen, a young woman who grows up in the future of what was America. After the United States falling apart due to famine, war, and greed, a new country has formed named Panem. Under their control the remaining population has been divided up into twelve districts that are separated by what they export and contribute to the Capital and other districts. To maintain control the capital holds “the hunger games” each year where 2 children from each districts must fight to the death in order to gain respect and food for their district. The hunger games is there to remind everyone of what happened when rebellion broke out with in the districts against the capital. Katniss gets involved in the games when she volunteers to be a tribute to save her younger sister from the horror and pain in the hunger games. Katniss is a unique tribute because she is not concerned with following the rules but keeping those she loves safe, this makes her the embodiment of a rebellion. The purpose of this novel is to warn against the destructive and cruel nature of humans, the unjust social pyramid, and the danger of power. One of the big ideas of the book is that our democratic system is not perfect, neither is any other political ideology. All of these have weak spots and one that crosses all is they lack compassion. A major idea in this book is that no matter how you run a government, the government...
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...are criticizing the inequalities and power abuse in our own capitalist society. Capitalism creates wealth and power inequalities, often leading to the rich abusing the poor. In The Hunger Games, the rich entertain themselves with the blood battle of the poor. Though Ross conveys the inequalities and power abuse mentioned in the book, he also adapts some scenes to make this message easier for the audience to understand. While Collins heavily relies on detailed descriptions and Katniss’ narration to give the message that capitalism forms inequalities and power abuse, Ross uses more visual contrasts to make the film more appealing while portraying the same message. Inequalities in Panem can be vividly seen in the differences in food, clothing and housing between the rich Capitol and the desolate District 12 in both the book and the film. Collins use clear descriptions to portray these discrepancies in capitalism while Ross exposes the inequalities visually in the film. The father of the protagonist, Katniss, used to hunt in the woods and “if the officials found out he would have been publicly executed for inciting a rebellion” (Collins 5). Collins also writes “even though trespassing in the woods is illegal and poaching carries the severest of penalties, more people would risk it if they had weapons” (5). Moreover,...
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...hand came down on top of the furnace” (Johnny Tremain pg. 38) This moment was a plot-turning part in the book Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes. I loved this moment because, it was full of intensity and action. This scene had changed the view that I had on Johnny but,this moment had resulted in Johnny becoming a hero in the book. If Johnny had not burnt his hand, then he would have still been arrogant and felt as if he was the boss. In this scene, Johnny is trying to build the wealthy merchant’s (John Hancock) cup handle to perfection with a short amount of time. Since...
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...Collins W ith CD English for Exams Grammar for IELTS Fiona Aish & Jo Tomlinson \ ■L& 11 * . ; P O W E R E D BY C O B U I L D ■ t; j ju B P H Contents Unit 1 O 2 Topic Grammar focus Holidays and travel Free time Exam Page number Grammar practice Sub-skill Simple tenses Present sim ple, past sim ple and present perfect Speaking Part 1 W riting Task 2 6 Continuous tenses Past continuous, present continuous, present perfect W riting Task 1 Reading 10 continuous 3 Fame Past N arrative tenses: past perfect and used to/would Reading Listening Section 2 14 Education Future 1 Witt and going to Listening Section 1 Speaking Part 3 18 The Internet Future 2 Present continuous fo r future and future perfect Listening Section 2 Reading 22 The family Word order and punctuation Subject + verb + object and punctuation W riting Task 2 Speaking Part 2 26 7 The environment Subject/verb agreem ent S ingular + p lu ra l nouns/verbs and determ iners Reading W riting Task 1 30 8 Food Countable/ uncountable nouns Countable and uncountable nouns Speaking Part 2 Listening Section 1 34 9 Employment and finance A rticles Using a, the or no article W riting Task 1 Reading 38 10 Youth Linking words and signposting Giving...
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