More Than Fiction: Representations of Youth in Young Adult Dystopian Fantasy Fiction and its Importance

Author

Daman McConnell, Portland State UniversityFollow

First Advisor

Brenda Glascott

Date of Award

Summer 8-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English and University Honors

Department

English

Language

English

Subjects

Leigh Bardugo. Six of crows. Suzanne Collins. Hunger Games (Novel), Young adult fiction, American -- History and criticism, Dystopias in literature, Youth in literature

DOI

10.15760/honors.1440

Abstract

This article takes on a comparative analysis between Young Adult Dystopian literature like Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows and Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games, focusing on how adolescents are represented in the discussion of Dystopian Fiction. Though mainly focusing on Six of Crows, these novels can be considered places where society and the world these characters live in are unforgiving and restrictive, forcing the growth of these adolescents to accelerate toward adulthood. Within Six of Crows lies the representations of antagonists going against the youth as adults with twisted senses of morality. In addition, this article also discusses rebellion as a common theme that appears in Young Adult Dystopian Fiction as well as the kinds of journeys the main protagonists go on in order to discover themselves and their role in a society that is inherently constructed to oppress. Roles given to the main characters are often ones of empowerment, putting children in places where they can ultimately go against these societies and possibly gain enough power to make a change. Concluding with themes of empowerment, this article also discusses the various important, morally gray adult topics that these youths are forced to grapple with and accept as their own reality.

Rights

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/40862

Recommended Citation

McConnell, Daman, "More Than Fiction: Representations of Youth in Young Adult Dystopian Fantasy Fiction and its Importance" (2023). University Honors Theses. Paper 1408.
https://doi.org/10.15760/honors.1440