Summary Of Julie O 'Reilly's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'

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Gender War
Women aren’t represented as incompetent, but rather as limited. In “The Woman Precedent Female (Super) Heroism on Trial”, Julie O’Reilly analyzes the distinctions between the ways male and female superheroes are “put to the test” in narratives. She also describes how male superheroes are the ones who are accepted into the world of fighting and protecting against evil; while the females have to go through much more than males in order to be recognized for their efforts. “What really is on trial, then, is a female superhero’s ability to be a fully recognized subject” (O’Reilly 452). The “heroine in her own right” should be acknowledged just like how male superheroes are recognized. Female superheroes deserve the right of being able to do just as much, and possibly even more, than a male superhero can and they should be given the appreciation as well as the acknowledgment that they rightfully deserve. For example, one book written by Stieg Larsson called “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” depicts the life of a very strong female protagonist. The literature illustrates two people who are trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of a young girl in the 1940’s but the woman isn't getting much credit or motivation as the other characters.
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” reflects the notion O’Reilly conveys. The female protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, is a world class computer hacker with a photographic memory. Salander is also the survivor of an abusive childhood which makes her a fiercely anti-social heroine with a violent streak. She is an independent and intelligent person who holds the capability of taking care of herself. Throughout the book she demonstrates the ability to fight against anything or anyon...

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...uding evil. The two authors may have different views of females, but they agree that women, like Salander, are strong individuals who are independent.
Female superheroes should be recognized as independent, powerful, and not sexualized by men or controlled in fact. Salander demonstrated what a true female protagonist is. Someone brave, intelligent, especially everything she went through when she was abused as a child or raped in later on. That did not affect her in a negative way because it just empowered her to keep moving forward even more. She was able to solve the dangerous mission of the disappearance of a young girl from the 1940’s. Larsson’s character in his book emphasized what O’Reilly was conveying, a female should be recognized, appreciated, and not go through trials to prove herself to anyone. Salander is “heroine in her own right” indeed.

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