Although there is discrimination, in the end you must accept who you are because only you can choose the person you want to be. “It is a sad fate but unavoidable, i suppose, if you are not willing to accept who you really are.” (Meyers, 384). This is the recurring theme of Marissa Meyers’ Cinder. The theme is delivered in multiple ways. Whether through dialogue, setting, or characters. An important aspect of the story that plays a pivotal role in shaping and delivering the theme is the protagonist.
Cinder is a is a sci fi twist on a fairytale we all know, Cinderella. Sixteen year old Linh Cinder is the primary heroine of The Lunar Chronicles. She is the only viewpoint character in book one of The Lunar Chronicles, Cinder. Throughout the book,
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she continuously battles with diversity, because she is not fully human, but no fully android either. 36.28% of her isn’t human. Her leg, hand, four of her ribs, and the vertebrae of her spine are all made of metal. Certain areas, where skin meets metal, scar tissue is visible, and wires are permanently in her body, threading through her prosthetic limbs. “The screw through Cinder’s ankle had rusted, the engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle… Tossing the screwdriver onto the table, Cinder gripped her heel and yanked the foot from its socket. A spark singed her fingertips and she jerked away, leaving the foot to dangle from a tangle of red and yellow wires.” (Meyers, 1) Cinder looks different and she knows it. Although she has proved herself as the best mechanic in New Beijing, mothers and fathers still warn there child to stay away from her. They even go as far as putting up their booths as far away from her was possible. “Sacha met Cinders gaze, knotted her lips, the grabbed her son by the arm and spun away… The remaining children fled into the crowd… “It's not like wires are contagious,” Cinder muttered to the empty booth.” (Meyers, 5) In the beginning Cinder is She develops and delivers the theme by not letting peoples opinions of her drag her down. She continue to fight and make the best of her situation. “ “Most of her customers couldn’t fathom how a teenage girl could be the best mechanic in the city, and she never broadcast the reason for her talent.” (Meyers, 10) The book Cinder takes place in a futuristic eastern China near Beijing about 100 years after World War IIII. Soon after the war the countries of the world re-organized to form various new empires and alliances and the moon was colonized, creating a new race of people, The Lunars. Asia is now an emperor ruled country known as the Eastern Commonwealth. Letumosis, a disease started by the Lunars and had been nicknamed the "Blue Fever, and is similar to the Black Plague in which the nursery rhyme Ring Around The Rosie is sung my children about Letumosis. Cinder takes place in a nation called The Eastern Commonwealth in the capital New Beijing. New Beijing is a tightly packed futuristic city with luxurious skyscrapers and a giant, monumental palace. In addition to the luxurious aspect of the city, it is also home to tightly packed vendor markets and trash dumps. The types of people within its borders are diverse, spanning from androids to nobles to cyborgs. The central conflict of Cinder is that Cinder is a cyborg lunar shell. She has to deal with deadly, almost incurable disease that is threatening the fae of the entire world. Levana is a constant conflict to her because Levana wants to enslave the human race to extend her reign. Cinder’s life is in constant danger when Levana learns of her existence since Cinder is the “dead” Princess Selene, the only person that could take Levana’s throne. The resolution is a bit empty. The book ends with a lot of loose ends because it is the first installment in a series of 4 books/sequels and 2 prequels. The book ends with Dr. Erland helping Cinder escape her cell, officially making her a runaway fugitive. Two minor conflicts in Cinder is Character vs.
Self and Character vs Character. Character vs self is the conflict between Cinder and herself. She has to endure many obstacles with herself in order to grow up and take a look at reality. Before she can defeat anything or anyone, she has to defeat herself. “Soon the whole world would be searching for her- Linh Cinder. A deformed cyborg with a missing foot. A lunar with a stolen identity. A mechanic with no one to run to, nowhere to go. But they would be looking for a ghost.” (Meyers, 386) The conflict is resolved when she begins thinking of herself as a human, not a machine. Cinder learns that the only opinion that matters is hers because if she is in her own way, she won’t get anything done. The character vs character conflict is between Cinder and Levana. Queen Levana is trying to take over the human race and Cinder is the only one who can stop her. Levana turns people against her and makes Cinder a wanted criminal for “treason” against Lunar and the Eastern Commonwealth. “Soon Queen Levana will take you away. She will find a way to marry Prince Kai and become empress. She will wage war against the Earthen Union and, I have no doubt, be victorious. Many will die, the rest will become slaves, just like us Lunars.” (Meyers, 382) This conflict is not resolved because as long as Cinder is alive she will always be a threat to Levana and her quest for power. These conflicts play a significant role in delivering theme because they present obstacles that Cinder must overcome to reach her goal. The theme is delivered hrough the character’s actions. Cinder choosing to run and become a fugitive is a pivotal point in the
book.
As people grow up and experience life more and more, their personalities are revealed more. In the story “Barbie-Q”, Sandra Cisneros describes what it feels like to still be searching for one's identity. “Barbie-Q” is about a little girl and her sister that have dolls that don’t compare to others. There Barbies don’t have new dresses, and fancy red stilettos, but instead they have homemade sock dresses, and bubbleheads. This changes when these two girls go to a flea market, and find new dolls that were damaged in a fire. They may have been damaged with water and had melted limbs but it still meant a lot to these little girls. Sandra Cisneros expresses how these girls have struggled with self identity and how they have finally came to be there
One’s sense of identity is shaped by the conception of how one faces challenges in the world. In Octavia Butler’s science fiction novel, Kindred, Butler explores the idea of maintaining one’s identity within an oppressive society. Dana’s experiences in the antebellum South push her to draw from within and around her to persevere through not only the past, but the present too. As Dana completes a journey which is unexpected and complex, it allows her to realize how strong she is because of her ability to preserve her understanding of herself despite any alienation in the past.
The second conflict I found was character vs. self. Prue is fighting with herself about being able to unite the two makers of the Mobius Cog. She’s afraid that she wasn’t meant for this job and that innocent people have died for a hopeless cause. Prue thinks that she can’t save the people
In life, we all attempt to project some kind of personality to others. We have a mask we wear in different situations, but when times get tough, we eventually discard our masks and become our true selves. We don't live behind our masks until the tragic end, like the characters of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, and Fences by August Wilson. The three characters, Perry Smith, Blanche DuBois, and Troy Maxson wore masks to their bitter endings, always trying to fool everyone else. When times got tough, they had to face themselves, and they could not stand the sight.
The short story Eleven by Sandra Cisneros, focuses around the main character Rachel as an insecure developing girl who lacks the experience to handle everyday encounters. Rachel, an eleven year old girl truly encapsulates the thoughts that are present within an adolescent. The lack of confidence in herself, excessive fear of being judged, and ideas of growing up are ideals that are relevant within each and every one of us. The reader is able to relate to Rachel because her feelings and experiences that are described by the author are similar to what most people have been through and are currently experiencing. The characterization of Rachel is expressed through the author’s usage of point of view, imagery, and repetition.
The main category of conflict is character vs self. This is when a character has an internal problem. They fight throughout the story to overcome that problem. The first example of character vs self is Elie. Throughout the story Elie is fighting himself to keep himself going. This is because of all the things happening around him. It drove him to the point where he almost gave up because his legs were
Another internal conflict is how Lilly feels responsible for her mother?s death. When she was four, she accidentally shot her mom, and wasn?t able to forgive herself. The reason she runs away in the first place is because her dad tells her that her mom left her, which is both an internal, and man versus man conflict. She?s mad at her dad for saying it, but can?t fully convince herself that it isn?t true. There?s a man versus society conflict when men beat up Rossaleen because of her color, and another internal conflict when May is so overcome with grief that she cant stop crying.
Adversity affects the lives of many individuals. Through facing adversity people tend to show their true selves. In the novel “Speak” by Laurie Halse-Anderson, the main character Melinda, faces a few different types of adversity. One form of adversity that she faces is that she was sexually assaulted. Another type of adversity that Melinda goes through in this novel is that she loses all her friends and starts to lose her family as well. Throughout my life, I have faced many different types of adversity, one major thing that I have dealt with in my life is depression. Those who face adversity in their life can choose if they want to face it or to ignore it, and the outcome will prove what they chose to do.
What would you do if you knew you could be dead in the matter of a few months? That’s the question Michelle, an inpatient dealing with leukemia struggles with on the daily. Although she’s a high school student with a bright future ahead of her, she can’t help but be pessimistic about her illness, and focus on the negative. In the story “the michelle i know” written by Alison Lohans, the author uses literary devices such as characterization, foreshadowing, and mood to convey the message that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Initially, the author uses characterization to effectively portray the theme of the story.
“Trying to merge into mainstream society and cover her brown skin with makeup, of having no sense that she had her right to her own opinion”(Shierly) The journey to finding yourself is approached in many different aspects, which varies from person to person. As a child children we see a blurred image of ourselves not knowing exactly who we are, however as we grow older the blur becomes more apparent to us and eventually a reflection of who we truly are, is revealed. This is evidentially shown in the novel Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson, where Lisamarie discovers her new identity as an empowered and strong woman through the positive motivation from her family, role models to whom she looks up to and her acceptance to her own culture.
Allison has had a bitter past full of moments which have scarred her personality. She uses these and writes about the world that few are willing to admit exists. Many find refuge behind their gregarious nature and take comfort in religion or other bodies. However, that does not change the facts of what the world is and how it got there. Allison exposes her audience to these facts, and in the process, she shares her own view.
For starters, man vs self is a very common conflict that appears in my book. Shane, who was diagnosed with a disease at a young age, faces some challenges in his life. At first, he struggled with his disability and struggled to meet new people. However, Shane took action and decided that he could do so much more in life. Shane would overcome his challenges and would allow himself to do greater things. Another book that has a man vs self conflict is Catching Fire, the second book of The Hunger Game series, by Suzanne Collins. The protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, struggles with internal conflicts with her role in the rebellion and her own guilt (enotes).
influence all her life and struggles to accept her true identity. Through the story you can
Tracy’s identity development is heavily influenced by her new friendship with Evie from that moment on. Evie is so popular, but she makes very poor choices and Tracy follows her lead because she wants to seem just as “cool” as her new companion. This is a type of peer pressure that affects many teenagers daily.... ... middle of paper ... ...
People tend to want change something about themselves to make them feel better of who they are. The author, Judith Ortiz Cofer and her family immigrated from Puerto Rico to the United States in 1954. She struggled with her own identity due to the transition of coming to a whole new different setting. The story “Volar” by Cofer, a young girl tries to escape her reality by having dreams and reading the fantasy world of comic books. In her dreams, she describes the physical changes she is experiencing, for instance her legs would grow longer, her breasts be larger, and her hair would go straight and turn gold. This is what seemed to be her desire look which is like Supergirl. However, Cofer depicts the young girls’ appearance “…find myself back in my body: tight curls still clinging to my head, skinny arms and legs and flat chest unchanged” (234). She points out her “flaws” instead of embracing her own body. She wants to have the physical characteristic of superhero and like be able to fly. Therefore, her identity is affected since being a superhero is not realistic and the story of a superhero being unstoppable does not exist. She considers her body to be unacceptable and there is nothing she can do to change it. A story, affects her identity because she admires superhero characteristics but she is weak. She wants to be someone else rather than her own self. She