Stepping Into Empowerment: A Study of Vulnerability in "The Hunger Games"

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Godley, Tiffany
Area of Honors:
English
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Heather Elizabeth Holleman, Thesis Supervisor
Carla J. Mulford, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Vulnerability
Young Adult Fiction
The Hunger Games
choice
oppression
empowerment
Abstract:
With an ever blooming discussion of vulnerability in academia and popular culture, I seek to add depth to this discussion by studying vulnerability through the nuanced lens of Young Adult (YA) Fiction. The YA series I analyze is the The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins. I specifically focus on the hero’s journey of the trilogy’s protagonist, Katniss Everdeen. Throughout the path of my analysis, I highlight the influence of YA fiction, define my working definition of vulnerability, and investigate other published works relating to The Hunger Games and vulnerability. I focus my discussion of vulnerability by concentrating on the various relationships that are foundational to Katniss’s story, namely her relationship with herself, her inner circle, environment/circumstance, and community. By investigating these relationships, I reveal the capacity of vulnerability to empower, as well as the qualities vulnerability exhibits in the intimate bits of our lives. I do so to develop a more holistic and palpable understanding of this rather ambiguous force, emphasize the impact of vulnerability both to the individual and to the collective, and reflect on how we can step into authentic living and leading.