In this thesis I have argued that Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy forms a sandbox for Young Adults to consider and play around issues of social justice. I have linked the events in the books to...Show moreIn this thesis I have argued that Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy forms a sandbox for Young Adults to consider and play around issues of social justice. I have linked the events in the books to events in historical or contemporary societies and have done so by making use of Foucault's political theory of a control and disciplinary society.Show less
The author Agatha Christie wrote more than sixty detective novels between 1916 and 1973. Christie wrote her detective stories during a time in which English society also experienced the first and...Show moreThe author Agatha Christie wrote more than sixty detective novels between 1916 and 1973. Christie wrote her detective stories during a time in which English society also experienced the first and second wave of feminism. This thesis will investigate to what extent the first and second wave of feminism influenced Christie’s depiction of her well-known female detective Miss Marple and her views on women’s roles and identities in British society. This analysis will focus on the following three Miss Marple novels: The Murder at the Vicarage (1930), A Murder is Announced (1950), and Nemesis (1971). Eventually, this thesis will show that the feminist thought and activism key to the first and second wave of feminism have had a significant influence on Christie’s depiction of Miss Marple. Throughout these years, Christie has gradually increased Miss Marple’s agency, prominence and engagement with feminist thought expressed in her time. Even so, the exploration of feminist thought concerning same-sex relationships presents to be a boundary for Christie.Show less
Innovation of the sonnet and its development has opened up the form from a restrictive to an adaptable form that allows the sonnet to address different themes. The adaptability of the sonnet...Show moreInnovation of the sonnet and its development has opened up the form from a restrictive to an adaptable form that allows the sonnet to address different themes. The adaptability of the sonnet becomes evident in various ways. This degree of innovation allowed for the sonnet to develop from its origin as a love poem towards the religious sonnet, extending the topic of secular love, central to the Petrarchan sonnet, to include divine love and human-divine relationality. Following from that, the religious sonnet developed into the political sonnet. The political sonnet provided the foundation for women to set the stage with their contributions to the sonnet: women used the sonnet as a vehicle for private and political expression and thereby constructed the identity of the woman poet. Moreover, the adaptability of the sonnet becomes clear in the way in which individual poets innovate the sonnet in various ways. This thesis showcases examples in which poets reinvent the sonnet by means of innovative use of structural and formal conventions. Innovation of form and structure within the sonnet is analysed and contextualised by comparing sonnets by poets from the period between 1600 and 1800. The central question is how these poets innovate the use of the sonnet to respond to the events of their time, and how the successive innovation of the sonnet has caused the form to open up to address a wider range of topics.Show less
This thesis discusses in what ways Morrison's The Bluest Eye and Adichie's Americanah criticize the Eurocentric Standard of Beauty. One part of this standard involves the appreciation of straight...Show moreThis thesis discusses in what ways Morrison's The Bluest Eye and Adichie's Americanah criticize the Eurocentric Standard of Beauty. One part of this standard involves the appreciation of straight hair over the natural hair of black women. As a consequence, women with natural hair are often treated differently than women with European features. Both Morrison and Adichie treat this aspect of the Eurocentric standard of beauty as they show the negative consequences this standard has for women. Moreover, this thesis discusses the lack of solution that is both present in The Bluest Eye and Americanah.Show less
Acquiring a place in society as a woman is a rigorous affair in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Austen’s female characters have to jump through various societal hoops...Show moreAcquiring a place in society as a woman is a rigorous affair in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Austen’s female characters have to jump through various societal hoops in order to achieve the reputation of being accomplished and marriageable. This thesis aims to highlight the journey of women trying to find agency in society by looking at the purpose of marriage, the meaning of marriageability and the journey to agency of Elizabeth and Marianne, in particular. How do women find agency in Austen’s patriarchal society and its marital expectations?Show less
