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Kylie HannaYoung Adult LiteratureDr. Shelley Sanders29 April 2013?Science Fiction and Fantasy: The Female Hero???????????? As a child, I was always drawn to strong female characters. This began with interesting figures in history such as Helen Keller, Annie Oakley, and Joan of Arc, but carried over into my literature as well. I would read books about girls who were farmers, mystery solvers, prodigies, or crime fighters and want to be just like the characters I read about. I was not the only child, though, that has done this. According to a study performed in 2008, “as children note attributes characteristic of individuals of the same and opposite gender and learn to value some attributes more than others, they are indeed learning about the roles they themselves may (or should) play (Holub 567). As time passed, I discovered my favorite genre: Science Fiction and Fantasy. In these novels, the characters tended toward the heroic and the pages were filled with the adventures of strong females. Authors felt that these characters were necessary for society, as stated by Pamela Sargent:“Within the context of most human societies to date, women of strength and achievement are exceptions to the rule. This is reflected in novels about the past or present. Science fiction and fantasy, on the other hand, allow one to imagine and write about worlds where strong independent women are the rule” (62). William Sims Bainbridge comments on this by stating, “Science fiction has become a forum for women authors’ uninhibited public analysis of contemporary sex roles and consideration of options for the future” (1081). How, then, are female heroes used effectively in Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy? To answer this question, one must turn to the texts themselves for examples of both effective and ineffective female heroes. In selecting novels to exemplify these characteristics, I chose to include four primary texts: one effective example and one ineffective example from each of the two subgenres, Science Fiction and Fantasy. Robin McKinley, a fantasy author, and Anne McCaffrey, a science fiction author, both have an extensive list of works whose heroes are almost entirely comprised of strong female characters. Robin McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown provides a very positive example of the female hero in its main character, Aerin. In the novel, Aerin has no place in her kingdom. She is hated by her people because of a mother who, it is said, was a witchwoman who seduced the king into marrying her so that her line would end up ruling. But her mother dies giving birth to Aerin, a girl, ineligible to inherit the throne. Having grown up with this knowledge, Aerin is fully aware of her less than desirable position in the court and her only friends are her father and her cousin, Tor. However, when she discovers a formula for an ointment that protects against dragon fire, she seizes the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of her people and also to seek adventure for herself. This exhibits the point that Robin Ann Reid is making when she states, “Many female heroes turn to questing or fighting in an attempt to escape patriarchal violence” (180). Although her father did not treat her violently, his family did. Aerin’s older cousin was nearly successful in killing her. Despite the fact that she is not respected by the majority of her royal family and feared by her people, Aerin dedicates herself to her kingdom. Throughout the novel, Aerin exhibits a great deal of courage, facing several small dragons, a giant dragon, and an evil sorcerer single-handedly as well as riding into battle. She is fully prepared to sacrifice her own life in order to protect her people and nearly does several times throughout the novel. This selflessness is an important archetype in the female hero.Anne McCaffrey is a well-known Science Fiction author, having been inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2006 (“Anne McCaffrey”). Her Crystal Singer trilogy is another source of the strong, heroic female protagonist in its main character, Killashandra Ree. Having trained for over a decade in music only to have her dreams of being a performer crushed, Killashandra abandons life as a student and escapes into the city. Soon, she hears about crystal singers and the mysterious Heptite Guild on the planet Ballybran. Work as a crystal singer promises a secure career and extreme wealth but also comes with several risks. Killashandra decides that the adventure is worth the risk however, and embarks on her new life. Killashandra not only expects the best for herself, she demands it. She abandons music completely rather than becoming a background player. She walks out on her home planet and the possibility of any safe and comfortable career in favor of an option that she deems to be more worthy. The fact that Killashandra chooses the more difficult path over the easier one provides an example of her sense of adventure, another characteristic of the hero in Science Fiction and Fantasy novels. When her lover on another planet, Lars, expresses a wish to join her in the dangerous career of crystal singing, Killashandra says everything she can to deter him for his own safety, despite the fact that she doesn’t want to be separated from him. This is another example of the selflessness displayed by female heroes.Despite the fact that there are a multitude of novels within the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre that effectively portray female heroes, there are also several that do not. Although the novels are very popular, one series that fails in its portrayal of a female hero is Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga. Isabella Swan is an ordinary girl who, upon moving to a new state and new school, finds herself thrust into extraordinary circumstances involving vampires and werewolves. Bella, intrigued by the mysterious Cullen family, discovers their secret and eventually ends up dating and, ultimately, marrying a young vampire named Edward. The series has moments of worth in which Bella’s actions are heroic, such as in the first novel, Twilight, when Bella agrees to meet the evil vampire, James, in order to save her mother’s life. Unfortunately, she walks straight into a trap—one that she could never escape on her own—and needs to be rescued by Edward. This situation is repeated with several variations throughout the series. Bella continually gets herself into serious trouble and life-threatening situations and is repeatedly saved by Edward or her friend Jacob, a werewolf. Natalie Wilson comments on this by saying, “Bella is portrayed as a ‘typical’ female—clumsy, self-conscious, and lacking in confidence—until, that is, her vampire knight reveals her ‘true’ self” (62). Bella’s identity is dependent on the people around her. Specifically, Edward. Her inability to provide for herself or function as an independent woman is epitomized by the paralyzing loss that Bella feels upon being left by Edward in the second novel, New Moon. “I hoped that I was fainting, but, to my disappointment, I didn’t lose consciousness. The waves of pain that had only lapped at me before now reared high up and washed over my head, pulling me under. I did not resurface” (Meyer 150). According to the novel, Bella remains in this stupor for four months, unwilling to continue her life without Edward. These are not characteristics that are indicative of an effective female hero. Another failed example of the female hero occurs in the vastly popular Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. The heroine, Katniss Everdeen, is set up in the beginning of the first novel as the type of role model and hero that young readers are proud to emulate. She takes care of her sister, offering herself as a tribute instead when Prim’s name is drawn to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal gladiator game involving twenty-four teenage tributes provided by each of the twelve districts of the nation, Panem. She also is very skilled at survival in the ring, is excessively kind to her young competition, Rue, and refuses to kill her friend, Peeta, in order to when the games. Despite all of this though, Katniss fails as an effective hero because of her complete inability to think for herself. She instead allows herself to be manipulated by the people around her for the entirety of the series. In the first novel, The Hunger Games, her mentor, Haymitch, manipulates her into doing exactly what he wants her to and conspires with Peeta behind her back. The second installment of the trilogy, Catching Fire, again shows Katniss fighting in the games, completely clueless of the pact made by her competition and their mission to keep her safe. Her success and survival is dependant on the efforts of others rather than her own skill and resourcefulness. By the time of the third novel, Mockingjay, Katniss has completely deteriorated to the point of being no more than a figurehead and puppet for the resistance, easily manipulated into doing whatever her “handlers” think best. This inability to seize control of her own life makes Katniss a flawed example of the female hero. With the multitude of novels available to young adults, it is important to analyze the elements of both effective and ineffective themes. For young women interested in the genre of Science Fiction and Fantasy, it is essential that they as readers be able to sift through the good and bad in order to discover positive female role models. ?Works Cited“Anne McCaffrey.” The (United Kingdom) Times. 26 November 2011: 81. Web. Bainbridge, William Sims. “Women in Science Fiction.” Sex Roles 8.10 (1982): 1081-1093. Web.Holub, Shayla, Marie Tisak, David Mullins. “Gender Differences in Children’s Hero Attributions: Personal Hero Choices and Evaluations of Typical Male and Female Heroes.” Sex Roles 58.7/8 (2008): 567-578. Web.Meyer, Stephenie. New Moon. New York: Little, Brown, & Company, 2006. Print.Reid, Robin Anne. Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Westport: Greenwood, 2009. Print.Sargent, Pamela, et al. “Dear Frontiers: Letters from Women Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s Studies. 2.3 (1977): 62-78. Web. Wilson, Natalie. Seduced by Twilight: The Allure and Contradictory Messages of the Popular Saga. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2011. Print. ................
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