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Love and Adolescence in Matched, Divergent, and The Hunger Games
by Amanda Johnson
This scholarly analysis explores how love serves as the driving force in three beloved YA dystopian novels: Matched, Divergent, and The Hunger Games. Perfect for teens interested in literary criticism and dystopian fiction, this book examines how these stories differ from traditional adult dystopias by offering hopeful messages about human resilience and the transformative power of love, even in oppressive societies.
Although dystopian novels have been around for over a century and are often a warning depicting a nightmarish future based on current trends, the young adult dystopia differs from its predecessors. Containing many of the same characteristics as adult dystopias, the YA dystopia is a metaphor for adolescence in which society actually dictates every aspect of people's lives, from whom they love to how they will die. The treatment of society is the same in both types of dystopias, but the oppressive government and often extreme punishments in YA dystopias stem from the teenage mindset that the entire world is "out to get them" and that even the smallest decisions could mean life or death. Whereas dystopias in general provide a bleak outlook on life, YA dystopias offer messages of hope: people are capable of overcoming any obstacle, and love is the most powerful weapon of all. These types of books are very popular, with many of them occurring in trilogies and making--if not topping--the best-seller lists; nearly all of them are love stories. The treatment of love is of particular interest in the YA dystopia, especially how it is used and its relation to the conflict within the novel. In the first books of three popular YA dystopian trilogies, love is also the catalyst for change, waking the main characters from a stupor and drawing their attention to the flaws of their respective societies. While dystopian writing is becoming increasingly popular in young adult literature, there is still a lack of scholarly work regarding this body of work as a whole. The dystopian sub-genre in YA literature is growing tremendously, with some optioned and adapted for film; due to this rapid expansion within the field, there is currently a need for scholarly scrutiny of such stories. Research into utopias and dystopias provide a background in which to place Matched, Divergent, and The Hunger Games and lay the foundation for the claim that young adult dystopias not only differ from the tradition in their overall message but that love is the driving force behind these novels.
74
2013-01-01
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