20th century children's literature novels depicted a general theme of women in women's traditional domestic roles. The cliché of the perfect 1950 housewife is recognizable in almost every novel; the women preparing batches in their frilly dresses and puffy sleeves. It was a time when women were repressed and the best career a woman could have was, of course, taking care of her husband and home. These differences between the sexes were reinforced by writers such as Coventry Patmore who coined the term “Angel in the House”. This essay will talk about two books, “Anne of Green Gables” and “The Hunger Games” in which women are not portrayed in this stereotypical way. While domesticity and feminine themes are subtly reinforced for Anne, they are completely subverted for Katniss. The characters in both novels had to overcome certain obstacles to prove their worth to the world and be accepted for who they are. They were not born righteous, but the path they chose forced them to become hardworking and persistent. While Anne dreamed of her mechanism of fighting against the fixed and narrow mentality of society, Katniss chose to fight against the rule of the capital which had a corrupt system that involved its districts in a sadistic game of slow death. Anne has her agency while Katniss has none. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Anne did not directly fight for feminist rights; the book was written in the early 1900s when women had almost no rights, its world was focused more on the beauties of nature and Anne's schoolgirl dreams. But Anne stood up for herself and her loved ones whenever she needed to. The story begins with her adoption by a couple in Avonlea, but she soon discovers that the one they wanted to adopt was a boy and not a girl. The first instance in which she stands up for herself and shows that she can be equal to a boy is when she convinces Marilla and Matthew to let her stay in Green Gables, even though she is not a boy: The little girl quickly raised her head, revealing a tear-stained face and trembling lips. “You would cry too if you were an orphan and came to a place where you thought would be your home and found out they didn't want you because you weren't a boy.” This also describes favoritism towards boys. Matthew and Marilla want to adopt a child so he can help them on the farm while Anne, being a girl, would be more of a liability than a help as the only way she could help the couple was by doing housework. Another moment where Anne proves that she won't let anyone get away by disrespecting her when she proves that she isn't the typical girl who fawns over boys. On the first day of school, she defends herself when Gilbert Blythe harasses her. Gilbert Blythe is one of the popular boys in school and the girls find him very charismatic and dreamy, but Anne makes him understand that he can't just touch a girl's hair without consequences and makes him pay for what he did regardless of his social behavior . status at school: “He shot an indignant look at Gilbert from his eyes whose angry spark was quickly extinguished in equally angry tears. “You mean, obnoxious boy!” he explained passionately. “How dare you!” And then... strike! Anne had dropped her slate on Gilbert's head and smashed it – slate, not head – from side to side.” By punishing Gilbert on the spot, he is teaching the implied child readers that it is not okay for a man to touch a woman without her. allowed by lowering Gilbert's head. Likewise, yet another example wheremaintains her position is when Mrs. Rachel ridicules the way Anne looks and makes fun of her red hair.: "Well, they didn't choose you for your looks, that's for sure and certain," was the emphatic comment of the Mrs. Rachel Lynde... Anne continued to look at Mrs. Rachel undaunted, head held high, eyes blazing, hands clenched, passionate indignation exhaling from her like an atmosphere. 'How dare you say these things about me?'. On the surface, it appears that they are arguing about her appearance, but in reality, Mrs. Rachel is questioning Anne's self-respect and they are arguing about her worthiness as a "red head". ”.Another way to show that Anne is not confined to the male-dominated society and that she has much more potential than simply staying at home and taking care of the house is by not being afraid to say what she wants to say, excelling in academics and otherwise. feeling limited by her gender. In an era when women were supposed to act like "good" girls and sit at home and wait in silence for their husband, Anne spoke her mind in front of everyone, without caring what others thought of her: 'I was told [children should be seen and not heard] a million times, if I did it once. And people laugh at me because I use big words. But if you have big ideas you have to use big words to express them, don't you?'. Anne was passionate about learning and wanted to excel in academics. She was not afraid to go against the boys and her determination to do well led her to beat the boys in her class in academics: Anne threw herself into her studies with heart and soul, determined not to be surpassed in any class by Gilbert Blythe. Now Gilbert was the head of the spelling class; now Anne, with a toss of her long red tresses, praised it. One morning Gilbert did all the calculations correctly and had his name written on the blackboard of the roll of honor; the next morning Anne, after struggling wildly with decimals all the previous evening, would be first. Anne never felt discouraged by her sex. She thrived simply by being a young woman. Because of this, she became ambitious about her goal and it was her ambition that led her to save her adoptive parents' farm: I will win that scholarship if hard work can do it,' she decided... ' Oh, it's delightful to have ambition. I'm so happy to have so much. And it seems like they never end - that's the best thing. I'm as ambitious as ever. Only I changed the object of my ambition... My future life seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see many milestones along it. Now there is a turning point. I don't know what's around the bend, but I'm convinced he's the best who knows.' Interestingly, she was able to be ambitious and not feel limited by her gender because her adoptive parents were a source of support for her. Her adoptive parents admired her for her goals, and she was praised for doing things that were traditionally reserved for men and often looked down upon for girls: "I'd rather have you than a dozen boys, Anne," Matthew said, giving her a pat on the hand. . «Be careful, rather than a dozen guys. Well, I guess it wasn't a guy who got the Avery scholarship, was it? She was a girl, my girl, my girl that I'm proud of.' Her adoptive parents didn't even object to her going to college, an act strictly reserved for boys in the early 1900s. Even though everyone else in the village told them not to let her go and hated the fact that she was doing a " unfeminine thing", they left it up to her to do whatever she wanted: Lynde deposited herslarge person on the stone bench by the door... "I don't think girls go to college with men and fill their heads with Latin and Greek and all that nonsense." "But I will study the same Latin and Greek, Mrs. Lynde," said Anne, laughing. It's almost as if Marilla's parenting falls on Anne's deaf ears. It seems that Marilla is learning from Anne and not the other way around. In the end, the way Marilla is punished is often perceived as wrong. The reason why Anne's coping mechanism is called "dreamy" is because even though she had wanted many things in her life and was full of ambition, she ultimately has to do it. take on the role of a traditional woman and be a housewife. Matthew's death causes Anne to change her path from college to caring for her family at home. She ends up marrying Mathew Gilbert, the boy she often competed against to be better at academics. As Anne approaches puberty, she becomes “a tall, serious-eyed girl” who is “pruned and branched” (274). Anne's free world slowly returns to the male dominant world as she grows up. So, although it seems at first that Anne's character is different from the imperial female characters, eventually her dream-like goals come to an end as she grows up and faces the reality of the world around her. However, it is important to note that it was her decision to stay home, help her mother, and marry Gilbert, rather than conforming to what society expected of her. The case of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games is a little different as the novel was not written in an era where women were considered inferior to men. However, she is continually forced to maintain an act and conform in order to be recognized and survive. When she enters the game creators' room before the games are analyzed, they act as if she isn't there. To be accepted in the eyes of the game creators' sponsors, she is forced to show her courage and archery skills by shooting an arrow in the game creators' area:Suddenly I am furious because with my life in play, they don't. I don't even have the decency to pay attention. That I feel overshadowed by a dead pig. My heart starts pounding, I feel my face burning. Without thinking, I pull an arrow from my quiver and send it straight to the Game Makers table. I hear cries of alarm as people stumble backwards. The arrow impales the apple in the pig's mouth and nails it to the wall behind it. Everyone stares at me in disbelief. “Thank you for your consideration,” I say. Then I bow slightly and walk straight to the exit without being dismissed'юShe is constantly forced to act and behave like someone she is not, both at home and during games:When I was younger, it scared my mother to death, things that I blabbed about District 12, about the people who run our country... Eventually I learned to hold my tongue and turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts. I do my work calmly at school. Making small talk politely in the public market… Even at home, where I am less pleasant. I avoid discussing sensitive topics. Like the harvest, or food shortages, or the Hunger Games. Prim could repeat my words and then where would she be. In the arena, Katniss realizes that she can gain sponsorship and thus increase her chances of survival by acting as if she is in love with Peeta and creating the perfect star-crossed romance. Katniss is clearly uncomfortable playing the "feminine" role and this shows when Effie is trying to prepare her for her interview. This shows the double standards of how women are supposed to look.