Girl w/ All the Gifts

Underneath all the action and vaguely scientific technical gibberish, The Girl With All the Gifts is about a young girl coming to terms with her identity. Melanie, the protagonist, was kept in the dark about her true identity for years, and when she finds out, she's plunged into an unknown, dangerous world. Melanie is surrounded by people who put her down because of who she is, or who wish to cause harm to her. She must learn to take care of herself in her hostile environment, and how to tell a friend from an enemy from an ally-by-necessity. And most importantly, she must learn to accept herself as she is, despite the isolation and antagonization she suffers.

Of course, among all the difficulties, there are light-hearted moments. Melanie is a naturally optimistic and intelligent person. She easily makes friends and even manages to form genuine relationships with those who once feared or hated her. The Girl With All the Gifts is all about making the best of a bad situation, a talent Melanie has a knack for. She's able to see the good in the world, and once that ability spreads to her self image, she's able to rise about her troubled surroundings and move onto a better future.

Comments

  1. Madeleine K.February 9, 2021 at 9:52 PM

    I really like this book/movie! One thing I like is how they depict adults. Although Ms. Justineau is a good character, the other adult characters are extremely flawed. I really like how this story shows how teenagers can sometimes make better choices than adults. It also shows how often coming of age means learning just how deep a lot of the pain that people have caused you runs.

    ReplyDelete
  2. EllaFebruary 11, 2021 at 2:21 PM

    One thing I think is interesting that you talked about is Melanie's effects on other people. I think a common trope in many coming-of-age stories is the main character is often isolated from other people or is changed in some way by others. Here we see the opposite. Melanie is able to make others reconcile their own feelings about her instead of others helping her reconcile her feelings about herself.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MaxineFebruary 14, 2021 at 1:01 AM

    I'm commenting on this after having finished Catcher in the Rye, because I think it's interesting to compare Melanie and Holden. As you said, Melanie is very optimistic and kind, and good at making the best out of even terrible situations. On the other hand, Holden is constantly critiquing everything, seeing everything in the worst possible light. I think that's something crucial to being able to come-of-age - you have to see a way for it to happen, to have hope and faith that you'll be able to find you're way to the other side of the process. Thinking it won't go well is a self-fulfilling prophecy. So even though Melanie is in a much worse situation than Holden, she's miles ahead of him in terms of maturity and reaching adulthood.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hugo vs Jason

 When we were first introduced to Hugo, I, like most of us, really didn't like him. On the other hand, Jason is great. However, while I was first getting to know Hugo, I noticed a bit of similarity between him and Jason. Not with the Jason who likes Lord of the Rings and poetry and cares about people, but between him and the person Jason sometimes attempted to become. Hugo represents Jason's ideal alter ego, and the realization that Hugo really isn't that great of a role model begins his slow departure from people-pleasing and social performance.  As we find out in the very first chapter of Black Swan Green, Jason is actually socially competent. He understands the subliminal rules of every social situation and follows them carefully, and he manages to maintain status as a 'regular kid' for a long time. Even though he possesses several qualities that could (and eventually do) transform him into an outcast instantly, namely his stammer and his poetry, he successfully ...
Read more

my problems with Buddy

I have a few problems with Buddy Williard, and all of them are demonstrated nicely on the ski trip he takes with Esther. To start with, Esther clearly didn't want to go skiing, but he went to great pains to make sure the trip stayed on. "His persistence in the face of mulishness" could be seen as sweet, but really, if it's obvious your girlfriend doesn't want to do something, don't force her. Especially if it's a somewhat dangerous activity. Buddy's "persistance" is also shown when he persuades her to try the rope tow even though she protests. While Esther admits that she doesn't explicitly say no, it's concerning that Buddy is either unable to notice her fear and discomfort, or notices and doesn't care.  But the worst part happened after Esther's terrific crash. While she lays there, mouth full of snow, Buddy encourages her and checks her for injury. So far so good, how very caring of him. But then when Esther says she wants ...
Read more

Artistic alchemy

Despite the long list of flaws Allison Bechdel sees in her father, she can find some admirable qualities in him, including his talent for transformation. The most obvious example of this ability is his restoration of her childhood home, a Gothic mansion that went from lost cause to living museum. He found something rotting and decrepit, saw a spark of potential, and turned that spark into something beautiful. In a way, Allison did the same thing with her relationship with her father by writing Fun Home. She took something that could be seen as random and tragic, and over the course of two-hundred and thirty-two pages, created something cohesive and meaningful.  In the first chapter of Fun Home, Allison writes of her father's ability to "spin garbage into gold". You could say she does the same thing with her and Bruce's relationship. That comparison might seem harsh, but when summarized, the experiences she shared with her father seem inadequate at best. As a child, sh...
Read more