Anna Paul Week 10: Power's Control Over Character's and Their Stories


Power's Control Over Character's and Their Stories

    In one of my first semester blogs, I discussed the book Shatter Me because of the concepts following tIn one of my first semester blogs, I discussed the book Shatter Me because of the concepts following the identity of Juliette Ferrars. Now that this quarter’s theme is power, I can finally go over Juliette's power in the sequel, Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi. 

      Unravel Me follows up the ending of Shatter Me where Juliette escapes from captivity and goes to Omega Point where people like her-with abnormal abilities- to train for the upcoming war with The Reestablishment. 
"Pinterest."

     Throughout Shatter Me, Juliette is shown to be scared andquite dangerous with her powers. She is unable to control them and proceeds to hurt many who come too close to her. This is the same with Unravel Me, well more in the beginning. She is still seen as a danger by her peers and even herself.

        In my view, I thought of this as a way for Mafi to be able to develop Juliette's character in order for there to be improvement in her character. By using Juliette's power, Mafi describes the character itself. So for instance, as her power becomes unstable, she herself is also. This is shown when she realizes what she has done to the person she loves. Her powers become uncontrollable, almost to the point where she nearly destroyed Omega Point, and her mental state is reflecting that. 

    In Unravel Me, I feel that I can say that the concept of power is driven within each of Mafi’s characters. It is what gives them a personality, a uniqueness, an overall concept. Mafi uses it in a way to be able to develop her characters further even if it is for their own downfall. It is a type of writing and idea that I personally find quite interesting especially when I compare it to the other books I read. 

    Because of these unique aspects that Mafi has used in her writing and overall story telling, I am quite excited to read more from this series!

Juliette Ferrars Unravel Me Character Analysis

Tahereh Mafi Writing Analysis


Comments

  1. Mai PFebruary 7, 2024 at 1:02 AM

    Hello Anna Paul! Yes, I remember your very first post about Shatter Me, and I also remember being intrigued by the book given that I had seen it recommended on my for you page multiple times. For one, I am glad to see that that series had such an impact on you that you are willing to devote two blog posts to it over the span of the year. There is really something so special about having a series that you really like that just stays in your mind and has an unmistakable nostalgia to it. I have a couple books in my own library that just thinking about them almost takes me to another world entirely! Second, I like that you are exploring the way power is presented in literature. Fantasy and nonfiction are two genres that I really adore, and I have also found that characters with new powers tend to have pretty similar learning curves when it comes to their abilities. It is always something like they cannot control it or it is inexplicably tied to their rampant emotions. I have noticed that these characters also tend to think less of themselves at the beginning of the series or book and as the book progresses, along with their control over their abilities, their confidence in themselves also grows. I think in the end it all points back to a person’s power over themselves. Each person has the capacity to control their actions and emotions which is almost an analogy for a character’s abilities. This is a bit of a stretch but I think it kind of reflects the ideas that you were alluding to in your blog. Good Job!

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