Category A
Option A: Pick one passage that embodies the main concern (theme) of the novel. Write a close reading of the passage exploring how it negotiates the main concern.
“Right now I want to be beautiful and awesome and butt-kicking and less complicated. I want to be you."
Kamala feels inferior to the people who are around her. The popular girl makes fun of her and the family culture of rules and religion. She wants to be anyone else except herself. When she encounters the superheroes she knows and loves, she gets a reboot. She becomes a superhero herself. We first see her as blonde and scantily dressed. She is not comfortable dressed like this she even comments "I always thought that if I had amazing hair if I could pull off great boots if only I could fly that would make me feel strong, make me happy." It doesn't, but what does is following the teaching of the Quran "Whosoever kills one person, it is as if he killed all mankind and whosoever saves one person it is as if he has saved all of mankind." She spends the majority of the book resenting her parents rules and wishing she could be anything but Muslim, but following those teachings are what made her feel the strongest.
She realizes that "putting on a costume doesn't make you brave" and realizes she is a part of something bigger. She finds a new sense of purpose with her realization and is enthusiastic bout life, finally feeling like she "Ready for life." She yet again references the teaching of the Quran "Alway think of the greater good. To defend people who can't defend themselves even if it means putting yourself at risk." She has eventually realized that she's "Not here to be a watered down version of some OTHER hero, I'm here to be the best version of KAMALA." The costume doesn't make the person wearing it a hero, a hero was inside the whole time. Her final epiphany comes when she says, "Good is not a thing you are, it is a thing you do." This book reminds us, sometimes the hero we are looking to save us, was inside us the entire time.
I really think the quote you chose encompasses the messages of the entire comic. The way you explained the quote also aides in associating the quote the theme. The way you were able to integrate other quotes into your explanantion is also very good. Good job!
ReplyDeleteGreat job pulling from the Quran and her costume choice! You did a get analysis on Kamala's individuality.
ReplyDeleteHi Shae,
ReplyDeleteYes, in these first few issues, the pivotal theme/concern is Kamala's development from someone who idolizes all that is mainstream --white, blonde, American, etc. However, she comes into her own once she decides to be a super version of herself, no one else. This is a theme across much of adolescent literature, though the intersection of her nationality and religion make her identity struggles more specific. I would also add that, along with the significance of the quote from the Quran, which becomes her mantra, her decision to turn her burkini into a superhero costume captures that same decision to be true to herself and her culture.