Lara’s Gift & Whale Rider: Comparison
After reading “Lara’s Gift” by Annmarie O’Brien and “Whale Rider” by Witi Ihimaer, I notice many common themes and similarities. Three common themes that stand out to me include:
The main character in each book is female, but because of this were discouraged from working by close family members due to their gender.
A close female family member to each main character was seen as an influential figure.
The main characters end up becoming the heroes of the stories.
In Lara’s Gift, Lara and her family were dog keepers. Lara had big dreams to eventually become the head dog keeper, but her father wouldn't let her as he believed that only men had the capability of having the big responsibility and leadership that came with being in charge.
In Whale …show more content…
This led Pai to overcome her resentment towards her grandfather’s thoughts of leadership. Both stories had influential female figures who mentored the main characters to become fierce.
Showing her hunting abilities, Lara proved that she was tough enough to hunt the wolves, as well as saving her father from danger. This earned Lara her well-deserved accomplishment as head dog keeper.
When her grandfather walks away, Pai climbs onto the back of a beached whale and maneuvers it back into the ocean, and all of the other beached whales follow. She ends up saving the whales from dying and is finally declared as the new chief of her tribe. Both stories showed main characters turning out to become the heroes of the stories.
Although these were different books, they had several common themes regarding the lack of support towards woman being in charge, how there was an influential female figure who mentored each main character, and how the main characters became the heroes. Even so, I enjoyed reading each book as they had their own unique ways of presenting these
After reading “Lara’s Gift” by Annmarie O’Brien and “Whale Rider” by Witi Ihimaer, I notice many common themes and similarities. Three common themes that stand out to me include:
The main character in each book is female, but because of this were discouraged from working by close family members due to their gender.
A close female family member to each main character was seen as an influential figure.
The main characters end up becoming the heroes of the stories.
In Lara’s Gift, Lara and her family were dog keepers. Lara had big dreams to eventually become the head dog keeper, but her father wouldn't let her as he believed that only men had the capability of having the big responsibility and leadership that came with being in charge.
In Whale …show more content…
This led Pai to overcome her resentment towards her grandfather’s thoughts of leadership. Both stories had influential female figures who mentored the main characters to become fierce.
Showing her hunting abilities, Lara proved that she was tough enough to hunt the wolves, as well as saving her father from danger. This earned Lara her well-deserved accomplishment as head dog keeper.
When her grandfather walks away, Pai climbs onto the back of a beached whale and maneuvers it back into the ocean, and all of the other beached whales follow. She ends up saving the whales from dying and is finally declared as the new chief of her tribe. Both stories showed main characters turning out to become the heroes of the stories.
Although these were different books, they had several common themes regarding the lack of support towards woman being in charge, how there was an influential female figure who mentored each main character, and how the main characters became the heroes. Even so, I enjoyed reading each book as they had their own unique ways of presenting these