Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction

The three sample pieces I chose to include in my portfolio are an argumentative English essay, a book report written for an AP science class, and a lab report. These pieces illustrate my proficiency in multiple subject areas including research and argumentation. The first piece presented in my portfolio is an argumentative essay written for my AP Language and Composition course. The given essay, written by Edward O. Wilson, and AP prompt were taken from the 2009 AP Language exam, found on the…

am ignorant regarding large parts of the world. Though this ignorance is shrinking with each day, it is still there. When I was first considering potential paper topics, I was immediately drawn to the idea of exploring my interest in young adult fiction while looking at my connection to Suzanne Collins’s hit series The Hunger Games. However, being an aspirational adult and a student at a reputable university for studying…

Reading Essay — The Hunger Games “No one will forget me. Not my look, not my name. Katniss. The girl who was on fire” (Collins 70). The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is a 374-paged science fiction novel. The book, written in the perspective of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, takes place in the post-apocalyptic society of Panem, North America. At this time, Panem is divided into 12 Districts, with The Capitol having all political power. Every year, The Capitol runs a national event known as…

Imagine yourself trapped beneath a glass bowl placed upside down on the kitchen table. Now, imagine that there are other people in there with you trying to kill you while all of your close family and friends are forced to sit around the table and anxiously watch you fight for your life. Those are the appalling images that come into my head when I think of the Hunger Games. When The Hunger Games, based off of the first book in the Hunger Games Saga written by Suzanne Collins, was released in…

According to the paper, "Life of chaos, life, and hope: Dystopian literature for young adults" by Lisa Newgard, authors of dystopian fiction "...delve deep into political issues while keeping the interest of the readers..." by creating protagonists who "...want to seek their own solutions and are willing to reject the status quo and take a risk to better the society as a whole." This gives…

don’t risk our lives to survive. Two texts, The Road and “Children of Men” give an insight into the human experience from civilization. The Road, a post-apocalyptic novel written by Cormac McCarthy focused on the fact that when civilisation is gone, courtesy, respect and trust disappear similarly. “Children of Men”, on the other hand is a science fiction thriller directed by Alfonso Cuaron which highlights that fact that when civilisation is destroyed, faith and hope will also disappear. The…

Interest in dystopian fiction has surged in recent years because of the popularity and astonishing success of dystopian movies such as The Hunger Games (2012), The Divergent (2014) and The Maze Runner (2014). All three movies focus on the struggle of a community which is forced to conform because of a powerful governing system. Individuality as such does not exist due to the restrictions imposed on society. Readers and spectators alike are intrigued by tales of oppressive societies which deal…

Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 film, Stalker, casts a shadow over the present, which is what most pieces of science fiction do. The reason why the film is still so resonating to this day is because it depicts how deeply troubled people are by events that are yet to occur. In the matter of Stalker, the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 was what had not yet occurred. After the accident, however, the nomenclature of Tarkovsky became suitable in describing the aftermath because the real world eerily…

2003 by Mcclelland and Stewart. In the same year, the book was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the next year for the 2004 Orange Prize for Fiction. This novel is the first part of MaddAddam Trilogy. Though some classify the novel as science fiction, Atwood claims that this novel can be called as speculative fiction rather than science fiction because the term itself suggests that the story is rooted in ideas, concepts and events that are already present in the contemporary society.…

Virginia (coincidence?) Anyway, I feel that Ruth was the leader of this group and used the fact that she was a woman to gain access to Morgan’s personal space. Whatever the intent of this move, it comes across as a dull representation of science-fiction. Some…