Thoughts on Lauren and the first ~65 pages

 I think that Lauren is a very refreshing protagonist. She’s very different from the other characters we’ve seen so far in 1984 and BNW. She wants change but she also is aware of the state of the world and how difficult it will be to survive. I think the difference between her and Winston comes down to the fact that Winston wanted change because he had nothing to lose whereas Lauren wants change because she knows that it’s needed and that it's going to happen one way or another so you should be prepared for it,  and because she believes there’s a chance at a different future. While Lauren’s life isn’t perfect, she’s not rich, her community does struggle, she still has a community, she has family and friends who all care about each other, at least to some extent. I think the humanity that remains in this book is integral to the difference between this story and the previous ones. In this story humanity is struggling but it’s foundations still exist, people can love which was something removed from society in the first two books. I think Lauren being the protagonist and the fact that people still have humanity gives the book a very different feeling. Since Lauren is so intent on surviving it makes it seem as though the book is going to be more of a success story than the past two. What do you think? Will this story have a more successful ending?

Comments

  1. L. MoffittApril 9, 2021 at 7:16 AM

    I think she's the most aware of all the protagonists we've seen, and she has empathy (hyper-empathy, in fact), which is something lacking in BNW and 1984 almost entirely. It bodes well.

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  2. Anna ParkApril 9, 2021 at 7:27 AM

    Out of all the dystopias, I agree this one is most similar to our real world as it is not completely restricted and people still have some freedom to feel and do what they want. With Lauren's mindset, I think she might be able to have a sort of happy ending or at least just surviving till the end of the book. I don't think that she can change the dystopia for everyone since that is a lot for a teenage girl to do, but maybe she can escape it herself.

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