From the gingerbread house to the cornucopia: gastronomic utopia as social critique in <i>Homecoming</i> and <i>The Hunger Games</i>.

  • Sarah Hardstaff Cambridge University

Abstract

Sarah Hardstaff explores a theme surprisingly common in children’s literature: hunger, and its connections to child empowerment and disempowerment in society. Hardstaff crosses generic lines, looking at realistic fiction, dystopian fiction, and fairy tales as she explores the differing contexts of each, and how hunger and plenty affect the agency of protagonists as well as the hunger of the reader or hearer in differing circumstances. More specifically, she explores hunger as the driver of change, and the vehicle for protagonists to effect change in their lives and their worlds.

Author Biography

Sarah Hardstaff, Cambridge University
Sarah Hardstaff is a PhD student at Homerton College, Cambridge University, under the supervision of Maria Nikolajeva. Her research focuses on the novels of Mildred Taylor and Cynthia Voigt, applying ideas from economic criticism and functional linguistics. Sarah's MPhil thesis explored food poverty as a theme in children's literature.
Published
2016-07-21
Issue
Vol. 19 No. 1 (2016)
Section
Alice's Academy
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