Context,
audience, purpose
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The text The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo is set in
the fictional town of ‘Headstead’ in Stockholm, Sweden. Set in the early 21st
century the target audience is young adults/ adults. Some of the themes present
in the text are not suitable for young readers.
-
Mainly just written for entertainment the story provokes readers to consider the
injustice faced by women all around the world. Also the situations they (women)
may find themselves in, as well as the reasons behind why many don’t report
things like rape/ abuse.
Main
characters
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The three main characters in this text are:
Mikael Blomkvist, Lisbeth Salander, and Martin Vanger
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Mikael Blomkvist:
o
The major protagonist, and the publisher of a
political magazine and investigating journalist.
o
A libel
conviction throws his credibility into question, and in attempt to clear his
name he accepts a freelance job from Henrick Vanger.
o
He’s not very good at remaining in committed
relationships, and is a divorcee.
-
Lisbeth Salander:
o
A secondary protagonist, works with Mikael
o
Leads a very unorthodox life, and most of the
public thinks that she is mentally incompetent.
o
Goes through major character development- start
of the book she is very emotionally cut off from other character, but by the
end of it she falls in love.
o
She has been through a lot of abuse personally,
which could be part of the reason she is so emotionally detached from others.
-
Martin Vanger:
o
The primary antagonist of the novel and a serial
killer
o Vanger devotes a great amount of his time and energy to choosing his
victims. That his choices focus on powerless women who will not be missed, or
on those who do not possess the will or ability to fight back, suggests both
the frightening lack of protection society offers to women and the depth of his
hate for them.
Setting
-
Set in present day Sweden.
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The significance of this is that it emphasises
the injustices and crimes committed against women to this day.
-
Shows that characters like Martin Vanger can
exist today and are often left unchecked due to society simply not caring.
POV,
perspective and voice
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Written in third person, the story mainly
follows 2 distinct story lines, Mikeal’s and Lisbeth’s.
-
It continues to show what’s happening from their
perspectives, and when the 2 characters interact with each other it switches
voice.
Ideas
-
That violence against women in society occurs
far too frequently
o
this idea is largely enforced when Lisbeth’s
court guardian forces her to perform sexual acts on him in exchange for access
to her own finances and then rapes her. Lisbeth
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That Sweden is a very corrupt country
o
This is largely conveyed through the character
of Hans-Erik Wennerström, a corrupt business man.
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The inaccuracy of judging someone purely on
appearances
o
Lisbeth’s character dresses like the typical
‘punk goth’ however that isn’t an accurate representation of her character.
o
The interactions between Mikael and Martin are
largely civil through the start of the book. We come to realise that Martin is
in fact the main antagonist and a serial killer
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That if you do the wrong thing you will be punished
o
This is shown through 2 characters. Martin
Vanger, the main antagonist and a serial killer, who is killed at the end of
the book. And Nils Bjurman, Lisbeth’s second legal guardian. He manipulates
Lisbeth into performing sexual acts on him, and then rapes her, however he is
also punished for his actions, by Lisbeth herself.
Representation
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Women are represented as weak and submissive.
Why
others should read
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The girl with the dragon tattoo is a crime
fiction narrative with an interesting plot line that’s bound to captivate the
reader. A fun read that you cannot put down, which also provokes the reader to
consider the current situation that many women find themselves in, and
understand that violence against women is a very prominent issue in society.
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