Annika Wahlsten

807

11-16-14

Response on Synthesis Page

In books and book series it’s interesting to see how the protagonist evolves throughout each book. In Libba Bray’s series A Great and Terrible Beauty the main character Gemma Doyle goes through so many internal and external changes in the books. Setting has a huge influence on Gemma’s character evolution in addition to contributing to the plot development. The setting moves the story forward driving the changes in Gemma throughout the series.

The first book in the series A Great and Terrible Beauty, introduces Gemma as a young girl in the 1860s who is uprooted after her mother dies from possibly supernatural causes.  She is removed from her comforting yet constraining childhood home in India to a strict girls boarding school in England called Spence academy. At Spence,  Gemma is introduced into the confusing world of grief and lust and the harsh realities of female friendships. On top of all of this,  Gemma also is discovering supernatural elements within herself. In the second book of the series  Rebel Angels,  Gemma is just getting used to life at Spence and has befriended two classmates, Felicity and Ann.  The girls travel through a mystical world called the realms that only Gemma can access. Gemma is going to her first series of balls  and is being courted by a handsome lord, but her mother’s death still haunts her and she’s been betrayed by so many people she trusts.  At the same time, the dark spirits of the realms grow restless Gemma hasn't yet found herself as she works to protect these magical worlds and tries to bond with her distant grandmother and her father who is her last connection to her deceased mother.  By the third book, The Far Sweet Thing, Gemma’s character is tested and she binds all the magic of the realms to herself meaning the magic is now tied to her. Gemma battles demons in the realms with her growing power and at home where her father spirals into drug addiction and her entire future rides on her London debut. Gemma is tested in many different ways through the series, she is forced to grow up in the first book, in the second book any stability she had built up was thrown into turmoil then in the third book when Gemma herself is tested in her responsiclities  in every world magical or not. Setting affects Gemma greatly in the first book gemmas lack of a secure home affects her then in the second book she  finally finds her place then then she life puts extended pressure on her, then in the third book she is responsible for multiple worlds showing how much setting changes characters.

When authors choose to write books in a series so much plays into the plot and the characters are more complex because the author must now have three unique stories tied together through the main character. I believe Libba Bray doesn't just show how the character changes each story but also how each story and setting changes the main character. In my writing I want to use the same idea even if i'm not writing a series.