The document summarizes and asks questions about a 40-80 page section of the novel "The Young Dystopian Woman" by Saba. It discusses: 1) How Emmi and Saba's relationship changes in those pages. 2) The character of Mercy - who she is, how she lives up to her name, and what she tells Emmi and Saba. 3) Details about the heartstone, the character Nero and why he is loved, and theories about the apocalyptic event that caused their world to end. 4) Characteristics of "good girls" and "bad girls" and how dystopian women in novels subvert traditional definitions of femininity

1. SABA
The Young Dystopian Woman

2. Pages 40-80
Answer the following questions in groups.
1. How does the relationship between Emmi and Saba change during pages 40-80?
2. Who is Mercy? How does she live up to her name? What does she tell Emmi?
3. What does she tell Saba? Why was Lugh taken? Who are the Ton Ton?
4. What’s the heartstone?
5. Who is Nero and why do we love him?
6. What is your guess about the apocalyptic event that caused the world we know to
end?

3. Good Girl or Bad Girl
Bad Girl characteristics: Good Girl Characteristics:
Strong sweet
Domineering submissive
Crass obedient
Bold pretty
Powerful nurturing
Angry quiet
Mean neat and clean
Bad –tempered careful
Mean soft-spoken

4. What are the conventional definitions of
beauty for women?

5. Dystopian Women
• They are not pretty
• They are subversive
• Punishment for transgressing traditional female identity is smaller or
non-existent
• They move beyond mere tomboys and are more at ease with masculine
behaviors
• They are aggressive and can be violent
• Gender in dystopia stories is not an issue
• Beauty contests are supplanted by contests of strength

6. Tris in
Divergent

7. Tally
Youngblood
The Uglies

8. The Uglies
Standards
of Beauty

9. Saba in Blood Red Road
•Now Read the description of Saba and
Lugh on page 3

10. Contests of Strength
•Watch excerpts of Hunger Games.
•Watch excerpts of Divergent.
•Watch for examples of contests of strength
in the novel Blood Red Road. Any sense
that women are valued for strength
already?

11. What do these dystopian women have in
common?
•Are they be considered good girls or bad girls?
•In what other ways in Saba a bad girl? Is there
any way in which she could be considered a
good girl?

12. Homework
•Read Dustlands: Blood Red Road, 85-199