Ett mer mångfacetterat mörker Grå bikaraktärer i Collins Hungerspelssvit

Abstract

The study introduces the concept of gray secondary characters. A gray character is round and dynamic, and his/her true loyalty is camouflaged by the author for a more diversified darkness. The good and bad sides of the character, the light and the dark, are blended into gray. The aim of the study is to analyse four gray characters in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy, Haymitch Abernathy, Finnick Odair, Johanna Mason and Alma Coin. The main question investigated is what techniques are used to make these characters gray. The method is narrative theory, built on the work of Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan. The result is that a range of techniques are used to make the characters gray, including their names, their environ-ment, diversions, humour, an unreliable narrator, comparisons to other characters and an emphasis on the negative aspects of the characters. The conclusion drawn is that three different variations of gray characters appear in this study. The first variation is made gray by the use of diversions and false clues, the second because of a conflict between the reader’s expectations and the unreliable narrator’s descriptions and the the third because of a recurring shift in focus between the character’s bad and good qualities.