11th September 2018

Level 2: reading log 5 BORN WICKED

Text Title: Born Wicked                                                                                              Author/ Director:  Jessica Spotswood                                                                      Text Type: Novel                                                                                                            Date Finished: 08.09.18

In the text, “Born Wicked” by Jessica Spotswood is a fictional novel about a family of three young and eccentric girls, cate, Maura and Tessa, who along a journey of self discovery find out they are all witches. Set in a time where witches are hunted and killed, the girls must hide in plain sight, bury themselves and their powers. 

In this text, although it is fictional and a fantasy, it touches on some interesting societal themes. Such as oppression, balances of power and sexism in the olden day England society setting. Throughout the book,  oppression and sexism are linked together through the idea that men are superior and that women are objects meant for pleasure and servantry. It is  clear that this sexism and oppression of women in this time created an imbalance of power. This contrasts in real life to the imbalance of power in our societies today, many people feeling powerless because of the  oppression of minority groups and certain requirements to fit in like being a certain race or social status. 

When analysing this book, underneath all the fantasy the themes are very real and connect well with some issues going on in the world such as oppression of minorities due to stereotypes and bias put on us by media and influencers in our society. “No matter how safe and beautiful it is, a cage is still a cage.” This was said by Cate, one of the sisters, and this shows how she feels about her life, that although she is lucky to live in a wealthy family and has the choice to go to the sisterhood if she doesn’t marry, she feels that no matter where she is, she is still oppressed and has to hide her true self. “I am wicked in many ways.” This shows how Cate is beginning to view herself because of being oppressed all her life, she feels that she herself is not worth much and is wicked. This happens often in todays life, through social media and real life people are feeling victimised and oppressed which leads to a deformed self image and this can lead to other mental and emotional issues.

This text teaches me that the world can be cruel and unforgiving but these girls rose above their oppressors, believing in themselves and their inner power and beauty. This to me is an important message and shows readers that other opinions of you don’t define you and how you react defines your character and morals. 

Personally, I connect to this text through my experiences in society and school, I have witnessed bullying and people being excluded. This text to me helps show that it happens, in every type of society, and that it is ok to ignore peoples opinions if they don’t correlate to how you see yourself, peoples negative comments should change ho you see yourself and how you behave towards others. 

I would recommend this text to young adults interested in fiction and fantasy stories, also to people who enjoy reading about stories where the oppressed overcome their oppressors. This is a book series and from what ive seen from the first book, it is an excellence read that anyone could love.

Join the conversation! 1 Comment

  1. Personally, I connect to this text through my experiences in society and school, I have witnessed bullying and people being excluded. -you could explain more here

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Writing