I am Leviathan

Girls are unfairly restricted from doing certain things. Sometimes, it’s really important, such as education; other times, it’s things such as dreams and passions. However, both of these things are significant and in some situations, girls are expected not to have these opportunities. This theme of gender inequality is prominent in books “Leviathan” by Scott Westerfeld, and “I am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai. “Leviathan” follows Alek and Deryn, who meet by accident on board the airship called Leviathan. Deryn is a girl disguised as a boy so that she can join the British Air Service. “I am Malala” is a true story about Malala, a girl who stood up for girl’s rights to education and was shot by a fundamentalist Muslim movement. Both “I am Malala” and “Leviathan” bring up the subject of stereotypes and expectations preventing girls from following their passions. Girls being restricted from doing things can have a big effect on their life; usually, it pushes girls to take action, either on a large or small scale, which sometimes has life-threatening or simply humiliating consequences.

A theme in both texts is that girls are confined due to expectations, which urges them to protest against it. Deryn, in “Leviathan,” dreams about joining the British Air Service. However, it is illegal for girls to join the Service, preventing her from following her passion. “Leviathan” describes how it was unfair to Deryn, where other, less qualified boys are able to join the Service. She comments on how “the tallest hardly came up to Deryn’s shoulder. They couldn’t be so much stronger, and she didn’t credit that they were as smart or as brave. So why should they be let into the king’s service and not her?” Since girls aren’t allowed become ‘midshipmen’, Deryn disguises herself as a boy and is recruited into the Service. Although this does not affect anybody drastically, her resilience signifies rebellion in order to allow girls to follow their passions. Likewise, in “I am Malala,” Malala finds it hard to go to school and receive an education because girls in her culture aren’t supposed to go to school. A man who is part of the Taliban, a Muslim movement, voices his opinions, saying that “[he is] representing good Muslims and [they] all think that [Malala’s father’s] school is a blasphemy.” The Taliban believe that “girls should not be going to school.” In Pakistan, girls are “expected to cook and serve [their] brothers and fathers.” Malala protests against this by standing up for girl’s rights to education. Both “Leviathan” and “I am Malala” show how girls object to following unreasonable restrictions and insist on change, just in different ways.

Although both texts express the theme of gender limitations and girls protesting against this, there are differences in the consequences that they face. In “Leviathan,” Deryn wants to join the Service because it’s her passion. If she doesn’t join the Service, there are no extreme effects. The most that would happen to her is that she would simply be forced to wear skirts and corsets. “No more dreams of flying, no more studying.” Despite the fact that this would still affect the way that she lives her life, there are no serious, life-threatening outcomes. In addition, Deryn’s protest is small and secretive. The results mainly had an effect on Deryn alone. Furthermore, Deryn’s act of defiance didn’t lead to many consequences except for the fact that the Service would be humiliated if anybody reveals her secret profile. Deryn took action on a small scale, which simply resulted in the possibility of embarrassment.

"I am Malala" shows how Malala openly protested for girl’s rights to education, which provoked life-threatening consequences. Malala is prevented from going to school. This means that she doesn’t get an education. This is a serious issue. Education should be a basic right for everyone because everybody deserves to be able to learn things about their world. Malala is being restricted from something that should be a basic human right. If she doesn’t go to school, she would “be ignorant” to the world around her. School is an important part of children’s lives. If a girl has no education, she wouldn’t be able to work to earn money. Without money, the girl would have to “be dependent on a man.” Malala stands up to this openly, publicly voicing her opinions, unlike Deryn in "Leviathan". This results in a Taliban shooting Malala, showing how her protest leads to a large, life-threatening consequence, dissimilar to "Leviathan". Malala took public action on an important issue, which caused a huge effect.

In both of the texts "Leviathan" and "I am Malala," the authors bring up the important theme of gender inequality. Readers would conclude that sometimes, having expectations and restrictions for people have large consequences, on their health and their lifestyle, for girls especially. "I am Malala" is a true story about Malala Yousafzai. It shows what girls really go through in real life, specifically in Pakistan. "Leviathan" also truly shows how girls are restricted as well, in a different situation. Either way, gender inequality is a real issue that should be solved, or large consequences to girls may be unavoidable.