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Hollow City Essay

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Think of all the stories that you heard when you were younger. The stories of battles with monsters, far away places and interesting people with strange super-powers. Now imagine that one day all of that becomes a reality. In the story Hollow City, author Ransom Riggs introduces the new world of Jacob Portman. Jacob’s life becomes a real life fairy tale when the stories his grandfather told him are discovered to actually be real. Jacob struggles with accepting how he is different and through the course of the story he learns to accept that and use it as a strength instead of a weakness. This can be symbolized by the bird that Ms. Peregrine is trapped inside of. Ransom Riggs uses the bird to symbolize Jacob’s struggles with his newfound peculiarity …show more content…

The adventure that the children and Jacob go on in the book is to find someone to help turn Ms. Peregrine human again. But in the end the real success of the journey for Jacob was to discover how powerful he really is and how important he is to the world of peculiars. Jacob always thought that his only power was to be able to detect where a hollow is and predict what it would do. But, in the very end of the book he discovers he can actually control them. After conquering telling his dad what is actually the matter with him, Jacob discovers his power with his newly found confidence, “ ‘No, Dad. I’m peculiar.” Then I hung up the phone, and speaking a language I didn’t know I knew, I ordered the hollow to stand. Obedient as a shadow, it did”. (Riggs pg.296). The theme of Hollow City isn’t as obvious as most books because the true theme doesn’t really come up until the very very end as Jacob witnesses his powers. In conclusion, the symbol of the bird and the theme of acceptance of differences are closely related. The bird in this story is what traps Ms. Peregrine inside of it and forces the children to try and survive by themselves as the try to rescue her. The theme develops as Jacob gains more confidence in his powers and in himself up until the very in when his powers grow even

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