Katniss Everdeen
Katniss Everdeen is my favourite female protagonist. She is a fictional character in “The Hunger Games” trilogy written by American author Suzanne Collins. Collins has described Katniss as being an independent, strong survivalist, lethal, but good at thinking outside the box.
Katniss and her family come from District 12, a coal-mining district that is the poorest, least populated, and smallest district in the dystopian fictional autocratic nation of Panem, ruled by the Capitol. In the course of the first book, “The Hunger Games”, Katniss volunteers to replace her sister, Prim Everdeen.
In the next two novels, “Catching Fire” and “Mockingjay”, Katniss becomes a galvanising symbol of insurrection against the tyrannical Capitol. After the rebellion is victorious, Katniss chooses not to execute President Snow. She later begins a family with Peeta in the peaceful Panem.
Maleficent
“In the end my kingdom was united; not by a hero or a villain, as legend had predicted, but by one who was both – hero and villain. And her name was Maleficent.”
Even though Maleficent is a devious protagonist villain/anti heroine for most of the two “Maleficent” films, she was greatly inspired by Aurora, a girl she loved like her own daughter. She tried to protect her from all harm and eventually turned into a beautiful angel from her youth.
Maleficent has inspired me to accept and love myself as well others just the way they are. After Maleficent’s unfortunate past with the ambitious King Stefan, Maleficent thought true love wasn’t possible. But in the end, it was Maleficent who woke up Aurora from her death-like slumber.
Daughter of the Goddess Aphrodite
One of the female protagonists who have inspired me is Piper Mclean, from the “Heroes of Olympus” series by Rick Riordan. She is the fictional daughter of the famous movie star, Tristan Mclean. As a child of Aphrodite (goddess of love and beauty), she faces stereotypes of being beautiful, but conceited and shallow. She proves to the other demigods that not all children of Aphrodite follow their blindly set expectations. She is chosen as one of the members of a Great Prophecy to defeat the evil primordial goddess on the earth, Gaia and becomes a skilled fighter. Piper shows her half siblings that being an Aphrodite is about being loving and spreading beauty. She has her own set of insecurities, which include not being liked or accepted. This also makes it easy for people to relate to her. Piper inspires me, because she did not let her father’s fame get to her head or allow others expectations to weigh her down and in doing so, she created her own reputation and showed her fellow demigods that she could be unique.
Liesel Meminger
A female protagonist who inspired me is a thief that steals books. Yes, it is Leisel Meminger from “The Book Thief’. Published in 2005, “The Book Thief’ is an international bestseller written by Markus Zusak. It tells the story of a little blonde girl called Liesel. She steals books and reading them helps her to face the horrors of war with courage. In fact, the first book she ever reads is an instruction manual on grave digging which she flicks from a graveyard. Later a Jewish person hidden in her foster family’s basement teaches her to read and write. Did you know the characters of Rosa and Hans Hubermann in ‘The Book Thief’ are based on Zusak’s parents? “The Book Thief” has been translated into over 40 languages and sold eight million copies across the world. Zusak was so nervous about writing the book that he revised it 200 times.
Scaling new heights
Arunima Sinha’s autobiography “Born Again on the Mountain” inspired me a lot. A volleyball player, one day, Arunima was shoved off a moving train while fighting with thieves. A train passed over her left leg as she lay on the tracks. But she didn’t let the horrific accident deter her. A year later, she trained in mountaineering and became the first female amputee to reach Mount Everest. Arunima lived her life by the motto – “Never say enough is enough”.
Annabeth Chase
Annabeth Chase from the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series is my favourite female protagonist. She is the extremely smart, courageous and strong daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom and warcraft. I have heard many people comparing her to Hermione Granger from the “Harry Potter’ series. But I feel that Annabeth is unique in her own right. She is both book and street smart. She can bring down her enemies just by talking to them and improvising on the spot. Although her fatal flaw is excessive pride, she is usually able to controls it. It’s good to have a hero who struggles with her own inner demons. She is calculating and people who met her say that she has fierce eyes and she looks like she is thinking on how to take a person down in a fight. I like her because she is one who would never be a damsel in distress.
Black Widow
A female protagonist who inspired me was Black Widow. She is one of my favourite characters in Marvel Studio’s “Avengers” films. Black Widow Natasha Romanoff seems to be calm and caring. She appears in most of the films. Her presence in the team makes it more stable and elegant. What inspires me the most is that in “Avengers: Endgame” she sacrifices her life for the wellbeing of her fellow mates. She volunteers to get the soul stone from Vormir. From that particular scene, it is crystal clear that she values friendship and the happiness of her colleagues more than her life. She is truly an inspiration to me. I realised that it is not easy to be successful in life, but if we have the will to sacrifice our life and time for our goal, we will definitely acquire success.
Ally Nickerson
The female protagonist who inspired me is Ally Nickerson from the book, “Fish in a Tree” by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Ally is in the sixth grade and unbeknownst to anyone, she has dyslexia. All her peers make fun of her because of her incapability to read. When she gets a new teacher Mr. Daniels, everything changes. Mr. Daniels finds about her problems and uses amazing techniques to help Ally read. Ally becomes friends with Keisha and Albert who help her out as much as they can. Ally goes to school every day knowing that she will be insulted and mocked. She has a lot of courage, determination and works really hard to be able to read. This inspired me to work hard and have determination to accomplish my goal. We need to respect everyone regardless of their abilities. Hope everyone supports others in need and helps them overcome challenges.
Kaede Kayano
My favourite female character is Kaede Kayano from “Assasination Clasroom”. To be fair she is better than Sasha and Mikasa from “AOT”. Kaede Kayano is a student from Kunugigaoka Junior High School. Studying in Class III-E (also known as the End Class as it is a little far away from the main campus, which all the weak students with low grade attend). Koro Sensei is their homeroom teacher. Their job is to assassinate their teacher by March 13 (Graduation Day). Sensei has the appearance of a yellow octopus with a large head and a wide smile that doesn’t move. He has two beady eyes. He uses his tentacles as limbs. He is also responsible for destroying the moon and can travel up to the speed of Mach-20. Kaede is the first student to cause matches Sensei’s strength. She steals the formula of growing tentacles and injects it into her body. She hides her pain behind a fake smile and when the time is right. She attacks Sensei. She wants to avenge her sister who she thinks was killed by Sensei.
Anne Frank
The protagonist who inspires me the most would be Anne Frank. Through her diary, this fourteen-year-old girl gives us a brief account of her life, and the situation which Germany was facing during World War II. Her story tells us that she was a typical teenager, who feels that no one understands her.
When the Nazis took over Germany, panic ensued among the Jewish community. It reminds me of the pandemic situation we are facing today. I can completely relate to how Anne misses her school and her friend. In fact, sometimes I imagine myself in that story. I never thought of writing a diary, but after reading her book, “The Diary of a Young Girl”. I felt that I should write diary too, especially to record the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe one day my diary will also become famous like hers.
Natasha Romanoff
From her signature red hair to her red “hourglass” logo, Natasha Romanoff, or the Black Widow from the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a female protagonist who has inspired me for a long time. She’s an agent who went through rigorous training in the Russian Red Room as a child, and goes on to join the Avengers in their numerous missions. She proves to be a strong character with a complex personality. Her harsh experiences as a child shape her personality, but she never lets her past affect her future. A cunning spy, skilled agent and a great friend to her fellow Avengers, Romanoff inspires us to move on from past experiences and create our future as we want it. Her qualities of independence, resilience, skill and ambition are what make her an inspirational character to me.
Picture Credit : Google
