Slaying Literature: Metaphor and Characters in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Joss Whedon is a storyteller who created Buffy the Vampires Slayer, a television series about a young girl who is chosen to fight the supernatural evil. She makes friends who help her when she needs it, and enemies who are frequently demonic and generally evil. Whedon uses many metaphors in the series, most notably one where the demonic adversaries are metaphors for personal struggles. As a storyteller, Whedon created a world – similar to what the audience recognizes – in which his fantasies of the supernatural can take place. This world is frequently known as the “Buffy-verse”, named after the main protagonist in his most successful creation for television. He created stories for his setting with compelling characters who some began as nothing more than simple people, but as they grew into adulthood and in power the audience watched captivated. Whedon once said about his characters that “[they] are people who care about one another and when their world is upset, you care about it.” (Golden, 241) This thesis looks at the seven seasons of Buffy, and the four major characters of the series, separately and finds important the uses of literary tools, such as metaphor and foreshadowing. The thesis also looks at how the main characters are affected by choices, and how they grow into adulthood and in power.

Author dc:creator

• Óskar Örn Eggertsson 1986-

Contributors dc:contributor

• Háskóli Íslands

• Enska
• Buffy the vampire slayer (sjónvarpsþáttur)
• Sjónvarpsefni
• Fantasíur
• Hrollvekjur
• Persónusköpun
• Whedon, Joss, 1964-

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1946/6187

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:skemman.is:1946/6187