How Is Janina A Sympathetic Character

The novel Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead was written in Polish by Olga Tokarczuk 6 years ago. Translated by Lloyd-Jones, Drive Your Plow is a murder mystery involving Janina, the protagonist, and her view of the murders. In Drive Your Plow, Tokarczuk, the author, portrays Janina as a sympathetic character. Tokarczuk displays this characteristic by frequently addressing Janina’s ailments, including disturbing visions and semi-consciousness. Additionally, Janina mourns her dead dogs, whom she adores greatly, and despite her caring nature, she elicits unjust ridicule when expressing unpopular views. Throughout the novel, Tokarczuk makes the reader sympathize with Janina by including her struggle with various ailments. However, the

Janina has unpopular opinions about hunting and is overprotective of animals. When she expresses them to everyone, she elicits a lousy reputation and exposes herself to hatred: “‘You’ve no right to shoot at living Creatures!’ I shouted at the top of my voice. […] The other man added in a sugary tone: ‘Do not argue with her, she’s crazy.’” (Tokarczuk 63). Even though Janina has views that aren’t normal, she does not deserve to get diminished, as everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Readers sympathize with Janina when she gets ridiculed because it is unfair. Janina’s opinion also isn’t considered because of her gender. Wolfeye, the weatherman, shows this when diminishing her because she is a woman: “I repeated almost exactly what Boros had told me. But from Wolf Eye’s expression, I could tell that he took me for a mad woman. His eyes narrowed in a nice, patronizing smile, and he spoke to me as if to a child. [... Wolf Eye says, ‘] Have you anything cold to drink?’” (Tokarczuc 194). Since Janina is a woman, Wolfeye uses negative stereotypes linked to women to diminish her, including expecting her to get him a drink. Since Wolf Eye uses stereotypes, he also patronizes Janina and speaks to her like a child because she is a woman. This makes the reader sympathize with Janina, as no one would want to get disrespected due to something they cannot control, especially their gender. Making the reader sympathize with Janina makes the book