Why make a map when you have a map?

Abstract

There is often the approach that literature and maps are two separate entities; however, they are more integrated than they first appear. When writing in the Young Adult genre, authors face a decision: they can choose to use a pre-existing map to base their story on, or they can create their own. Understanding the connections between a map and a literary piece will lead the reader to a deeper understanding of the texts and the author’s intentions when writing the text. To fully grasp the role a map plays in a work of literature, the reader must also look at the character’s interaction with the map. This paper will take a closer look at the relationship between maps and three YA novels: The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Percy Jackson. What roles do maps play in these texts, and what impact do they have on both the characters and the readers. While on a surface level it may seem as though the author made their literary decisions simply for convenience, their decisions have a deeper impact on their text.