To read Millikin students’ critical essays about 80 Days, click the hyperlinked essay titles in the abstracts below.
Breanna Beck
“Her-story in the Making” takes a deeper look into some of the characters throughout the game 80 Days and what their significance is. It discusses those who are underrepresented in history and why it is important to acknowledge that some of the main contributors to our nation's history are left out and how we can work to re-place those underrepresented and set a trend from this point forward.
Marissa Bournias
“Colonizing the World in 80 Days: A Postcolonial View” is an essay examining both Meg Jayanth's game and Jules Verne's original novel, noting how colonial themes were used in each. The texts are both analyzed through a postcolonial lens, including a character discussion and comparison between the platforms. Throughout this essay, the reader will note contextual differences between the narratives and how they were quite impactful.
Michael Duling
Fiction authors create worlds that are completely different from ours, and they do it for a reason. Whether writing is escapist, utopian, dystopian, or otherwise, their choices reflect and even shape our society in ways an honest portrayal never really could. The essay “Around a New World in Over 750,000 Words” explores how the choices Meg Jayanth made when crafting her alternate reality in 80 Days reflect our current reality, and what they might have to say about our future.
Kaytlin Jacoby
“Not at all Foggy: An Examination of Fogg's Obsession in 80 Days” explores the ways in which Meg Jayanth's take on Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days examines the glory that surrounds the obsessed protagonist that is commonly found in adventure novels. This essay establishes the way obsession is typically viewed in literature, from canonical to popular, and argues that Jayanth pushes back against the idea that obsessive protagonists should be admired by forcing the gamer to experience the effects of following someone who is fixated on their goals. 80 Days examines the ways in which an adventure story does not have to be an obsession story.
Angie James
“80 Days: The Hardships of Servitude” focuses on the servitude aspect of the game 80 Days. The argument suggests that Fogg was mistreating Passepartout the entire game. The essay provides specific situations in which servitude was prevalent in the game that Passepartout faced during their journey around the world.
Erica Mooney
“Breaking Boundaries: The Representation of Women in 80 Days” explores Meg Jayanth's depiction of female characters within 80 Days. The essay demonstrates the impact of placing women into gender roles that defy traditional expectations for women in society. By examining historical events, fiction, gaming, and 80 Days itself, the paper helps readers to see the larger picture and significance of Jayanth's brilliant representation of women. People are still surprised today to see women in positions of power, and the essay seeks to uncover why this is true.
Blake Tisza
This essay, entitled “Hardships of Women,” discusses the representations of women within the game 80 Days by Meg Jayanth. It examines the representations of women within the 19th and 21st century, and why Jayanth placed 21st century representations of women that hold power and authority as not normally seen within the 19th century of the game. Through these representations of women, this essay explores the oppression women faced and also how the game makes players aware of it.