I sat down on Sunday morning at about 11am with The Hunger Games. Around 7pm, I finished the book. 8 hours of straight reading (with some snack breaks, of course) proves to me that this book is well written, well executed and well...pretty much super duper awesome! Katniss is a great character, rich with depth and inner conflict. The violence of the novel was, honestly, a little more tame than I expected. I understand why Katniss wasn't the bloodthirsty killer that the Careers had been trained to be, but I couldn't help but wonder how many sixteen-year-old trained hunters would be able to justify actively killing the other tributes. I suppose that would be a great prompt in a lit circle/book club/reading group of some sort.
Brace yourself, reader, because I absolutely LOVE how the romance storyline was handled! I enjoy the fact that Katniss is adapting to her environment by working the star-crossed lovers angle, while she is looking out primarily for herself and her family. Yes, she cares about Peeta, just as she cares for Gale, but she understands her lot in life all too well, and her reticence to marry/start a family is completely comprehensible. The fact is, she is strong enough to work alone; she learns, of course, that it's best to work together. The transformation on the train ride back to District 12, when Katniss washes off her make-up and resumes her base identity, that with which she is most comfortable and familiar, is absolutely beautiful. Suzanne Collins writes with ease and captures the confusion of teenage life with aplomb.
I am excited to see how the movie handles the complexity of the novel. And I want to see the action!
I also liked the way the romance storyline was handled - it felt fresh, like a different spin, and it didn't totally bore me. It was an enjoyable read, although I was expecting it to be a lot more violent than it turned out to be (which was a little bit of a let down, and at the same time kind of a relief). I am about to start the second one; a few of the kids in my Practicum placement told me that it is their favorite of the three.
ReplyDeleteI am really interested about comparing working alone against working together with others. This typical situation is complicated by Suzanne Collins in The Hunger Games. We are made to believe that working together is the best way to accomplish a goal. However, in this novel, what Katniss realizes is that there is only one winner of The Hunger Games. While you can work together for a certain period of time, eventually the time will come when you must break the bonds with your teammates. You must consider only your own well being. In this novel you do need people on your side to survive, but you can't get too close to someone because that will eventually end even worse than fighting and killing an enemy. I think one of the hardest things to do is to turn your back on someone you've grown to like or love.
ReplyDeleteThe other fact that you must deal with when working with a team is helping each other out. With that comes a debt or owing that person. This is something Katniss really struggled with in the novel. She hated being helped by others because she felt that she then owed them a debt of gratitude. I think it is what ultimately kept her by Peeta's side; the fact that she owed him her life. She owed him from when they were kids and he threw her a loaf of burned bread. It may not seem like much to you and me, but that burnt bread that she dug out of the mud may have saved her life. She got frustrated with Peeta because whenever she thought she had repaid her debt to him, he would help her out once again. At one point in the novel she debates what would be worse, having to kill Peeta or watching someone else kill Peeta. I think that is a very tricky predicament to find yourself in. Either way, the result was the same. But you have to wonder what situation you would prefer to find yourself in.
The comparison between working alone and looking out for you own self-interest against working as a team is displayed superbly in this novel. As the reader you are forced to think about what you would do if you were Katniss. You can either applaud or disagree with her thoughts and actions. This novel shows that being involved in a team is not all cut and dry; there are many shades of grey. Sometimes while you are looking out for the best interests of the team, your teammate is looking out for their own interests.