So it
seems pretty bizarre that the world of the Hunger Games is a Fascist
post-cataclysmic world. The capital has a tight grip on the rest of its
districts, so much so that they even invented a sort of sport as a reminder for
a rebellion long ago: These are the Hunger Games.
MAY THE ODDS FOREVER BE IN YOUR FAVOR!
Those
who win the Games are granted total stardom, fame and fortune. Out leading lady
Katniss (and to a lesser extent Peeta) won their last Hunger Games, and Katniss
doesn't seem to be happy at all. Could the Hunger Games, as a televised event,
be a realistic parody of fame today or is it more extreme?
Well,
to start the Hunger Games are basically just a gladiatorial death match between
24 young souls, 2 individuals, a boy and a girl, from each district.
That’s right. They have human sacrifices to appease the
beast.
The
victor (or victors in the case of the actual story) basically becomes rich and
famous, albeit with some psychological damage.
This is the position that we find our protagonist, Katniss and her love
triangle compatriot, Peeta; the winners of the 74th annual Hunger
Games! YAAAAY….*cough*.
Well anyway Long story short Peeta falls in love with
Katniss during the games because they had to pretend to be in love for sponsors
and likability (since the Games are just a big spectator sport), but Katniss is
sorta kinda maybe (?) in love with this guy Gale from back in district 12 whose
totally crushed seeing Peeta and Katniss kiss.
Geez, their actors, they weren't
real kisses!
I guess that’s a downside of being
a star: those who you act with can cause a lot of jealously for the fans
Being a victor doesn’t mean
anything significant. It means you survived. You were capable of murdering fellow
humans to survive a death game or orchestrated by your overseers, your
panoptical media broadcasters. The fame is fraudulent, and there’s no two ways
about it. Within the first iteration of the story (aptly called the Hunger
Games) the president of Panam, President Snow tells the Game master that the
Games are a sign of hope for the people. It shows that the Capital is kind,
that some can and will survive.
Snow pops up again at the beginning
of the second book, Catching Fire as
well. This time he visits Katniss at her home, and warns her that she is on
thin ice. Her actions taken during the Hunger Games caused district-wide
rebellion against the capital; she’s not behaving like the good little pawn she
is. President Snow is fully aware that Katniss is not in love with Peeta, but
for the sake of her and her families own good, she’s to keep acting like she
is. He even says that they are twisting the truth and saying that Gale is her
cousin:
“Him I can easily kill off if we
don’t come to a happy resolution.” (24)
Look at that, another downside:
Maintaining relations with pervious friends becomes impossible.
It becomes increasingly more
difficult for Katniss to do anything without watching her own actions. For
instance, when She and Peeta are on their victory tour in district 11 (home to
two members in the games that saved Katniss’ life), she meets eyes with two
young girls in the crowd; The sisters of Rue, a close friend of Katniss’ who
died during the games. She begins by saying how sorry she
is and says that she sees Rue in everything:
“Everything Beautiful brings her to
my mind. I see her in the yellow flowers that grow in the Meadow by my house. I
see her in the mockingjays that sing in the trees. But most of all, I see her
in my sister, Prim.” (61)
After this touching speech, the
crowd begins whistling Rues’ mockingjay call, the one that meant safety in the
arena.
Uh oh, uprising is nigh.
Well the man who started that chant
was executed on spot, along with, oh, who knows how many else? Point is Katniss
is in a position of power now that she is still not used to, and because of
that she really needs to watch her actions…especially seeing as shes always
being watched anyway.
Taylor R.
Collins, Suzanne, and Elizabeth B. Parisi. Catching Fire. New York: Scholastic, 2009. 24. Print.
Ibid., 61
I thought your post was a very good summary of the novel. You definitely eliminated any confusion readers may have had if they had never read any of Collins’ stories. It is obvious that you are thoroughly reading the novel and understanding its content. However, I think that’s all it was—a summary. I wish you would have gave some more insight on what you thought of the events in the book. For example, you wrote “Well, to start the Hunger Games are basically just a gladiatorial death match between 24 young souls, 2 individuals, a boy and a girl, from each district. That’s right. They have human sacrifices to appease the beast. The victor (or victors in the case of the actual story) basically becomes rich and famous, albeit with some psychological damage. This is the position that we find our protagonist, Katniss and her love triangle compatriot, Peeta; the winners of the 74th annual Hunger Games!” I would have loved to know your ideas on the actual Hunger Games and human sacrifices (lol) or even what you thought about Collins incorporating this dragged out love triangle between Katniss, Gale, and Peeta. All in all, your post has proven your knowledge about the book and you portray this knowledge in a way that is easy to read and pick up on I just wish there was more of your own insight.
ReplyDeleteNicole S.
Wow Taylor way to come at Peeta haha. Anyway I like how you went into what the games really mean. While the games are a big part of the book they never really go past being described as a reminder. When the games are so much more than that. They represent human desensitization and cruelty, our independence or self culture, and many other things. You said it yourself. Winning the games means practically means nothing. You were better at surviving. This post made me think back to our discussion in class. When Professor Myers spoke about getting hired. I immediately started clapping for him once I heard because I was excited and happy. He got the job and it would better his life. Then he retorted,
ReplyDelete"NO. I slaughtered ( a little bit dramatic haha) hundreds of other people for this position."
He went on to speak about possibly taking the position from someone who might have needed it more. All the while he made me feel like I was Effy or someone living lavishly in the Capital. Here I was cheering and praising the winner, the tribute from Newark! But, I had forgotten, no not even forgotten, I hadn't even given a thought of the other "tributes" that he had to beat out to get where he is today. It made me feel kind of bad. I was only thinking of the survivor, not of those who weren't.
Great post yo!
Briana Winklaar