To Survive

Happy to share that I finished the first book in the Hunger Games!  Listened to it all weekend while I was cleaning out and organizing closets-- made the time go by much more quickly!
I will admit that I greatly enjoyed this book.  I wanted to write today a bit about survival, which I feel is one of the many prominent themes of this book.  How does one survive while keeping dignity and sense of self?  During the hunger games, Katniss had to fight off fire, poisonous insects, hunger, thirst, and of course her peers or tributes.  To survive, she had to outsmart and even kill her opponents.

I connect this book's theme of survival to political survival between the Capital and its districts, social survival between the rich and poor, and survival of life.  For Katniss, she is the definition of a survivor, and her surviving these games came as no surprise.

Katniss outsmarted the capital, and my prediction for book two is that she will suffer for it.  Peeta and Katniss have survived together, yet they are still under the capital's control.  I believe book two will become another story of survival.  How will Peeta and Katniss's lives be changed after surviving these games?  How will she handle returning to District 12? How will she handle her relationship with Peeta?  After she confesses to playing into the "star-crossed lovers" image to help win the game, Peeta is heartbroken.  They arrive back home and put on a show for the crowd one last time:

"One more time? For the audience?" he says. His voice isn't angry. It's hollow, which is worse. Already the boy with the bread is slipping away from me. I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.” 

Collins shares his voice was "hollow" and this is worse than "angry." Wow, that's powerful craft.  We all know that hollow voice and look of goodbye.  Katniss is no doubt confused but now seems to be entering back into her district solo.  Can she now survive without Peeta?  What happens after she "let's go?"  Definitely planning to get my hands on book two in this series!

The Hunger Games

I went into the book with little background knowledge (other than Brad's posts, which is why I picked up this book!), and once I moved past the initial shock of what "The Hunger Games" involved, I was hooked.  I'm about half-way through the book and anticipate I will move through the second half quickly. 

In this text, we have totalitarian Capital government and teenagers, or "tributes", from various districts.  In the games, teens are forced to kill each other, even the teen from his/her own district, in a controlled Big Brother type environment.  Yes, the games are broadcasted on live television and the teens are essentially sacrificing their lives for the entertainment of their capital.  Sounds crazy?  It is, but I'm engrossed.  I see the Hunger Games arena similar to the Coliseum during Roman times.  How are the tributes different than gladiators fighting to their death for the citizens of the Empire's entertainment? 

Katniss, the main character, is a strong survivor.  Having lived in poverty, she hunted and gathered to feed her younger sister and mother.  At the beginning of the story, I felt as if I was reading a book about the past, back in the "olden" days when people hunted and bartered for food.  I later found out that this is rather a district inequity.  The Capital is modern, filled with the latest and greatest, and this book takes place in the future.  One quote that made me think and rethink our values is the following:

"They do surgery in the Capitol, to make people appear younger and thinner. In District 12, looking old is something of an achievement since so many people die early. You see an elderly person, you want to congratulate them on their longevity, ask the secret of survival. A plump person is envied because they aren't scraping by like the majority of us. But [in the Capitol] it is different. Wrinkles aren't desirable. A round belly isn't a sign of success." (Ch9)

It's all about perspective, right?

Anyway, when Katniss volunteers to take her sister's place at the reaping, the reader begins to develop her identity.  Yet, as the plot progresses, it's as if she is working to find her identity too.  I'm unsure if how she is being portrayed by the media is changing her identity.  And then there's Peter, the other tribute from district 12.  He is the biggest mystery to me in this story.  As the games have begun, I can't help but wonder how these two "star-crossed lovers" will handle a face-off in the arena, and will that happen?  I expect a rebellion, perhaps if these two unite, or even an escape.  I don't predict a sole winner in these games -- something complicated instead (as I know there are two more books to continue this series!). 

Collins has a craft for well-planned plot twists.  Looking forward to figuring things out as this plot unfolds. 

Till next time,
Dr. K.