The Hunger Games

Whenever I hear about a book that is completely hyped up, I instantly decide I do not like the book. I do not know why I feel this way but I just do. So I decided I had to overcome this way of thinking, and what way would be better than to read them for a literary course? Since the Hunger Games and Twilight (two of the books in my top 5 of ‘DO NOT READ’) are both in the literary list, I decided to read them. I started reading the Hunger Games in the summer vacation, and was quite surprised to find that I actually liked the book. In fact, I liked it enough to buy the other two books from the trilogy and read them too!

I started of quite reluctant, because I thought I was just going to read some silly love story about a girl and a boy. It surprised me that this was not the main track of the story. From the first page I was hooked and did not put down the book until I turned the last page. The writing style really dragged me into the story and the tough Katniss kept me there. Even though it was quite clear from the beginning of the book what was going to happen at the end (who survives and who does not), it still managed to keep the suspense going. I could actually see a world like this in the future. What I really liked was the no-bullshit-attitude that Katniss Everdeen has. She does not take crap from anyone and is quite a role model for girls these days. She is the symbol of standing up for yourself, caring for other people and to not just do what you are told. The underdog from district 12, who is completely beautified by the team of stylists. While reading this part of the story, I felt like Suzanne Collins was actually mocking the society of today a little bit. Katniss thought it to be strange to want to be thin and look young, while in her district it was a good thing to be bigger and look older. The people who looked old, had made it through tough times and gained respect, and people who had a little more flesh on their bones where obviously rich enough to buy food or went hunting. In our society today it is also in fashion to be thin and look young, and I instantly felt as though this was a jab at this belief of beauty.
The chapters leading up to the games were just as entertaining to me as the games themselves, and I loved the aftermath too. I watched the film after reading the book, and I was quite impressed with it. The only thing I thought to be a shame was the fact that the aftermath was not as distinct in the film as in the books.

The ending of the story was a disappointment though, or rather quite puzzling. But it did make me buy the second and third book, so I guess they succeeded in their goal to keep their readers interested. The second book was also a joy to read, a very good sequel, but the third book really disappointed me. The whole book had a different feel to it and it was much too violent for my taste (even though they had to kill everyone in the first book, the third one seemed much more violent and horror-like).

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In class we discussed the idea of an imperfect world. One slide that really stuck with me was this one:
– Developing a sense of competence

– Discovering their world

– Face danger – and survive

– Simple

– Characters – good or bad

– Harmony/disharmony/harmony restored

– Adventure

The reason this slide stuck with me is because all of the mentioned aspects were present in the Hunger Games story. For instance, Face danger – and survive: When we start reading the book, we know how it is going to end. Katniss will obviously survive and somehow we all have a feeling Peeta will too. They face danger by going into the arena, to fight to the death, but somehow they both survive and go home as hero’s. Well… For a while.

But Harmony/disharmony/harmony restored: is something I could not easily find. Sure, there was ‘harmony’ in the beginning of the book, but even then it was not real harmony. The book started out with disharmony, after which it got worse, and the harmony did not restore afterwards. They were just in the same place as where they started, just a bit wiser and more damaged. The only harmony I can find, is at the end of the 3^rd book, when everything is supposed to be ‘Okay’ after Katniss kills Coin and Snow is dead too. She is ‘happy’ with Peeta, and has two kids. Though I still feel like she was only settling.

Whenever I hear about a book that is completely hyped up, I instantly decide I do not like the book. I do not know why I feel this way but I just do. So I decided I had to overcome this way of thinking, and what way would be better than to read them for a literary course? Since the Hunger Games and Twilight (two of the books in my top 5 of ‘DO NOT READ’) are both in the literary list, I decided to read them. I started reading the Hunger Games in the summer vacation, and was quite surprised to find that I actually liked the book. In fact, I liked it enough to buy the other two books from the trilogy and read them too!

I started of quite reluctant, because I thought I was just going to read some silly love story about a girl and a boy. It surprised me that this was not the main track of the story. From the first page I was hooked and did not put down the book until I turned the last page. The writing style really dragged me into the story and the tough Katniss kept me there. Even though it was quite clear from the beginning of the book what was going to happen at the end (who survives and who does not), it still managed to keep the suspense going. I could actually see a world like this in the future. What I really liked was the no-bullshit-attitude that Katniss Everdeen has. She does not take crap from anyone and is quite a role model for girls these days. She is the symbol of standing up for yourself, caring for other people and to not just do what you are told. The underdog from district 12, who is completely beautified by the team of stylists. While reading this part of the story, I felt like Suzanne Collins was actually mocking the society of today a little bit. Katniss thought it to be strange to want to be thin and look young, while in her district it was a good thing to be bigger and look older. The people who looked old, had made it through tough times and gained respect, and people who had a little more flesh on their bones where obviously rich enough to buy food or went hunting. In our society today it is also in fashion to be thin and look young, and I instantly felt as though this was a jab at this belief of beauty.
The chapters leading up to the games were just as entertaining to me as the games themselves, and I loved the aftermath too. I watched the film after reading the book, and I was quite impressed with it. The only thing I thought to be a shame was the fact that the aftermath was not as distinct in the film as in the books.

The ending of the story was a disappointment though, or rather quite puzzling. But it did make me buy the second and third book, so I guess they succeeded in their goal to keep their readers interested. The second book was also a joy to read, a very good sequel, but the third book really disappointed me. The whole book had a different feel to it and it was much too violent for my taste (even though they had to kill everyone in the first book, the third one seemed much more violent and horror-like).

In class we discussed the idea of an imperfect world. One slide that really stuck with me was this one:
– Developing a sense of competence

– Discovering their world

– Face danger – and survive

– Simple

– Characters – good or bad

– Harmony/disharmony/harmony restored

– Adventure

The reason this slide stuck with me is because all of the mentioned aspects were present in the Hunger Games story. For instance, Face danger – and survive: When we start reading the book, we know how it is going to end. Katniss will obviously survive and somehow we all have a feeling Peeta will too. They face danger by going into the arena, to fight to the death, but somehow they both survive and go home as hero’s. Well… For a while.

But Harmony/disharmony/harmony restored: is something I could not easily find. Sure, there was ‘harmony’ in the beginning of the book, but even then it was not real harmony. The book started out with disharmony, after which it got worse, and the harmony did not restore afterwards. They were just in the same place as where they started, just a bit wiser and more damaged. The only harmony I can find, is at the end of the 3^rd book, when everything is supposed to be ‘Okay’ after Katniss kills Coin and Snow is dead too. She is ‘happy’ with Peeta, and has two kids. Though I still feel like she was only settling.

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