Hunger Games

First impression

Some stories just stick with you… I was captured by this one immediately. I was seriously shocked when I learned what the games were about, talking about an imperfect world! Last year we had to read The Lottery, which obviously has the same incident and yet it shocked me again. I think it is because the idea of sacrificing one of your own for a common good still exists. Things like this really happened in ancient times and upsettingly enough, they still happen. Although this story seems really farfetched and sick, people are capable of doing things like this to one another because of certain beliefs and convictions, and that is what scares me. 

It is interesting to see that the author was inspired and shocked likewise by a similar story. She based her books on the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur: ‘As punishment for displeasing Crete, Athens periodically had to send seven youths and seven maidens to Crete, where they were thrown into the labyrinth and devoured by the Minotaur, which is a monster that’s half man and half bull.’ This story also took her breath away, because it was so cruel (school library journal, 2013).

Class discussion

Just like the story in the Greek mythology, the Hunger Games talks about a dystopia, or an ‘imperfect world’, which was this week’s theme. Making the mind map in class showed that there are a lot of topics that reoccurred to a greater or lesser extend in all the books. The most important themes are survival, peer pressure, fear, no guidance of adults, suffering, growing up and making your own decisions. In class we concluded that Lord of the Flies and Hunger Games have a lot in common, as survival is one of the main issues in both books and interwoven with this is peer pressure. These both books make your skin crawl, because you do not (want to) believe that people, children, could do this to each other. 

In these kind of books the quest is most important, not the development of the characters. In the Hunger Games this is also the case. Katniss’ personality does not fundamentally change, the circumstances change and we watch her deal with these situations. By facing these ordeals, she learns something and can take new actions. When looking at the character of Katniss, it is obvious that she has great control over her emotions; she volunteers to take her sister’s place in the game because she does not want her sister to get killed; she takes care of Rue in the games and kills somebody to revenge her; she kills to survive; she talks about the superficial bond she has with her mother, but she keeps the reel feelings away from her, everything Katniss says or feels is in a rational manner. She never seems scared for her own life, she just worries about others all the time.

Another feature typical for these type of books is a lot of repetition, literally or figuratively speaking. A few examples in this book are the Mockingjay, (the girl on) fire, goodbyes and hunting (Sparknotes, 2013).

Age suitability / theory

The books might be a little too bloody and ruthless for teenagers who are very sensitive, but apart that this book just SCREAMS adolescence and is absolutely suitable for age thirteen and older!

Erikson states there are six states children go through and in the fifth stage teenagers need to develop a sense of self and personal identity (About.com, 2013).This story is very much about that stage. Katniss is forced to explore her independence in several ways; at the start she has to take care of her mother and sister and make sure they have food, so she goes hunting which is illegal and at the reaping she makes the decision to take her sister’s place. At the Games she obviously is totally on her own, independence to the max. Just like Peeta wanted as well, Katniss maintains her sense of identity and integrity, despite all the things she has to go through (Sparknotes, 2013). 

In addition, appearances are everything in this story and she has to keep them up, that is the only way to survive. If she cries she is weak, if the public doubts that she is in love with Peeta they won’t support them anymore (Sparknotes, 2013). That is so recognizable in adolescents’ lives. Their most significant relationships are with peer groups (Americas Angell, 2011), so they have to keep up their appearance, their reputation, if they do not, they will also die in the jungle – survival interwoven with peer pressure (eHow, 2013). 

In the Hunger Games the hero suffers, for mere entertainment, not just purely physical but psychological as well (Sparknotes, 2013). Besides that we also see a lot of defiance to the government (Sparknotes, 2013), in case of teenagers in our world, this could be called rebellion (thinking back to the little video you showed us). Looking at all this, it is easy to imagine that adolescents can relate to the protagonist. They have to create their own identity and find a way to survive, which that is hard, just like it is for Katniss.

I realized that I have always been attracted by dystopian stories, now that I know that it actually is a theme. Thinking back there are a few stories that have always stuck with me, like Brave New World, Lord of the Flies and The Matrix. They filled me with this kind of horror, but intrigued me all the same, just like The Hunger Games and The Lottery did (which I have read ten times since last block of literature).  I believe this book will definitely capture young adults  the way it did me!

Literature written for teenagers offer them compelling stories which allow them to connect with and relate to the characters, to others. It also helps them to confirm themselves and their own experiences. They can explore incidents that they otherwise would not experience and this can help them to learn about the world outside of their knowledge (Morrissette, n.d.). When looking at The Hunger Games, this obviously is the case. Normally this would never happen to somebody. They can thinks about the way they would react and what they would do. Besides that, adolescents know that the world is not fair and that human beings are able to do these kind of things to each other and it will make them think. Through reading , children can ‘try someone else’s life on for size’. Reading can be a way to explore ways of living and points of view that are well beyond their experience, it is a new way of travelling (Reader, p.31).

This book is obviously written for adolescents, starting with the point of view it is written in the first person and this person is a teenager herself (Morrissette, n.d.). This way you can totally understand the protagonist, you understand her decisions (whether you agree or not), the difficulties she encounters, the feelings she has (although they are not described in depth in this book), the problems she has to solve. Teens realize that they are not living in a perfect world, they therefore like to be able to relate to the characters in the book, to their thoughts, feelings and actions (Scheller, 2013).

A few other aspects that show that this book is clearly suitable for adolescents are; the adult characters are marginal, of course there are a few adult characters like Haymitch and Cinna, but they are not main characters like Catniss or Peeta; the actions and concerns of the main character drive the story; few subplots, even the relations between Carniss and Peeta and Gale are part of the main story; and there are detailed description of other teenager’s appearances , mannerisms and dress (think about all the other kids participating in the game, or Catniss’s sister) (Morrissette, n.d.).

Nice to know

Collins came up with the idea of the Hunger Games when she was watching TV, surfing between reality TV and a war coverage and getting the stories mixed up. Besides the Greek mythology, the gladiatorial games also inspired her. The title comes from the Latin phrase ‘panem et circenses’ (bread and games), which is a metaphor for a superficial means of appeasement (Wikipedia, 2013). This comparison suggests that reality TV, sells real life as entertainment, which make the real people turn into a thing, it is a form of objectification. And this is very recognizable as we value reality TV with how much entertainment it gives us, the ‘actors’ therefore try to be as interesting as possible, losing their own identity as a result.

Sources

America’s Angel. Research. Retrieved 20^th from September from http://www.americasangel.org/research/developmental-stages/erikson-developmental-stages/#adolescent

Complete Reader (2013, p. 31), Youth Literature.

eHow. Retrieved 20^th of September from http://www.ehow.com/info_8358295_eriksons-stages-adolescence.html

Francine Morrissette. Retrieved the 27th of October from http://suite101.com/a/what-is-young-adult-fiction-a135786

School Library Journal. Retrieved 20^th of September from http://www.slj.com/2008/09/books-media/authors-illustrators/a-killer-story-an-interview-with-suzanne-collins-author-of-the-hunger-games/

Rachel Scheller. Retrieved the 27th of October from http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/writing-for-the-young-adult-audience

Sparknotes. Literary study guides - canalysis. Retrieved 20^th of September from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-hunger-games/canalysis.html

Sparknotes. Literary study guides - themes. Retrieved 20^th of September from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-hunger-games/themes.html