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3.5/5
Non-Fiction
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Rating: 4.5/5
Pages: 384
Started: 11 November 2023
Finished: 13 November 2023
Summary:
Every year, the country of Panam hosts the Annual Hunger Games, drafting two children from each of its twelve districts to engage in a brutal fight to the death, televised throughout the districts and opulently celebrated in the nation's capital. Though Katniss Everdeen is the only reason his family is still alive--she took the the woods to hunt a way out of starvation after the death of he father--she has no choice but to volunteer for the games when her little sister's name is called in the District 12 lottery. Alongside Peeta, the soft-hearted baker's son from Katniss's town, she is launched into a whirlwind of fashion and performance, and then into the arena itself to compete for her life, Katniss must rely on her survival skills and her promise to her sister to stay alive.
Thoughts:
The first time I read this book was in 6th grade, and I think I was too young to get the book's full effect. There is a reason the book is so highly thought of--it's very smart. The social commentary on capitalism/Hollywood is effective, but the more technical and sci-fi aspects of the book are also extremely clever. There were a few thoughts I found running throughout the book:
Witnessing:
- Katniss is constantly aware of how she's being perceived. If she's not actively fighting for survival in some other way, all her actions are run through the filter of 'what will the people think about this'
"The audience will have been beside themselves, knowing I was in the tree, that I overheard the Careers talking, that I discovered Peeta was with them. Until I work out exactly how I want to play that, I'd better at least act on top of things. Not perplexed. Certainly not confused or frightened. "
"But I'm held here both by the hovercraft walls and the same force that holds the loved ones of the dying. How often I've seen them, ringed around our kitchen table and thought, Why don't they leave? Why do they stay to watch? And now I know. It's because you have no choice."
- It's the perception of the people, not the government, that she thinks about
- Katniss has to be afraid of the government's revenge at the end because the government needs to maintain its image so it doesn't lose control over the people
"In fact, I wonder if the Gamemakers are blocking out our conversation, because even though the information seems harmless, they don't want other people in different districts to know about one another."
"They'll have to show [Rue's death]. Or, even if they choose to turn the cameras elsewhere at this moment, they'll have to bring them back when they collect the bodies and everyone will see her then and know I did it." ---As horrible as this death is, it's publicity and impact on the viewers that is what matters.
"But the hunger games are their [the Gamemakers'] weapon and you are not supposed to be able to defeat it. So now the capitol will act as if they've been in control the whole time. As if they orchestrated the whole event right down to the double suicide." ---because the population as witnesses are important to the capitol
Possibly Asexual Katniss
- The instances of Katniss kissing Peeta are entirely centered around the perception that the citizens of Panem will have
"Impulsively, I lean forward and kiss him, stopping his words. This is probably overdue anyway since he's right, we are supposed to be madly in love. It's the first time I've ever kissed a boy, which should make some sort of impression I guess, but all I can register is how unnaturally hot his lips are from the fever."
"On, right, the whole romance thing> i reach out to touch his cheek and he catches my hand and presses it against his lips. I remember my father doing this very thing to my mother and I wonder where Peeta picked it up. Surely not from his father and the witch."
"I'm about to leave when I remember the importance of sustaining the star-crossed over routine and I lean over and give Peeta a long, lingering kiss. I imagine the teary sighs emanating from the Capitol and pretend to brush away a tear of my own. Then I squeeze through the opening in the rocks out into the night."
"This is the first kiss where I actually feel stirring inside my chest. Warm and curious. This is the first kiss that makes me want another"
"I'm not really sure how to ramp up the romance. The kiss last nigh was nice, but working up to another will take some forethought. There are girls in the Seam, some of the merchant girls, too, who navigate these waters so easily. But I've never had much time or use for it."
- Peeta is obviously into her, but Katniss only seems to display obligation
"I sit so close to Peeta that I'm practically on his lap, but one look from Haymitch tells me it isn't enough. Kicking off my sandals, I tuck my feet to the side and lean my head against Peeta's shoulder. His arm goes around me automatically, and I feel like I"m back in the cave, curled up against him, trying to keep warm." --Peeta feels automatic attachment/love, while Katniss only thinks of survival and personal gain from the connection.
About Gail: "It makes me jealous but not for the reason people would think. Good hunting partners are hard to find."
The possible asexuality is kind of inextricably mixed with Katniss's need for survival. But there are so many dystopian books where romance/sex is either an escape or a driving factor for characters, whereas here Katniss cannot imagine thinking about romance when survival is still necessary.
Selfishness/Survival:
- The only non-selfishness Katniss shows is love for Rue/Prim
"But if this is Prim's, I mean, Rue's last request, I have to at least try." -- wording is a little obvious, but still.
- Everything else is a play for survival
"With both of us hunting daily, there are still nights when game has to be sapped for lard or shoelaces or wool, still nights when we go to bed with our stomachs growling. ' I never want to have kids,' I say."
"I know I'll never marry, never risk bringing a child into the world. Because if there's one thing being a victor doesn't guarantee, it's your children's safety. My kids' names would go right into the reaping balls with everyone else's. And I swear I'll never let that happen."
There were a small handful of sentences that were painfully 2010s and distinctly painful to read. Ugh should never, ever be used in narration.
"The girl with the arrows, Glimmer I hear someone call her -- ugh, the names the people in District 1 give their children are so ridiculous -- anyway Glimmer scales the tree until the branches begin to crack."
Collins also depicts PTSD in a subtle and very believable way.
"Peeta's so pale and still on a silver table, tubes and wires springing out of him every which way, and for a moment I forget we're out o the games and I see the doctors as just one more threat, one more pack of mutts designed to kill him. Petrified, I lunge for him, abut I'm caught and thrust back into another room, and a glass doo seals between us."
Gender roles are flipped.
"I turn to [Peeta]. 'Put you somewhere you can't get hurt.'"
It was fascinating to re-read this book from a slightly more analytical lens while still being very entertained by the immersive nature of quality 2010s dystopian. I am very glad Max convinced me to re-read this, and I cannot wait to continue with the series and my analysis.