I also found the characters to be very engaging. Katniss seems intelligent and completely self-capable, which is refreshing compared to some of the less useful contestants. It was nice that she wasn't interested in going down the love-interest road with Peeta (at least initially) because that side-plot seemed pretty boring and kind of cheesy to me. In this respect it seems like she begins as a Final Girl, but progressively lost those qualities over the course of the novel. I found the ending a little disappointing and overly convenient given the emphasis on loss that had been so common throughout the rest of the book. By the end of the games, Katniss is in a "relationship" (faked or not), not the only one to survive, and has lost most of her self-sufficiency because she has to drag Peeta around everywhere. I know that killing Peeta off would make a sequel much more difficult, but it really seemed to ruin the Final Girl theme that had kept the plot interesting all along.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thoughts on The Hunger Games
I recently finished reading The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, for class this week and was actually pleasantly surprised by most of it. While I had heard of the trilogy and movie due to their popularity, I had never read it or learned what it was about before. The premise of the "Hunger Games" was bizarre and unlikely sounding to me, but it was certainly interesting. While I understand the use of the Games to demonstrate the power of a militaristic government over their population, it seems strange that they try to turn it into a prime-time event worthy of celebration. Either this event acts as evidence of human's morbid entertainment with watching the suffering of others, or the Capital has such control that they can force every citizen to pretend to enjoy it. I don't think that in reality it would be so effective to punish the rebels for their uprising while simultaneously telling them to enjoy the competition with their fellow districts. In my mind this would make a previously loyal citizen angry at the Capitol and a disloyal citizen even angrier.
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I find it interesting how these 12 Districts couldn't find a way to rebel against the Capitol. I mean, half of them are starving. And all of the districts produce and manufacture resources that are essential to the livelihood of the Capitol, so I don't understand why they all couldn't just get together and form an uprising. There are more of them anyway and there's power in numbers. But they also didn't have the technology that the Capitol has, so in a way I guess that's why the districts allow this competition to occur every year because they all feel powerless.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you on Katniss becoming less self sufficient in the end because of her connection to Peeta. I found the star-crossed lovers act to be corny as well. And I loved Katniss' strong-willed independent character initially, but towards the end she still is a piece in the Capitol's games because she has to sacrifice her old identity and mold it into one with Peeta's for the public eye because that is what the people want.