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Archive 08-19 GR Discussions
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Hunger Games **Spoilers likely**

General impressions? Was this book what you expected?
If you've only recently read The Hunger Games, what kept you from it? The subject matter? Its Young Adult label? That you don't care for hyped books? Something else?
The Hunger Games are treated like a festival. They are a literal demonstration of the revolt of the districts and the Capitol's total power over them. What holidays or events around the world do we act out (literally or figuratively) to remind us of our "Dark Days" or sacrifices made?
The book was all I had hoped for. I am a big fan of dystopian fiction though, so when I heard talk about this book last year (when I read it) I knew it was right up my alley. :o)
As to the second part of your question, hmm...
I suppose all the Civil War battle reinactments that are held are a way of reminding us of some of the USA's dark days. At least in our reinactments, it is all fake and nobody gets killed. Interested to hear what other examples people think of.
As to the second part of your question, hmm...
I suppose all the Civil War battle reinactments that are held are a way of reminding us of some of the USA's dark days. At least in our reinactments, it is all fake and nobody gets killed. Interested to hear what other examples people think of.

To answer you second question, I think Thanksgiving is a perfect example of this - we are celebrating the generosity of the indigenous poeple who saved us from starvation - only to turn around and murder, pillage, infect them with diseases on purpose, herd, and steal their land right out from under them. It's an autrocious rememberence.
Bastille day is another one off the top of my head.
Good questions!




Thinking of your question Jennifer, the celebration that immediately springs to my mind is Guy Fawkes night - I'm not sure to what extent it's celebrated outside of UK but to elaborate... In 1605 there was a plot to blow up the House of Commons, Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellar of parliament with alot of gunpowder and was subsequently caught, tortured and executed. So every November 5th, we celebrate by BURNING AND EFFIGY of him on a bonfire and then fireworks. It never occured to me how this is actually quite a grusome thing to do until I took my kids to a bonfire last year and was obliged to explain it!

I'm actually embarassed that it took me so long to start this trilogy! I decided to give YA another chance in 2010. I lost my faith in YA with the Twilight series (sorry Twilight fans!) and I was a bit reluctant to read anymore YA literature. My faith was restored with The Book Thief and now The Hunger Games! The YA label can be deceiving! :)



"Remember remember the 5th of novemeber...." V for Vendetta is one of my favorite movies.

The way people were talking I was dreading that the book would end in the middle of the Games before we find out who won (I was so nervous when I got to the 90% mark and there were still four competitors left!). Yes, she left some questions unresolved at the end and clearly set the stage for a sequel, but it's definitely not as "OH MY GOD, HOW COULD YOU SUZANNE?!" as I was expecting.
I'll have to think about that second question...

I realized quickly that the books were not what I expected. I love Katniss and Peeta, and falling in love with characters is the thing that gets me hooked. I think this series is very refreshing. No vampires or paranormal creatures. And the story is just incredible.
The only thing I'm not convinced of yet is the relationship between Katniss and Gale. There's barely anything about them in the book so it doesn't get established. I have a very hard time understanding her feelings when I have no reference for it.

I love the comment that the book says about our culture and reality TV- even though it takes place in the future, it is reality TV in its most absolute distasteful and extreme form.

I actually felt the opposite. Its simplicity keeps the book from feeling too love triangle-y. All we need to know to get their relationship is that they learned to survive together. Even when they had nothing, they had each other. It's a bond that goes deeper than friendship, but until Peeta confessed his feelings and the Gamemakers started playing up the romance angle, she never had to put a label to what she has with Gale.
Gale's reaction was probably the most frequent thing I thought about throughout the book. I found myself constantly wondering how he'd react watching the romance between Katniss and Peeta... would he feel angry and betrayed? Or would he be able to tell that Katniss was only doing what she had to to win?
Even though he doesn't appear throughout most of the book, I felt his presence in every scene.

I felt the presence of Gale in the same way as Katniss - so much is happening, there's no time to spare a thought to much else but then a nagging voice, a vague feeling of worry about him. I thought these conflicted feelings were the more believable because she is quite naive. Whilst left to their own devises it seems likely they would be together eventually, her thoughts weren't quite at that place, nothing was overtly said between them so there's uncertainty.


Not finished with the book yet but right now my though on Gale seem to be mostly friendship. He doesn't seem as bonded to Katniss as emotionally or physically as Peeta does nor does he seem to awake those same feelings in Katniss. I do see Gale as being a big help to Katniss getting through the games. I have loved the reflections of her father. I think he is also helping her alow and the author letting us know that he will always be with and a part of Katniss.

Since Rebecca brought it up, let's talk about the parade and interviews. What's the point of getting them all dolled up? What did you think of Katniss' beauty team? Why spend the time making them look good, why not just go straight to training?


Her beauty team seemed pretty vacuous to me, excepting the designer - (aghh what's his name again?) who is talented and creative without doubt but seems to have more about him with regards to strategy and politics. He's a big support and a good friend to Katniss.

Hmmm, now that I'm thinking about this, I am thinking that getting them dolled up, and the ceremony, was all for the Capitol. It's almost like the Capitol was it's own country (compare it to the USA), and in this country people are obsessed with beauty, and the event itself was just for fun for them.
And the other districts were almost like other countries, like third world countries, where they had none of the wealth and their whole life was just to survive (think of poor countries where there is famine and death).
And the people in the Capitol were so caught up in their own lives and lifestyle, that the other districts really had no value or meaning to them.
Not sure that makes any sense. Just thoughts that were going through my mind, and how if would compare to the values we have today in developed countries compared to poor third world countries.
And the other districts were almost like other countries, like third world countries, where they had none of the wealth and their whole life was just to survive (think of poor countries where there is famine and death).
And the people in the Capitol were so caught up in their own lives and lifestyle, that the other districts really had no value or meaning to them.
Not sure that makes any sense. Just thoughts that were going through my mind, and how if would compare to the values we have today in developed countries compared to poor third world countries.

Do you think they really care in the Capitol about sponsors and training and the fact that these are real people who are dying? Or are the people in the Capitol so far removed from the reality of it all that the whole thing is just a big game for them, only there for the entertainment value?
If it's just a game, then they wouldn't care about the training, because the whole thing would just be a for fun, beauty contest/popularity contest there to entertain them.
If it's just a game, then they wouldn't care about the training, because the whole thing would just be a for fun, beauty contest/popularity contest there to entertain them.


I can understand what you mean, but I just didn't read it that way. I wish I had. I think I would feel a lot differently about the series thus far if I had.





Yep. Totally agree with this statement. I thought the book was so smartly written as a YA book but also included these very adult themes.
I loved this book. I can't wait to read Catching Fire- I am #2 on the list at the library.

How does the fact that the tributes are always on camera affect their behavior from the time they are chosen? Does it make it easier or harder for them to accept their fate?



Also from the discussion guide:
Before the Games start, Peeta tells Katniss, " . . . I want to die as myself . . . I don't want them to change me in there. Turn me into some kind of monster that I'm not." What does this tell you about Peeta? What does he fear more than death? Is he able to stay true to himself during the Games? Does this intent to stay true to himself conflict with his joining the careers?



I think his intention to stay true to himself doesn't conflict with his decision to join the careers because his motivations remain true. I think it does show that while he doesn't want to be manipulated by the capitol he is less concerned with how the people watching perceive him than with his over-riding wish of not having Katniss be killed.

Suzanne Collins drew a perfect parallel between her fictitious world, and the world of our modern TV reality shows. I could easily see us going The hunger Games route in forty or fifty years, if we as media consumers don't get a grip on our obcessions with celebrities, beauty, bloodthirst, shock factor, and scandal. These are all things we seem to demand from the media.
The pre-game interviews make sense to me, from the standpoint that The Capitol wanted viewers to get attached to the contestants. The interviews provided the opportunity for the audience to connect and identify with one or more of the contestants. For example, "I hope this one wins; she's shy like me." Or, "He needs to lose; I can't stand cocky contestants."
I think Peeta fears losing his soul, far more than he fears losing his life. He may be my favorite character in the book. I like Catniss a lot, but Peeta shows a quiet strength of character throughout his life, dating all the way back to the "loaf of bread" incident. I believe he stayed true to himself, because he only joined the careers to protect Catniss.


I looked up the section on Peeta joining the Careers...
"The Career tributes are silent until he gets out of earshot, then use hushed voices.
"Why don't we just kill him now and get it over with?"
"Let him tag along. What's the harm? And he's handy with that knife."...
"Besides, he's our best chance of finding her.""
Interpret as you will.
What about Rue and Katniss' collaboration? What was gained by that relationship? How did Katniss deal with the fact that at least one of them had to die? What statement did Katniss make by staging Rue's burial?


This is my opinion on Peeta (sorry for the long post - it's a lot): He's been in love with her since they were 5 or whatever. The games are something of a continuance of the same for him since he would get himself hurt to help her survive even at the age of 11. I believe, once Katniss volunteered to fight in the Games, that Peeta wanted to be chosen. I don't recall everything about the reaping exactly, but I don't remember him being freaked out or afraid, only accepting. He wants to do anything he can to save Katniss.
He knew that admitting his love for her on TV would make people sympathize with her as well, and see her as a teenage girl who "lots of guys" want to date. It's a subtle way of reminding people that these kids aren't tributes; they're kids who were yanked away from lives in which people loved them.
In the second book it mentions Peeta getting in with the Careers. So you'll find out slightly more then. Though it still doesn't really explain much about the motive. I believe his motive had several parts: to keep an eye on them and help Katniss escape them if necessary, and also to survive as long as he could. The longer he lives, the longer he can help Katniss, but he doesn't want to die either, especially not before he knows she's safe (imo).
He doesn't want to lose himself in the games. He doesn't want to be a murderer, but he also wants to show them some sort of defiance. He started down that road with his confession of love for another tribute. He subtly started making people feel the sadness of these kids' loved ones. And for the first time they are seeing that even winning might be something awful.
He also refrains from being a murderer, in my opinion. Two people die by his hand, but one of them has been stabbed or beaten to the brink of death already. Peeta probably put her out of her misery by cutting her throat (a scene that isn't even shown - we can possibly assume it really happened, or we can wonder if maybe he sat with her till she died like Katniss and Rue, or any number of other possibilities). Either way, I don't see that as a murder. And Foxgirl taking his poison berries that he was silly enough to plan to eat himself isn't murder, just foolishness on both of their parts.
Peeta is amazing. He is totally self-sacrificing. This makes me nervous for his longevity. These inherently good and pure characters rarely survive books! I will keep my fingers crossed for him! lol
Gale I feel tremendous sympathy for. It must be AWFUL sitting there watching the girl that you love fighting to survive, killing, kissing another boy, sacrificing her safety to attempt to save said boy and almost dying for it, threatening suicide, all while you hunt alone without her to feed your family and hers. Collins does an amazing job of reminding us what Gale must be going through without having to cut away to his pov. Yet, I think Katniss's love for him is more brotherly than romantic. Any guilt she feels is because she suspects his feelings for her are stronger and she doesn't want to hurt him. Even though she rejects the possibility of Peeta, I get the feeling she is denying herself happiness, partly because she doesn't want a family and kids to raise in this type of dystopic government. Also, when you get a first person narration, it is an unreliable source for truth. If she's lying to herself about her feelings, then she is lying to us about them.
I could go on and on about Cinna as well. For now I'll just say the dude is smart. He knows the Capitol people well enough to know how to manipulate him subtly and he does it. His motives are unclear, but you can tell that he is bordering on defiance with the rest of them.
What Katniss did with the singing Rue to sleep and the flowers was remind the Capitol that they weren't just contestants; they were scared kids, and that the Capitol could not make her forget her humanity or lose her respect for that humanity in others, even when they make her fight to the death with them.
Books mentioned in this topic
The Book Thief (other topics)The Hunger Games (other topics)
Graceling (other topics)
Catching Fire (other topics)
Mockingjay (other topics)
I hope those of you that have read The Hunger Games will join us for our chat. Anyone should feel free to ask discussion questions.
I do ask that people refrain from talking about Catching Fire, as some people may not have read it yet and I'd hate to spoil it for them. If you can't remember if something happened in HG or CF, send me a private message and I'll try to help you figure it out so you don't accidentally spoil something. Thanks!!