Ending????

[[deleted user]]

Do you think that the ending to The Hunger Games trilogy and the final, concluding book, Mockingjay, was a success on the author's part or a fall-apart failure? Answer here.

[MightyMoose]

I thought Mockingjay was a success. Due to the fact that it was written from Katniss' perspective, it had to move as fast as it did and there simply were things that Katniss wouldn't have known. She was in the middle of a war zone being tracked by Snow and Coin when Finnick died, she had to keep moving and fast to stay ahead of her pursuers. There were questions left unanswered, but those who knew the truth were either dead or couldn't be trusted to divulge the truth if asked. And it was sad, but 75 years of slavery, Hunger Games, and a war leaves scars and sadness in its wake.

I think Collins did a beautiful job of portraying a realistic account of what Katniss went through and would've felt. She did it well enough that I cared about the characters and felt sympathetic for what they went through.

[David]

EPIC FAIL!!!! I made a discussion topic on me ranting on how much I HATE THIS BOOK, I gave HungerGames and Catching Fire 5 stars. I gave this Book 2

[Dee]

and like everything, everyone is going to have a different perspective on the ending. I liked mockingjay - not as much as HG or CF, but it was realisitic - no one who has lived through a war/ an uprising like Katniss has is going to be all happy smiles for the rest of their lives

[Dee]

it would be interesting to see how age of readers correlates to their perceptions of this book and its success/failure

[Michael]

I feel like she sacrificed good story for realistic narration. In all truth the first person present tense narrator is hard to pull off, and she did a marvelous job at making it interesting and clear, but the third book's story fell short because of her narrator choice. ... And what do we read books for? Not the narration.
safe to say I was disappointed.

[Zora]

Terrific ending that elevated the series. I can see why children wouldn't think so, but adults know that life doesn't have happy endings, that messing with big matters costs you big.

Fiction works when the threats are real, serious, dire. If you write a book so that the endings are all happy, there is no real drama. Collins knows her craft.

[David]

Dee wrote: "and like everything, everyone is going to have a different perspective on the ending. I liked mockingjay - not as much as HG or CF, but it was realisitic - no one who has lived through a war/ an u..."

Zora wrote: "Terrific ending that elevated the series. I can see why children wouldn't think so, but adults know that life doesn't have happy endings, that messing with big matters costs you big.

Fiction work..."

I hated Mocking jay, and it WAS because of the sh*tty ending. But I wasn't expecting a happy ending. I was expecting one that answered ALL the question readers must’ve had in the book. Why was Snow laughing to death? Did Coin know Katniss killed her in the second before she could think at all? How did Haymitch live the rest of his life? Did Gale EVER talk Katniss again? Did he find love? Who is the President of Panem? What kind of government is there? When did Peeta and Katniss get married? Was it private did the entire country watch it? Did Gale? When did Katniss’s mother die? And the fate of Johanna, does she ever get better? Does everyone live "rich" now or regular? And if Panem is in current North America. What lies in Post- Apocalypse Europe, Africa, and Asia? I have soooo many questions. And Collins failed in resolving at least the most important ones at the end of the book. Great series. Crappy ending. And that makes the whole series loose some of its stars in my opinion

[Dee]

Did katniss know was snow was laughting to death? did katniss know whether coin knew that katniss killed her? - the book was told using a first person's POV - unless she was omnipotent she couldn't have known what other people were thinking/experiencing.

re: post-apocalyptic Europe/Africa/Asia - they weren't touched on in the rest of the series - why would you expect it to be in the final book? It would have been different if individuals from those countries were included in the previous books, but they weren't - so why would you expect them to be mentioned??

[MightyMoose]

David wrote: "Dee wrote: "and like everything, everyone is going to have a different perspective on the ending. I liked mockingjay - not as much as HG or CF, but it was realisitic - no one who has lived through..."

You said you were left wondering who the president of Panem was... After Katniss shoots Coin and Snow chokes to death, a special election is held and Paylor was chosen as Panem's preseident.

[Dee]

and i'm assuming with the special election that they revert to a democracy format...but the ability to speculate and discuss is what i liked most abou it. I posed this in another thread about it - but about how this could be used in the classroom and one of the things could be presuasive arguments - can you convince me a reader, that what you think happened is what did, through the argument,evidence in the book etc

[Jon]

Why was Snow laughing to death?
Because he knew he had succeeded in hurting Katniss one more time. He made her realize that she was no more "herself" being the mockingjay than she was in the games. She was merely a pawn being used by another player who was just as bad (maybe worse?) as snow.

Did Coin know Katniss killed her in the second before she could think at all?
Who cares? This was a first person narrative, and other characters' thoughts are beyond the scope of what Katniss could know.

How did Haymitch live the rest of his life?
He came back to 12 to keep an eye on Katniss, but since it's not HIS story, what he does after Katniss is sent back isn't as important as the effects/implications of what he does. It's implied that he returns to drinking his life away.

Did Gale EVER talk Katniss again? Did he find love?
Same answer as for Haymitch. Since Katniss is telling this story from her POV, then we only really can see what happens to her. We KNOW that there's always going to be Prim's death between them. We KNOW that since Katniss ends up with Peeta that Gale does not. But beyond that? How does it add to the three books about Katniss that we've read?

Who is the President of Panem? What kind of government is there?
Paylor was elected, and this seems to confirm conversations earlier that 13 wanted to establish a representative democracy with the Capitol as a part of the whole.

When did Peeta and Katniss get married? Was it private did the entire country watch it? Did Gale?
Is this story about Katniss' journey as the Girl on fire? How would the circumstances around their marriage (if it even happened! wedlock is not necessarily required for children) expand on the story of the MockingJay?

When did Katniss’s mother die?
Later.

And the fate of Johanna, does she ever get better?
Does anyone? It's pretty clear from her rehab/backslide and everyone else who's dealing with similar circumstances that there's only the long fight, no true healing for emotional scars.

Does everyone live "rich" now or regular?
The book implies that everything is closer to between the two... more equitable all around.

And if Panem is in current North America. What lies in Post- Apocalypse Europe, Africa, and Asia?
Who cares? They weren't part of the story!

[Emily]

The first time I read the series through, this book was my favorite of the trilogy, though after a recent re-read, I've come to the conclusion that it is definitely weaker than the first two, though I think still pretty well done. Like others have been saying, it IS very realistic in content, as well as the knowledge of the narrator. And though this leaves us with questions, I give Collins props for keeping it real, so to speak (;

I also happen to think that the ending was really very good. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but I mean, and considering that the series centers around games that involve a fight to the death between children, I'm not sure what everyone was expecting. And again, this ending was realistic, and I think it's better that it ended the way it did, then to have had Collins try to shove more information in there and disrupt the final impression.

Although I agree with Dee, there are more questions I would like to have answered, especially about the state of the other continents! Maybe Suzanne Collins will be like JK Rowling and post information about things that she feels happened that weren't included in the books?

[MightyMoose]

Very well said Emily.

[Lajoia]

Emily wrote: "The first time I read the series through, this book was my favorite of the trilogy, though after a recent re-read, I've come to the conclusion that it is definitely weaker than the first two, thoug..."

i didnt feel that way about the 3rd book...i was dissapointed the entire way through. but you make a very good point so i feel like i need to read it again and really get the meaning behind everything.

[Nyan]

Should have killed snow... Then beaten the crap out of the other guy.