BIG Blog Post #3 (due Tuesday 12/10, 11:59 P.M.: comment due Wednesday, 12/11, 11:59 P.M.): What does The Hunger Games do to us? And…should we be happy about it?

Here it is.  The biggest blog post in all the land.  It’s also our last.  Use everything you’ve got.  We strongly recommend working in groups of 2 or 3.  But if that’s impossible, at the end of the semester, you can do it yourself instead.  (Either way, just make it clear in your post who did the work!) 

Part One (4 points):  Observation—Signification and Rhetoric

This is the what and how—what is this book doing to us, and how is it doing it?  Obviously it does a lot of things to its readers, so:  choose one important thing you see it doing, and explain it in detail.  Think about all of our discussions (and past blog posts) about positioning.  But whatever you choose, most important is the detail.  Find a few key moments in the book where you see that thing being done, and read them closely.  Stick to the text—no outside sources.  Pay attention to wording.  To selection of detail.  To names.  To verb tenses.  To narrative.  To empathy.  To intertextuality.  This is show and tell.  Show us something, and explain how it works.  

[The focus here is on DETAILED DESCRIPTION: show us the unexpected and un-noticed details about the book (remember 'Reading Culture' from our syllabus. p 2?).]

(Example:  in our work on Avatar, we analyzed several clips of “nature” scenes on Pandora.  What they were doing to us?  They were making us love Pandora, and ultimately take a side with the Na’vi against Colonel Quidditch and the humans.  How were they doing it?  We analyzed lots of visual and audio signifiers that were in these clips—tails, whirling white thingies, monsters-turned-dogs, camera angles, growling sound effects, Titanic-like underscoring, etc.—and discussed the ways that, put all together, these signifiers constructed strong feelings in us, the viewers.  This what we’re asking you to do here.)

                                                                   

Part Two (4 points):  Theory—Analysis and Context

This is the why it works the way it does.  You’ve already analyzed one thing the book is doing and the ways it’s doing it—now, you’re going to analyze why it works that way on audiences here and now.  What makes the signifiers you described signify in the ways that they do?  What hegemonic ideologies of contemporary Western/American culture do your moments from the book draw on?  How, in Hall’s sense, does Susan Collins make her meanings “intelligible” to young American readers in the early 21^st century?  Here’s where the theory, the keywords, and the outside sources come in.  Use anything you need, from anywhere in the course.  Cite material from outside the course if you need to, but otherwise stick to what we’ve got…which is plenty.

[The focus here is on THEORIZED EXPLANATION (sorry about the jargon): use our theoretical concepts (and really use them; not just mention or name them) to show how the book works (remember 'Theorizing Culture' from our syllabus. p 2?).]

(Example:  after we analyzed the Avatar clips, we looked at Wordsworth and Rousseau and Hobbes—and the concept of Romanticism—to understand why those particular signifiers in the Avatar clips evoked all those strong feelings in us.  The reason why huge orchestral music and light-up ground and whirring beach-sounding white discs make our “hearts leap up,” we discovered, was because of a 200 year long history of similar representations, which have entered our cultural “common sense.”  They have become part of our habitus.  Our bodies react to them, in ways that seem natural, but are anything but.)

Part Three (4 points):  Argument—Agency and Representation

This is the why it matters.  By now you’ve explained to us what the book is doing, how it’s doing it, and why it resonates with contemporary American audiences.  Now comes the most important question:  why should we care?  What does it matter?  Here’s where you’ll draw on your observations (Part One) and your analysis (Part Two) to make an argument about how this book’s representation of reality gives it agency to affect the way we think and act in the world.

[The focus here is on CRITICAL ENGAGEMENT: remembering that all cultural activity has the power to shape, change and maybe even improve lives, take a position and argue for it—about whether this novel (and all the stuff around it—reviews, websites, Tumblr reblogging, arguments with the library, cosmetics, action figures, pundits) is good for us or bad for us (remember 'Changing Culture' from our syllabus. p 2?).]

(Example:  after we studied Romantic literature and political theory, we went back and looked at the Toruk Maktou scene again.  We read its signifiers (Part One), we discussed the way it connected with Rousseau and Hobbes (Part Two)—and then we used those things to make an argument.  Our argument was:  Avatar is making us feel really excited and happy about the White Messiah who’s come in to save the helpless non-white people.  Even though it draws on Rousseau-like representations of nature and “noble savages” in nature, it ultimately suggests that these non-white, non-human natives need a white male human Marine, with all the training and trappings of civilization, to come save them.  We end up being opposed to most people from civilization, because they’re insensitive to the environment and native cultures and only care about profit, but feeling like certain people from civilization, like Jake, are absolutely necessary.  Note that we didn’t say this message was “good” or “bad”—that depends on your own opinion, which is irrelevant here.  But whatever your point of view, it’s important.)

Comment (3 points)

Spend some time writing your comment.  2 points means you clearly read the post carefully and participated in a serious critique of the post’s observations, analysis, and argument.  1 point means you didn’t read the post carefully, and/or your commentary is superficial.  3 points means you bring something new and important into the discussion—a new theoretical perspective, a new context, a new piece of Hunger Games text that complicates the argument.

Good luck!  And, well, you know about the odds…

Tacker Jakers

I picked chapter 14 where Katnis is stuck in the tree while everyone waits to kill her at the bottom including Peeta. Rue points out the tracker jaker nest and she tries to saw it while the anthem goes on but can't get it in time. She then gets her ointment and applies it to her burns and waits till mourning to finish the nest. She cuts the nest down, gets stung three times and manages to kill Glimmer and the girl from district 4. She gets the bow from Glimmer and Peeta saves her life and she runs off hallucinating and blacks out. 

This scene is constructed through Katnis's emotions towards sending this nest upon her competitors. She feels stuck in this tree and feels she has no other option. She doesn't seem to want to kill anyone but it is justified because of her lack of options. This is the Rousseau side of things where she sees the good in people but she doesn't come out and say it just more implied by her habitus as a good natured person as her character is constructed in the book. This Rousseau good nature of her is displayed by her selflessness of risking her life to help out Rue and her mention of wanting Rue to win over Peter even if it meant her family got more food if he won. She says "Since she tipped me off, it only seems fair to warn her. Besides, if I'm going to die today, it's RueI want to win. Even if it mean a little extra food for my family, the idea of Peeta being crowned victor is unberable". Her attitude towards Rue is Rousseau but her attitude towards Peeta due to her long lasting Grudge is a Hobbesian view on things. This one sentence explains most of her feelings but that one word "unberable" displays her Hobbesian view. Once she sends the nest to the ground and gets the bow as she starts to hallucinate, Peeta comes back and saves her. She runs and ends on the one last thought of him saving her life before she blacks out. Peeta's actions seemed to have wiped away this Hobbesian view of him. She says "Sick and disoriented, I'm able to form only one thought: Peeeta Mellark just saved my life...". This displays the start of the change of her view on him and their relationship as people.Going back to this one sentence and her Rousseau view towards Rue for helping her out. She sees the good in Rue for tipping her off and feels the need to pay her back. This reflects her Habitus of her Rousseauist view and is reflected from the very beginning of volunteering for Prinn, to not killing in the scramble for weapons and just trying to survive and only killing if necessary. She seems to switch between these views of Romantic Rousseau and a pessimistic Hobbes. Also more displaying her Rosseauist side when she gets the bow from Glimmer she says "I reach Glimmerjust as the cannon fires. The Tracker jackers have vanished. This girl, so breathtakingly beautiful in her golden dress the night of the interviews, is unrecognizable." She almost feels remorse for her actions and sees the beautiful side of her and compares to the after math of the wasp stings. She feels guilty but knows she must do it; this sentence displays her Roussauist while she romantisizes Glimmer in her previous form.  It still falls onto the Rousseau side with the "state of nature" Katnis is only using the tools within this "state of nature" she in forced into and she doesn't seem wicked for killing people merely doing what she has to.

Now all of this forces us as a reader in this moment to see the good in Katnis, to show she does not only not want to kill these people but is forced to. This is obvious from the start of the book but it also displays that she is not going to get out of the games just hiding and surviving. This prepares you for the shift in her character becoming more comfortable with killing and winning the games. It also forces you to believe that her and Peeta will become something together. It places you as the reader in this forced roll she is in. You want her to be able to make it through the games but also keep her good nature but that is not going to happen and you feel forced to like the killing. It also makes you want her to kill Kato as well as he is the villain with in the contestants. 

Most people find Rue's death to be by far the most emotional part of "the hunger games", I agree that it is very emotional but i think the bit following her death when Thresh finds Katniss triggers emotion as well. "Conflicting emotions cross Thresh's face. He lowers the rock and points at me, almost accusingly. 'Just this one time, I let you go. For the little girl. You and me, we're even then. No more owed. You understand?'". In this part of the book, Thresh has found Katniss and is supposed to kill her according to the rules of the game. He is conflicted however, because Katniss created a beautiful bed of flowers around Rue, a small weak girl from Thresh's district, following her death. He knows that killing Katniss will better his chances of staying alive and making it out of the competition and home, however he is so moved by the love Katniss showed Rue, who Thresh was very protective of, that he is unable to kill her. Collin's makes what Katniss did for Rue something so meaningful that it could inspire a killer to let a victim live, although we don't really view Thresh as much of a killer compared to Cato or Clove, especially after we see he has emotion and compassion in this scene. By making him care so much about Rue that he would lessen his chances or survival to help someone who helped her, we want Thresh to survive as well. Now with three people to cheer for (Katniss, Peeta, and Thresh) the reader becomes even more conflicted.

Hunger Games: Survival of the Fittest

Hunger Games follows the competition between districts of young people, all fighting to survive in the state of limited resources and rivalry. As the fight unravels, we see the story through a first person point of view of the main character, Katniss. From the beginning, as readers, we take a position that is favorable to the success of Katniss, when she volunteers for the games for the sake of her younger sister. From the point on,her bravery puts forces us to root for Katniss, even as times get hard for Katniss. At one point during the game, Katniss attempts to take supplies from an area protected back a group of her opposition:

  "I stay put for a half an hour or so, trying to figure out what to do about the supplies. The one advantage I have with the bow and arrow is distance. I could send a flaming arrow into the pyramid easily enough — I'm a good enough shot to get it through those openings in the net — but there's no guarantee it would catch. More likely it'd just burn itself out and then what? I'd have achieved nothing and given them far too much information about myself. That I was here, that I have an accomplice, that I can use the bow and arrow with accuracy." (217)

The passage exemplifies on of Katniss's many challenges during the games. Katniss's main goal is to get the supplies, but more in general, to "achieve". As Katniss and her rivals live in a state of nature, without governing or "rules", only the strong survive. As Rousseau suggests that the state of nature is the "most suitable for mankind", the situation in the Hunger Games suggests otherwise. He suggests this because while in the state of nature, man pursing to protect themselves is the least harmful to others. More specifically, as man’s main goal is survival, in the state of nature where survival needs are met without the harm of another, true peace and success of mankind overall can be reached. In Hunger Games, the opposite is proven. Although we are put in a position to root for Katniss, we know that in the position she is in, reaching "success" will not constitute "true peace". In the fight for survival for Katniss, like the individual in the state of nature, she must realize her advantages and strengths in order to reign above her opposition.

 Ultimately, although we take a position in favor of Katniss's success from the beginning, page 217 forces us to come to terms with the reality of her situation. She must prevail in a state of nature where only the strong survive and in order to do so, she must harm others. This idea in Hunger Games opposes Rousseau's idea about humans in the state of nature, but only to an extent. On the other hand, as readers, we question if the children actually live in a true state of nature, or if the coordinators of the Hunger Games assume the role of a governing body. As a governing body, the coordinators limit resources and, therefore, instigate conflict and war amongst the young people. If one assigns the coordinators as "government", Rousseau's argument about the state of nature is then reinforced. Viewing the coordinators as "government" in the Hunger Games, Rousseau's argument is solidified, as we see that "true peace" is not reached and survival forces the harming of others in the presence of a governing body. In the end, it depends on if one believes there is a true state of nature in Hunger Games, or not.

Unreliable narrator?

Can we trust the narrator?
We have a natural tendency to love our narrator. If it is written in a first person point of view, then it is even much easier for us to trust out narrator because she is the one who provided us with the story, emotions, thoughts, and ideas. As we read the story more, we will merge with the narrator of the story. We hopes her wishes come true, we pray her safety, and so on. We believe so much in her that we often forgot there is such thing as unreliable narrator.

This is what I felt when I read the conversation between Peeta and Katniss during their first training. Peeta told Katniss how "people will help you in the arena. They'll be tripping over each other to sponsor you." (pg 91) Even his mother predicted the winner will be Katniss. At this point, we (or at least I) already had mixed feelings about Peeta. We know Peeta largely from Katniss point of view. Katniss has described Peeta as a kind person, but also believe that he will kill her. Katniss even made a statement that "a kind Peeta Mellark is far more dangerous to me than an unkind one." (Pg.49) From here on, we are more careful about every move he makes. Even when Peeta was showing kindness to Katniss by giving her his jacket at the garden (pg. 83), Katniss stepped back for a second before decided to accept his kindness. Through many of these little incidents--Peeta's kindness that was responded by Katniss' suspicious feeling, that are built up throughout the story, we came to a rather skewed understanding of who he really is. The information that Katniss provides to us wasn't enough for us to know who he really is, especially with the addition of her own mixed feelings of adoration and suspicious towards Peeta.

When I read the conversation between them about how Katniss is much more likeable than Peeta, we finally see his vulnerable side right from himself which was not filtered through Katniss's narration. There is a tone of anger and betrayal coming from him when he said "But you don't! You'll be living in some tree...." (pg. 90) He cut her off, trying to argue her humility for lacking ability to wrestle and trying to show his weakness especially because he has lack of support. For a second, I sympathize him. Especially after the next paragraph when we know that his mother said "she's a survivor, that one" about Katniss. We also see how this topic affected Peeta's habitus. "He runs his fingernail along the wood grain in the table, refusing to look at me." This gesture, especially how he refused to look at her, shows how Peeta feeling weak, disappointed, and perhaps a little bit of shame.

I sympathize for him for this. I also sympathize for him for lacking the support for mother. But I also sympathize for him for seeing him as a suspicious character who can potentially kill my dear Katniss. I sympathize for him because I trusted Katniss too much, believing her that "a kind Peeta Mellark is far more dangerous to me than an unkind one." (pg. 49)

Katniss had this moment of confusion too. She had a flashback when Peeta gave her bread behind the bakery, years ago. This flashback acts as such a great spectacle in this scene. The flashback scene was so short, composing only 3 sentences:

"Suddenly I'm behind the bakery and I can feel the chill of the rain running down my back, the hollowness in my belly. I sound eleven years old when I speak. "But only because someone helped me." "

Despite its short length, it is so powerful because the story itself is powerful--it is a reminder of how kind Peeta is, despite the hunger and poverty he was enduring too. And it was perfectly placed, which was right after Katniss "see the pain in Peeta's eyes and know he isn't lying." This spectacle, the flashback, becomes even more powerful. As a reader, I gain more sympathy for Peeta because he seems to be a really sincere and nice guy, but even his mother didn't believe he will win.

Katniss sympathize for a second too. But, as a strong young woman as she is, she dismissed that idea right away and replaced it with a series of internal dialogues, which is another spectacle in this scene. "What on earth does he mean?" Her word choice clearly shows her frustration. She wasn't just asking "what does he mean?" but she was actually asking herself "who am I really?". She had a moment of doubt, especially about her own strength and principle.

"I'm a tough trader. Or am I? What effect do I have? That I'm weak and needy? Is he suggesting that I got good deals because people pitied me? I try to think if this is true. Perhaps some of the merchants were a little generous in their trades, but I always attributed that to their long-standing relationship with my father. Besides, my game is firsti-class. No one pitied me!" (pg. 91)

She went from criticizing Peeta, defending herself, questioning herself, making assumptions about what people think of her, and finally she went quite fussy because of her own judgment. I think this is a big reflective moment for her. It was so big, so sudden, so demanding of her attention that she couldn't proceed further. The series of big questions she had was concluded by a single sentence of "sure he meant to insult me." End of discussion and they moved on, as if she was scared to find the real answers.

At this point, as a reader, I question along with Katniss, but at the same time I wonder why she was so sarcastic. This is how I was being positioned. It seems that she just came for a realization of something about herself that she didn't understand before. It seems that she was trying to be humble at first, but then she turned around and showed her pride for being independent. This scene was definitely an eye-opening moment for her and for us as readers, even though she dismissed it soon afterwards. And this was achieved through the flashback and a lot of internal monologues. Of course, even if she was an unreliable narrator, it is still for an important purpose in the story. As we move forward in the story, we live together with her, fight with her, cry with her, which acts as a magnet for readers. But personally to me, this scene reminded me how bias she can be as a narrator and how much her emotion is intertwined in the story, affecting our understanding of the story and the characters. 

Peeta vs Gale

As a book written in first person, we are obligated to take Katniss's side on everything. Other characters don't get to explain why they do things but Katniss does. We hear what she thinks, why she thinks it and everything else about her we could possibly want to know. We are positioned to stand behind Katniss in all of her choices. One of the largest choices for Katniss is about her love interest. Peeta or Gale?

Early on in the book we see the mutual attraction between Katniss and Gale. We see the similarities between the two and as the go hunting and Katniss explains how Gale taught her to survive and how helped her feed her family. Peeta isn't even a known character at this point and so our hearts side with Gale.



After Peeta is introduced Katniss views Peeta as competition and so, standing behind Katniss, we too view Peeta the same way. Peeta is also an ally to Katniss so we don't dislike him as much as the other tributes especially after he said he loved Katniss in order to make her look more desirable. That is until he sides with the career pack and is hunting Katniss down. Peeta redeems himself when he saves her life after she gets stung by the tracker jackers but is still left in an unusual place as we are confused as to what he is really doing. It isn't until the rule change allowing 2 victors from the same district that we start to really think Peeta and Katniss could be a couple since both could finally survive together. Peeta encourages the idea of them being a couple by his generally happy tone and clever comments he dishes out as Katniss is cleaning him up and this is when his personality really shines through.



Chapter 19
"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 sot of impression I guess, but all I can register is how unnaturally hot his lips are from the fever. I break away and pull the edge of the sleeping bag up around him. 'Your not going to die. I forbid it. All right?'"

Chapter 19 as a whole really expands on the possibility of Peeta and Katniss ending up together but it is the kiss where the reader is forcefully positioned to start siding with Peeta over Gale. The first time I read this book I was very upset with this scene as I didn't want to pick Peeta over Gale. I disagreed with Katniss's decision to kiss Peeta but after reading the second and third books and seeing the person Gale turns into, rereading this scene has the opposite effect as I had found myself rooting for Peeta even before he was introduced.

Omnipotent Omniscience

(Chapter 13): I sit on the ground, a few yards from the blaze set off by the fireball. My calf is screaming, my hands covered in red welts. I'm shaking too hard to move. If the Gamemakers want to finish me off, now is the time.

I hear Cinna's voice, carrying images of rich fabric and sparkling gems. "Katniss, the girl who was on fire." What a good laugh the Gamemakers must be having over that one. Perhaps, Cinna's beautiful costumes have even brought on this particular torture for me. I know he couldn't have foreseen this, must be hurting for me because, in fact, I believe he cares about me. But all in all, maybe showing up stark naked in that chariot would have been safer for me.

The attack is now over. The Gamemakers don't want me dead. Not yet anyway. Everyone knows they could destroy us all within seconds of the opening gong. The real sport of the Hunger Games is watching the tributes kill one another. Every so often, they do kill a tribute just to remind the players they can. But mostly, they manipulate us into confronting one another face-to-face. Which means, if I am no longer being fired at, there is at least one other tribute close at hand.

I bathe the blood and ash from my face. I try to recall all I know about burns. They are common injuries in the Seam where we cook and heat our homes with coal. Then there are the mine accidents. A family once brought in an unconscious young man pleading with my mother to help him. The district doctor who's responsible for treating the miners had written him off, told the family to take him home to die. But they wouldn't accept this. He lay on our kitchen table, senseless to the world. I got a glimpse of the wound on his thigh, gaping, charred flesh, burned clear down to the bone, before I ran from the house. I went to the woods and hunted the entire day, haunted by the gruesome leg, memories of my father's death. What's funny was, Prim, who's scared of her own shadow, stayed and helped. My mother says healers are born, not made. They did their best, but the man died, just like the doctor said he would.



As a product of a corrupt government authority, Katniss is forced into a life that she did not choose - merely a pawn in a chess match. And because of the rebellion of those in a previous generation, she is thrown into a battle because she wanted to save her sister. By an act of good, she receives a fate she doesn't deserve. But what someone "deserves" doesn't mean much to President Snow and the government. They stand on the side that is "forced" to put on these hunger games in order to keep the peace and keep rebellion from bursting out. An unjust power lays on their shoulders and they play god - deciding who lives, and who dies.

As Katniss recovers from burns from the fire set on her, she comes to the place that she seems to come to often - "if the Gamemakers want to finish me off, now is the time." She reaches the end of her rope, like we all have at times. In those moments, it seems like life throws everything it can find at us, and we've reached the end: surrender. And what comes next is all too familiar... a glimmer of hope. "I hear Cinna's voice, carrying images of rich fabric and sparkling gems. 'Katniss, the girl who was on fire.'" The reason she's all in this, it all flashes before her, as it does to you and me in these times. And the attack is over. The "Gamemakers" of our life show mercy and in Katniss's case, it's only because they don't want her dead... "not yet anyway." This character of benevolence is so twisted, a sick game they play to exude their power. "The real sport of the Hunger Games is watching the tributes kill one another. Every so often, they do kill a tribute just to remind the players they can." This reminds me of a girl in my philosophy class in high school. She believed that there is a god, but that this god is a sadist - that he concocts a "game" that we call life, and manipulates situations in our life to create pleasure for himself. Basically... it's like the computer game Sims. This whole idea of the Hunger Games runs in line with that belief in a sadist god - that someone decides what happens and sets us up for failure or success, but at our expense, not their own. It's a giant hand of god reaching out from heaven, but only to move the chess piece to his advantage: selfish, unjust, carelessness. But with Katniss, she exercises choice in the midst of pain, she chooses the opposite action that the gamekeepers would; she chooses self-sacrifice, mercy, wisdom, and selflessness... despite herself. This is powerful stuff. As she exudes all of those qualities, she becomes a healer to many because she is a healer of one, little does she know: "My mother says healers are born, not made." But yet through this hope, there is still the reality of an enemy, and although the healers "did their best, the man died, just like the doctor said he would."

Katniss is placed in a position with touch decisions; however tough, there still are choices available to make. She still has that power of choice, she has the power to give life to others by being a sacrifice. She can't lose, because she doesn't give in to the power of the enemy by abandoning her morals because she is "forced to" by being in the position she is in! And, probably because the author wanted a good story, she prevails through that adversity and impossible situation, starting a revolution in the later books to come. 

Hunger Games is written as a first person narrative, making the entire piece has a position. By placing the story through Katniss’s eyes, each thought of hers causes the reader to learn about her surroundings through her opinions.

Katniss positions the people from the capital, but pointing out every pointing out every moment of “fakeness” and “unnatural” behavior performed by the capitol. This can be observed in beginning of chapter five on page 61, when Venia is preparing Katniss for the Hunger Games. Katniss takes a moment to critique Venia’s speech patterns. Pointing out the inflections and how she says the words.

The way that Katniss describes the capitol people and almost mimics or rather mocks not only their speech patterns but also their appearance causes the readers to think of the capitol people in a negative light. Katniss seems to almost sub-humanize the people of the capitol by judging them so harshly, and pointing out the differences between her and the people of the capitol.

This is what Venia looks like. Notice how her features are different from Katniss’s. The exaggeration of her makeup and the bright colors.

Compared to the way Katniss looks, with plain with no makeup. This drastic change in their looks separates the two them almost creating two separate types of humans or animals.

Star Crossed Lovers

“Yes. Look, if I don’t make it back—“ he begins.

“Don’t talk like that. I didn’t drain all that pus for nothing,” I say.

“I know. But just in case I don’t—“ he tries to continue.

“No, Peeta, I don’t even want to discuss it,” I say, placing my fingers on his lips to quiet him.

“But I—“ he insists.

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, but all I can register is how unnaturally hot his lips are from the fever. “You’re not going to die, I forbid it. All right?”

If I wanted to keep Peeta alive, I’ve got to give the audience something more to care about.

(Pg 260-261)

Manipulation, often thought of as a negative action, proves to save Peeta and Katniss in this scene where Katniss decides to give the audience what they want. Peeta, who is not sure of the separation between the truth and show, is dragged along with the charade. When discussing the difference of animals and humans in lecture, it made me think about how complex the human mind is compared to animal behavior, because as humans we are able to think critically and exploit others.

In the Hunger Games, it twists my stomach when Katniss manipulated the emotions of Peeta romantically, although it was with good intentions to keep them both alive, but still very wrong. As the reader, we always want the heroine to fall in love, but this twist of fake love in the hands of an innocent baker thrown into the Hunger Games, puts us at a difficult moral question. Was it right for Katniss to hold the reigns and send the call out on pursuing this charade for the spectators, or are the emotions that could genuinely be felt by others a necessary risk to manipulate? In the scene where Katniss’ desire for survival overpowers the moral directions of manipulation, I find myself being angry with the heroine for her actions, yet at the same time a glimmer of hope arises of the “what if” for these supposed star crossed lovers. Perhaps it is due to the fact of empathy I have with Peeta’s oblivion to Katniss’ impulsive action as an act for survival for the both of them, or because I find it simply irresponsible for Katniss to act in an impulsive way without thinking of the consequences.  

The outside influence of the “audience” also pushes Katniss into her impulsive and reckless behavior of faking a show for love. The act of doing things not for ourselves, but rather for the approval of others shows the downfall of man kind through Rousseau’s idea of being  “perpetually employed in getting others to [be] interest[ed in] themselves” (or in the Hunger Games, Katniss’ best bet of surviving with Peeta is to have the audience have mercy on them and believe in their ‘star crossed lovers’ status). Although this whole idea of an audience watching people fight gladiator style is extreme, it isn’t far from parallel to our own world where the competition is high for jobs and where we must continue proving our worth to others in order to “survive” (or make money to live in the ‘real world’).  

In this specific passage, I wanted Katniss to realize, like any other romantic, and be changed to being smitten with Peeta after that special first kiss. I was hoping lights would shine, birds would chirp, and they both would fall deeply in love immediately after locking lips. However, much like real life, a simple kiss didn’t alter Katniss’ affection or feelings towards Peeta, and was simply just a way to shut him up and raise popularity with the spectators. The author wants us to fall in love with gullible, selfless, and innocent Peeta, rooting for his love to triumph in the end which builds us closer to him than to the previous lover of Katniss; Gale. Although we were at first hurt by the betrayal of Peeta to Katniss, whom the reader has already taken the side of due to first person narration, we find ourselves giving him a second chance when his intentions are more clear and his selflessness comes out by worrying about Katniss' safety over his. The underlying pact made between the two of surviving together and not letting the other die and "forbidding" it, has us reestablish hope in them after the terrible series of events where it may see the odds are not in their favor. New hope and new love positions the reader into a being more confident of Katniss' survival, now that she has more than just herself to defend and live for. 

Suffering

            The Hunger Games is known as one of the most compelling, dramatic novels of modern-day fiction. It’s violence, raw emotion, and ambitious scope meld together to draw a storyline that is ever so enticing, and leaves the reader turning pages as quickly as they can read the words. The novel showcases the nation of Panem, which is a Capitol, surrounded by 12 outlying districts. The government is extremely corrupted and has created a class system, which is unjust and very prejudiced to the people living in the nation. Living in district one allows for the best of all worlds, the best clothing, best food, best everything, and as the district number increases up to 12, the conditions deteriorate immensely. In the poor districts, starvation is common, and residents have to fight for their food. The inequality between rich and poor is showcased in chapter four when Katniss gets her first meal on the train. On page 55, Katniss says:

 “The moment I slide into my chair I’m served an enormous platter of food. Eggs, ham, piles of fried potatoes. A tureen of fruit sits in ice to keep it chilled. The basket of rolls they set before me would keep my family going for a week. There’s an elegant glass of orange juice. At least, I think it’s orange juice, I’ve only even tasted an orange once… Then I stuff down every mouthful I can hold.”

In Katniss’s village, her family views basic foods as luxuries. Here she sits on a train eating more food than she has ever seen. The feasts are lavish, and the dishes are prepared very exquisitely. People in Katniss’s district will go so far to get food as to exchange extra rations of food and oil for putting their names into the reaping additional times. They are exchanging potentially losing their lives in return for food. It is almost disturbing that the government can work in such a way. Governments are supposed to support the people of their nation, but this one is doing the opposite. While they allow for the first districts to thrive, they leave the last ones in severe suffering. Seeing how excited Katniss gets over food makes me want to reach out and help her and the rest of the people of district 12. The Capitol is demeaning the other districts only to showcase their power. It is almost ironic because the other suffering districts begin relying on themselves and making do with what they have rather than relying on everything being handed to them. They are practicing natural piety because they have more common sense, value each other, and value what they have around them.  They are forced to become close to nature, because nature is all they have.

            District 12’s difficult living conditions are similar to those described by Rousseau, where he talks about the earth being left to its natural fertility. Their district is on the outskirts of the nation, and has a lot of nature. The people are meant to use that for survival.

            Along with the Capitol leaving the people to suffer in the districts, they also use suffering as entertainment annually in the ‘Hunger Games.’ The more brutal, and the more the tributes suffer, the more entertaining the games become. There are children, and all tributes are fighting for their lives, while others sit around and watch it as if it’s an entertaining television show. The suffering isn’t just physical, it is also very psychological. Katniss’s and Peeta’s romance is an interesting concept because it is one that is bound to be forced to end. Their staged romance, which in the end turns into something deeper, is eaten up by those watching, they know that the both of them won’t survive, and watching their love suffer is pleasurable. How much entertainment they provide for the people relates to their ‘value.’ They are doing nothing more than losing their identities and forced to transform into something that isn’t what they normally are simply for the sake of the government. It makes me sick that the government gets away with this form of blasphemy and mistreatment of their people.