Stephanie Dawkins

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                I’ve never seen the Hunger Games movie before so when I first started reading the book, I didn’t understand what everyone was going crazy for. My first impressions of the book was that it was so boring and moving awfully slow that it seemed as if I would never finish reading the page or reading the assigned section. The whole first part of the book I could only think about how many more pages I had left until I could stop. However, after I concluded that first section, I did not want to put the book down. The author had finally caught my attention and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next all the while understanding why the book is so popular.

                All throughout my reading, I often questioned that characteristics of Katniss. Katniss is very strong minded but also so fragile. She has encountered a lot in her life that leaves her with having trust issues but I must admit that she is very brave and will do anything for her family and the ones that she loves. She shows this countless number of time all throughout the text.

                The author did portray life as an adolescent in many ways, with the love between Katniss and Peeta and also her love and confusion towards Gale. Many teens are poor and have to sacrifice so much to stay alive all the while going through normal adolescent stuff just in a different setting that no adolescent will go through.

                Also, I question why Katniss never admits her love to anyone other than her little sister, she is even closed off from her mother. It is evident in the novel that at one point her attraction to Peeta was an act but that changed and although he did not know until the end that it was an act, why did she not ever inform him that some of it was real and that she does have feelings for him but she needs some time to sort out her feelings and determine what is best for her. She is a very mindful character and always thinks about her next move strategically. Why is she so stuck when it comes to loving Peeta.

All in all I loved the book even though I thought that I wouldn’t and actually want to continue on to read the sequel.

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 7, 2016 at 8:50 PM

    I agree with your point of Katniss being a hearty and strong character on the outside being being mentally fragile on the inside. Sorry for the brevity, but my other post got deleted so I'm pissed.

    As far as Katniss being distant goes, I believe it was at least partially due to the environment in which she was born. In the lore of "Hunger Games," people don't live to a ripe old age. They die of starvation, dehydration. Hell, Katniss' dad died in a landmine explosion. This was a defense mechanism to prevent her from experiencing the loss and pain she felt when her dad died.

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  2. UnknownSeptember 8, 2016 at 9:21 AM

    I felt the exact same way when I first started reading this book! I love Katniss' character and what she represents, but at the same time she gets on my nerves. She's just so frigid and unemotional that it is hard to see her and like her as a character. I have never encountered a character that is just so removed and it is really frustrating.

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  3. Lucy McElroySeptember 9, 2016 at 2:21 PM

    Stephanie, I could see where the book would seem like a drag if you had never seen the movie or heard about what happens. It kind of takes a twisted turn after the first part, with the brutality of the Hunger Games.
    I also wondered why Katniss only really expressed love about her sister. On page 53, she says this about her mother: "...I kept watching, waiting for her to disappear on us again. I didn't trust her. And some small gnarled place inside me hated her for her weakness, for her neglect, for the months she had put us through. Prim had forgave her, but I had taken a step back from my mother, put up a wall to protect myself from needing her, and nothing was ever the same between us again." It seems that Katniss endured a lot of pain when her mother withdrew from the family. I believe this is the source of her problems in forming relationships.

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