The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (in about a hundred words):
Katniss’ life has never been easy, but when her little sister’s name is drawn as a contestant for the Hunger Games it gets a lot harder when she volunteers to go in Prim’s place. The Hunger Games is an annual event in the country of Panem which pits 24 teenagers against each other in a match to the death that is filled with all sorts of nasty surprises invented by the gamemakers. Katniss is whisked away from her life in poverty striken District 12 and given a few weeks to train before she’s tossed in to the Hunger Games arena. What happens next? You’ll have to read and find out.
Now, go and read it if you haven’t already. If you have read it or are reading it, join in the discussion below. Remember to check back each week for a fresh question.
Week 1 Question:
Which contestants do you think were worse off? The children from the richer districts where they were raised to kill or be killed? Or the poorer districts where they had to scrounge and scavenge to survive?
Week 2 Question:
Do you think Peeta really meant it when he said he was in love with Katniss or was it all part of the scheme he and Haymitch dreamed up. What about Katniss? Do you think she falls in love with Peeta by the end of the book? What about her feelings for Gale? Do you think anything will come of that?
Week 3 Question:
What do you think the cruelest part of the hunger games was?
Week 4 Question:
What would your strategy be if you were in the hunger games arena?
I think the children from the richer districts who were trained in preparation for the Hunger Games since childhood were worse off, though they might not have realized it. Certainly, their lives were easier in terms of food and comforts but they derived the meaning for their lives from a contest which can only end in death. At least the people who were scrounging and scavenging were doing that to survive and to live, not to die.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more. I know you really don't see a clear picture of life in the other districts (that was actually something that disapointed me in Catching Fire, but that's another discussion), but I can't imagine the tight bonds of family and community that you see in District 12 in a district that has so much tied up in winning what is, essentially, a death match.
ReplyDeleteAhh I didn't notice the week 2 question until now. My answer is probably going to be biased because I am decidedly Team Peeta. I definitely think that Peeta meant what he said. I also believe Katniss has feelings for both Peeta and Gale and I don't think she really knows which one she wants to be with. It's hard to discuss this without going into Catching Fire, too! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm rooting for Peeta too. Partly because he is just such a good guy and partly because she stomps his feelings so badly at so many points (both in HG and in CF). I think that her friendship with Gale is just that...a friendship...and that she's reading more into it because she feels manipulated into a relationship with Peeta. She's fighting against it, just to be fighting ya know?
ReplyDeleteYeah, there are loads of times when I think that Katniss doesn't deserve Peeta at all (and sometimes Peeta seems like he could never exist in real life!). But I agree. There's plenty of evidence in CF to back up the Katniss-loves-Peeta argument (like the kiss they share on the beach) and not so much for Gale. I know she claims to choose Gale after the incident with the Peacekeepers in CF, but I think she does that more out of loyalty than out of romantic love, and I think she chooses Peeta over Gale when she decides to protect Peeta at any cost in the arena.
ReplyDeletePersonally, the thing that struck me as terribly cruel from the start was the fact that they send two kids from each district. Think about how small district twelve is described as being. There's no way you wouldn't at least *know* that opponent...probably since birth. I realize that it's statistically unlikely that two kids from the same district would end up as the last two competitors (like Katniss and Peeta), but can you imagine having to kill someone you grew up beside, went to school with, and maybe were even friends with to survive?
ReplyDeleteMy strategy in the arena would be to hide out, like Rue, and pray the other tributes take care of each other . . .
ReplyDeleteMe too. I'd take to the tallest fruit tree I could find and hang out until someone *made* me move.
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