The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins, depicts the affects of war and violence on youth. A young girl, Katniss, is forced to fight to the death against her peers, knowing that she must either kill or be killed. All while being broadcast through the country on live TV to be enjoyed by those who rule her country. The last person alive earns food and wealth for their families. Through this, the author conveys the extreme measures people will take to gain control and keep control.

The book starts out depicting Katniss’ life before she chosen to fight in the hunger games. Starvation is an everyday experience, and she takes extreme measures feed her little sister and mother after her father is killed in a mining accident. The day to randomly select players for the hunger games comes, and Katniss’ little sister, Prim, is selected. But Katniss, unable to watch her small and weak sister sent to her death, volunteers herself to go in Prim’s place. The boy chosen from her district’s name is Peeta, the son of a baker. Katniss resolves to keep a distance from Peeta, knowing in the end that she would have no choice but to kill him in the arena if it comes down to that.

For the next three weeks, Katniss becomes nothing more than a play-thing for those in command, being dressed up and pampered for no reason other than to give the public eye a look at her before she is released to die in the arena. She finds more food than she has ever seen in her life and is sickened by the luscious lifestyle others live while in her district people die from starvation every day.

During these weeks, Katniss finds Peeta to be her only understanding companion who knows how she feels. And despite her original intention of staying away from him, she feels drawn to his strength of mind and deep kindness that he shows her. Soon, the crowds have created an illusion that Katniss and Peeta’s relationship is the love of a woman and man. Using this to increase popularity, her sponsors build up this amazing love story that extends way past their true friendship. But if this can keep them alive a bit longer in the arena, Katniss decides to play along, refusing to think about what would happen in the end.

Finally, the games begin.

Out in the woods, Katniss uses her meager supplies of a knife, wire, and sleeping bag to hide in a tree, determining to hide out from the others. That first day, ten out of the twenty four are dead. Peeta is still alive.

Through the next few days, she tries to survive by hiding, during which see sees many of her peers slaughtered in front of her eyes. She later teams up with Rue, a twelve year old girl from District 11, out of pity for the poor girl. They determine to take the offensive and destroy the other’s food supplies. But during this mission, Rue is fatally wounded, and Katniss holds the little girl as she dies. Through Rue’s death, Katniss realizes her hatred toward the Gamemakers (those in command), and she determines to show as much rebellion toward the people who eagerly look forward to watching her die.

Then, the new rule is announced: two people from the same district may team together and win without having to kill each other. Immediately Katniss begins her search for Peeta, learning he is fatally wounded. And when she does find him, she tries as much as she can to heal him, but she knows he will die unless someone sends medicine. And her sponsors come through with a vial of medicine to keep Peeta alive, feeling sorry for the two lovebirds trapped in such a horrible situation. While he recovers, she slowly begins to open up to Peeta, thinking that if they appear to have a close-knit relationship, the sponsors will again feel bad and send more supplies. But she realizes her heart is being drawn toward Peeta’s, and soon there is no pretense or pretending about it.

When Katniss is sure Peeta is healed enough to start searching for food, they leave the cave, aware that only four players remain in the game. One of the other girls, who Katniss has nicknamed Fox-face because of her sly movements, eats poisoned berries and dies, leaving only Katniss, Peeta, and a boy from one of the strongest Districts, Cato. The Game-makers want to see the fight immediately.

The Game-makers release a creation.

Muttations. No question about it. I've never seen these mutts, but they’re no natural-born animals. They resemble huge wolves, but what wolf lands and then balances easily on its hind legs? What wolf waves the rest of the pack forward with its front paw as though it had a wrist?

After climbing up away from these creatures that are determined to kill the remaining contestants, Peeta and Katniss find themselves on the same platform as Cato, the only other one remaining. When Cato falls from the platform into the pack of mutts below, Katniss and Peeta spend an entire night listening to the wails and screams of Cato as he is torn apart and tortured by the pack of wolves below. When death mercifully takes Cato from the world, the two friends expect for the game to end. But another rule change. The Gamemakers change their minds, wanting only one victor to win the games.

I (Katniss) stare at Peeta in disbelief as the truth sinks in. They never intended to let us both live. This has all been devised by the Gamemakers to guarantee the most dramatic showdown in history. And like a fool, I bought into it.

Before I am even aware of my actions, my bow is loaded with the arrow pointed straight at his heart. Peeta raises his eyebrows and I see the knife has already left his hand on its way to the lake where it splashed in the water. I drop my weapons and take a step back, my face burning in what can only be shame.

“No,” he says. “Do it.” Peeta limps toward me and thrusts the weapons back in my hands.

“I can’t.” I say. “I won’t.”

“Do it. Before they send those mutts back or something. I don’t want to die like Cato.” He says

“Then you shoot me,” I say, furiously, shoving the weapons back at him. “You shoot me and go home and live with it!” And as I say it, I know death right here, right now would be the easier of the two….

“Listen,” he says, pulling me to my feet. “We both know they have to have victor. It can only be one of us. Please take it. For me” And he goes on about how he loves, what life would be without me by I've stopped listening because his previous words are trapped in my head, thrashing desperately around.

Yes, they have to have a victor. Without a victor, the whole thing would blow up in the Gamemakers faces. They'd have failed the Capitol. Might possibly even be executed slowly and painfully while the cameras broadcast it to every screen in the country.

If Peeta and I were both to die, or they thought we were…

I loosed the top of the pouch and pour a few spoonfuls of berries (poison) into his palm. Then I fill my own.  “On the count of three?...

“The count of three,” he says.

We stand, our backs pressed together, our empty hands locked tight.

“Hold them out. I want everyone to see,” he says.

I spread out my fingers, and the dark berries glisten in the sun. I give Peeta’s hand one last squeeze as a signal, as a goodbye, and we begin counting. “One,” Maybe I’m wrong. “Two,” Maybe they don’t care if we both die. “Three!” It’s too late to change my mind. I lift my hand to my mouth, taking one last look at the world….

“Stop! Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victors of the Seventy-fourth Hunger games.

To be honest with you, I was intrepid about reading The Hunger Games. The feedback from the recently released movie suggested that the book may be extremely gory and inappropriate. But nothing in my imagination crossed the line into gore or thematic elements. Now, the overall sense of the book does revolve around surviving while everyone around you is determined to kill you. But the underlying theme explores the affect that horror and death has on teenagers, and how those teenagers resolved to show their staunch opposition to the normal way of life. Through what I have read, the author’s goal in this book was to show teenagers that they can do something about the wrong that they see, even when everything seems helpless.

If you are looking for an easy-read with a thought-provoking premise, The Hunger Games might just be the book for you!