On August 31st I checked out The Hunger Games, the first book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. On September 7th I finished Mockingjay, the third book. Three books in one week. Talk about exciting!
My friend Heather wanted me to write what I thought about the trilogy, so here are a few disjointed observations. These are my observations based on my worldview. As I read, I evaluate the words on the page and the attitudes behind them, something that my mom initiated when I was young. ("Is this a good book? Stop reading it if it isn't good.") Amos and I don't often read the same books, but we both read The Hunger Games trilogy and thus were able to have informed discussions late at night, when we were supposed to be sleeping, and early in the morning, when he came home at 6:30; I love being married! We were able to discuss this book based on our worldview, and here are some of our, though mostly my, thoughts.
Positive
1. The books are very interesting. The story is about a dystopian society in which the main character, Katniss - the girl on fire - and a handful of friends stand against the Capitol, the oppressive government of the country of Panem (formerly North America). The books were riveting and engaging. Collins includes constant twists, turns, deceptions, and climaxes.
2. There aren't really any unanswered questions at the end of the book. You know why all the bad guys did what they did, you know about all the switchbacks, and you know what happens as the last book ends and the story goes on.
3. Again, the books are fast-paced and very interesting.
Negative
1. The books' format started to get predictable. Every chapter ended with a huge cliffhanger, as did the first two books, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Cliffhangers are good but they shouldn't be overused.
2. Katniss as a heroine is not very admirable, but she does have somewhat of an excuse.
-Katniss is an emotionally-damaged person. Her father died when she was young and her mother shut down, leaving Katniss to care for her sister, her mother, and herself. Throughout the books many, many people die, some of them as a result of Katniss' actions, both good and bad. Because of this scar tissue, Katniss does not respond well to pressure or sacrificial love or rules or praise or responsibility or affection or disapproval or weakness or criticism or much of anything.
I can see this in the lives of people I know who are scarred; they feel threatened by many people and many situations and therefore don't respond well to life in general. This is in sharp contrast to Christians I know who are scarred and yet are allowing Jesus heal their wounds and scars. I know dealing with pain is not easy; I know that you can't just say, "Buck up! Get over it!" I just think these friends/acquaintances/family members are showcases of the power that Jesus, our Hope, can have in a damaged life if the person is willing.
So I don't fault Katniss, the fictional character, for being scarred by situations that are beyond her control. I don't know what I think about her exactly. I guess I think that Katniss the character finally makes sense when I see her as a emotionally-damaged person who is without Hope.
-Because she is emotionally-scarred and because she is a teenager, she can't make up her mind about which boy she likes and thus holds on to both of them, even though she doesn't want to get married or bear children. Too common today and not a good example.
-There are innumerable variations on a common sentence that go something like this: "I know I should [fill in the blank], but I am too [fill in the blank] to do that."
-Katniss never forgives and is reluctant to trust those who have burned her. So sad.
-Katniss always feels like she has to repay those who do something for her. The character Peeta protects her numerous times throughout the trilogy, and she always feels like she must pay him back. This again is in sharp contrast to the Christian, who has been saved by Christ and knows he can never pay Christ back. To attempt to repay the debt would be viewed as legalism and a prideful attempt to buy Jesus' love, which is impossible.
3. The books read like teen novels, which they are. I don't fault Collins on this point because she was writing for a teenage audience, but I found it annoying after a while.
4. I almost stopped reading the book because of the romance, which wasn't even that prevalent. Call me hyper-sensitive, but I don't think that romance books, even the more innocent ones written by Nicholas Sparks, are good for people to read; they give you unrealistic expectations and can make you dissatisfied with what you have if you aren't careful. In my case, it was making me sad that I had never had a teenage boyfriend...which is a very good thing, because I was rather immature as a teenager. I almost stopped reading, but then I decided that when I came to the mushy parts, that I would just skip over them. It worked pretty well.
Overall
The Hunger Games trilogy was very interesting (I use "interesting" much too often); I liked it.
Read the story through a Christian worldview; don't read brainlessly.
Understand that Katniss is a character that is not always admirable.
Try not to be annoyed by the constant cliffhangers.
And, for the cheese factor,
My friend Heather wanted me to write what I thought about the trilogy, so here are a few disjointed observations. These are my observations based on my worldview. As I read, I evaluate the words on the page and the attitudes behind them, something that my mom initiated when I was young. ("Is this a good book? Stop reading it if it isn't good.") Amos and I don't often read the same books, but we both read The Hunger Games trilogy and thus were able to have informed discussions late at night, when we were supposed to be sleeping, and early in the morning, when he came home at 6:30; I love being married! We were able to discuss this book based on our worldview, and here are some of our, though mostly my, thoughts.
Positive
1. The books are very interesting. The story is about a dystopian society in which the main character, Katniss - the girl on fire - and a handful of friends stand against the Capitol, the oppressive government of the country of Panem (formerly North America). The books were riveting and engaging. Collins includes constant twists, turns, deceptions, and climaxes.
2. There aren't really any unanswered questions at the end of the book. You know why all the bad guys did what they did, you know about all the switchbacks, and you know what happens as the last book ends and the story goes on.
3. Again, the books are fast-paced and very interesting.
Negative
1. The books' format started to get predictable. Every chapter ended with a huge cliffhanger, as did the first two books, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Cliffhangers are good but they shouldn't be overused.
2. Katniss as a heroine is not very admirable, but she does have somewhat of an excuse.
-Katniss is an emotionally-damaged person. Her father died when she was young and her mother shut down, leaving Katniss to care for her sister, her mother, and herself. Throughout the books many, many people die, some of them as a result of Katniss' actions, both good and bad. Because of this scar tissue, Katniss does not respond well to pressure or sacrificial love or rules or praise or responsibility or affection or disapproval or weakness or criticism or much of anything.
I can see this in the lives of people I know who are scarred; they feel threatened by many people and many situations and therefore don't respond well to life in general. This is in sharp contrast to Christians I know who are scarred and yet are allowing Jesus heal their wounds and scars. I know dealing with pain is not easy; I know that you can't just say, "Buck up! Get over it!" I just think these friends/acquaintances/family members are showcases of the power that Jesus, our Hope, can have in a damaged life if the person is willing.
So I don't fault Katniss, the fictional character, for being scarred by situations that are beyond her control. I don't know what I think about her exactly. I guess I think that Katniss the character finally makes sense when I see her as a emotionally-damaged person who is without Hope.
-Because she is emotionally-scarred and because she is a teenager, she can't make up her mind about which boy she likes and thus holds on to both of them, even though she doesn't want to get married or bear children. Too common today and not a good example.
-There are innumerable variations on a common sentence that go something like this: "I know I should [fill in the blank], but I am too [fill in the blank] to do that."
-Katniss never forgives and is reluctant to trust those who have burned her. So sad.
-Katniss always feels like she has to repay those who do something for her. The character Peeta protects her numerous times throughout the trilogy, and she always feels like she must pay him back. This again is in sharp contrast to the Christian, who has been saved by Christ and knows he can never pay Christ back. To attempt to repay the debt would be viewed as legalism and a prideful attempt to buy Jesus' love, which is impossible.
3. The books read like teen novels, which they are. I don't fault Collins on this point because she was writing for a teenage audience, but I found it annoying after a while.
4. I almost stopped reading the book because of the romance, which wasn't even that prevalent. Call me hyper-sensitive, but I don't think that romance books, even the more innocent ones written by Nicholas Sparks, are good for people to read; they give you unrealistic expectations and can make you dissatisfied with what you have if you aren't careful. In my case, it was making me sad that I had never had a teenage boyfriend...which is a very good thing, because I was rather immature as a teenager. I almost stopped reading, but then I decided that when I came to the mushy parts, that I would just skip over them. It worked pretty well.
Overall
The Hunger Games trilogy was very interesting (I use "interesting" much too often); I liked it.
Read the story through a Christian worldview; don't read brainlessly.
Understand that Katniss is a character that is not always admirable.
Try not to be annoyed by the constant cliffhangers.
And, for the cheese factor,
May the odds be ever in your favor.
1 comment:
Thank you for your good analysis. And thank you for thinking what you do about romance in books. That's a brave opinion that not many think these days--and I agree. It makes me sad that so many young women and girls in our churches get caught up in reading "Christian" fiction when they could be reading WAY better stuff.
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