To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.
—Edmund Burke
First, an obligatory spoiler alert:
Do
not read this if you have yet to read all three Hunger
Games books. I plan to talk frankly about the books and will not veil any
references to specific events, even the happenings at the very end. Consider
yourself warned.
And a quick shout out to my coworkers (you
know who you are) who endured my vocal wrestling with the story as I read it.
They heard a lot about my frustrations and reactions as the story unfolded for
me. Once I’d finished the books and said my piece, one commented, “You think a
lot more about what you read than I do.” And another asked if all this analysis
was something I choose to do, or is it just programmed into me. Honestly, it’s
just programmed in – the byproduct of years of studying literature. But it’s also really, really fun for me, so at some level I’m sure I'm choosing it as
well.
And finally, this gets long. I know it.
Bear with me; you'll be glad you did. Honestly, my favorite ideas are at the
end. Ok, here we go...
You may remember I had some frustrations
at
the end of the first book. Most of those were resolved by
the end of the series. I still think it was a horrible way to end a book, and I
still dislike the book as a unit. I am, however, satisfied with the series as a
whole, but reservedly so. Truthfully, I wouldn’t read it again, I’m not eager
to see the movie, and I’ll likely only recommended the series to a select few.
That said, I applaud Suzanne Collins for
creating a world that feels somewhat foreign and yet mimics our own so exactly.
The Capitol amazingly and precisely mirrors some aspects of our own consumer
culture. The fact that everywhere I look I’m reminded of the Capitol speaks to
how well she grafted our culture to the Capitol’s.
For instance, I recently read a newspaper
article about high-end hotels, where image and first impression are everything
and the guest experience is managed and designed from the moment they step in
the door. Image. Pleasure. Perception of luxury. The Capitol. Caesar
Flickerman’s pre-game interviews ring as true as any late night talk show
lineup. Staged costumes, coached participants, and easy banter. Is it NBC, or
is it the Capitol? And notice how many commercials are all about appearance and
fashion, or luxury and ease, or status and position. Totally the Capitol.
I also applaud her for creating a
story that drew me in and made me feel. Granted, a lot of those feelings were
not necessarily positive. I felt a lot of frustration and shock and anger and
sadness and more frustration. But I did cry with Katniss when she waited for
word of Peeta’s rescue, and I was so bothered by her at times, I may have
actually chastised her aloud once or twice. So, kudos to Suzanne Collins for
writing a story that hooked me.
And kudos (maybe?) for teaching a new
generation of cynics to realize that anything can be staged; that just because
it’s on TV, even on the news, doesn’t mean it’s 100% accurate; that clever
editing and coerced performances can create the illusion of an organized
rebellion until it becomes a reality. And here’s hoping some really good
parents and teachers can help turn that cynicism into stellar critical thinking
skills.
So, the series has its good points,
but I think there may be a fundamental problem with a book whose main character
is so – bothersome.
Katniss. Oh she bugged me. A lot. A
few examples: In the second games, the group is gifted 24 pieces of bread from
District 3 several times in a row. Katniss knows
that gifts in the arena are messages, and she doesn’t even suspect this
repeated gift might be significant? She’s smarter than that, or at least I thought she was. And remember how
at one point she is ready and eager to stay with Gale and be part of a
rebellion in District 12? Then, when she discovers there already is a
rebellion, and she’s going to be part of it – a big part of it, even – she’s so
angry at the rebels who brought her into it that she actually refuses to help.
Not cool. And frankly, these are just a few instances in a long line of
inconsistent behavior.
But I think the biggest bother was
her… I don’t even know what to call it. Delusions of grandeur? Superiority
complex? Maybe even some sort of survivor guilt? Regardless, I got very tired
of her lamenting all the death she thinks she has caused: “I did this.”
“They’re dead because of me.” Over and over and over again. No. You did
not. Someone, without your knowledge, took actions, unrelated to your wishes,
which resulted in deaths that you did not condone. You are not remotely
responsible for their actions, and you are much less powerful than you believe.
Stop the “woe is me” and assign responsibility where it really belongs.
Which leads right into another
gripe. Katniss, the purported heroine of this story, really doesn't do a lot.
She is the face of the rebellion, but not much else. She is as manipulated by
District 13 and the Gamemakers as anyone. And while in the end she finally
plays a role that she herself chooses (in shooting Coin), that is just about
the only time.
I was also somewhat bothered by the
heavy-handed lines that are so clearly the point Collins wants readers to take
away from the story. When Katniss asks Plutarch if he’s preparing for
another war, he replies, “Not now. Now we’re in that sweet period where
everyone agrees that our recent horrors should never be repeated. But
collective thinking is usually short-lived. We’re fickle, stupid beings with
poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction.” The trouble is,
this point (about fickle, stupid beings) isn’t necessarily something she
develops naturally or that she lets come to light gradually. In fact, the
sentences are so out of character for Plutarch, and indeed so different in tone
from the rest of the series, that she might as well have outlined them in neon
green and drawn pink arrows pointing to them. As it is, they land with an
audible Thunk! This is my point.
And now you know. It’s a good point, but I felt knocked over the head with
it. (It’s YA lit. I know. But still…)
And I do still have questions. The biggest
question, of course, is who is responsible for bombing the Capitol children
outside Snow’s mansion – Snow or Coin? The Capitol or the rebels? The real
answer, though, is that it doesn’t matter. They are two sides of the same coin,
really. And this, I believe, is why Katniss kills Coin instead of Snow when she
has the chance. You might argue (rightly) that it’s because she suspects Coin
to be behind the blasts that end up killing Prim. But I think there’s more to
it than simple revenge for her sister. This suspicion, coupled with Coin’s
suggestion of another Hunger Games, show Katniss that Coin and Snow are the
same. Fundamentally, nothing would
change because both do whatever it takes to get what they want. Snow and Coin
are fighting for power, while the districts are fighting for freedom. These are
not remotely the same.
So, while it might not matter in the end which despot dropped the final bombs, there are some questions that really need to be answered. And they're not.
- Did Madge know the Mockingjay was a symbol of the rebels when she insisted Katniss wear it in the games? And why does Katniss never ask her about it later?
- Who is Cinna? How is he involved in the rebellion? Was it just dumb luck that he was Katniss’s stylist?
- Just how far back does this rebellion go? How long has Katniss been groomed to be the face of it? Even to the first games? Or before?
- Why does Boggs give her command? And why does she proceed, believing she’s following his last directives (because she trusts him), but conveniently ignores the one to kill Peeta?
- And if District 13 bombed the Capitol kids, did they also bomb the hospital in 8, the event that got Katniss enraged enough to perform well on camera for the rebellion?
- And if District 13 bombed the hospital in District 8, who really destroyed District 12?
There are more questions, ones I think she intentionally left unanswered; truthfully, they'd make a for a good prequel. But I still wonder:
- What happened when Haymitch won the games? What happened to his family? He was once dating Katniss’ mother. What happened there?
- Was the mine blast that killed her father really an accident?
- Why did her mother so strictly forbid the hanging tree song?
- Why did District 13 rebel in the first place? What happened there in the intervening 75 years?
And finally, the most gnawing question I have, the most inexplicably unanswered, is this: Why in the world
are the games even called the Hunger Games? As far as I can see, there’s no
explanation for the origin of the name. And since it’s the event that the whole
story hangs on, so significant that it’s even the name of the series, it would
seem to warrant an explanation as to how the name came to be. That, to me, is a
significant oversight.
And now I’m done.
Well, I’m done until you tell me what you
thought of the books. Then I’ll have more to say, I’m sure!
