Wide Reading: the Hunger Games
Reading Response to The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins:
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is the wildly popular first book in The Hunger Games trilogy. I think that one of the reasons the book is so popular, is because of the main character, Katniss Everdeen. In the book, Katniss is 16 years old and is very strong willed, but often feels incredibly alienated. I think that Katniss is a very relatable character (which is one of the reasons the book is so popular!) in this way, and in the way that she keeps her true feelings shielded from most people around her, but at the same time is very determined. She doesn’t seem to understand the impact she has on the people around her, as well as the reader. She has very strong views on the way her world works, a world where the Capitol rules everyone else, and treats them as slaves, just there to provide them all of their necessities and luxuries. For Katniss, one toe out of line is responsible for torture or death. Her views eventually unbalance the textbook-strict world she lives in: “Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fire, you have provided a spark that, left unattended, may grow to an inferno that destroys Panem”. I think that in a way, Katniss is warning everyone now of a world that could become true if everyone keeps treating the planet and each other as they currently do.
I think its very empowering to have a female as the main character in a book like The Hunger Games, because in so many books as popular as this, such as Harry Potter by J.K Rowling, the main character is often male. She is a very good role model for young girls, because she is strong and independent. I think she is also showing us that one person can make a huge change, just as her actions did when she was suddenly thrust into the Hunger Games, a cruel pageant of death where 24 children between the ages of 12 and 18 are forced to fight to the death, all for the entertainment of the Capitol. When Katniss was put into this situation,
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is the wildly popular first book in The Hunger Games trilogy. I think that one of the reasons the book is so popular, is because of the main character, Katniss Everdeen. In the book, Katniss is 16 years old and is very strong willed, but often feels incredibly alienated. I think that Katniss is a very relatable character (which is one of the reasons the book is so popular!) in this way, and in the way that she keeps her true feelings shielded from most people around her, but at the same time is very determined. She doesn’t seem to understand the impact she has on the people around her, as well as the reader. She has very strong views on the way her world works, a world where the Capitol rules everyone else, and treats them as slaves, just there to provide them all of their necessities and luxuries. For Katniss, one toe out of line is responsible for torture or death. Her views eventually unbalance the textbook-strict world she lives in: “Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fire, you have provided a spark that, left unattended, may grow to an inferno that destroys Panem”. I think that in a way, Katniss is warning everyone now of a world that could become true if everyone keeps treating the planet and each other as they currently do.
I think its very empowering to have a female as the main character in a book like The Hunger Games, because in so many books as popular as this, such as Harry Potter by J.K Rowling, the main character is often male. She is a very good role model for young girls, because she is strong and independent. I think she is also showing us that one person can make a huge change, just as her actions did when she was suddenly thrust into the Hunger Games, a cruel pageant of death where 24 children between the ages of 12 and 18 are forced to fight to the death, all for the entertainment of the Capitol. When Katniss was put into this situation,