HUNGER GAMES – PATH WHERE WE ARE HEADED!

Probably the only possible side of being a bibliophile could be that it is highly difficult to sit and dissect every book you just finished reading, in a way that other people can understand you because some books transcend worlds that are better experienced than explained! The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins is one such collection. 

PLOT

This book is of the science fiction genre where the main plot revolves around the City of Panem in North America where The Capitol, a highly advanced metropolis, exercises political control over the rest of the nation and hosts a highly atrocious game show called The Hunger Games where each year one boy and girl from each of the twelve districts of Panem fight it out (literally) for survival, live on television. The last person alive is crowned the winner. One particular year, a 13-year old girl from District Twelve (Primrose) gets selected for the Hunger Games, but her elder sister (Katniss) volunteers in place of her and takes her place in the 74^th Hunger games. The book follows the ultimate struggle of Katniss in the Hunger Games arena where humane and survival instincts are in a turmoil and personal survival means murder. To complicate matters, the boy (Peeta), her fellow tribute from District Twelve has a deeper connection with Katniss. Will Katniss survive the games, forms the theme for the first book. The second and third book, Catching Fire and Mockingjay are as good as sequels can ever get. They follow the lives of the tributes (Katniss and Peeta) , their families , because once the games are over, the nightmares begin. But nightmares are not the only things tormenting them, when it looks like a new rebellion is about to break out. Where will it end for them? Will the new rebellion turn their lives into a walking nightmare? Suzzane answers these questions and some more.

NARRATIVE

The book is written from the point of view of the 16-year old Katniss Everdeen, as she faces death everyday in the arena and also heart ache and other hardships in the cold District Twelve of Panem. The narrative style is crisp, consistent and also very engaging. The entire part where the Hunger games take place, keeps your imagination up and about and it is literally edge of the seat action. Suzzane Collins has stated that she drew parallels from reality TV a lot, which is highly visible when the contestants or Tributes keep the camera always at the back of their minds and try to manipulate them. Also, in the books Catching Fire and MockingJay, all the actions (be it war or promotion events), everything is styled, prepped in accordance with the image created for the audience along with the basic implication that nothing we see is real, it’s all a show. A way of the Capitol to keep the people in set to their tunes.

CHARACTERS

The biggest strength of this book series would be the way each and every character is portrayed, handled and shaped. Katniss is portrayed as this young girl, who is strong because weakness is not an option. She puts her head down, works for her family, keeps them fed, all the while focusing only on survival. This keen sense of survival is what makes her an exceptional tribute in the Hunger Games. She has no intention to rebel at all, until she meets Peeta. Peeta is the son of a baker, who feels and understands the smaller and bigger things in life, which value living over surviving. Peeta reveals that he is in love with Katniss just before the Hunger games begin, in a pre-game interview. His love is the soft, non-demanding but always there kind, the kind that knows she would kill him for her survival, yet is always there. The character of Peeta is so well crafted that at the end of book one, you feel you know him while the second book makes you feel for him, and fall for him. The Peeta in Book three is different, a person maimed by the Capitol’s tortures but still he is Peeta, the boy with the words, the boy for whom you fell for. If not for Peeta’s character, Katniss would be just be a character you see every day, a girl with strong survival instincts. The presence of Peeta and his love, transforms the fighter into a leader, The MockingJay. Though, the main characters of this book series can be said to be Peeta and Katniss, other characters such as Gale, Katniss’s best friend, Haymitch, Peeta and Katniss’s mentor in the games, Katniss’s mother and sister are also exceptionally well defined. Nowhere would you feel, that, this character could have been given more importance and clarity. They all play their part really well.

VERDICT

Sometimes, books being our portal to another dimension are very necessary for us to know how better we can make our life in the coming years. The Hunger Games can be called a not-so-subtle wakeup call, that tells us that if we don’t stop attacking each other, it’s not just us who are going to suffer but the coming generations are also going to bear the brunt of our mistakes. From an entirely bookaholics point of view, this book series is an absolute treat to read. It keeps you engrossed, makes you think and can be absolutely addictive. This is a must on every bookshelf; just don’t pick it up if you cannot stop all your other works for a couple of days, as this one can be very hard to put down.

-Wanna-be-Savant