Birds Again(Part 3 of 3)

Note/Friendly Warning ::  I will attempt to limit spoilers, unfortunately though they will exist. Read at your own risk. Until I figure out how to add a spoiler tag, we will have to live with page break. You have been warned.

 I have a confession to make, I haven't wanted to draft this blag post. Why you ask? Well, once it's published, my initial experience with "The Hunger Games" will have concluded. Sure, I still have the movies to see, but I know the story. I will never again relive the first time discovery of "The Hunger Games". But
"What's comin' will come, and we'll meet it when it does." So, everyone "gather 'round the transistor, and press the ear." Or in this case gather 'round the viewing device, and read.


Bear with me as I am a bit rusty on this story, as I am not penning this immediately following the conclusion of reading the books as I did with the prior posts in this series.

At the end of "Catching Fire" the games had been ended by the tributes, and some were rescued for District 13, while others remained in the Capitol's clutches. District 12 has been destroyed. A part of the population, including Gale and Katniss's family, escaped to District 13 where the District 13 government is attempting to convince Katniss to be the "Mockingjay", the galvanizing symbol of the rebellion/war effort against the Capitol. She agrees and eventually assist in securing District 8 and District 2. Meanwhile, she is in close proximity with Gale, advancing the love triangle on that front. Meanwhile, it appears that Peeta is being brainwashed by the Capitol and urging against rebellion, and Katniss.

Eventually, Katniss becomes unable to even record a message to share with the rest of the country. A successful attempt is made to rescue the tributes stuck in the Capitol. Peeta attempts to choke Katniss the first time he sees her. District 13 takes him to "rehab" and attempt to return his true memories.

Katniss trains to join the army and gets assigned to a special task force in the Capitol. During a botched PR stunt, the commanding officer is mortally wounded and gives Katniss  control of the unit. She takes them on a mission to assassinate President Snow.

I think I will stop there. The important parts are known to those of you who have finished it, and those who haven't(Skipper?) I am leaving the best bits for your discovery.

I think that Collins, like many other authors(especially the classic ones), had much more inferred from her story than she included. I have read reviews mentioning allusions to Jesus. I don't doubt the inspiration from Greek mythology, I actually find it very believable. But the parallels that people/critics/reviewers are drawing I find a bit much(I am so sorry for saying this Ms. Danford, Ms. McMinn, and Mrs. Weatherly). This is something I have found very odd when analyzing stories for years. Some things can definitely be shown to be part of the story. But others seem to be such a farfetched application of our current world view that they become outrageous. I can feel my 3 HS Lit teachers glaring at me as I write this. "That is a lot of the point of literature" one would definitely tell me. Drawing what you will from literature is definitely one of the best facets it has. But some things are just to outlandish to claim completely.

Enough of that though. I think that the best thing about "The Hunger Games", besides how utterly griping the story is/was, is how believable I found it. I have seen claims of the hunger games being ridiculous because a population would not allow its government to get away with it. I disagree. I think that, without a discussion about it, claiming such a thing is coming outright and stating you completely misunderstood that portion of the story.

I love how the book titles go with each other, and pertain explicitly to the story line. The setting was awe-inspiring and I found the characters very believable. The loss of history, and the humanity of the population was absolutely wonderful. The protagonists were not handed a free pass(although I want to discuss authors prerogative later) and I felt, I really felt the story. I fell in love with the characters. Is it possible to fall in love with a fictional character? I think I fell in love with Katniss, I painted her as a beauty in my mind. Not a shocking beauty, but a woman with a quiet beauty that builds and builds, rises and rises, like a crescendo. Except this never peaks. Never climaxes. Instead, her beauty increases with no bounds. That may be one of the weirdest things you have ever read, especially since she is 16 at the start of the story, and our society views anyone over an ambiguous time value having romantic feelings for someone under that time value to be shameful and wrong. However, instead of being weird, I view it as the utmost accolade for Collins. Her world and characters are so real, that being external to it all, I fell in love with it all and sobbed like a lost kid with no idea what to do, where to go, or in fact how to conduct myself. A true writing achievement; not getting millions to read your work, but creating something believable and loved.

Another achievement for Collins, I cannot remember the last time I finished a book/series and immediately wanted to read it again(probably Harry Potter before "Goblet" had been published). "The Hunger Games" definitely has me awed enough to want to read it again immediately. Alas, I must read other stories as there is still so much for us to discuss. Also, this blag will not be all literature, I promise. I will include new topics soon.

With much fondness, here I stand biding farewell to "The Hunger Games". I cannot wait until I relive the saga again. And on that note, if you want to have a discussion about this, or anything, please engage me. I would greatly enjoy the stimulation.