Oct
15
Last month, Jia reviewed a new to us YA book called Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It’s a story about a teenager forced to fight in a brutal game to the death against 23 other teenagers. Others decided to read it and so we thought it would be fun to have a Book Club discussion. We’ve never really done this before so bear with us.
Please remember that this discussion will be full of spoilers so don’t read/participate if you don’t want to be spoiled.
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The following are questions that we thought of in relation to the book. Let us know if you have answers or other questions.
- What does the future hold for Katniss, Peeta, and Gale?
- What did you think of Heymitch? Troublemaker? Untrustworthy? Surprising savoir?
- What do you think is the future of the political structure?
- Will there be a rebellion? If so, who will lead it? How do you think it will play out?
- Will there be retaliation against Katniss for her actions?
- Did you think it was fair for Katniss to get the rating that she did in archery?
- Did you think that Katniss had to face difficult moral decisions or where those tough choices ones she could avoid?
- What do you think was the inspiration for Hunger Games? One review says that it has ties to Rome.
- What role do you think Cinna plays?
- Which children were the worst off? The ones in the Districts where the children were raised to think that competing to kill other children and possibly die themselves was honorable as in Districts 1 & 2? Or the outlying districts which were so poor that the inhabitants had to forage for the smallest portions.
- Are there other books that reminded you of Hunger Games (because Jia and I want to read them).
- If you are an adult, why do these YA books appeal to you? Do you wish there were more books in the romance genre like this one?
And lastly, are you rooting for the K/G pairing or the K/P pairing? Choose sides and let’s rumble.
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Open Threads at Dear Author. Want to know what new releases are out this month and what readers are excited about reading? Check out the threads below. 
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I just finished reading Hunger Games last night and I absolutely LOVED it! My only complaint would be that I wanted one more scene at the end. I wanted to read about Katniss and Peeta being received in their village. Who was there? Who they saw in the audience right away? Who didn’t show up? I wanted Katniss to at the very least make eye contact with Prim. I suppose I’ll just have to be kept in awful suspense until the next book.
I cannot believe you’d suggest we choose sides between K/G and K/P???! How could you? I can’t choose, and honestly, I don’t think Katniss can do it, either. She’s going to have one huge struggle ahead of her. Both with regard to her love interests AND with regard to the Capitol. I can barely imagine what their next move will be.
I am firmly on the Peeta bandwagon here. I don’t care that she grew up with Gale - she and Peeta went through the fire together, and that bonds people in a way you don’t expect. LOVE PEETA. DON’T SET HIM UP FOR A TRAGIC ENDING, SUZANNE COLLINS. DO YOU HEAR ME?
Cough. I suspect there are going to be a lot of spoilers today.
Um, anyway. I think Haymitch is bound to be trouble. He won his games long ago, so we know he’s crafty and willing to do whatever it takes to come out ahead. He’s also a drunk, so we know he tends to cave when things get difficult and prefers to go through life in a stupor rather than deal with things. Add all of this up to the lifestyle that the games have forced him into, and I don’t think he can be trusted at all. I expect him to spy on Katniss and Peeta when they are all living in the winner’s district.
Speaking of the winner’s district - after the big hullaballoo of Katniss and Peeta being a couple (even if it’s only for TV), you KNOW they’re going to have to live in the same house to keep up the pretense. And I wonder how that will play with her relationship with Gale.
I think Peeta is being set up to be the opposite of Haymitch rather than the opposite of Gale, now that I think about it. Because we have seen through Peeta’s actions that he’s willing to do the right thing even if it costs him. He saved Katniss at the cost of his own safety in the game. He gave her bread even though his mother slapped him (and they were eating stale bread in his home). He was willing to do whatever he could to help her out in the game, and I think we’re going to see that contrast with Haymitch, who is only willing to do whatever helps him in the end.
I’d love to be wrong (just to be surprised) but this is how I suspect it’s going to go. :)
And how can it not be like Rome? Gladiators that lived through the games were treated like rock stars. Of course, they didn’t live very long, but while they were alive? Rock stars.
Jill, I totally understand the Peeta bandwagon and the strength of the bond between him and Katniss now. But I still think Katniss is going to struggle immensely with her loyalties and affections between the two boys, mostly because I speculate that she is going to come home to find out that Gale did more than just look out for Prim and her mother while Katniss was at the Games. I don’t have a lot of faith in their mother’s ability to have stayed ‘coherent’ during this time, especially after Peeta revealed during the Games that his father was once in love with Katniss’ mother before she chose to marry the coalminer (Katniss’ and Prim’s father). This is of course, all speculation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the mother reverted back to her ‘lost self’ and Gale has been taking full care of both the mother and Prim. Now Katniss’ loyalties between Peeta and Gale will be really torn, because she will feel indebted to both young men. And Gale calls her ‘Catnip.’ How sweet is that?
I don’t completely trust Haymitch either. I think in his heart he truly wants his District tributes to succeed and fare well, but he could easily become one of the Capitol’s pawns.
I really liked Cinna. I’m not really sure what his role will be in the future of the story–I hadn’t really thought about it, but I definitely see him being an ally to Katniss.
@Christine & @Jill: I’m totally pro Gale. I think that Katniss doesn’t have enough respect for Peeta in the right way to make them equals. Gale and Katniss have been hunting in the forests together for years, taking chances, being each others’ sole support. I think that Gale and Katniss have been through that fire that you, Jill, talk about.
I thought it was convenient that Katniss didn’t have to kill anyone to make it to the end that she didn’t like. She never really had to face that dilemma, not even at the end.
I do think that there is going to be a struggle between Katniss, Gale and Peeta though as Katniss has strong feelings for Gale but also feels tied to Peeta. Remember, she was even thinking of what Gale thought of the kisses that were televised.
I’m thinking that there is some hero’s matyr’s death for Peeta or that he’ll be set up as the ruler because he’s got such high ethics.
Maybe Peeta and Haymitch are the mirrors for each other. That’s a really good point.
Much as I love Peeta, I do think the only way that the love triangle can be successfully resolved is to kill him off. Heh. I suspect that he will die a noble death to save her, and will end up being the true ‘hero’ of the trilogy. The good guys always die young and all that.
I liked Cinna as well. I’m not sure what his eventual purpose will be, but I liked him.
I did think Katniss was a bit overrated at times (esp. with the 11) because she made a lot of stupid moves through the game. Human moves, but stupid moves. Foxface was a much better player - her only mistake was actually Peeta’s mistake, and it backfired on her.
I think it’ll be interesting to see how Gale vs Peeta will play out. Because Gale is far too much like Katniss to behave like Peeta did. If Gale had been in the Games, would he have made the sacrifices that Peeta did, just to save Katniss? Would he be as unselfish? I can’t think that he would because we’re told as the reader that Gale is just like Katniss, and Katniss is all about herself (except for when it comes to Prim).
I do kind of think the Capital will find a way to screw Katniss when she returns. My secret heart of hearts thinks that the ultimate screw would be to tap Prim again for the games next year, when Katniss can’t save her. Or to tap both Gale and Prim (is Gale too old?).
I am also in the pro-Gale camp. Like Jane, I don’t think Katniss really respects Peeta — how many times does she try to just say, “You wouldn’t understand” instead of explaning things to him — and she also thinks about Gale a lot during the Games, wondering what he’s thinking when he watches events unfold on TV.
As for Cinna, I am convinced he is a conspirator who wants to take down the Capitol from within. He specifically requested District 12, the laughingstock of Panem, known for having its Tributes dressed in absurd outfits during the opening ceremonies. Unlike everyone else from the Capitol, he’s completely understated: plain, natural-colored hair and black clothes. Yes, he wears gold eyeliner but compared to Katniss’s team, he might as well have been wearing a potato sack. He is up to something and I think it spells trouble for the Capitol but good news for Katniss. He’s an unexpected ally, I think.
(I don’t think the names Cinna and Portia are by chance, especially in light of the parallels to Rome. Let’s not forget that Cinna was one of the conspirators against Julius Caesar.)
@Jill Myles: I think it’s interesting re: foxface because some of these kids were demonized in a way to make their deaths palatable. But in a great sense, all of these kids were victims. How was Foxface any less honorable than Katniss for wanting to survive and win?
Sure, some of the Tributes were vicious but they were raised to be that way because it was glorious to volunteer to fight in these Hunger Games when only 1 would survive.
I also wondered whether the Districts were developing (secretly) weapons of warfare. I.e., why was it a surprise that District 3 could build a bomb?
@Jia: Those are great points on Cinna. I didn’t know that fact about Cinna being a name of one of Caesar’s conspirators. Knowing that, I agree with your speculation that Cinna will be part of some greater plan to rebel and take down the Capitol. I’m looking forward to delving more deeply into the politics and instability of this world in the next book.
@Jane: I thought about the fact that Katniss wasn’t faced with the dilemma of killing anyone in the Games, too, but quite honestly, I was relieved that she didn’t have to kill. Well, she killed Cato, but that was an act of mercy. Knowing that Katniss values life so highly, I had hoped she would survive the games by out smarting, out surviving the others so that she wouldn’t have to murder anyone. I could see how readers would find that a bit too convenient in book like this, but for me, it suited her character and felt right in my heart.
@Jia - Re: Cinna. You are right that Cinna and Portia were conspirators against Caesar, or at least they were in the play Julius Caesar. Maybe we should read that for some parallels on the book? I do agree that Cinna is up to something. The entire time he seemed like he had his own plan that no one was aware of but him.
@Jane - I actually liked Foxface a lot and admired her. I think that’s why her death bugged me. She had been smart and fierce and independent the whole time and to go out on such a note kind of sucked. I also kind of wonder if Foxface was kind of an ‘extreme’ portrayal of a feral kid like Katniss. Like that might have been how Katniss would have played if she hadn’t had Rue and Peeta (and the other boy from District 11).
I did want to hear a lot more about the individual districts. What was their area of expertise, how they viewed the capital, etc. It’s easy to be rebellious when you are poor and unhappy. But District 1 & 2 were portrayed as a lot wealthier, weren’t they? I wonder if they would rebel at all.
There was also a Cato that was a conspirator against Caesar, if you look at Wikipedia. Interesting.
I think Cinna was the conspirator in Julius Caesar whereas Portia was the wife of a conspirator (Brutus) who knew something was up but was never taken into confidence. IIRC, Cinna was the brother of Caesar’s first (dead) wife so it’d be interesting to see if that parallels events in future books.
That’s the kicker, isn’t it? For a rebellion against the Capitol to succeed, the inner districts have to be involved. But what reason would Districts 1 & 2 have to do so? Then again, they rebelled against the Capitol too, once upon a time, so what were their reasons for rebelling then? Other than “The Capitol is oppressive.” I doubt that’s changed much. So either something happened in the time since the uprising to change their opinion of the Capitol (doubtful) or something happened immediately before the uprising to encourage them along the path of rebellion. So what would be the conditions here that would force them to join such a rebellion?
I feel like the Career Tributes would have to be involved somehow. Yes, they’re brainwashed to think risking death for your District is the greatest honor ever but a system that indoctinates such a belief system is messed up. Someone somewhere in those Districts must feel the same way, even if they wouldn’t admit it publically.
@Jill: I actually do think Gale would have been unselfish with Katniss if he were in the Games in lieu of Peeta. I don’t think he would have been so self-sacrificing like Peeta, but he is a hunter and a survivor like Katniss, and would therefore have figured out something to keep them both alive. He had implied that he would want to have children with Katniss, so he values life and has hopes for the future and I think he would have done whatever he needed to do to keep them both alive.
Maybe part of the rebellion against the Capitol will have to involve convincing the wealthier Districts that the Capitol is not looking out for their best interests either. Perhaps something drastic will happen–either man induced or by natural disaster, that puts the Careers at life threatening disadvantage and at the mercy of the outer districts like District 12. I guess that sounds rather simplistic, but something will have to happen to bring the Districts together to forge a better future for their society.
I got the impression that the Career Tributes were out to WIN the game (and the personal riches and glory that victory would bring) rather than to bring honor to their districts. And there is a suggestion that the inhabitants of the Capital and perhaps also the wealthier districts are not all completely on board with the authorities and the games, as evidenced by both Cinna’s subtle subversiveness and the red-haired girl from the Capital who was captured in front of Katniss and Gale and had her tongue cut out (I forget what it was that they called her, but she is the one who waited on Katniss when the latter was preparing for the games.) I suspect that Katniss is going to end up being a (willing or unwilling) symbol/leader for rebellion against the status quo in the next book.
Re: Haymitch. I don’t believe that he is evil or excessively self-serving. He ended up helping Katniss and Peeta *a lot* at the end of the Games. I think that he is a survivor, like Katniss herself, and that is how he won the games. His drinking is his way to numb himself to the horror of the Hunger Games and the role that he is forced to continue playing in them, year after year. I think that he will end up being an unexpected ally to Katniss and the rebellion.
Re: K/G vs K/P pairing. I like both of them. I think that Katniss currently is more in love with Gale than Peeta, whether she knows it or not. Unfortunately, I agree that one of the guys is going to have to die a hero’s death at some point.
I got the impression that the Career Tributes were out to WIN the game (and the personal riches and glory that victory would bring) rather than to bring honor to their districts.
When I said “honor,” I meant it in the prestige, wealth, and reputation sense. Still, for the Career Tributes to dedicate their lives to the sole purpose of winning the Games, they have to undergo some rigorous training in their home districts. But a system that encourages such a mindset has a fundamentally screwed up foundation because the chance of winning the Games doesn’t change the fact that it’s far more likely they’ll die instead. The Career Tributes are aware of this on some level.
Why do the inner Districts, which are better off than the outer Districts, have Career Tributes who consider it an honor to be drawn in the lottery while Tributes from the outer Districts view it as synonymous to being declared dead? There’s something causing that difference in perspective. Why is it a pampered child from a more affluent region would want to take part in a bloodsport — after all, aren’t they comfortable processing the gems and making the pretty fabrics? — and why would a starving child from a poor region not want to take the chance that maybe, just maybe, they’ll luck out and get the food, money, and nice house for life?
I really have no idea who Katniss will end up with because while Hunger Games was brilliant, but it raised and left a lot of questions. I can see the argument pro-Gale, but I actually prefer Peeta (so far - we don’t really no Gale aside from Kat’s observations, anyhow). But even so, I can see myself as soundly on the Peeta bandwagon. Thought he was an absolute sweetheart whereas Gale was, to me, kind of dry.
No one’s brought this up yet, surprisingly: What do you think was with the Avox girl? Any speculations there?
@Steph: Re Avox. I think that what these hints of insurrection are signs of small rebellions that can be tapped into at a later date. There are probably some families within the richer districts than despise the horror of the Games and maybe have even lost someone - say, someone who was caught up with the glory. Maybe a Heymitch but not a drunken one, a reformed winner.
I also wonder that the insurrection will come from the Capitol forcing Katniss into another Hunger Game or something - a kind of breaking of the rules, since it is clear that they feel like they have the right to mess with the rules.
The breaking of the rules will then start a rumbling throughout the Districts because if you can’t rely on the rules, then everyone is in danger.
I can’t see an all out rebellion because it is a YA book meaning that the teens have to lead/win not any adults and I don’t think even a group of teens can overthrow the capital. I think that what will have to happen is that somehow the teens in a subsequent televised event will somehow do something that will break through the population’s consciousness to reveal the Hunger Games for the sordid, cruel, abasement that it is. Through using the broadcast medium, ruining the “games”, the Capital will have lost power over the Districts.
Just my guess.
Jane - you brought up an interesting point with the YA comment. As it is, it’s definitely YA in the sense that the focus is on its teen characters. That said, obviously it’s still appealing to diverse age groups. Makes me wonder if it will, in subsequent installments, be inspired to have an older focus. Also makes me wonder if the YA label will in any way affect the story.
Yay, another person on the Peeta bandwagon! *hearts Steph*
I think the YA rating does affect the book. I kind of wondered if that was why Katniss kind of ‘got off easy’ in a few places and she didn’t really have to kill anyone directly herself - it was always done for her or she lucked into it.
Haha it’s nice to not be the only one :)
Yeah, definitely about Katniss’s luck. I’m kind of wondering what her post-Games self will be like. She can’t seriously have no internal drama after watching 22 other people die brutally as it was. Especially with what happened to Cato at the end.
I was actually disappointed that Peeta wasn’t killed off in The Hunger Games. Don’t get me wrong, I thought he was a likable character and all, but letting him live, and letting Katniss get through everything without directly killing anyone (except for Cato, which was a mercy kill, as Christine already pointed out) seemed too easy. The only person she’s lost so far is Rue, which, I don’t know, sad as it was, didn’t seem like enough of a sacrifice for everything that Katniss achieved.
In terms of a romantic interest, I don’t like either the K/P or K/G pairing. Didn’t Katniss say something along the lines of how she didn’t want to fall in love and have kids because she didn’t want to bring a child into the world? So I’d love to see a solitary Katniss, with Peeta and/or Gale as frinds. Just friends. Of course, if all goes as expected and a rebellion eventually brings down the Capital, I wouldn’t be surprised if she changes her mind. But for now I agree with Jane about Katniss’ lack of respect for Peeta. And, even though I think Katniss didn’t have to sacrifice enough to win the Hunger Games, like Steph, I can see how the experience would change her. Because Gale was only an observer (whose perspective of what Katniss did has surely been influenced by the cinematic decisions of the Gamemakers and how they wanted to portray Katniss) for most of the book, I think the K/G relationship will change, and I’m not sure it’ll be able to give rise to a romantic relationship. If I had to pick a guy, though, right now I have a soft spot for Cinna.
Actually, Katniss did kill the boy who killed Rue. IIRC, she shot him with an arrow. And she was responsible for the deaths of the tributes who died from the killer wasp attack. She was more than ready to kill to defend herself on several other occasions. She was not aggressively trying to murder the other tributes like the Careers were, but she was doing what she needed to in order to survive. I don’t really think that she got off that “easy.” She seemed very true to her character to me.
I see what you are saying here. But the Career Tributes have a much better chance of winning than any of the kids from the poorer districts. In fact, I believe it said in the book that one of them almost *always* wins the Games. So I suppose they figure that it is worth the gamble for fame, wealth and glory. But, of course, I agree that the whole system is screwed up and monstrous.
But the kids from the poorer districts nearly *always* end up dead, since luck is only part of the game. They start out at a disadvantage due to their baseline poorer nutritional state. They have fewer sponsors because their districts are poorer.
Good question as to why the parents of the richer districts would want to sacrifice their children to the Game. Perhaps it is for the bragging rights of being the parent of a winner of the Games (and thus responsible in part for the prosperity of the district.) Perhaps the Axov girl and her boyfriend were trying to escape training as tributes from their areas.
as apposed to things that are pissing you off, and not specifically a victory.
I have to say I have a great boss - fist time in my life I have been so completly happy with my boss.
yesterday, she decides to impliment a new system for my expense reports that now will save me a huge amount of work - not only a huge amount of work, but the day or two of the month with the least pleasant work I do. a typicall expense report for me has 7-10 currencies, mind you, and maybe 200 seperate recepts. she took 95% of my work away. I’ve been doing these damn reports for 20 years, and nobody has done this for me before.
I am a very happy puppy.
I think Peeta is Katniss’s best chance for the future. He has represented hope for her since she was first starving. Gale is too much like her to really help her get beyond her broken-ness. Peeta is capable of love, where as the others are too worn down by responsibility to really feel things that are much stronger than surviving. I worry that if Katniss doesn’t get more of this in her life soon, she could become a real killer. I know she didn’t have to kill much in the games, and that her sense of responsibility has made her a very ethical person. But she doesn’t have any one she can really trust. Even with Gale it’s pacts to provide for each other’s families and dividing the labor in half so that everything is even. Katniss could become consumed by hate if she isn’t able to find more unconditional love and safety.
As for Haymitch i think he could become an ally and hates the capitol just as much. remember him yelling at the camera in contempt when he first appears drunk on stage?
Also I think we are in for a surprise that Katniss’s family has fared very well in her absence. Katniss showed more respect for her mother’s abilities while she was trying to nurse Peeta. That won’t go unnoticed at home. Plus despite their fears, they have a lot to be proud of with her.
just talking on the relationship aspect, there is a huge place in my heart for Peeta, he saved her life afterall and is entirely genuine….but….i love Gale….maybe i am a hopless romantic but i can see something happening there
“I call him my friend, but in the last year it’s seemed to casual a word for what Gale is to me”
maybe i am going to far into it, but i am connvinced they secretly love eachother, whether they each know it yet or not….and lastly i am convinced that when (on page 40) Gale was forced out of the room inside the justice building he was about to confess his undying love for her:
“Katniss, remember I-” (and then sadly he gets yanked out of the room…but you all know that i guess lol) however this could just be what any great friend would do, so maybe it was nothing….but i hope it was something…..i’m all about love triangles…but these two guys are SO hard to choose from!
so i am very excited to see what happens between them, if something happens between them that is…….i wonder how Gale is going to be when she gets back with all the stuff he has seen between Peeta and Katniss on tv…..poor Gale….how do you think he will react?