Everyone's talking about The Hunger Games. Everyone has been talking about The Hunger Games since they hit the young adult lit. market like a virus. Touted as the new Harry Potter or Twilight, this series of books is so appealing that people who hate books or don't read are succumbing to the temptation to read them. I have been meaning to see what the hype is about for a while now, but it wasn't until the impending release of the first movie that I was inspired to read the series before the movie came out (I make it a habit to always read the book before the movie).
From the first few pages I was completely hooked--can't-tear-my-eyes-away hooked. The first book, The Hunger Games, is unlike any book I have ever read. When Suzanne Collins made the decision to write her novels in the present tense, she incited new take on the genre of young adult adventure novels. No matter what her authorial intent, write the novels in this way, make for a completely gripping story. As I hurriedly flipped the pages of her novel, I became Katniss Everdeen. This complete immersion is possible because the reader is there with Katniss going through every motion, thinking every thought and planning her next move. This was a reading experience that I have not encountered before--and consequently one that made me envision myself playing a video game or watching a movie of the events as they were unfolding...which made seeing the movie so exciting.
I have just mentioned that I felt like I was in a video-game while reading this novel. There were many elements that caused this sensation for me: the games can only have one winner; the players have to gain favor with sponsors who will pay for medicine; they have to wait and rest to restore their "health;" there are many curve-balls thrown at them from the gamemakers and so on and so forth. Aware of it or not, I personally think that this is one reason why these books are so appealing to the young adult culture at this moment in time. Anyway, enough with my random thoughts about why it is so popular...
All of the appealing elements aside, The Hunger Games represents a very real and very scary picture of what our country could become. The country of Panem, where the twelve districts in the series exist, is a futuristic North America. This country's government and climate resemble that of the one George Orwell wrote about in 1984, and other young adult literature authors have taken his same themes, however, not to this extreme. A country where they hold games and force children to fight to the death? A country where there is no hope for improving yourself, you are simply stuck in the class or profession you are born into; a country where orphans and widows and the poor are left to starve while those in the far-off capitol force them selves to vomit so they can eat as much as they want. The so-called "peacekeepers" in the series are a replacement for combined law-enforcement, but they frequently participate in prostitution and have virtually no checks on their power and the amount of violence they can perform against unarmed and innocent civilians--besides all of that, you are constantly being watched by the president for fear there may be an uprising.
The premise of the book may seem like an outlandish, unbelievable scenario, but if we truly think about it, is it really? Just taking recent developments in our country as examples, the shooting of a young black boy by a "neighborhood" watchman, the brutal shooting a few months ago of a black veteran by racist police officers, and the recent Supreme Court decision that police officers can strip-search people stopped for minor violations with no real probable cause. Though we do not outwardly select our children to fight to the death as a lesson in obedience, we allow are young men and women to go abroad and fight and die for causes that are not their own. We desensitize our children to violence through a multitude of media, and we are forced to eliminate empathy and compassion from the education of our children for the higher goal of "global competition."
There is a reason why so many can imagine worlds where our basic rights as human beings are violated on a daily basis, and that reason is staring us right in the face. I am glad that Suzanne Collins wrote such a bold book, and I hope that those who read her books, see the real warnings they hold for our generation and for our government.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
About a Book...
Despite the looming title of this blog, I have decided to write a post about a book I have just read. Having recently completed all of my higher education, and being jobless, I have multitudes of free-time to read. This is quiet exhilarating for me, and I am enjoying every bit of it.
I am always trying to expand my book knowledge, and to accomplish this, I recently looked up a list of the top 100 books one should read. Naturally, I made a spreadsheet of this list and checked off which ones I have read and marked which ones I have not read (perhaps too extreme?). I am a list person and after making this list of books to read, I was excited to get started! Trying not to be dismayed by the expanse of books on the list I have not read, I began downloading the free ones on my Kindle (due to the aforementioned jobless situation, I have no money to actually buy these books). The first one I decided to read was Tess of the D'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy. I have never read anything by Hardy so this was to be a new experience for me.
Being a thoroughly educated English major (she laughs to herself, for this is not possible). It was easy to recognize the naturalistic elements of the novel immediately in the opening pages. It called to mind such poets as Wordsworth and Coleridge, and such poems as "Lines composed above Tintern Abbey." The feel of the English landscape and beauty of that country, the life of the common farmer and the common man, struck me immediately. One does not have to read his Wikipedia page (and I confess, I just did) to pick up on the elements of the Enlightenment and Romantic eras in his novel. The situation with Tess's father discovering that he is the last remaining progeny in an old and extinct noble family, evokes many chuckles from any reader. However, the heart of the book is at the same time greatly influenced by the naturalism that so clearly controls the events.
Hardy brilliantly combines humorous elements with supernatural qualities and realistic feelings and actions of human beings into his heart-wrenching tale. I found myself sympathizing with the characters even more because I saw my own feelings about organized religion, reactions to societal norms and the like in the characters of Tess Durbeyfield and Angel Clare. More than a novel of naturalism and fate, this is a novel of humanity, and Hardy hits the nail right on the head with the nature of humans. How does the common man react to being told he is a noble? How do secrets tear people apart? How does arrogance and a superior mindset affect those who love you most? These are all questions that Hardy addresses through the characters of the novel. This is a delightful read and I would recommend it to any who like naturalistic, or even ironic novels.
For a book lover, discovering a new novel is like a kid finding a dollar under her pillow where her tooth was. We expect it, but when it happens we are more excited than we thought we would be. I feel like a kid when I discover a new novel I love, and that sums up my experience with Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
I'll try Not to write about books next time:)
I am always trying to expand my book knowledge, and to accomplish this, I recently looked up a list of the top 100 books one should read. Naturally, I made a spreadsheet of this list and checked off which ones I have read and marked which ones I have not read (perhaps too extreme?). I am a list person and after making this list of books to read, I was excited to get started! Trying not to be dismayed by the expanse of books on the list I have not read, I began downloading the free ones on my Kindle (due to the aforementioned jobless situation, I have no money to actually buy these books). The first one I decided to read was Tess of the D'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy. I have never read anything by Hardy so this was to be a new experience for me.
Being a thoroughly educated English major (she laughs to herself, for this is not possible). It was easy to recognize the naturalistic elements of the novel immediately in the opening pages. It called to mind such poets as Wordsworth and Coleridge, and such poems as "Lines composed above Tintern Abbey." The feel of the English landscape and beauty of that country, the life of the common farmer and the common man, struck me immediately. One does not have to read his Wikipedia page (and I confess, I just did) to pick up on the elements of the Enlightenment and Romantic eras in his novel. The situation with Tess's father discovering that he is the last remaining progeny in an old and extinct noble family, evokes many chuckles from any reader. However, the heart of the book is at the same time greatly influenced by the naturalism that so clearly controls the events.
Hardy brilliantly combines humorous elements with supernatural qualities and realistic feelings and actions of human beings into his heart-wrenching tale. I found myself sympathizing with the characters even more because I saw my own feelings about organized religion, reactions to societal norms and the like in the characters of Tess Durbeyfield and Angel Clare. More than a novel of naturalism and fate, this is a novel of humanity, and Hardy hits the nail right on the head with the nature of humans. How does the common man react to being told he is a noble? How do secrets tear people apart? How does arrogance and a superior mindset affect those who love you most? These are all questions that Hardy addresses through the characters of the novel. This is a delightful read and I would recommend it to any who like naturalistic, or even ironic novels.
For a book lover, discovering a new novel is like a kid finding a dollar under her pillow where her tooth was. We expect it, but when it happens we are more excited than we thought we would be. I feel like a kid when I discover a new novel I love, and that sums up my experience with Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
I'll try Not to write about books next time:)
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