I just recently finished reading the novel Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I chose to do a video game genre post because this novel is really based off of a contest or game that could be easily portrayed as a video game. In the novel, the genre was adventure and the tone was confusion, depression, cheerfulness and affection.

In the video game, it starts out by creating your very own character from District 12, you can choose either a male or female and adjust their facial features, hair, clothing etc. Then you are warped to what the people of Panem call “the reaping”. Unfortunately, your baby sister is chosen out of thousands of slips of paper. Since you don’t think she will stand a chance you volunteer to take her place. Depending on your choice of gender you either are together with Peeta Mellark (female) or Katniss Everdeen (male). Immediately, you say your final goodbyes to your family members as you have to make your treacherous journey in a rich class train to the Capitol to fight in the Hunger Games.

Once you arrive at the Capitol you are greeted by your stylists so that they can make you look presentable in the ceremony to come. You have to make sure you trust them because if you don’t, then you may not get any sponsors, which will make your chances of winning the Hunger Games even slimmer. After the ceremony, you are greeted by Haymitch Abernathy, who will train you for the biggest event in your life. He is the past winner of the Hunger Games who hailed from District 12. In 74 years of the Hunger Games there were two winners, and Haymitch was one of them. You learn that you are a marksman when it comes to the bow and arrow. After a few days of training you show your skills the Gamemakers and you are rated on a 1-12 scale. One being the worst, and 12 being the best.

Next, you are prepared once again by your stylists for your interview. After this, you are thrown into the arena to fight to the death against 24 other tributes. You are asked a series of questions and you have to answer them however you like. Remember, your answers will also determine what kind of sponsors you get. You have one day until the games start and then it is when the intensity starts to build.

That morning you are saying your final goodbyes as you go into an escalator that puts you into the arena. You can take the dangerous approach and get supplies that will help you survive in the Cornucopia or not take the risk and get as far away from the battle as possible and not have any supplies. The last person left standing wins the Hunger Games and goes back to their district and lives on. If you die at any point in the game you have to start over, and if you win you get to see your loved ones again. Remember, you can have alliances in the game by talking to other tributes, just consider that there can be only one winner.

I have just finished my novel Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The novel is really about a girl named Katniss who stands up for her sister at the reaping which chooses who will fight to the death in the Hunger Games. It shows how this experience changes Katniss as a person because of the brave and honorable choice she made just to protect her family and most importantly, her little sister. My favorite part in the novel is when she finally arrives at the Capitol in which where she will be fighting to the death. The way Suzanne Collins described her facial expressions and her internal thoughts made me feel I was Katniss herself. That I was physically put into her body and going through the thoughts that made her adrenaline pump, and heart race. What I like about the novel is that chapter by chapter, it leaves a cliffhanger. As soon as you figure out what will happen in the remainder of the novel it just twists turns and affects the outcome of the novel. Since this book is part of a series, I plan on finishing the series. I will because the end of the first book (Hunger Games) actually cliff hangs the end of the novel. It makes me want to read the next novel because I am curious to find out what happens in it. I was able to place myself in this novel because I could imagine myself as Peeta. I believe since he is a male, kind, respectful and brave kind of individual. It kind of made me imagine myself as him. I would recommend this book to my best friend because it is hard for me to visualize novels. This is one of the many novels that I have been able to connect to, understand and enjoy. I believe my best friend would enjoy it as well. If I had to put it on a scale of 1-5 I would give it a 4.95 because it is a very enjoyable novel and I am inquiring what will happen next. On the other hand, I think the novel should answered more of my questions like, what happened to the United States around this time? And how did the Capitol take over everything? Overall, Hunger Games is an adventurous, plot twisting novel and will take you on a journey to the Capitol.

The name of my novel is Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The image I created is one section represented by the mockingjay pin, one with the capitol seal, another with a bow and arrow and the last one with a bunch of hands going into the middle of a circle. The image is significant because each photo has a certain color around them. The mockingjay pin is surrounded by yellow. Yellow represents happiness and joy that the mockingjay pin brings to Katniss when fighting in the Hunger Games. The Capitol seal is surrounded by red. The red represents anger and frustration. In the country of Panem there were 13 districts that tried to up rise the capitol. After District 13 was obliterated the remaining 12 gave up. As punishment for their actions there are two tributes from each district that have to fight to the death in the Hunger Games. The bow and arrow is surrounded by black. The black represents death. I chose this color for the bow and arrow because it is Katniss’ weapon of choice in the Hunger Games and just for hunting. The final image with a bunch of hands going into the center is represented by blue. Blue stands for friendship, but can also stand for sadness. In this case I used it for friendship because the image stands for friendship and making alliances. I want this visual to help better understand the novel because it gives you background knowledge on the conflict and parts of the theme of the novel. The image represents the tone in the novel because each section represents an important aspect of the novel along with the character’s emotions towards it.

Dear Suzanne Collins,

I am currently reading your novel Hunger Games, I find it really interesting and I am intrigued by the characters, plot, and setting of the book. I feel that I share a special connection with Katniss because she is very brave, hardworking, respectful, sneaky and loving. One example of one of these is when Prim is chosen as District 12’s first female tribute, Katniss says “I volunteer . . . I volunteer as tribute” (22). I infer because of this courage that Katniss shows, that she is very brave and also that she cares for her younger sibling Prim. I also feel that you explained this foreign world called Panem, I also like that you went into detail in how there were thirteen districts and how one was obliterated in the attempt to up rise the Capitol, leading to the Hunger Games.

There are also something’s that I dislike about your novel so far as well. I dislike how Peeta and Katniss get along in the eyes in the public, but in private they both see each other as enemies since they will be facing each other in the Hunger Games. I believe this because in the novel “Haymitch shrugs. “Peeta has asked to be coached separately” (113). Katniss reacts by saying that Peeta’s decision was an act of betrayal. This means that both now resemble some kind of negative relationship towards each other.

The writing style that you possess is unbelievable. I think that you explain the characters, plot and the setting very well. For example, “Bright and bubbly as ever Effie Trinket trots to the podium and givers her signature Happy Hunger Games”(19)! I think that when you described that moment in time I could visualize Effie Trinket trotting up to the podium and saying her dialogue in a very happy and somewhat cocky tone. It is easier for her to say than to actually participate in the Hunger Games because it is a life or death situation. She announces the mayor’s daughter of District 12 so it seems that she isn’t in any danger really.

In your novel I am confused about what Katniss’ father was like. I understand that he was killed in a mine explosion, but I want to know more about his character and physical traits. I don’t know if I may have come crossed it in the novel, but I am very curious. In addition, I also don’t understand how Katniss impressed the Gamemakers since she shot a bow at the apple in the pig’s mouth during the scoring session of the Hunger Games. I think she had a lot of nerve to do so because in the novel “Suddenly I am furious that with my life on the line they don’t even have the decency to pay attention to me That I’m being upstaged by a dead pig. . .Without thinking I pull an arrow from my quiver and send it straight at the Gamemakers’ table. . . The arrow skewers the apple in the pig’s mouth and pins it to the wall behind it”(101-102). This means that because out of anger she showed that she had the nerve to explode and ruin her chances at anything because the Gamemakers weren’t paying attention.

In conclusion, I think your novel Hunger Games is an excellent novel, despite the fact I was confused at some points. I think in the future I will choose novels that you wrote. In the meantime I am going to relax, and continue reading the novel and hope I will find out more about Panem and its subjects.

Sincerely,

Tony R.