The Outsider

*I couldn't upload the picture, but here it is*
http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1680&bih=937&tbm=isch&tbnid=1yE5DWJ-6kFnEM:&imgrefurl=http://jenn625.blogspot.com/2010/06/today-im.html&docid=AD9ufrNDcIqsiM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTognjQJi4adGOMosudxAp0wsM7rYShjTj-0HxxwyX8DoQ7Xsa0C7RY1S3RWyzhW2viOHD-6F_tGYjAuNkX-ekaMupESjVkJlXA4JlDwXiwgRvPhY4mNn8tJpVMlrmsgV_5dl1_Q3o0jJr/s400/sadness.jpg&w=400&h=384&ei=F0IfT4qEN-Lj0gH5y9kF&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=965&vpy=166&dur=139&hovh=220&hovw=229&tx=84&ty=119&sig=112208535663046107083&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=121&tbnw=126&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0

          This is a simple picture that I recently just found while perusing Google images. In it, there is a microscope on a hill, looking down at the world. I feel like this piece kind of shows the feeling of what it feels like to be an outsider and  just not fitting in with the rest of the world.
          In the picture, there is a telescope sitting on a hill, which may or may not be the end of the world. It is as if it is sitting on a cliff looking down on the world. He is clearly an outsider of his world and it as if he is looking down at what he wishes he could be apart of. I feel as if the telescope resembles a person looking around at everything they wish they were/aren't a part of. Also, people tend to have an eye for things that they don't enjoy in life versus things they do like. The telescope is something that helps people look closer, so he is just observing and acknowledging how fulfilling his life really is. The background is also very dark and sullen so the whole feeling of this piece of art is rather sad. It also reminds me of someone feeling like they are slipping in life and are about to fall. This is why I feel as if it is about someone feeling as if they are on the outskirts of everything.
          I think this connects to humanity because you can't honestly say that everything is completely fair in life. Society has many different opinions of what is cool and what is in. You'll often see many people conforming to this idea that __ is what is good and everything that isn't is bad. All in all, everyone has had their moments when they simply just haven't fit in anywhere, and they are often lost and confused about it. In the image, the telescope represents everyone in the world.

Outsider

*I couldn't upload the picture, but here it is*
http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1680&bih=937&tbm=isch&tbnid=1yE5DWJ-6kFnEM:&imgrefurl=http://jenn625.blogspot.com/2010/06/today-im.html&docid=AD9ufrNDcIqsiM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTognjQJi4adGOMosudxAp0wsM7rYShjTj-0HxxwyX8DoQ7Xsa0C7RY1S3RWyzhW2viOHD-6F_tGYjAuNkX-ekaMupESjVkJlXA4JlDwXiwgRvPhY4mNn8tJpVMlrmsgV_5dl1_Q3o0jJr/s400/sadness.jpg&w=400&h=384&ei=F0IfT4qEN-Lj0gH5y9kF&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=965&vpy=166&dur=139&hovh=220&hovw=229&tx=84&ty=119&sig=112208535663046107083&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=121&tbnw=126&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0

          This is a simple picture that I recently just found while perusing Google images. In it, there is a microscope on a hill, looking down at the world. I feel like this piece kind of shows the feeling of what it feels like to be an outsider and  just not fitting in with the rest of the world.
          In the picture, there is a telescope sitting on a hill, which may or may not be the end of the world. It is as if it is sitting on a cliff looking down on the world. He is clearly an outsider of his world and it as if he is looking down at what he wishes he could be apart of. I feel as if the telescope resembles a person looking around at everything they wish they were/aren't a part of. Also, people tend to have an eye for things that they don't enjoy in life versus things they do like. The telescope is something that helps people look closer, so he is just observing and acknowledging how fulfilling his life really is. The background is also very dark and sullen so the whole feeling of this piece of art is rather sad. It also reminds me of someone feeling like they are slipping in life and are about to fall. This is why I feel as if it is about someone feeling as if they are on the outskirts of everything.
          I think this connects to humanity because you can't honestly say that everything is completely fair in life. Society has many different opinions of what is cool and what is in. You'll often see many people conforming to this idea that __ is what is good and everything that isn't is bad. All in all, everyone has had their moments when they simply just haven't fit in anywhere, and they are often lost and confused about it. In the image, the telescope represents everyone in the world.

Genetic Engineering, a Thing of Sci-Fi Stories Becomes a Controversial Reality of Today

         I read a critical essay called Not So Weird Science from the book The Girl Who Was On Fire by Cara Lockwood. Genetic engineering is the science of deliberately cloning or modifying the DNA of an organism by taking away or adding genes to create a creature. It is very real, not only in sci-fi novels, but also in our world today. in fact, it has been around for some time now. In 1977, scientists reproduced the first genetically cloned sheep, which was called Polly. Polly was a duplication of a she eps embryo implanted into a different sheep and born like a normal sheep. The mother of Polly was actually genetically engineered with some human DNA. This was in the United Kingdoms, shortly before many countries had passed laws benign experiments with human DNA. Scientists all over the world have been experimenting with genetic engineering and continue to do so. Like, genetically engineered silk worms that create stronger silk, a jellyfish spliced with a moth to kill pink bullworm. Now do you have a better sense of the reality of genetic engineering? So you are wondering, why don't we already have "Jabberjays" "TrackerJackers" and other such "mutts" roaming around our back yards? Well, there is a lot of controversy over genetic engineering. Some people feel that it is morally wrong, while others fear for the survival of the human race. The amount of such experimenting that has been allowed has been very limited. Theoretically, you could be trying to create a bacteria that will solve a major issue, but in the process you could accidentally create a zombie-type-virus that causes an epidemic. You have to decide whether or not it is really worth the risk. Not to say that the people doing this have bad intentions, I am sure they mean to make our world a better place. I personally believe that strict laws about genetic engineering should be enforced, but I also strongly believe that such research should continue because of the possible benefits and the advancements and further understanding of science. Where would the world be today if we never took risks and made mistakes? No where.

          In The Hunger Games trilogy, the Capitol often creates "mutts" as weapons that attack people both psychologically and physically. Some of these are really quite horrifying. Like ruthless, lethal "wasps" that cause you excruciating pain and cause you to hallucinate about the things you are scared of most, with venom that targets the part of your brain that controls fear. These creations sicken me. First I think about how terrible they are, then I wonder why anyone would create such at thing, then I think about the fact that something like this could be made to exist today. I would never support such a thing. The reality is though, people in the real world have done things that easily match the cruelty and awfulness of some of these things. Using poisonous gases, biological warfare, torture. These things all amount to the same thing, but the real problem is the killing, and the destruction of lives. How different are we really from the Capitol? Killing isn't justified by what you believe in. There is the exception of a few a few who, I wouldn't say deserve to die, but do not deserve to live. MLK jr. fought for the rights of all people and for all to be treated equally, and he did so nonviolently. He changed the world. The Hunger Games isn't just another sic-fi book, it really reflects on the cruelty and injustice of our world. Not in the future, but today. Things that need to change, and I think that Suzanne Collins has a very interesting way of bringing that to attention. Almost everything in this book boils down to the same matter. The cruelty and injustice of the Capitol.

        It was really thought provoking and interesting to read a critical essay about a book I had recently read. Reading about the book from another person's perspective is quite a bit more interesting and fundamentally rewarding then writing about what you already know and think about a book. The essay talked about things I hadn't already thought about, triggering a new wave of ideas and opinions about things in the book. I feel like the essay I read had a clear opinion, but didn't try to persuade you that that was the right opinion. I liked this because this allowed the reader to establish their own informed opinion about what the essay talked about based on the ideas and information that the writer gave in her essay. 

Have You Ever Thought About the Media as a Way of Persuading People?

I read the text, Panem et Circuses, by Carrie Ryan. Translated, it means bread and circuses, but I'll get to that later. After reading this, I actually had to take a minute and breathe it all in, absorb all the information. I was taken aback at the truth, how it is always right under our noses, but we always seem to miss it. I was taken aback by the vulgarity of the human race in general. I was taken aback by how manipulative people can be, and how selfish they can be. Now, I knew about these things before, any mature person who can think critically knows that people are mean, and life is nasty. When I read The Hunger Games, I really didn't focus on the media very much. I was more concerned about Katniss' personal journey, and how her character changes. This essay brought up a topic that I wish I had dived deeper into while reading the books. I'm very glad I got the chance to reflect on it now.

The essay had several main ideas: first, that the Capitol uses the media to an extent of manipulating it's citizens. Second that both reality TV producers and the gamemakers of the Capitol are concerned with only ratings and not reality. Third, that producers of any sort are only interested in the show they put on, the story they tell, and how is it perceived rather than the truth. Fourth, that most of the media is used for propaganda, versus the true spirit of reporting, which is getting the truth out to the citizens of the country and/or world. And last, that the media often blurs the line between real and not real.

I would say the 90% or more (probably more) of our grade watches television. Probably more than half of that number have watched (and enjoyed) some sort of reality TV one time or another. That includes shows like Survivor, Big Brother, The Amazing Race, and many others. Anybody who has read the Hinger Games may think that although we enjoy shows like this, we's never let it get so far as killing people! Well, how different is it really? Like Gale told Katniss, "killing people isn't that different from hunting." Honestly, how far is a leap from Survivor to the Games? The only difference is that contestants are "voted off the island" by their fellow contestants, versus being killed by their fellow tributes.  We HAVE A CHOICE TO TURN OFF THE TV, TO NOT WATCH ALL THIS TERRIBLE STUFF HAPPEN; the viewers in Panem don't.

Most of you probably don't remember 2005, it seems so long ago. Many of us were seven. Reality TV was just getting started, and it wasn't that bad. The author really emphasizes the fact that reality TV has only gotten worse since then, and this is because of our crazy desire for more interesting and compelling stories, challenges and the like, have drive reality TV to the point where it is very dangerous, and, quite frankly, almost to the point of watching live murder.  To keep their viewers, editors have to make every season fresh and new, just like the gamemakers have to make every Hunger Games fresh and new. They need to keep upping the anti, so viewers won't get board. In the Capitol's version, they do it so that they keep driving fear into the hearts and minds of their people. A boring Game means the Capitol is weak, and Panem may think it's okay to start a rebellion. For us, TV is symbolic of what our society has been reduced to, how far entertainment has gone. I think that it has gotten a little out of hand.

Like I said, the main reason the Capitol does the Hunger Games in the first place is because they need to provide Panem, "panem et circuses: bread and circuses to keep the populace entertained enough they won't consider a rebellion." I think it's more to keep them scared, but that's just me. It's funny how Collins named her country Panem (bread) and they have Games in which children starve to death. Oh, sweet irony. Reality TV, just like the Games, gets worse every year. Hollywood producers, just like the gamemakers, DO NOT CARE WHAT THEY ARE AIRING AS LONG AS IT GETS THE POINT ACROSS, MAKE VIEWERS INTERESTED (AND/OR SCARED), AND GETS THEM RATINGS.

In my text, it says that, "By the 2009-2010 television season, nine of the top twenty shows among young viewers were Reality shows." I think that says a lot about our culture. It's sad that our society has stooped so low that manipulation, particularly through media, is the only way to get people to do anything anymore.

Let me just say this for all of you who are deeply offended by my accusations against reality TV: MOST OF WHAT YOU'RE WATCHING ISN'T REAL. Sure, once in a while I like to watch Wipeout, but I plan on changing those habits. There is a huge difference between the stuff aired on reality TV and what most people would think to be the unbiased truth. People can be tricked into thinking almost anything is the truth with a little persuasion. That's why con men do so well, and why their victims can never tell they are being lied to. The editors (like the gamemakers) choose what to air. They can manipulate footage to make a contestant or tribute seem lazy, intelligent, hardworking, obnoxious, annoying-just by choosing what the populace sees. Wrong-place, wrong-time moments are utilized by the media (and the Rebels and the Capitol) to prove their point, even (especially) if it isn't true. I am pretty sure that the Games are shot live, so the gamemakers have a little less control over what happens than the editors of our time. I think, that in this way, the Games are more humane than reality TV. At least they show the truth. The truth is just naturally bad for them. For us, we have a pretty decent life, so editors PURPOSEFULLY make it bad. Something is very, very, wrong with that. What happened to the good old days, when MORALS AND ETHICS (vocabulary word :) ) still existed on TV?

Viewers tend to like TV shows where they can influence the outcome the best. Look at the success of shows like American Idol, and So You Think You Can Dance?. Voters actually get to choose who they want to send home. That reminded me so much of the sponsors in the Games. They place bets on who they think will win, and send gifts to try to make that happen. Viewers also love shows with a "showmance." Katniss ans Peeta's relationship, especially towards the end of the book, is a perfect example of this. They appear to be in love on camera, but off camera, the romance evaporates. Viewers crave the very idea that they could be in love. Love and rebellion go hand and hand in this book, one always affecting the other.

This is what the gamemakers capitalized on (no pun intended) to make the Games so interesting to viewers in the Capitol, and it is what got Katniss and Peeta sponsors. The gamemakers, like the editors and producers of our generation, only care about how much ratings they get, and how scared they make people. They don't care about whether or not the image they are putting out there is really true or not. When Katniss pulls the stunt with the berries, she is in control of herself. She has control over the gamemakers for one tiny minute.  The Capitol isn't as string as they seem. They DEPEND on people DEPENDING on them, and being scared.

Now, think about how reporting can persuade people. Many people assume it's true just because it's on the news. They pick stories, and exaggerate them, or omitting important pieces of information. now imagine WAR reporting. President Snow and Rebel leaders determine what to put in their, "propos," only based on their own agenda. The more outrageous the headline, the more wrong they make the other side look, the higher the sales and support. With the Capitol, it's about controlling people and keeping them sacred (instead of ratings/sales like it is for us), in place of the truth. Propaganda is a powerful tool, more powerful than violence. The definition of propaganda is any systematic, widespread dissemination or promotion of particular ideas, doctrines, practices etc. Ideas, doctrines, or allegations so spread: now often used disparagingly to connote deception or distortion. Does it make propaganda right, at any time, if it is in the name of progress?

If you really think about, the whole Hunger Games is an entire, sick, reality TV show. Katniss and the other tributes are actors, and the gamemakersare are producers. In Mockingjay, during the war reporting, Katniss is just an actor, told to say lines. War reporting in Panem is almost like it's own sub-genre of reality TV. During the Games, Katniss was always thinking about how to outsmart her opponents, which ultimately turn out out be the Capitol.

I believe that the person who invented television had the intent of entertainment. Nowadays, it seems like the only thing it is used for is persuasion. Often times, we do not challenge what is told to us, we merely accept it. It takes so long for the people of Panem to challenge the Capitol. So long to stop accepting, and start changing. Thousands of people are brainwashed, because, I hate to say it, but people are too simple minded to do anything about it.

The whole series really leads to the bombing of the children in the City Circle of the Capitol. It is the absolute turning point for Katniss, and the war. It was edited to make people people finally end the war in favor of the Rebels. I am pretty sure the war may have turned out differently, or at the very least taken longer, if citizens of Panem had known the whole truth. Their very reality is a lie.

Which leads me to beg the question...is it better to believe a lie, or not believe a truth?

Think about this: I am sure every one of us who enjoyed the Hunger Games thought it was wrong. Unjust. Horrific. Every one of us who enjoyed the Hunger Games, and thought these things, are hypocrites. My opinion and perspective of myself and the Games have changed after reading this life-changing essay. They make it mandatory for citizens to watch the Games, or else. They hate it to watch it, but what choice do they have? WE ACTUALLY ENJOY THE SAME KIND OF STUFF! We look down upon the Capitol for their Hunger Games, the mere brutality of it all.  Yet we kept turing the page. Collins made it interesting for the reader, just another way the media influences us.

Are we really any better than the Capitol?

Memories

    Memories provide the mind with a response. When you first feel the taste of sweet sugar on your tongue, the next time you have the chance to have it you will be eager to eat the tasty ingredient. But when you feel a sharp needle pierce your thumb, your avoidance of needles will increase throughout your life. This is what I learned in "Bent, Shattered, and Mended".
    The body and brain are inter-connected and a memory and trigger a strange or particuliar response. In the hunger games, with dangers and threats lurking at every corner, bad memories are a common part of everyones lives. The tributes especially suffer from PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This makes people have nightmares of these memories, lashing out, trying to escape them. It also makes people try to escape from the outside world and that is why narcotics and alcohol (Haymitch) are common for people who have this. In this world the Capitol makes you remember every last bit of horror that you've ever seen. It makes people go insane, sometimes even killing themselves over a 5 second horror. The Capitol turns the hunger games into a reminder. It is turned into a gruesome, evil, un-forgettable movie, that you are forced to watch every year, watching friends and family die and be mutilated. The capitol changes people, once you go in you never make it out the same.

Survival and Morals

    My mentor text was Smoke and Mirrors by Elizabeth M.  Rees. In it, she pretty much simply discussed reality vs unreality in the Hunger Games. Rees talks about how it must feel to live in a world that is based on deception and lies. In a world where you have virtually no freedom in nothing whatsoever. I wonder how far away we are from this society.
     One of the things that make me think this is just because of how vulnerable we are in reality. I haven't gotten my hand on the book 1984, but I have read many book reviews and comments on it. It is generally about a society in which peoples thoughts are controlled and they legitimately have no say in anything. The government pretty much erases their past and they only have their memory to prove them wrong. In this, it kind of questions, how much could we believe if we only had our memories to tell us what is true and what isn't? It kind of just questions on how strong humans actually are to stand up to what they believe in despite the repercussions
     I remember one of the first posts on this blog was about someone saying how horrible the people of District 12 were because they failed to stop from letting children violently murder one another. They accused them of being selfish, and it really got me thinking about things. I do wonder how the people that I communicate with on a daily basis would react to such a thing. I know people don't think it's possible, but when that is all that they could ever think of, and all that they ever knew, how could they stand up? Especially when by them standing up for what they believe in, it would end everything that they ever knew.
     I know in the past in terms of things like the Holocaust, so many people were turning their backs away from the people, their neighbors  that were being ripped out of their homes. No matter how much they screamed, no one listened to their screams for help. This just shows that it has happened in the past, and I don't feel as if anyone can specifically put themselves above something like that. I think desperation and survival instincts can cause people to do many things that they could never imagine.
     It is hard to judge what you would do especially since we don't live in the world that they live in. It's much harder to actually live it, to be in that constant stage of fear, than to talk about it when in society today, we are given freedom. Or at least, we are made to believe we have freedom.
     In the book 1984, the hing about it is that this time, it isn't other people on the line, it really was just them. The only people that were getting hurt in the book were them really. It wasn't like other people were on the line, it was really them. They were losing their identities in the process of what the government was doing to them, and they weren't fighting back. I think in both books, they were very realistic in how humans would react to both. It also shows that humans don't just let things happen because they aren't being affected, because even when they are, it doesn't stop anything.
     As far as reading my mentor text, it was alright. I did enjoy getting another adults views and opinions from reading it, but it wasn't too interesting after a while.

Fashion and its Designers

Fashion and its Designers
          Fashion, nowadays, shows who you are, whether its a slacker or a scholar. I believe that Suzanne Collins is using this and put it into action throughout the "reign" of Cinna as a stylist for Katniss. In the critical essay that I read by Terri Clark, she wrote that Cinna used the designed clothes to appeal and twist the audience's opinion toward Katniss. The very first of interviews, Cinna made her attractive and bold. As the rebelion began to work its way to Katniss, Cinna used a strategy that was also found in present day female celebrities; to "act the demure, vulnerable lady, of course"(courtesy of Clark's words). The extravagant and unique dresses became "soft" as Katniss had described them. Though in reality, this technique has yet to be proven useful, and so it also seemed in President Snow as well.
           Reading a critical essay, for the first time, I personally thought that it was a bit challenging to read. Especially since I am not a big fan of writing any sort of essay. I guess its not only that, but that I was a bit lost from time to time as well, making me re-read it (I am reluctant to admit it though). Even with these setbacks, I think I am better at understanding the critical essay than I first set eyes on it.
      

"Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman."

"Our clothing tells other people who we are, whether we value comfort over frivolity, brand names over money-saving knockoffs, timeless styles over trendy couture, loud patterns over the invisibility muted colors offer." I took great interest to this quote and noticed a lot about it. Personal appearance and fashion are the first thing people notice when meeting a person for the first time. People tend to speak through there fashion choices. For example someone wearing a team Edward shirt shows a strong dedication to that character.

The Hunger Games fashion choices had a strong input on district 12 winning the games. If Cinna hadn't made such bold and beautiful fashion choices they would be lost in the crowd as the simple coal miners from district 12. Therefore they would not have gotten as many or any sponsors which without the help of the supplies they got in the arena they may not have lived without them. By being turned into the "girl on fire" Katniss had a role to play in the games, she was no longer another tribute. Katniss's life was saved many times through fashion.

PTSD

Has it ever occured to you after you read a book how much research its author put into it? Suzanne Collins not only thoroughly understands the topic of a dystopian world, but also several psychological disorders born from the issues that such a home would cause. I wasn't aware of just how much time that she put into this series however, until after I read 'Bent, Shattered, and Mended.'

Things we take for granted now wouldn't apply in a world like the arena, or even the regular life of District 12. There's hardly ever happiness, and even then, there is always the knowledge that the Capitol can take that away whenver it wants to. Maybe that is why that I didn't really connect to Katniss as a character at first, until I realized that she would do anything for her extended family.

I wonder if we would be just the same as Katniss, Peeta, Gale, and others are if we were forced to be part of a dictatorship. Would we feel that giving someone your trust is handing them a gun that's pointed directly at you? Would we think that owing someone is an edge that they have over you? Little things like a handshake could have dozens of hidden strings, and it's too risky to ignore any small detail. As 'Bent, Shattered, and Mended' said, the brain goes into hyperdrive.

That must be the reason why Katniss communicates so well with Haymitch. He recognizes himself in her in the way that she looks at every small detail in the world and doubts that it's genuine. This is also why he knows that she will pick up on the strings attached to a bucket of soup.

So despite all of the pyschological torture that the Capitol puts the Districts through to control them (The Hunger Games), bonds can happen too, even in the arena. So is it all worth it? If it hadn't been for the miserable circumstances in the world of the President Snow's dictatorship, Katniss would have noticed Peeta only in passing, and never have spoken to Haymitch. Prim might not mean as much to Katniss, because she would no longer be the one constant in Katniss's life. Her father would still be alive, and she might be just like any other normal teenage girl. Once again, is it worth it? In the end of 'Mockingjay', Katniss marries Peeta, and all of her mental trauma finally heals enough to let her have a family with Peeta.

I think the Capitol never took into account that the Hunger Games was also a spark that started the rebellion, or more specifically, started Katniss. Even though the tributes loose their individuality as a person in the interviews ('...erase my face with a layer of pale makeup'), showing that they are only an ornament, they still understand each other in the sense that most of them would never willingly take another human life. In some degree, all of the tributes feel resentment for being thrown into the world of the arena.

That is something that the Capitol will never understand, having never faced poverty, hunger, or lack of anything.

     In "Someone to Watch Over Me," the critical essay about surveillance both in the Hunger Games and in real life, I felt that the most interesting idea the article brought up was the idea that surveillance isn't really to solve crime- it was shown in london that for every 1,000 crimes committed, surveillance cameras helped solve one- surveillance is to stop it from happening in the first place. I mean think about it. if you're in a store, and you know you're being filmed, you're much less likely to give in to the temptation of taking a candy bar and slipping it in your pocket, right? Right. So I agree with that idea.
     The experience of reading a critical essay was a new one for me. I've read reading responses before, but those were short- this essay was pages long. It took quite a while to read, and while I actually did enjoy reading it, annotating it became a real bore really quickly and in my opinion brought down the whole experience of reading it. It did, however, give me many new ideas that I'd never considered before.
     Because the essay was so long, and held so many ideas, it did inspire me to go deeper with my reading responses. I think next time I write a reading response I'll probably try to think of a more interesting topic for a response because I realized they're not that boring if you have a good topic.

Humor

It came as a surprise, but Katniss is actually a very innocent character. In the book 'Catching Fire', a running joke between the other victors is how she's shy about seeing nude people. It's a normal response, but what makes it so amusing is the fact that she's so deadly a person, but yet she can't stand it. Such a thing doesn't really matter in the arena anyways, like Peeta said in 'The Hunger Games.'

But why do the victors find something as small and ordinary as that amusing? Why do they like to tease her about it?

That is something that Katniss herself doesn't understand, because she's too high-strung. The odds are higher than ever for her, and she responds to that by isolating herself from her fellow victors because she doesn't want to kill any of her friends.

I don't think that's all the reason there is for that; I think that Katniss also feels jealous of the victors' friendship. When she sees them laugh together, it occurs to her that they have known each other for perhaps longer than she's been alive. Some of them are inseperable friends, and deep down, she may resent that she has never had the chance to have a lasting friendship. (She thought she was going to die, so Gale didn't count.) On the other hand, she is also glad that she hasn't had the chance to know them, as she states '...a lot of them are so damaged that my natural instinct would be to protect them.'

Justice In Distict 13

     In District 13, in the first book at least, I think that the Peacekeepers make their own version of the Capitol's rules. Not completely, of course. If they see someone walking through the square with a Down With The Capitol sign, that person would be severly punished. But when it comes to hunting, or the black market, they turn their heads. In their minds, it's okay.
     You see, in the Capitol, survival is a very real concern. Food is a precious commodity, and the Peacekeepers, who one may say are the footsoldiers of the capitol, still have to live in the same conditions as the inhabitants of Distict 12. Sure, it may be slightly better- but not by much.
There are many times in the book where we are given scenes of the Peacekeepers mingling with the citizens of District 12, often breaking the law right beside them. On page 5, Suzanne Collins even came out and said it- "Most of the Peacekeepers turn a blind eye to the few of us that hunt, because they're as hungry for fresh meat as anybody- in fact, they're among our best customers." However, people in the District are still wary of them.
     That's because the Peacekeepers living in District 12 adapt to the customs of District 12. It's just like, in Districts 1, 2, and 3, the Peacekeepers turn a blind eye to the training of tributes- if something's just a given in a District, the Peacekeepers adapt to it, because, at the end of the day, even though they're there in uniform, they live there too.

Family

I believe that Family plays a big part in the Hunger Games and it guides the characters actions and the plot. First of all Katniss's actions are influenced by her love towards her family. When she stepped up to replace Prim in the reaping she wasn't trying to be a show-off like the kids from the capitol districts. She was trying to save her family, her sister, her blood, Prim. She didn't do it out of randomness she did for her sister, her family. Therefore we can all agree that if it wasn't for Katniss family and her love towards them she would not be in the games.

Gale also does things for his family and therefore the theme family keeps reappearing when someone does a big action. Gale considers Katniss as a family member and maybe even more, but he does things for her. Not only because he loves her but because he cares about her and considers her as family. For example in the scene where Gale is saying his good-byes to Katniss he promises to take care if her family. He doesn't want her to stress out about her family and lose concentration. He wants to protect her because he loves her and he considers her a family member.

Prim loves her sister Katniss and she also does her things for her family even if they are small and appear meaningless. For example in the first pages of the book she leaves goat chesse for her sister as a gift for the reaping day. This may not appear really symbolic and for family, but it is. First of all they are already family so whatever they do for and to each other is sisterly. Second of all the gift almost appeared as a offering to Katniss. I didn't know why in the beginning until more plot developed. I feel as if Prim was thanking Katniss for being such a good sister, keeping them alive when their mom was in depression and  she didn't know it then but soon the offering will also be thanking Katniss for taking her place in the reaping. Even though what Prim did for her sister seems small it still is for family and her love towards her family.

I believe that family played a big part in the Hunger Games. Not only did it influence the characters and their opinions but it also guided the plot along. The Hunger Games would not have been half as interesting if family was not a big theme in the book and the series. Therefore i conclude that Family plays a big part in the Hunger Games

"katniss" the hunger games:closing thoughts

To me katniss is a brave, and very independent girl that really doesn't like expressing her feelings in front of anyone and even herself. she has always been this way and i think the reason is because since she is taking care of her family then she thinks she has to be tuff and strong willed in order to be in charge and have responsibility on her and her family. being strong and not afraid she has really helped out her mother and prim, prim is like her whole life she does everything to keep her safe and out of harms way and she really does do her best she even took prime place in the games because she know she would never servive, that part is shown in the book on page 23 she takes prime place and try's not to cry in front of everyone or she will show that she is weak.

i was also thinking about the young boy on page 29 and 30 how he gave katniss some bread and got into trouble on doing it, i was thinking how if maybe everyone was like that young boy there would be no fighting and killing if the capitol would allow it and they probably would not. katniss is not the only one that is fighting to feed her and her family there are many more of them so maybe if the people that had some extra to spare would be kind enough to share with everyone else. that means there would be a lot less people having to die so that they could live and all the people living wonderful care free lives they should get up and do something about it. if i would be in katniss's situation than i would not know what to do and probably die because i would not find anything to live off of so she is really strong.

katniss also has something going on with peeta because she knows she has to fight for her life against peeta so she doesn't really trust him and what he tells her and i agree with that because if i was going to have to battle for my life against another person i would not get involved with them because they would be more known to me and i would have not done anything and i think thats what katniss was trying to do. once she figured out she will be in the games with peeta she thought to herself why  does it have to be him but she didn't really know him or interact with him suit wasn't a big deal for her that much and thats why she didn't want to get to know him better it would be harder for her, thats on page 26 how she wishes it would not be him she would be going against with.

there is a lot to talk about katniss because she is the main character so it was hard for me what to talk about :)

Revolution, Rebellion, and the Corrupted Balance of Power

The Capitol knows best. We are superior. Don't you want to follow us? It will be good for you. Translation: Do what we tell you to, and perhaps we won't obliterate your District as we did to 13...

This is what the citizens of the Districts of Panem must feel like on a daily basis. The Capitol tries to make them think they are good rulers. The boundaries (such as the fence between the fence separating District 12 from the woods, or not letting citizens of the Districts visit other Districts) are for their own good. They say they give them a choice, but how is it a choice if they give them only one option? The Capitol holds the annual Hunger Games to reinforce the idea that they are in charge. Except all the Hunger Games do is hate the Capitol more.

When Katniss and Peeta are in their chariot, wearing nearly the same outfit, their stylists tell them to hold each other's hand. I believe Haymitch then says something along the lines of that being the perfect touch of rebellion.I had to read that sentence a few times to really unpack what it meant. There's a lot more to it than meets the eye. I think Haymitch meant that while all the other tributes were separated, just reinforcing the idea that they were ultimately going to have to kill the other if they wanted to hold on to their own lives. Katniss and Peeta were together. At that point, they were a team. They were solid. They didn't do the normal thing that the Capitol established-they did the unexpected. And they continued to do the unexpected throughout the entire book.

The double suicide Katniss thought of was the ultimate act of rebellion and revolution. The Capitol needs to show the people of Panem their victor, or else the whole idea behind the Games is lost. The Capitol uses the Games as just another way to show the citizens of Panem that they are in control. They can do whatever they want. They can take away their kids, and have them killed by other kids who they have taken away from their parents. If there was no victor, well...they lost. They were not in control. They don't have proof to go around and flaunt off to people. She simply outsmarted them.

Katniss is a lot like Haymitch in that aspect. Peeta was right. Both of them don't like the Capitol, both of them outsmarted the Capitol, and both of them know exactly what the other was thinking. The first person Katniss ran to when she was out of the arena was Haymitch, after all. Both of them have the will to survive. They understand what the arena is. They know what the Games are all about. Keep the audience entertained, get sponsors, stay live. The Game Makers want to see action. The phony people in the Capitol live for the bloodshed that is the Hunger Games. They need some excitement in their plastic lives. So many times, Katniss could, "just hear Haymitch's voice, telling her" something or another. Whether it was that water was near, or to keep kissing Peeta. Katniss was like an actress in a movie, taking cues from Haymitch, who is her director, who has to do exactly as the producer (who is the Capitol) wants.

Katniss mentions early on in the book that she thinks bad things about the Capitol, but keeps her mouth shut in case someone is watching. When she was on her way to training, an Avox (capitol slave/ servant if you forgot) with red hair. Katniss couldn't shake the feeling that she knew her from somewhere, but she couldn't quite place her. Then Haymitch and Effie told her she couldn't possibly know an avox, as if avoxes were in a lower cast system than them, which to the Capitol, they were. Haymitch said, "She's probably a traitor of some sort." ( pg 77) Katniss thought, a traitor to whom? but it was clear that they meant to the Capitol. That is just what the Capitol does to people who disobey them. Today, treason is a federal crime, in some states punishable by death. If you think about it, out world is not that different from Katniss'. The Hunger Games are similar to reality television, and treason in both places is very bad for you. We may not live in such a dystopia as Katniss does, but our world certainly isn't perfect. I think that in a perfect world, people would have all the rights they want to, until it inflicts upon the rights of others. The People would have power, but the government would still keep everyone in check.

Unfortunately, neither Katniss or any of us live in a perfect world. If I could, I would go rescue Katniss from that awful place and bring her back in time to our world. I wonder if she would find it any better...

Love vs. Katniss

          I believe that the fact of love itself is an antagonist in the book. Throughout the series, love is a major theme, and Katniss who had never "experienced" it, is battling it head on. She is in a crazy state of whom to choose, Peeta, the boy who had saved her and her familt's lives because Haymitch said she needed to be convinced, or Gale, the boy was her hunting partner for nearly five years, with his plan killing Prim. This problem often was brought into Katniss's mind during the Hunger Games in the cave, where she and Peeta were stayin in. She once thought about what Gale was making of all the kissing. Though it does not say right out what he does  make out of it, but I infered that he was either sick of it, or knew that Katniss was acting, since Katniss found out that they had feelings for each other in Mockingjay.
          Peeta on the other hand, seems as if he liked Katniss from the beginning when he replied to Katniss shoving him right after he confessed his love for her with "She's just worred about her boyfirend". He also showed hints of his actual love for her when he found out that katniss was acting her love for him to survive the Games, which caused him to have an angry outburst. Though Katniss, in the end, chooses Peeta, love affected the whole plot of the rebellion, so in a way, not only is the idea of love the antagonist, but also like a deuteragonist, or a tritagonist (the second or third important character in a book).

Gale vs. Petta

The Hunger Games is a book about adventer but is that all? I think not, the Hunger Games is also a very romantic story. Katniss is in the center of a love triangle, both Petta and Gale have hopelessly fallen for her and it is up for her to choose. Both boys have wonderful but very different personalities. Who would you choose?

I have fallen for Petta ever since I read about him risking being punished by his parents to spare Katniss some bread, he wasn't doing it because they were best friends or because he had something to owe her. He was simply doing it out of the kindness of his heart. Petta has proven himself to Katniss and all the Hunger Game readers many times. He has risked his life for Katniss many times and has always stood by even if he wash't physically or mentally prepared for the challenge ahead. I admire Petta and would have made the same decision as Katniss.

Gale on the other hand is very different from Petta. He has been Katniss's friend from the start. They had many years to develop a friendship and learn to trust each other when they made the unspoken agreement of hunting together and working to put food on their families plates. I have always imagined Gale as the handsome, athletic, daring, and mysterious boy of the Hunger Games. Gale would have made a great husband but he did have some important flaws, he has managed to get caught up in the moment in many different situations. For example when he was creating a bomb he set it off before he realized that it would kill many innocent people including Prim.

I am and will always be team Petta. I would be very interested to hear your opinion of them!

Justice

       Katniss has always had a hate for the Capitol. She has done little things to defy the Capitol long before becoming part of the Hunger Games. I think that her acts of defiance give her a feeling of justice. The Capitol takes everything away from them, but in her small acts of defiance, she takes back something, the Captiol receives a small mount of the justice it deserves. She is naturally rebellious and active in being so. When Katniss noticed the Game Makers ignoring her and paying attention to the pig that had been brought in, she shot an arrow at them into the apple in the pigs mouth. She didn't even think before doing this. 
       She has a natural fire in her, and is a born leader. I think that this is because she has missed out on her childhood since the death of her father, making her more mature and making her much more intolerant of injustice. I also think that the Capitol played a big part in her having such a low tolerance of injustice. 
       The Capitol is cruel, absolutely unfair, inhumane, greedy, oppressive, but they are also powerful. I believe that Katniss cannot stand the injustice of the Capitol, but she is also unable to release this flame in major acts of defiance because even she knows that she would quickly be killed if necessary. The small things she does are what allows her to blow off steam and prove to the Capitol and to herself that they don't own her, and that she won't be a piece in their games.

Haymitch there or not blog 3

I now understand why hay itch is portrayed as a useless and un important drunk after my book club meeting. He is only portrayed that way so that the reader doesn't really keep an eye out for him so at the end of reading the hunger games collection the reader gets surprised and sees how the author wanted the story to go. The reason he drinks is to let go of all his troubles and problems he has in his life. After he saw katniss and peeta together he thought that there was hope with them working together.

Haymitch is really a lot in common with katniss and Haymitch later on figured out about that.He knew that katniss and peeta were an unstoppable pair and after he has seen many tributes die he does not want that for them so Then he figured out about katniss and the care package. He isn't useless and when he just stops drinking he is smart and not the drunk character everyone knows him as.

Haymitch the Drunken Genius, Katniss the lovable star, and the World that they were put in

    In the Hunger Games for over 24 years Haymitch had watched tribute after tribute die. It is hard to forget those from your district, unless your mind does not know what is happening in the world around it. This is why Haymitch drinks... To forget, to run away from a world that you can never run from. Haymitch drinks to stay in his inescapable world, but watch it blur away. He drunk until he saw the spark of Katniss and Peeta. He saw hope, a love story, a chance for a winner of district 12. But it was more than just a victory for District 12... These tributes were a victory for a rebellion, a sign to stand up, join together the districts. When Katniss and Rue exchanged stories the districts all heard a voice and more importantly learned the cultures. They showed people everywhere of the horrors of the Capitol and outsmarted the Capitol multiple times. This is why Haymitch saw a hope. Haymitch knew this was the time, he knew it was more than just a game, but a war with the people playing the game. He knew this love story would give hope and in addition he finnally found somone who thought like him.
    Katniss and Haymitch are more alike than many people think. Haymitch hates people in general, but overall Katniss is his favorite. After seeing his tributes die and bleed, there is really nothing to like about a pawn sent out to die. Haymitch thinks like Katniss and thats why his plan would work. He used the two factors he had; Peeta's love and Katniss' mutual interpretation. Haymitch knew how to coordinate Katniss' actions with the care packages. She knew when Haymitch wanted her to get deeper with Peeta and when to tell personal and inspiring stories. They knew how to control an unseen crowd.
   
   

Acting until it's Reality

     In the Hunger Games, it's made clear to us throughout the entire series that, while in the Games, Katniss, Peeta, and presumably all the tributes are told to act a certain way to curry favor from the audience- but, to the audience, everything they see they think is completely true. So what happens when the Games are over? All winning tributes are followed by cameras for the rest of their lives, so how can they stop pretending? The answer is, they can't. The lie that's given to them to save their life becomes their life, because what other choice do they have? To the audience of the Hunger Games, the tributes become friends, heroes to them- if it was found out that they lied, there would be outrage.
     This runs parallel to today's reality television. It's the same thing, really- think of shows like Survival, Wipeout- we like to think that the Hunger Games are a sick perversion of today's television, but we already watch people eat bugs and get hurt! It's really a very small leap to watching people kill each other. And that's acting too, really- it's a known fact that televised wrestling is all acting. We like to think that we're above seeing people kill each other and fake things about themselves, but just look at reality televison. We're really not.
      To add, the main thing I'm thinking off when I post this is Katniss faking her relationship with Peeta. In the end, before Katniss goes on an interview with Peeta, Haymitch hurriedly tells her that "Your only defense can be you were so madly in love you weren't responsible for your actions." That's where she realized that the acts she put on won't end once she's out of the Games- they'll go on until she learns to live them. Because the capitol audience loves their heros, and the heroes have to play to the audience.

All the Hightlights:

"Whoever puts together the highlights has to choose what sort of story to tell."

If there was a TV show where you could watch people compete for something, would you watch it? Actually, there are many TV shows like that right not. American Idol, wrestling, sports in general, Dancing with the Stars--they are all contests. When someone wins a contest, they most likely will recieve a prize. How is the Hunger Games different? They use real people, and like the other shows, they are contests, which makes them fun and entertaining to watch.

At least, that's what the citizens of the Capitol were lead to think.

What kinds of messages do real TV shows give to us then?

Katniss= Father

I am constantly wondering about Katniss' relationship with her father. I wish that there was more information about her father especially because he was the basis of her life. Her mother seems like the opposite of Katniss but she has many qualities that are similar to her father. For example her voice, she and her father both have amazing voices that even "the birds stop to listen" to them sing. Her father is also the one who introduced her to hunting with saved her and her familys lifes many times. It saved Katniss' life many times during the games and when she was rebelling. It saved her family's lives when she kept them alive by hunting for food for them to eat. She is also like her father because it says that Katniss' mother fell for her father even though she was part of the seam and she would have to move in with him in the pooreer part of town. Petta did the same for Katniss.

Was It All a Lie?

Peeta loves Katniss. There is no question about it. I don't even think it is up for debate. 

Katniss didn't start off liking Peeta, but she ended up falling for him. Did she fall for him for her, or for the games? Personally, I think it was a bit of both.

Katniss was all about survival. Survival for her family (her sister more so than her mother, but her mother too) and for herself. At the beginning of the book, when she was on the train, she was thinking about all the possible outcomes of the Hunger Games for herself. She was thinking about what would happen to her FAMILY after she shot the arrow at the Game Makers. She thought they would hurt them, maybe even kill them. For a moment she was worried, but she realized that the Game Makers couldn't hurt her family. They couldn't hurt them without giving away what happened in her session, and they absolutely couldn't do that. 

Katniss had some serious walls put up around her. The only people who could truly penetrate them were Prim and Gale. Even with Gale, it took her a long time to let him in. Before the games, she always kept track of the boy with the bread, only because she felt she was in debt to him. Once she was put in the Games with him, she got the chance to pay back that debt, but only after he had done more for her than she had ever imagined. He saved her out of love-Katniss saved him because of the feeling that she owed him, and she would never stop owing him (and yes, a little bit of love there too towards the end). Once she let Peeta inside her walls, I think she was glad to do it. She was afraid of letting people in, possibly for the fear that they would either betray her, or she would lose them, like she lost her father. Peeta is genuinely a good guy. Everything he did in the arena he did for her out of love. Katniss' motivations had a little to do with that, but also to do with her survival. They were not whole-heartedly towards love. 

Peeta mentioned in the arena how alike Katniss and Haymitch are. They think alike. They understand each other. They both know how to survive. Peeta is ignorant of the fact that Haymitch had been communicating with Katniss with his gifts, or lack of gifts. When Peeta found out that it was all a big show, Katniss defended herself by saying she did what she had to do to keep them both alive. The trouble is, she really did develop feelings for Peeta, but since she didn't have them from the beginning, Peeta was unsure she even had them at all. 

The thing is, no matter how much Peeta wanted it to be real, and even how much Katniss may have wanted it, it couldn't have been real. Not in the arena, and maybe not even back in District 12. The capitol would always be controlling them (until Mockingjay, but they don't know that yet; don't you love dramatic irony?) so they wouldn't be able to live the free life that so many covet. Katniss mentions she never wants to have children for the risk that they would have to compete in the Games. Being in a slaughter house like the arena does something to people. Something that you can never reverse. 

This is how the Capitol controls people. Through fear. Fear is not a good way to lead, ever. People in the Capitol are shielded from the real world. They think life is just dandy. Food at the press of the button. Anything they want is at their disposal. Out in the Districts, life is hard. If they didn't hate the capitol, I would wonder about them...The capitol controls everything and everyone, and they want to keep it that way.

They wanted Katniss to kill Peeta, and the other way around. They wanted to drive two people who love each other, (yes, at this point I think they were in love) to kill each other. Anyone with any type of morals would never do that. You have to be sick to try to do that to people.

Panem is like a movie, just a fake show, a messed up horror/sci-fi show, and the Capitol is the director. The districts are the actors, who are forced to improvise. If the do one thing the director doesn't like, they're fired. Gone for good.

If things continued the way they are, Katniss and Peeta could never lead a happy life together.

****Sorry it is so late Ms.Robbins!! I didn't have internet connection on vacation, and I got home at 11:30 last night! I had it written but I couldn't post until today! :(