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Establishing Character Moments: The Hunger Games

  By Ankita Bhargava


I recently read the first book in the famous Hunger Games trilogy, and something that really stood out to me was how the author (Suzanne Collins) immediately introduces the characters in a way that cements their personalities, even before the main events of the book start.

(Warning: Minor spoilers for the first two chapters of the book)

The book begins with a scene where Katniss wakes up and introduces us to her sister's cat.

He [the cat] hates me. Or at least distrusts me. Even though it was years ago, I think he still remembers how I tried to drown him in a bucket when Prim brought him home. Scrawny kitten, belly swollen with worms, crawling with fleas. The last thing I needed was another mouth to feed. But Prim begged so hard, cried even, I had to let him stay.

 This passage immediately establishes that Katniss has no problem with killing animals, that she is pragmatic and thinks of utility first. On a deeper level, this passage also shows that she is the one that makes major decisions for her household (despite it being established that at least one of her parents are alive) and she is the primary breadwinner for her family. Throughout the passage, deliberate word choice on the part of the author (I had to let him stay, The last thing I needed was another mouth to feed) makes sure that the reader knows that Katniss is the person in charge. 

This passage also gives insight into Prim's character. She is the person who advocates to keep the cat, and it shows that Katniss is willing to do things she normally wouldn't do because of Prim. It also shows that Prim can be idealistic and want the best for everyone, without thinking of potential long-term problems, such as food or medical care for the cat and caring deeply for its well being. 

The rest of the scenes in the book also exhibit the same level of thoughtfulness to the characters. Because of the careful consideration put into introducing the characters, just a couple of pages later it doesn't come as a surprise when Katniss volunteers to take Prim's place in the Hunger Games. I think that this is also a part of why the book series became so popular: the characters immediately caught your attention and then held it.





Comments

  1. Faisal A.March 4, 2021 at 1:22 PM

    Great job analyzing the first section of the book! It's interesting how this trilogy became so popular just because how deep the relationships of the characters are (maybe relatable, too?). Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maya ViswanathanMarch 8, 2021 at 7:56 AM

    I have never read the Hunger Games and the characters sound really interesting! It is interesting how much you can learn about the setting and characters just from analyzing one passage in the book and looking at its wording. I think that good characters can be really important and if you understand the characters it can really help you like the book. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Grace ToMarch 12, 2021 at 5:52 PM

    I like your analysis of the first two chapters! Even with a short amount of text the author was able to introduce the characters and give a lot of information them. I did read the series (at least the first book), and it was really interesting. Nice job analyzing the the text and giving your opinion!

    ReplyDelete

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