Just finished reading the last of the Hunger Games Trilogy. And wow. Wanted to share some of my random thoughts with you, and for those who are homeschooling teens/pre-teens, some ideas for activities and questions to have your children discuss/write about.
(Short disclaimer before I go on...the books pictured at the right are a Amazon affiliate link, through which I can earn commissions. Legally, I gotta put that up near the top if I use Amazon for a easy picture cause I'm too lazy to find all three of our books and take a picture of them. Now, moving on....)
RANDOM THOUGH 1
The last chapters of this book left me drained and sort of in a fog, and I think that was intentional. These are stories that will be with me for a while.
RANDOM THOUGH 2
I thought this with the first one but think it again. This is destined to be a classic...destined to be taught in school, like Fahrenheit 451 and Lord of the Flies. And it should be.
RANDOM THOUGH 3
I questioned again whether my oldest (age 11) was ready for these. The violence is...well, pretty severe. Not necessarily worse than the first, but well...more of it. But, he's already read the first (he found it before I had read it and was half way through before I realized it, so in stead of ripping him away half way through I thought the best thing was to read it as quickly as I could once he was done and talk with him about it). So I'm keeping with that tack, only this time I have the head start. I've already handed off Catching Fire to him. And, truth be told, I'm glad it happened that way, because he's going to see violence--it's in so many movies, a lot of TV, video games, etc. I can't keep him from it forever, and though I try to shield them from the worst of it I haven't tried to make a bubble around him. And I would rather have him see it presented like this, not glorified. Plugged In Online put it well in their review of the movie (and it applies to the book too): "We feel the violence viscerally and personally, and we're supposed to be repelled by it, not enamored with it." These books show the aftermath of violence in a way that is never trivial. They explore the consequences of it not just to the victims but to the perpetrators and the families and society in general. So I'm thankful he's getting this viewpoint to balance the other portrayals he'll see.
RANDOM THOUGH 3
ROME is Oh so present in these books. Having studied the Roman empire before, I can see it echoed in so many ways here (more on that in my discussion ideas!).
RANDOM THOUGH 4
God is noticeably absent: not only in the main characters, but anywhere, in any form. Any religion that is. No one prays, no one calls out to God or even curses him. I just think it's interesting. It even makes sense considering the story line (in a society where dissent of any kind is so repressed, the religious may well have been the first to be "removed.") But I do think that it's ironic seeing how the references to Rome and the "Circuses" where so many Christians died in horrible ways, is also so tangible here.
RANDOM THOUGH 5
It didn't come to me immediately, but in the last part of this book I see a lot of echoes of Lord of the Rings, even thought these books are OH SO DIFFERENT. Hunger Games is steeped in realism, in spite of the sci-fi aspects, and the strange mutant monstrosities that frankly have felt out of place in that realism (my only criticism of the books...while the subtle mutations--the mockingjays and tracker-jackets fit, the stranger "mutts" like the people faced wolfs and the giant walking lizards seemed a bit too cartoonish for the rest of this story). In contrast, Lord of the Rings has it's realistic touches, but is a fantasy adventure at heart--more the kind to inspire people to fight than to show them what fighting is really like. But Tolkien knew about war, and the reality of that war peeked through. Where the two stories are most alike is in the end, the aftermath, the denouement after the fighting has ceased--where the internal war continues. Both leave on a note that is sad...tragic in a sense, but not in the way that a Shakespeare play is tragic. It elicits more of an ache than tears, but is tinged with hope. And it leaves you with a better understanding and appreciation for the men and women who come home from fighting.
HOMESCHOOL/DISCUSSION IDEAS
This is a book series that it is just too easy to think of Essay/Discussion questions. Below are a list of the ones I thought of. When ideas are for a specific book in the series (not the trilogy as a whole), I've marked them with that.
DURING READING:
Honestly, these are the kind of books that I don't think you want to hamper too much with mid-book activities, because once you start you'll want to get to the end. But the characters and places in it can be confusing to some, so these activities might help readers keep them straight.
- Draw a character chart to help you keep track of the characters. Write down what you know about them on the side. (You can add details and new characters after every chapter).
- Make a chart of the 12 districts and the capital, and write down information you learn about each district as you read (or at the end of each chapter).
HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES:
Here are some activities for connecting the Hunger Games with lessons on history and social studies.
Compare and contrast any of the following:
- "The Capitol" and "Rome,"
- "Bread and Circuses" in Panem vs. in actual Rome
- The gladiatorial Game in Rome to The Hunger Games (and their purposes)
- (MOCKINGBIRD) Compare the Government of Panem to Other Governmental Systems (Feudalism, Republics, Imperialism, etc) or Compare the governments of Panem and District 13.
- (MOCKINGBIRD:) Compare propaganda from The Hunger Games, both that by the Capitol and by District 13, to propaganda from history (US, Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, etc.).
Other Questions Related to History...
- Do you see any relation in Panem to American Society today? How it it the same/how is it different?
- The people of the Districts are described as "Slaves" at one point. Do you think this description is accurate? How does it compare to other forms of slavery you know of (both in the past and present day slavery/ie Human trafficking).
- Describe
how fashion is used in the book? How does this differ from the way
you've seen fashion portrayed in other stories you've read. How has fashion been used politically in history?
- Compare and contrast the rebellion in the Hunger Games Trilogy to actual rebellions in history.
LITERARY & READER RESPONSE
- Why do you think the author used 1st person for this story. How would it have changed the story if this had not been presented in first person.
- Talk about how any of the main characters (Katniss, Peeta, Gale) changed over the course of the three novels.
- Talk about how Gale and Peeta are literary foils.
- How does Collin's portrayal of violence differ from portrayals of violence you've seen on movies or other books?
- What was the main idea you think Collins was trying to convey in these stories?
- (Best saved for Mockingbird, but can be used for any of the books) Which character did YOUR feelings about change towards most in the books? Why?
- How were the games portrayed? How had Katniss' perception of things changed?
- (CATCHING FIRE) How was the feel of the prep for the Hunger Games different in this novel than the first? How were the tributes portrayed differently?
- (MOCKINGBIRD) Who do you think sent the exploding parachutes at the end and why?
- What character in the book are you the most like and why?
- Why do you think the author did include any mention of God or portrayal of religion in these books? Do you think this made the story more or less realistic? How would the story have changed if religion was present? (Possible study of the author's interviews or biographies related to this).
BOOKS/LITERATURE FOR COMPARISON/CONTRAST
- Fahrenheit
451, or any other dystopian Novel: Compare/contrast the "Dystopias."
What events from their own time (real life) might the authors have
been commenting on?
- Lord of the Flies:
- 1:
Both The Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies deal with groups of young
people put in survival situations, and how it changes them. Why do
you think both authors used youth in stead of adults in their stories?
- 2:
The circumstances of both the Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies result
in children/teens killing each other, but the circumstances are very
different. In one the children are left alone, in the other they are
very much being controlled. What does this say about the author's
message? How does it change the things readers take away from the
story?.
- A Day in the Life of Ivan Ivonovich: Compare/Contrast the Soviet Gulags to the Hunger Games as a means of controlling people.
- All Quiet on the Western Front: Compare/Contrast portrayal of war. Talk about differences being a Sci-Fi or Historical Fiction makes to the portrayal.
- Lord
of the Rings:
- Compare the authors portrayals of any warfare or the aftermath of warfare.
- Compare use of Sci-Fi vs Fantasy
- Research the author's and talk about how the author's lives/experiences shaped their
writing
- (For
MOCKINGBIRD, Specifically) Read Poetry by War Poet (such as those listed at the
following link) and talk about how it relates to the descriptions of war
in the Mockingbird. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_poet)
TV SHOWS TO COMPARE
While
I'm
not necessarily suggesting any of these for kids or teens, especially
without parental
pre-view, I think all are good for compare/contrast with this book,
especially where it deals with talking about Government control,
warfare, dystopian stories, etc., All contain violence, most contain
some sex.
- Man in the High Castle - This show is a alternate historical fiction
with a sci-fi aspect. I thought it would be especially good for
comparing portrayals totalitarian government, propaganda, and ethical
questions regarding rebellion. (Lots of violence, some sex, but still a
worthwhile show I would let my teen watch).
- The
100 (Especially good for comparison between the "Sky" society and
District 13. Contains sex and lots of violence and not a lot of people
you'd want your teen emulating, so it's not one I'd actually let my
teen watch, but dang, if they already have watched it, the comparison of
worlds is ripe for discussion.)
- Continuum
(Basically nature of war, and also propaganda - not as gratuitous on
the Sex as "The 100" but it's present. Violence is pretty bad too. I
would however encourage my older teens to watch this one.)
- The
Colony (TV Show, not the movie)- It's a reality TV show, exploring
what would happen in a worldwide pandemic. There's the whole nature of
comparing a voluntary reality TV show about survival that's definately
ripe for discussion. No sex, save some people stripping down to some
pretty modest underwhere at one point. And, put on by Discovery channel
at least it had a better goal than just simply entertainment.
CREATIVE & OTHER:
- Write your own story based on these books. It can be a story that happened to the characters after these novels end, any of the scenes from this story written from another perspective (from Peeta's, Gale's, Prim's, Snow's, one of the other Tributes, etc.)
- Draw a picture of any scene during the book you felt particularly moved by.
- Remake any of the others Tribute's costumes as you think Cinna would have made them had he been THEIR stylist. Explain your reasoning.
- Write a poem in response to the book.
- Put music to any of the songs in the book.
- Put music to any of the songs in the book.
- Make a map of Panem based on things you know about it from the books.
PRINTABLES AND OTHER RESOURCES
