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| === ''Mockingjay'' === | === ''Mockingjay'' === | ||
| {{Main|Mockingjay}} | {{Main|Mockingjay}} | ||
| ''Mockingjay'', the third and final book, centers around Katniss and the districts' rebellion against the Capitol. Katniss, now a refugee in ] and quite damaged from her experiences, agrees to be used by the rebels as a propaganda tool (the embodiment of the mockingjay symbol, complete with costume) to unite the districts in the uprising against the Capitol and ]. Peeta and the other remaining tributes captured by the Capitol are rescued, but he has been brainwashed to consider Katniss an enemy, and he is guarded carefully as his rehabilitation progresses. Finally, a group including Katniss, Gale, and a still somewhat unstable Peeta go renegade in the Capitol on a mission to assassinate President Snow. Before Katniss can complete her objective, Prim is killed in a bombing. Later, a captive Snow tells Katniss that Coin, the president of District 13, was behind the bombing, and she deduces that Gale was one of the designers of the bomb. After Panem officially falls to the rebels, Coin suggests a final Hunger Games featuring the children of the Capitol's former leaders as tributes, leading Katniss to believe that nothing will change under a new regime. At Snow's scheduled execution by Katniss' arrow, Katniss targets and kills Coin instead, and Snow dies in an ensuing riot. Katniss is tried (unbeknownst to her) and acquitted of killing Coin. Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch eventually return to a ruined District 12. Katniss slowly begins to recover from her many mental scars. Katniss' mother and Gale both take jobs in different districts. Katniss eventually comes to genuinely love Peeta, marries him, and after many years, Peeta convinces her to have two children. |
''Mockingjay'', the third and final book, centers around Katniss and the districts' rebellion against the Capitol. Katniss, now a refugee in ] and quite damaged from her experiences, agrees to be used by the rebels as a propaganda tool (the embodiment of the mockingjay symbol, complete with costume) to unite the districts in the uprising against the Capitol and ]. Peeta and the other remaining tributes captured by the Capitol are rescued, but he has been brainwashed to consider Katniss an enemy, and he is guarded carefully as his rehabilitation progresses. Finally, a group including Katniss, Gale, and a still somewhat unstable Peeta go renegade in the Capitol on a mission to assassinate President Snow. Before Katniss can complete her objective, Prim is killed in a bombing. Later, a captive Snow tells Katniss that Coin, the president of District 13, was behind the bombing, and she deduces that Gale was one of the designers of the bomb. After Panem officially falls to the rebels, Coin suggests a final Hunger Games featuring the children of the Capitol's former leaders as tributes, leading Katniss to believe that nothing will change under a new regime. At Snow's scheduled execution by Katniss' arrow, Katniss targets and kills Coin instead, and Snow dies in an ensuing riot. Katniss is tried (unbeknownst to her) and acquitted of killing Coin. Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch eventually return to a ruined District 12. Katniss slowly begins to recover from her many mental scars. Katniss' mother and Gale both take jobs in different districts. Katniss eventually comes to genuinely love Peeta, marries him, and after many years, Peeta convinces her to have two children. | ||
| == Origins and publishing history == | == Origins and publishing history == | ||
Revision as of 02:13, 11 September 2012
| File:HGTrilogy.JPGBoxed set | |
The Hunger Games Catching Fire Mockingjay | |
| Author | Suzanne Collins |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Adventure Science fiction Young adult |
| Publisher | Scholastic |
| Published | 2008–2010 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
The Hunger Games trilogy is a young-adult dystopian adventure series written by Suzanne Collins. The trilogy consists of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. The first two books were each The New York Times best sellers, and the third book, Mockingjay, topped all US bestseller lists upon its release. By the time the movie The Hunger Games was released the publisher reported over 50 million Hunger Games trilogy books in print, including movie tie-in books. The series recently ranked second, bested only by Harry Potter, in NPR's poll of the top 100 teen novels, which asked voters to choose their favorite Young Adult books.
Background
The Hunger Games trilogy takes place in an unidentified future time period after the destruction of the current nations of North America, in a totalitarian nation known as "Panem". Panem consists of a hugely rich Capitol, located in what used to be the Rocky Mountains, and twelve (formerly thirteen) surrounding, poorer districts which are under the hegemony of the Capitol. The Capitol is lavishly rich and technologically futuristic, but the twelve Districts are in varying states of poverty – the trilogy's narrator and protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, lives in the poorest District 12, formerly Appalachia, where people regularly die of starvation. As punishment for a rebellion generations previous against the Capitol wherein twelve of the districts were defeated and the thirteenth purportedly destroyed, every year one boy and one girl from each of the remaining twelve districts, between the ages of twelve and eighteen, are selected by lottery and forced to participate in the "Hunger Games". The Games are a televised event where the participants, called "tributes", must fight to the death in a dangerous outdoor arena until only one remains. The winning tribute and his/her corresponding district is then rewarded handsomely with food and plenty. The purpose of the Hunger Games is to provide entertainment for the Capitol and to serve as a warning to the Districts to remind them of the Capitol's power and lack of remorse.
Structure
Each book in The Hunger Games trilogy has 3 sections of 9 chapters each. Collins says that this format comes from her playwriting background, which taught her to write in three acts. Her previous series, The Underland Chronicles, was written in the same way, as Collins is "very comfortable" with this structure. She sees each group of nine chapters as a separate part of the story, and comments that she still calls those divisions "act breaks."
Plot overview
The Hunger Games
Main article: The Hunger GamesThe Hunger Games follows 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12 who volunteers for the 74th Hunger Games in place of her younger sister Prim. Also participating from District 12 is Peeta Mellark, a boy who developed a secret lifelong crush on Katniss the moment he laid eyes on her as a child. They are mentored by District 12's only living victor, Haymitch Abernathy, who won the Games 24 years earlier and has since assumed a solitary life of alcoholism. Peeta professes his love for Katniss in a television interview prior to the Games, leading the Capitol to portray Katniss and Peeta as "star-crossed lovers". This revelation surprises Katniss, who actually harbors feelings for her hunting buddy back home, Gale Hawthorne. Haymitch advises Katniss to play along and act in love with Peeta, in order to gain wealthy sponsors who can gift them supplies during the Games. In the arena, Katniss develops an alliance and friendship with a young tribute from District 11 (Rue) and is emotionally scarred when she is killed while acting as a decoy. Katniss devises an impromptu memorial for Rue as an act of defiance toward the Capitol. More than halfway through the Games, the remaining tributes are alerted to an unprecedented rule change that allows both tributes from the same district to be declared victors if they are the final two standing. After learning of the change, Katniss and Peeta begin to work as a team and spare each others' lives. When all of the other tributes are dead and they appear to win the Games together, the provision is reversed at the last moment, requiring one to kill the other. Katniss quickly devises a plan for herself and Peeta to commit double-suicide (denying the Capitol of its precious victor), but they are stopped by the Gamemakers and both return home victorious. During and after the Games, Katniss indeed develops strong feelings for Peeta and struggles to balance them with the connection she feels with Gale. When it becomes clear the Capitol is upset with her defiance, Haymitch encourages Katniss to keep up (and even accelerate) the 'star-crossed lovers' act, without telling Peeta.
Catching Fire
Main article: Catching FireIn Catching Fire, which begins six months after the conclusion of The Hunger Games, Katniss learns that her defiance in the previous novel has started a chain reaction that inspired rebellion in the districts. President Snow is not fooled by Katniss' act and privately threatens to harm her family and friends if she does not help to slow the rebellion, which involves marrying Peeta. Meanwhile, Peeta has become aware of Katniss' disingenuous love of him, but has also been informed of Snow's threats, and promises to help keep up the act to spare the citizens of District 12. As such, they tour the districts as victors and plan a very public wedding. While they follow Snow's orders and keep up the ruse, Katniss inadvertently fuels the rebellion, and the mockingjay pin she wears becomes its symbol. District by district, the citizens of Panem begin to stage uprisings against the Capitol, and Katniss learns of the skirmishes by various methods. Snow announces a special 75th edition of the Hunger Games, known as the Quarter Quell, in which Katniss and Peeta are forced into competing a second time with other past victors, effectively canceling the wedding. At Haymitch's urging, they team up with a few other tributes (acting covertly as rebels, unbeknownst to the pair) and manage to destroy the arena and escape the Games; Katniss is rescued by the rebel forces from District 13, while Peeta is captured by the Capitol. Also, Katniss is informed that District 12 has been destroyed.
Mockingjay
Main article: MockingjayMockingjay, the third and final book, centers around Katniss and the districts' rebellion against the Capitol. Katniss, now a refugee in District 13 and quite damaged from her experiences, agrees to be used by the rebels as a propaganda tool (the embodiment of the mockingjay symbol, complete with costume) to unite the districts in the uprising against the Capitol and President Snow. Peeta and the other remaining tributes captured by the Capitol are rescued, but he has been brainwashed to consider Katniss an enemy, and he is guarded carefully as his rehabilitation progresses. Finally, a group including Katniss, Gale, and a still somewhat unstable Peeta go renegade in the Capitol on a mission to assassinate President Snow. Before Katniss can complete her objective, Prim is killed in a bombing. Later, a captive Snow tells Katniss that Coin, the president of District 13, was behind the bombing, and she deduces that Gale was one of the designers of the bomb. After Panem officially falls to the rebels, Coin suggests a final Hunger Games featuring the children of the Capitol's former leaders as tributes, leading Katniss to believe that nothing will change under a new regime. At Snow's scheduled execution by Katniss' arrow, Katniss targets and kills Coin instead, and Snow dies in an ensuing riot. Katniss is tried (unbeknownst to her) and acquitted of killing Coin. Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch eventually return to a ruined District 12. Katniss slowly begins to recover from her many mental scars. Katniss' mother and Gale both take jobs in different districts. Katniss eventually comes to genuinely love Peeta, marries him, and after many years, Peeta convinces her to have two children.
Origins and publishing history
Collins says that she drew inspiration for the series from both classical and contemporary sources. The main classical source of inspiration came from the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. As a punishment for past crimes, Minos forces Athens to sacrifice seven youths and seven maidens to the Minotaur, by whom they are killed in a vast labyrinth. Collins says that even as a child the idea stunned her since "it was just so cruel", as Athens was forced to sacrifice its own children.
Collins also cites the Roman gladiator games. She feels that there are three key elements to create a good game; an all powerful and ruthless government, people forced to fight to the death, and it being a source of popular entertainment.
A contemporary source of inspiration was Collins's recent fascination with reality television programmes. She relates this to the Hunger Games in how they are not just entertainment, but also a reminder to the districts of their rebellion. On a tired night, Collins says that while she was channel-surfing the television where she saw people competing for some prize, and then saw footage of the Iraq war. She described how the two combined in an "unsettling way" to create the first ideas for the series.
The first novel in the trilogy was first published in September 2008. On March 17, 2009, Lionsgate announced that it had acquired worldwide distribution rights of the film version of Hunger Games from the film company Color Force. Soon after the acquisition, Collins began to adapt the screenplay and the two companies later went on to co-produce the film.
Catching Fire was published by Scholastic on September 1, 2009. The film version of the story – also co-produced by Color Force and Lionsgate – is scheduled for release in November 2013.
Main characters
Main article: List of characters in the Hunger Games trilogy- Katniss Everdeen: The protagonist of the series, Katniss competes in the Hunger Games in each of the first two novels and constantly battles between her feelings for both Peeta and Gale. She becomes the face of the districts' rebellion after she unknowingly defies the Capitol in The Hunger Games.
- Peeta Mellark: The male tribute from District 12, who has secretly been in love with Katniss since they were children. His love for her is evident throughout the series. In Mockingjay, he is "hijacked" by the Capitol and turned against Katniss, but he recovers.
- Haymitch Abernathy: Katniss and Peeta's drunken friend and mentor for the Games. He won the 50th Hunger Games and was the only living victor from District 12 before Katniss and Peeta won the 74th Hunger Games.
- Gale Hawthorne: Katniss' best friend and fellow hunter. Gale is fiercely devoted to Katniss, and their relationship borders on romantic throughout the series. He is two years older than she, and lost his father in the same mine explosion that killed Katniss' father
- Effie Trinket: Katniss and Peeta's escort for the games. Effie, as a citizen of the capitol, dresses very oddly and speaks in a distinct capitol accent. She is very proper and constantly worries about keeping things on schedule. She helps Haymitch send sponsor gifts to Katniss and Peeta during the games.
- President Snow: The main antagonist of the series, President Snow is the head of the Capitol and all of Panem. Provoked by the survival of two tributes in a single Hunger Games, Snow demands of Peeta and Katniss to prove the reason behind it all was just they were madly in love.
- Primrose Everdeen: Primrose Everdeen, often called just "Prim," is Katniss's 12 year old sister (in Mockingjay, she is 13) who was chosen by lottery to be in the Hunger Games. Katniss volunteers to take her place. Prim is a sweet little child whom everyone loves, and she regularly helps their mother heal the sick. She also dies at the end of the third book because of the district she trusts.
- Cinna: Katniss' stylist in both of her Hunger Games, he urges her on to become the symbol of the rebellion and designs the dresses that she wears before entering the games, as well as armor she wears in the war.
Critical reception
All three books have received positive reception. Praise has focused on the addictive quality of especially the first book, and the action. John Green of The New York Times compared The Hunger Games with Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. Catching Fire was praised for improving upon the first book. Mockingjay was praised for its portrayal of violence, world building, and romantic intrigue.
Criticism has come from the reality TV "death game" theme, which is also present in Battle Royale, The Running Man, and The Long Walk. Also, the "romantic dithering" and poor love triangle of the second installment was under criticism. The last book, Mockingjay, was criticized by fans of the book and critics for not tying up loose ends. There have also been alleged elements from real-life such as the modern Olympic Games and Joan of Arc in the trilogy.
Film adaptations
Main article: The Hunger Games (film)Lionsgate Entertainment acquired worldwide distribution rights to a film adaptation of The Hunger Games, which is produced by Nina Jacobson's Color Force production company. Collins adapted the novel for film herself, along with Gary Ross. The film began production in spring 2011 and ended summer 2011. It was released March 23, 2012, with a PG-13 rating. Gary Ross directed; the cast includes Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta and Liam Hemsworth as Gale. Catching Fire will be released on November 22, 2013, with the main cast signed on to return but director Gary Ross will not return.
References
- Keith Staskiewicz (February 11, 2010). "Final 'Hunger Games' novel has been given a title and a cover". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
- "Suzanne Collins's Third Book in the Hunger Games Trilogy to Be Published by Scholastic on August 24, 2010" (Press release). Scholastic. December 3, 2009. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
- "Suzanne Collins's Third Book in The Hunger Games Trilogy to be Published on August 24, 2010" (Press release). Scholastic. December 3, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
- "Children's Books". The New York Times. December 27, 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
- "Mockingjay Tops All National Bestseller Lists with Sales of More Than 450,000 Copies in its First Week of Publication" (Press release). Scholastic. September 2, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
- Springen, Karen (March 22, 2012). "The Hunger Games Franchise: The Odds Seem Ever in Its Favor". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
- "Your Favorites: 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels" (Press release). NPR. August 7, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
- Collins, Suzanne. "Similarities To Underland" (Video) (Interview). Retrieved June 15, 2010.
{{cite interview}}: Unknown parameter|program=ignored (help) - "Video: Classical Inspiration". Scholastic. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Text "Scholastic.com (video)" ignored (help); Text "The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins" ignored (help) - "Video: Contemporary Inspiration". Scholastic. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Text "Scholastic.com(video)" ignored (help); Text "The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins" ignored (help) - bones/opk/lionsgate hungergames.pdf Press Release: LIONSGATE FEASTS ON THE HUNGER GAMES
- Terri Schwartz (November 17, 2011). ""The Hunger Games" sequel eyes a new screenwriter, director Gary Ross will return". IFC News. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
- ^ King, Stephen (September 8, 2008). "The Hunger Games review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
- Goldsmith, Francisca. "The Hunger Games". Booklist. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
- John Green (November 7, 2008). "Scary New World". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
- Zevin, Gabrielle (October 9, 2009). "Constant Craving". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
- "'Mockingjay' review: Spoiler alert!". Entertainment Weekly. August 24, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Text "EW.com" ignored (help) - "Mockingjay". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
- Welch, Rollie (September 6, 2009). "'Catching Fire' brings back Suzanne Collins's kindhearted killer". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
- Reese, Jennifer (August 28, 2009). "Catching Fire review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
- Morrison, Kathy (August 30, 2010). "Book Review: 'Mockingjay' completes 'Hunger Games' trilogy". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
- http://bostinno.com/2012/08/06/olympics-hunger-games/M
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/mar/17/hunger-games-jennifer-lawrence-interview
- ^ "Lionsgate picks up 'Hunger Games'". The Hollywood Reporter. March 17, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - Karen Springen (August 5, 2010). "Marketing 'Mockingjay'". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
- Valby, Karen (January 6, 2011). "'Hunger Games' exclusive: Why Gary Ross got the coveted job, and who suggested Megan Fox for the lead role". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
- Valby, Karen (January 25, 2011). "'The Hunger Games' gets release date". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
- Hopkinson, Deborah. "Suzanne Collins Interview-Catching Fire". BookPage. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- "The Changing Objective of the American Film Market". Baseline Intel. November 18, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- Joshua L. Weinstein (March 16, 2011). "Exclusive: Jennifer Lawrence Gets Lead Role in 'The Hunger Games'". TheWrap.com. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
- Jeff Labrecque (April 4, 2011). "'Hunger Games' casts Peeta and Gale: Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth nab the roles". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 4, 2011. Lionsgate announced that the trilogy will be made into 4 movies.
- Nikki Finke (April 10, 2012). "Gary Ross Decides NOT to Direct "Hunger Games Two: Catching Fire': Lionsgate In 'Shock''". Deadline. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
- "9 Untold Secrets of the High Stakes 'Hunger Games'". The Hollywood Reporter. February 1, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
External links
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