Childhood Response to Vincent

One last post! Response to Vincent's!

"Childhood is a period of time that I think is the most important moment of a person's entire life. The life of being a kid is such a wonderful and beautiful thing to have. I never really thought about it when I was young, but as I continue to grow older I started to realize about how just amazing being a kid really was. When we were little, we didn't really need to worry about anything in our life, and the only thing that we really care about is thinking about how we would spend our day playing around. It was time when we could just do almost anything we want and is most likely that we are able to get away with it simply because adults realizes that we don't know any better. It was time where our curiosity and imagination was at it's best and ran wild like a horse; a child's imagination knows no bound, and our curiosity multiplies every time we learn something new."

I haven't thought about childhood that much. Maybe because I'm not really that good with kids. But anyways, I agree with Vincent's view of childhood about being how it seems amazing when your imagination runs wild. I really like children's imagination, the results are many creative stories and technologies. However, I didn't feel like my childhood was so amazing, like how it is described here. I don't know, I don't really remember much about my childhood. In our childhood, we still had things to worry about, but never anything big. It involves a lot with my sisters and cousins, fighting over stupid things. But one thing that keeps me from wishing to be a kid is that if you were a kid, you never really get to know the truth of things. When you get older you would never be kept in the dark about important problems and that is most important.

Hunger Games Final overview of the Whole Book

In the last part of the Hunger Games, I finally realized the extent of brutality of the government. Suzanne Collin's purpose in writing this book is loud and clear.

During this part, Peeta and Katniss's relationship develops. To Katniss, this romance is a show for the audience to gain sponsors and having a higher chance of survival. Peeta's view is the opposite. I found it ironic how the audience enjoy watching the violence between the tributes and also is crazy over Peeta and Katniss's love relationship. Further on, the emotions of friendship may be the strongest to arouse action. The government can control the people in any way possible, but they may never control the people's emotions.

After finishing the book, I felt like the games' ultimate purpose is to try to eliminate any feelings of friendship or love out of them, so they will simply be no different from animals, and animals are easy to control. Friendships can show the brutality of the government. When the gov. reshow the caps of the games, they never showed Katniss embroidering Rue's dead body with flowers and singing her to death because it allows the audience to view Rue as humans and her sad death would be the fault of the government. This leads to my next point.

Owing people favors is a big and repeated action in this book, even from the beginning of the book. Katniss hates owing people. When she was a kid, Peeta gave her a loft of bread and suffered a beating for her. From then on, she felt like she needs to pay back for this act of kindness, but she never did. Peeta had started this cycle. Now, Peeta also owe's Katniss because she saved his life by risking her own to fight for his medicine. Peeta mentions, he intends to pay all the favors back. Another time was when Thresh caught Katniss- he could have easily killed her, but he let her go because she had done the best to her abilities before Rue's death. Rue and Thresh is from the same district. Also, Thresh's district- District 11, sent Katniss bread in thanks. He let her go because he didn't want to owe her anything. Katniss understands:

"I nod because I do understand. About owing. About hating it. I understand that if Thresh wins, he'll have to go back and face a district that has already broken all the rules to thank me, and he is breaking the rules to thank me, too. And I understand that, for the moment, Thresh is not going to smash my skull." (288)

Owing people is very important in the games. They feel guilty and ashamed when they do because there is not anything you can do in arena to make it up if you're going to kill them later. They cannot bond to make a friendship because of the government. Even thanking people from another district have become restricted. The government have successfully turned them against each other- keeping emotions out is the best way to fit the government's terms as a killer.

When the government makes it seem like the enemy is each other, but the real enemy is the government. For example, Cato is the perfect entertainer for the game. He's the type of person who actually wants to kill in a brutal inhumane way for his own entertainment. He fits the government's requirement and takes the role as enemy perfectly.

Hunger Games- 2nd part

                 I have fallen deeply in love with this book and the characters in it. The way Suzanne Collins writes is captivating and imprisons me into their world until I surrender and is off to finish the whole series. I feel like what the characters are going through, I'm going through it as well. Due to this book, I have stayed up late until 2 o'clock to finish my homework. It's a drug.


           From the 1st paper clip to the second, Katniss has developed a deeper understanding of her enemies. She begins as one with an unbreakable heart, unwilling to bond in fear of hesitant in killing them and keeps to herself. Her ability to survive is not doubted until she decides to ally with Rue. She cannot help but expose this weakness. Rue reminds Katniss too much of Prim, her own sister. The government directs the purpose of the game to forcing the tributes to throw away any kindness they have and release the monsters inside them. They are entertained by the desperation, selfishness, and cruelty in their eyes when they kill the innocents. Would the government be evolving a population of sinful people this way? Stripping them of their morals is a way to show power. I kind of wish this plan would backfire and eventually everyone with no morals would have nothing to loose and hunt down the capitol. Unfortunately and fortunately, those who have survived the game, like Haymitch, lives a lonesome life of horror and disgust for what they have done. It shows that humans live with a code of morals that cannot easily be distroyed.

           It stroke me that the love between Peeta and Katniss moved the people in the capitol enough to change the rules- allowing two survivers from the same districts to survive, instead of a sole winner. What did the love of these simple, unimportant characters even mean to the capitol when they have witnessed the murder of so many others? Perhaps, the people have never seen such strong affection because the capitol is so brutal. This may be a danger to the capitol because Katniss and Peeta's actions allow them to manipulate a small part of the people's emotions enough to stimulate action. 

           Stirring awake to reality that the real enemy is the government causes Katniss to perform an actual funeral for her dead friend, Rue. The funeral was a personal act of grief for Rue's loss. It shows the emotions Katniss has towards Rue, displaying her more of a human being and Rue's death holds the government accountable for the life of an innocent girl. From this, Katniss finally understands what Peeta was saying before they began the games. He said, "Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to... to show the Capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than just a piece in their games." (142).
This line becomes significant to her and changes her view of the games drastically.
 

Futures: Response to Jay's response to Shiyun

 Jay, your response post made me think a lot:

"This was interesting to me because I feel that a lot of people think about their futures during this period of their life. Right now, I feel that there are a lot of people right now within my age group that are thinking about their futures, and are wondering what will happen to them in the future. Such as, will I pass this class? Will I get into this college? etc etc. I feel that these sort of worries are sometimes stressful and somewhat annoying because they stress you out and they start getting annoying after a while. I feel that it is sometimes important however, because it reminds you of your goals in life and it keeps you in your "road to your goals" and it makes it so that you will never seem to lose your goals in life and so that you will never seems like an aimless person in life that just drifts around." - Jayyy

Jay is right- lately, I have been thinking about my future. Actually, I have been reminded to think about it starting in middle school. That was the period that was most stressed for my sisters. They were in my current grade, trying to figure out exactly where they want to go in life. It is a difficult choice. So many questions pops in my head when I start to think about my future. It seems contagious and soon enough I had too, caught the phobia of thinking about my future. What makes futures so terrifying is the thought of failing. What if I don't succeed and I go on a wrong path? What am I going to become? And I still don't have it figured out and I'm in 10th grade. My parents always told me its better to know earlier, or if not, pick something that is neutral. But guess what? I'm not ready for college and all the pile of stress. I still want to stay in high school, procrastinate, and be given chances when I mess up. Thinking about the future means I have to either sooner or later break out of all the bad habits, develop more effective ones, and become devoted. It means I have to take things seriously and not be lazy. I cannot even begin to think of what lies ahead. Sometimes, I think I twist it into a bigger fear than it really is because my sisters are doing great in college and she seems to balance everything out that it's like a piece of cake for her, and she's loving it. But the least I know is that thinking about futures earlier is better than later.

HUNGER GAMES!!!!!! Part One Overview...

It was hard to pick which topic to talk about in this book, so i decided to focus on just one thing with all the details, and leave the other juicy parts out.

The Hunger Games is a suspenseful story of how brutal government can become when it is hungry for power. The amazing storyteller, Suzanne Collins, captured my curiosity, leaving me with so much eagerness, I cannot stop reading and can only anticipate for more.

Every year, one girl and one boy from ages 12-18 in each district is picked arbitary from hats to determine who is to be the contestant of The Hunger Games, a game where the group of 24 children are put into an inhabitable location, like a forest or desert. The only way to survive, or to win, is to kill all the others. The reward is a lifetime supply of food. Even more cruel is that every minute of the torture is broadcasted like a sport entertainment. The government sets this game as a reminder to the people of the failed revolution in history. There were originally 13 districts, but because of the revolt, the 13th district was liberate. Now, the remaining 12 districts suffer the government's abuse, passing ridiculous laws like, no making weapons (in fear of revolts) and no hunting, keeping the citizens always with empty stomachs.

The main character, 16 year old Katniss, is a brave hunter feeding her family of a depressed mother (after dad died) and a 12 year old sister, Prim, alive by hunting secretly and trading. When her beloved sister was chosen, she takes Prim's place. Her and the other contestants immediatedly become celelbrities. This transfromation shows how immortal the high- class people in the captol have become, entaertained by violence with no other better things to worry about.

The differnce in the capitol and the Districts also shocked me. The districts are mostly poor. Some districts are poorer than the others, dependent upon what the districts do. For example, District 1 is most favored because they have most contact with the Capitol. They focus on manufactoring. District 12 is the most poor because they focus of coal mining. Districts are so poor, they seem to be living in the past regimes. They did not even use money, but traded. There were no lights and no technology. When I was reading about District 12's environment, I thought it took place in the past. In contrary, The captiol is so advanced, they could have been living in the future. The press of a button, gives a buffet of food. The government power over them suppressed them to ever thrive.

Lastly, I found that the people in District 12 had the most morals. They were the most dispiced and degraded. 

"District 12 had always been a bit backwards" (46).

The other Districts that were favored even trained their kids all their lives to kill in the Hunger Games. Perhaps District 12 is the ones that are most human in Panem.

I'll leave the rest of the exciting parts for next time.

Sleep

Sleeping is all I think about. As I read Ruby's blog, I can connect with her:

"At the age of fifteen, there is only so much I can do with my life; especially living in a home under extraordinarily protective parents. I am of the same mind/opinion as Amber; life is boring, but to what extent can we go to change it?

My weekly ritual consists of: waking up, going to school, coming home to do homework, and sleeping. Throw a few snack breaks in and you have my life Mon-Fri. Saturday and Sunday, never too much thrill out of those days either."

 I am doing my post wayyy earlier than I am supposed to because I know I won't have time tomorrow or Friday. So, I found this post especially appealing because it is about sleep. Right now it is eleven something and I yearn to sleep early, at least once. There are many symptoms to lack of sleep, much that I have now and will have tomorrow at school. They include: dark ugly circles under the eyes, slight wrinkles under those, hazy unfocused lenses, dizziness, discoloration, and thirstiness. Without sleep, people can look old and worn out. The cause of this is homework and procrastination. Right now, I have to continue with homework and deal with all these symptoms. I might just take a nap...