So many thoughts and not enough time to put them down thoughtfully, but here are a few:
- The Bread and Circuses passage in District Two - you were right Miss H! We must get to the bottom of all of the Roman references. I've emailed a good friend who is an ancient history expert with questions. I'm also wondering about the geography of the Roman Empire and whether the description of District Two corresponds with any of their provinces. Also, still ancient, not Roman, I'm wondering if any of the sieges have any references to the fall of Troy. Finally, I want to know how Rome finally fell! But not before I finish reading the book. Castor and Pollux are also either a Roman or Greek reference. Wish I'd paid more attention in history!
- What on earth is going on with Peeta??? I was so upset when he first appeared in Thirteen and tried to kill her. Then I felt bad for him. Now that he's in Two I'm wondering if he has recovered from the hijacking and this is another plot between Peeta and Haymitch to keep Katniss in the dark and manipulate her into doing the "right" thing for the rebellion.
- Why can Katniss feel empathy for Johanna and give her the pine sachet, but not for Peeta who is essentially in the same position - friendless, confused, manipulated by the Capital. Blinded by love again? Too stubborn to admit her feelings?
- To that end, earlier discussions have pointed to Katniss' inability to understand her own emotions. I gave it some thought last night and decided that, as mature adult readers, we are in touch with our emotions and able to speak logically about them. Katniss has been thrust into a mature situation, but we must remember that underneath it all she's only seventeen! Think back to how you behaved, especially around boys, at seventeen. Speaking from personal experience, I can say that I was stubborn, mercurial, and just generally a hot mess! I do feel Katniss' pain.
- Lastly, Gale is too quick to pull the trigger and not compassionate enough. My prediction: he ends up with Johanna.
That's all for now. I'm not going to look at any responses to this post until I've finished the book, so feel free to spoil away! Hoping to be done this evening.
-Rebecca DeWinter
I'm impressed by how deeply you are reading into the book. I think I got so wrapped up in the plot that I didn't really pay attention to much else. I noticed that Pollox seemed to be in latin.
ReplyDeleteAs for Peeta, I was devestated when he came back hijacked. I really did not like Gale in the third book. The fact that he loves the revolution more than Katniss shows that she deserves someone better. I've always pulled for Peeta and I'm happy about how it ends for the two of them.
Also, I liked Finnick SO much more in this book. In fact, I cried when he and Annie got married and Peeta made them their cake. So sweet!
Lastly, you're right about Katniss being young and maybe not fully emotionally developed. It still makes me mad though. I wanted her to just admit how much she loves Peeta!
- Miss H
OMG!
ReplyDeleteJust finished. Don't really know what else to say. So much to process on the last thirty pages or so. I knew she had to end up with Peeta in the end, but they way everything came about was completely unexpected. I was convinced that somehow Peeta would end up the new president and they'd live happily ever after. But of course they couldn't live happily ever after...not that they're not happy, but Katniss is right. They can never again be who they were before the Games, and really a more suitable ending than a classic "happy" one is the way they ended up. Just as Haymitch could never lead the country, neither should Katniss or Peeta.
I was in shock over Prim. And that's all I have to say about that.
I need to re-read the entire ending starting with the bombing of the children. And I need to re-process. And then I will write more. This book is so rich, even more than the first two, and I need to continue to puzzle it out.
As for Finnick...I almost cried when he died. All I could think about was what would happen to Annie with him gone. In the second book I thought he was kind of a joke, but not so much.
I really want to know if Suzanne Collins had this ending planned from the beginning, or if/how it evolved.
I have not been so obsessed with a book in a really long time.