Independent+Novel+Study

Independent Novel Study Journal Entries

Entry#1: Dec. 3rd, 2010 Up to page 85 (end of Chapter 6)

 For my independent novel study, I have decided to use Suzanne Collin’s Novel the Hunger Games; a story set around a teenaged girl’s firsthand account of gladiator-like sports in a seemingly stable post-apocalyptic era where North America once stood. Up to this point the Novel has been focusing on the every-day life of the Protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, also known as Catnip, a teenaged girl living in district 12, one of 12 districts in the nation of Panem. Her Father died in a mine accident (district 12’s specialty is mining), and she….

What's going on as the story begins? As the story Begins, Katniss, the protagonist is currently struggling to feed her family in one of the poorer districts in Panem, District 12. Despite her efforts, she is still not able to keep them nourished, and is getting increasingly worried about their situation.

Who is telling the story? How does this person’s perspective effect the way the story is told?  The story is told in first-person by the protagonist Katniss Everdeen, also known as Catnip. This perspective radically changes the way the story is told, as she has an extremely biased view of the world around her, and her emotions often effect how the story is told. For example, her slight paranoia towards her Partner for the Hunger Games, Peeta Mellark, turning against her during the games is expressed in her mental ramblings, going on and on for some time. In third-person, one could simply leave the character with their thoughts and focus elsewhere, but the constraints of first-person make it so that one must stay behind to see a character’s Whole mindset.

What is the initial or first problem faced by the main character? The first and underlying problem the protagonist faces is keeping her family alive. Though she will face difficulties daily in the hunger games, Katniss is still most worried about her family. She has to provide most of their food, and that’s still not enough to fill her family’s stomachs, even with her hunting and bargaining skills. However, as the story progresses, this conflict starts to lose importance, though it constantly bugs the protagonist in one way or another.

10/10

﻿Entry#2: Dec.10, 2010 Pages 86-171 (Chapters 7-13)

Currently, Katniss (the protagonist) is Still getting ready for her public appearance, not only for fans but also to attract "sponsors" that will provide her and her partner Peeta with funding during the games. Her mind wanders back to life back home, reminiscing about the adventures she had with her best friend (and illegal hunting companion) Gale, wondering about the sate her family is in before leaving to go train with other “tributes”, children that will have to fight each other in a specially made arena in the “Hunger Games”. There she discovers Peeta’s talents and learns more about him, making her reconsider her hatred for him. Then it is time to present her skills to the gamemakers, malicious individuals who design and operate all the snares, pitfalls and traps to be found in the arena, as well as the arena itself. Infuriated by the gamemakers ignorance at her performance, Katniss angrily demonstrates her shooting skills by shooting an apple out of the gamemaker’s meal, only to receive an almost perfect score from them. The most suprising event happens the tribute’s public interviews and appearances, where Peeta openly admits his “love” for her…

Quite a few complications are added to the plot as it progresses, most of which will stay for the rest of the story. First and foremost, Katniss has to find who is a possible friend and who is the enemy. She has to prepare, not only for an appearance in fornt of the gamemakers, but also for her public interview with renowned Capitol TV host Caesar Flickerman. She also has to deal with Peeta’s stance as her ally and whether she should suspect him out or not, a fact made more complicated by his “confession” of liking her.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Some new prominent characters that are introduced are the tributes, most noticeably a tribute called Rue from district 11, the creepy, somewhat helpful Caesar Flickerman, as well as the gamemakers. The gamemakers are probably the most important new character in this chapter, because it is them who will control the action and bloodshed in the arena.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The language in this novel is quite simple, with simple terms and rather “unprofessional” descriptions. However, it conveys well extremely deep concepts, as well as being extremely descriptive. The author also does a great job of conveying emotions and feelings through the language, and there are no bells and visuals to distract from the raw feeling of the novel.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">10/10

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Entry#3: Jan. 6, 2011 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Pages 172-232 (Chapters 13-18)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Up to this point, The Protagonist, Katniss Everdeen has been prepped and ready for the Hunger Games. She enters an arena filled with danger, including "walls of fire" and deadly insects. She is badly burned and has just gotten some relief when a pack of "career" tributes (trained specifically to kill in the games) arrive, along with Peeta. With the help of fellow tribute Rue, Katniss manages to dump a nest of highly poisonous wasps on them, taking out a couple and managing to retrieving a bow and arrows form them (her favourite weapon). She befriends Rue, and the two new "allies" conspire to wreck the their main competition--the careers. with the help of Rue's distraction, Katniss manages to set off strategically placed mines around the career's camp, destroying their precious supplies and so exploiting their weak point of not being able to find food for themselves. At this point, Katniss hears an all-to-familiar scream, and rushes over to find Rue helplessly tangled in a net with a spear pointed at her...

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Comment on the style of the novel. Is it easy or hard to follow the events? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The style of the novel is gritty, fast-paced and bare. It is relatively easy to follow, yet still manages to throw in unexpected plot turns at every corner and has a habit of alternating sad and joyful moments. However, it still manages to be a multi-layered, fascinating story that keeps you at the edge of your seat before letting you rest for ten or so pages.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">How does the author get you to read on or hold your interest? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The author employs many clever tricks to keep you reading the book. She runs the plot and every which direction, turning the story on its head before flipping it around again and creating new plot twists. This has the effect of keeping people glued to the book, as you never know when some happy scene will just explode into utter chaos. In fact, the story has a habit of having 'chaos spawn chaos', as one small event sets off a whole string of other, more serious ones. All these events lead to an elaborate conflict that can start out organically from very few issues, and weaves many layers into the plot.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Is the novel believable? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">In the context that is tis suggesting, yes, I would think this novel is believable in the context it is suggesting. If civilization as we know it did come to a post-apocalyptic stance, I believe this story would be very relevant. Even in a modern context, this story still contains many relevant issues and concepts, some prominent, such as the concept that everybody should be equal, and more subtle messages such as a complaint against the use of children to fight wars for adults and the responsibility that adults need when it comes to these situations.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Entry#4: Jan. 7, 2011 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Pages 133-319 (Chapters 18-24)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> At the beginning of this section, Katniss has just seen her new friend and ally Rue slaughtered by a spear-weilding tribute. Furious, she shoots him on sight before singing Rue to death at her side. In an extreme act of defiance against the Capitol, she covers Rue in flowers for the video cameras recording her to see, before finding Peeta, camouflaged and hidden in a nearby ditch. Upon cleaning him up, Katniss finds he has a fever, and after the next day, blood poisoning. She decides to keep up their "star-crossed lover" image, and is rewarded by Haymitch with top-quality Capitol food. Then, the announcer for the hunger games, Claudius Templesmith, calls everybody to the centre of the arena for a backpack containg something they desperately need. Barely making it out alive, Katniss drugs Peeta, before finding medicine for his blood poisoning, and enlisting him to help forage when his health improves. They decide to take out the most threatening tribute, a career named Cato, when they find the other enemy tribute has been killed after sneaking away a handful of poisonous berries Peeta accidentally picked.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">To what age group is the novel aimed? Support your answer with evidence. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">I think this novel is aimed at a teen to young adult age group, mainly because of its content and method of storytelling. The story is gritty, has scenes of intense violence and goes deep into certain disturbing concepts, making it not the best choice <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> (euphemism) for younger readers. However, it seems to be purposely written from a semi-naive, semi-ignorant perspective that is the assumed stereotype of teens and young adults, and uses simple language that might turn away older readers.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">What has happened before the novel began? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Before the novel began, Katniss had been living a rather ordinary life in district 12. She hunts every Sunday with her friend Gale (against the law) and helps her mother with the healer’s business she runs form their house. At this time, Katniss has already encountered Peeta, when some years ago he offered her bread (he is the baker’s son) after his mother shooed Katniss away. Everybody is waiting for the reaping; the annual event in which names are drawn to decide who from each district will participate in the hunger games.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Is there a message or main theme emerging in the book? How is it shown? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">There are many messages and themes emerging from the book, the most notable one being a complaint about the use of children to settle disputes and even fight for adults. This is shown by the hunger games, a symbolic fight to the death between all the districts as the Capitol’s way of oppression and reminding the districts that not even children are immune from the Capitol’s wrath.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Entry#5 (final entry): Jan. 11, 2011 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Pages 320- (Chapters 24-end of book)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Currently, The protagonist is stuck in an awkward situation. She and her ally/friend/'fake' lover Peeta Mallerk have just unintentionally killed another tribute leaving them with only one more tribute left to go (the career tribute Cato). However, Peeta is not fully healed, so Katniss must guard him while foraging. Just then, Cato bursts through the trees. Katniss looses an arrow at him, only to find he has protective body armor and doesn't care about fighting them, as he rushes by them gasping for breath. Soon, they are also running, with a pack of bloodthirsty, mutated semi-human hounds on their heels. Eventually, Katniss and Peeta follow Cato to the cornucopia, a gold building at the centre of the arena, only to find him waiting for them with his sword. As the mutts arrive, they scramble onto the the top of the cornucopia, with Cato in hot pursuit, and all seems well until Cato grabs a hold of Peeta and prepares to slash him if Katniss shoots and arrow. In desperation, she shoots his hand, making him lose his grip on Peeta and tumble down into the mutts, who slowly work at him for what seems like hours. Finally katniss shoots him in pity, only to find that the rules for the hunger games have been revised--there can only be one winner. after a bout of arguing, She and Peeta decide that to mock the Capitol and ruin the hunger games for the gamemakers, they will each eat a handful of poisonous berries so that the hunger games will not have a winner. only a desperate Claudius Templesmith stops them, and formally honored as victors, shipped off for medical work and prepared for another television appearance. Katniss manages to make an enemy out of Capitol president Snow for the stunt with th berries and has a crisis of conscience as she considers what Gae wil think once she arrives back home...

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">What were the major things that helped to resolve the plot? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The major things that helped (sort of) to resolve the plot are Katniss and Peeta winning the hunger games and Katniss clearing the air once more on Caesar Flickerman's talk show. However, there are many more complications added (this is the first book in a series), such as an uneasy stance regarding President Snow and and an added element of danger as they are now celebrities.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Why would you (or why wouldn't you) recommend this novel to a friend? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> I would recommend this novel to a friend because it is well-written, insightful and interesting. It appeals to all audiences and has simple language for those who have less developed vocabularies, while still maintaining a degree of complexity. I would not recommend this story to myself, though, as I prefer clean, not very raw satirical stories told in third person...

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Why did (or didn't) the novel meet your expectations? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> The novel exceeded my expectations, not only because the weren't too high, but also because it is well-written and is in a genre that appeals to me. While not the best book i've written (because of the concerns expressed in the last question) There is not much the author could do to improve this book, and I admire the way it is presented.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Independent Novel Study Focus Project <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Character Sketch

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Character: Peeta Mellark.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Peeta Mellark is one of the most prominent and influential Characters in Suzanne Collins’ novel The Hunger Games, second only to the Protagonist Herself. The son of a local Baker in district 12 before being enlisted to participate in the hunger games Peeta and his family are considered “upper class” in his district, where the protagonist (Katniss Everdeen) also lives. Though most non-trained tributes have no idea who their partner will be before the games, Peeta actually had an early experience with Katniss and some bread. Katniss had been desperately pawing through garbage cans near his house when his mother noticed, screamed at her and shooed her away. He intentionally burned some bread so that his mother would make him throw it out before giving it to her, and Katniss has never found a way to repay his action. In the arena, he excelled at camouflage, weightlifting and making fires—qualities that kept him and Katniss alive through their ordeal. Peeta grows to like Katniss over the course of the story, especially during the “games”, where her liberal use of kisses and talking to him greatly helped his recovery, as well as making him shed his shy attitude. However, his kind-heartedness and easy trust is exploited by Katniss’ and Haymitch’s ‘star-crossed lovers’ plan, making him duly upset and even furious when it is revealed to him. Peeta’s speaking abilities are extraordinary—he can manipulate a crowd to tears or even laughter, subtly questioning or even being satirical without arousing suspicion. These traits make him a perfect, well rounded character to accompany the protagonist in the book.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|Poster]