In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins portrays and teenage girl named Katniss Everdeen, who is sent into a corrupt government's way of controlling the nation's districts. She is meant to fend for herself against Mother Nature's wilderness, engineered and twisted by gamemakers to be twice as deadly, and, to top it off, protect herself from other teenagers, who were forced to represent the other eleven districts. Not only does Katniss face death, but also emotional upheaval, caused by the male participant from her district: Peeta. Peeta is what all girls dread: That guy who claims to love you, who you can't help liking yourself. Although the plot was good, and fairly original, the mushy side of the story made the actions sequences seem sadly watered-down. Peeta is an extremely simple character, who, while adding to the plot, added little to the imagination.
Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. New York: Scholastic, 2009. Print. (391pgs)
Katniss is back, and after having won the hunger games, and saving her co-winner Peeta. Unknowingly, Katniss has stirred up some pretty rebellious feelings around the districts. Now she must prove her non-existent love for Peeta, in order to survive. To top it all off, she is forced to return to the arena. Again her wits and will to survive are tested. And so are her emotions.This time, the arena she's thrown into is completely unlike her home. She is forced to survive in a beech like environment, with tropical woods, booby-trapped with all forms of deadly snares. Collin does a relatively good job of explaining Katniss's surrounding, although she does not paint them as well as many authors are able to.
Collins, Suzanne. Mockingjay. New York: Scholastic, 2010. Print. (288pgs)
Katniss is FINALLY out of the arena for good... But life is still extremely difficult. Especially when she finds out that her home, District 12, has been almost completely destroyed. She is rescued, and then recruited to be the face of a rebellion she barely knew existed. Everything she stands for is tested, and she finds herself questioning the values that have held her together. She faces enemies who, can not only kill her with violence, but also with politics and words. For the first half of Mockingjay, the Collins' style is energetic, and pumped, rebellious, and encouraging. Toward the end of the novel, the town shifts into a much more serene quality. Everything has changed, and life itself seems to have fallen apart. There is a quietness, almost a fragile silence. The town becomes almost depressing, despite the changes that should seem positive. The book ends with a solemn view on life.
Mitchell, Margaret. Gone with the Wind. [New York]: Avon, 1973. Print. (1037 pgs.)
Scarlett O'Hara is a sly, and foxy young lady who reaches adulthood just as the civil war begins. Foolish and lovestruck, she chases after Ashely Wilkes, who is betrothed to Melany Hamilton, and makes many idiotic choices concerning the two. The Civil War takes hold of Scarlett's home, stealing places, people, and things she loves. In an effort to survive Scarlett becomes a strong, determined woman who handles the world in a unique, and sometimes immoral way. She continues to battle for what she finds important, while running from fears, until forced to confront what has been eating away at her subconscious for years.
In her novel, Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell expresses ideas in a way that captures the reader, and holds there attention. Her style is unbiased, yet sarcastic to the foolishness of society in general. Mitchell had an extraordinary way of understanding what truly makes people tick, and how the differences in people can cause truly interesting reactions to the situations life gives us. Enforced by tons of research and facts of the civil war, Mitchell reminds us of basic human nature, in a touching, and intriguing story of a girl changing into a woman. Gone with the Wind expresses determination and victory despite all odds.
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