The Hunger Games: 2 Questions

I really liked Angela S's response. I would say it is spot on.

But, I also read an article that indicates that both sides of the political spectrum are applying the lessons of the book to fit their political ideology. It's interesting to me that this is possible.

I've read all of them and saw the movie. It is a dark and disturbing topic, yes, but that is not new. I remember reading "Lord of the Flies" in high school and that was a terrible book. While it is horrible to think about, the lesson of government having total control is one that needs repeated over and over. I often think of Animal Farm and 1984 when I see something that is disturbing in the trends of today's political venue. How it seems that the younger generation is drawn to socialism and more equality of people economically. I want to scream ANIMAL FARM!!!

My 10 year old asked me if he could read it. He is a voracious reader , and extremely smart. While I do think that it is a pretty disturbing theme for him, I said yes, and he is devouring it. We will discuss the book when he is done.

I loved the series and couldn't put the books down. My takeaway was that as citizens, we need to carefully pay attention to what our elected representatives are doing; if we don't, we could end up as the 11 out of 12 districts that were living in poverty and being completely ruled by District 1! It's not totally out of the realm of possibility. And quite frankly, I do see a parallel (although not so directly or literally) of most of the population being oppressed, and being told that the top percent of people are doing what's best for them. Education is key, and staying informed is key.

My daughter is in 4th grade and wants to read the Hunger Games. I was hesitant only because I think the main message will go over her head. However, a lot of books are like that, so in the end, I told her it was okay to read them.

I don't find it too disturbing that 7th graders are imagining themselves in the concept of the book. It's not so different from 1st graders playing cops and robbers, really. Kids have been playing that game forever!

1. I loved the trilogy, except for the ending. I think it can compare to today with all of our technology, and it being so easy for the government (or anyone else) to watch us all of the time. Also, the warning against large, all-powerful government still has some importance.

2. Yes, I would be concerned teaching this at the 7th grade level. I teach high school, and I gave my seniors extra credit if they read it, or saw the movie and then wrote about the connections they saw between The Hunger Games and 1984. We just finished a unit on 1984.

1). Several points:

I would be careful not to draw the superficial parallel to communism. IMHO the book actually illustrates the dangers of excessive corporatism, or fascism. The people in the districts of Panem never operate under the illusion that that the society's wealth is owned collectively; to the contrary, they are made painfully aware from the get-go that NOTHING belongs to them. It all belongs to the Capitol. The tributes are sent to the games as an ongoing reminder of the district's loss to the capitol, and their sub-class status.

The Capitol is obsessed with living the high life, and endless entertainment - with very little regard to the people who provide that lifestyle.

My younger teen drew the analogy that we in the US are the Capitol, and the 3rd world countries are the districts (sad). Where do those Ipads come from? And cheap toys? At what price (to the people who produce them) are those things provided?

The districts are also partitioned off so that each one produces one part of the economy. Therefore they are at the mercy of the Capitol for other staples of living. Again, does that sound like global capitalism to you?

And what about the obsession with "reality" entertainment? That is another creature of excess consumerism (which stems from capitalism to the extreme).

Have you ever wondered where the strongest housing markets are in America? If I remember correctly three out of the top four are found right near WASHINGTON D.C. Hmmmm . . . "Capitol" anyone?

My take-away from the book: THE PEOPLE ALWAYS HAVE THE POWER - we just have to have the courage to exercise it. We must never lose touch with our humanity.

2) I wouldn't have a problem with mature 7th graders participating in that activity. Of course I would want to guide them through it, discuss it, etc.

PS: I'm not against capitalism. What I'm opposed to is excessive crony capitalism . . . I'm also very pro-individual rights.

I LOVE the series. Have seen the movie twice, and have re-read the first book since seeing it.

1. My takeaway from the book is that I found myself continually comparing it to Communist Russia. The people in the 12 districts were the peasants, living a life that was filled with strife, while the people at the Capitol were far removed and unattached from much of it, much like some of the upper classes in Moscow and Stalingrad. I made loads of parallels between today and the book, as did many of my students who are constantly asking about it.

2. The 7th grade teams - would it bother me, not the names, skills, survival as much as the "dying" part, but I remember when Survivor first became a hit, the students were all talking about who they would "vote off the island" and there was some talk at the school about bullying and watching to see what was said. It was pop culture invading the schools, as is this, in my opinion.

:)

Good questions!!

I liked the point that Katniss and Peeta played the game without directly killing people (of course they had something to do with some deaths, but you know what I mean). And they weren't willing to turn on each other. Katniss is a good person and a good role model for girls. It also made me sort of scared- it made me think of what happens when a government makes a radical change for the worse, and I think that is what is going on right now. :-(

I would not want my DD playing that 'game' at school. She is in 6th grade and we didn't let her read the book or see the movie. I just think it's too violent.

This series spawned several interesting conversations in my house about the ethics and politics (I have a freshman daughter in high school and 7th grade son). War is never good and power imbalances can cause great strife. Also about how the people who lived in the Capitol were clueless about reality and when it changed for them how hard it was. They were essentially partiers who watched a horrible reality show, but it wasn't "real" to them until the 75th games and beyond.

2. In my son's middle school, they emphasize the 4 R's (Responsibillty, Respect, Responsiveness, and Resourcefulness). In my experience, middle school is a time of transition in which kids start to take charge of their own lives more and I can see how the series would address these issues. I wanted to have a HG theme for their walkathon (for every $X raised, their name got put into the reaping, and 2 teachers would take 2 winners drawn from each class to a paintball arena - the walkathon would be the parade). Not an exact parallel obviously. So to answer your question, no I don't have a problem with that.

I loved the series and found it to be more real because it didn't wrap everything up with a traditional happy ending.

Loved the series. Gripping reads. :)

1 - Definite parallels. Loved the social commentary. Biggest take-away is that people do have power when they stand together...but that (how does the saying go...?) power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

2 - Have no problem with middle school kiddos reading the book - but the game part of it seems a bit off and even trivial to me. I read this book aloud with my 6th graders the year it first came out and we had the very best discussions about right of individuals, power, society, money, power, you name it. Even in the book, I found that even thought it *was* violent, it didn't glorify the violence. The violence just laid the context for how disturbing the "Game" was - thereby drawing attention to evils of society. The writing focused much more on the characters and the social commentary. We read alongside "The Lottery" and drew comparisons about society. Great stuff. Grips kids in the same way that it grips adults.

#1 Haven't read the book, although Hubby is insisting I do so soon.

#2 I find that seriously disturbing. YES, I would have a problem with it.

My take-away from the series was that if you allowed any one group of people to have too much power over the masses, it gets out of hand. At the end of Mockingjay, Katniss realizes that the side that she was fighting for had become just as bad as the Capitol.

No, I would not have a problem with 7th graders reading this. Of course, I am pretty anti-censorship. As long as I was able to discuss the book and the meaning with my child, I think that it would be a great conversation and could encourage my children to read...which is NEVER a bad thing to me.

As to why the teacher would have middle schoolers play a game, it helps improve creative thinking. The Hunger Games are of a great deal of interest to everybody including students. Good education uses this sort of interest to help develop skills.

Also students are maturing earlier than before. I learned in high school what my mother learned in college. My granddaughter is learning things in middle school that I learned in high school. It's the way the world is.