The Mockingjay Reading Log

The Mockingjay is the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss Everdeen is the main character in all three books, and the main plot line is that she lives in a fictional future world that is controlled by the capitol – where all the rich people live, and the surrounding districts are kept under strict rule. Almost everyone in these twelve districts is poor, and each district is specialized in one specific kind of work – once you’re born in a specific district, you are forced to do that kind of work your whole life. Once every year, two people from each district-one boy and one girl-are forced to participate in the Hunger Games. This is the main source of entertainment for the capitol, and for the participants it is exactly the opposite, because you win the games by being the last one alive. Katniss’s little sister is chosen for district twelve and everyone knows her sister has no chance to win, so Katniss takes her place. She wins the games with the other boy from her district, Peeta and it is the first time in history that two people win. Then, the next year – there is a special hunger games were the people that are chosen have all won the hunger games before. From district twelve, only three people have ever won – and Peeta and Katniss are chosen again. During these hunger games the big rebellion is started, and everyone in the games escapes. This is the second time in history that the districts have an uprising against the capitol. The first time they lost and the hunger games were introduced to remind them that the capitol completely rules over them. This time, they plan on actually beating the capitol, and Katniss is the hero of the rebels – also called ‘The Mockingjay’. This book is about the rebellion.

I have not reached the middle of the book yet, but until now the book has been very enticing. Its beginning was not too promising, but soon after it got very suspenseful. The Hunger Games was an amazing book, then the second book was quite a disappointment, and now I am hoping the third one will live up to my expectations once again. At the part of the book I have reached Katniss lives in the long lost thirteenth district that is thought to be completely wiped out – but has become the center of activities for the rebellion. Everyone lives underground under a meticulous and strict rule by their government. Today while reading, I vividly imagined one specific part of the book. At that part, a guard is hindering Katniss and her friend, Gale, from entering a hallway that is supposed to be open to the public. Katniss has a feeling that something is wrong, and so Gale distracts the guard and Katniss sneaks into the room they wanted to get into in the first place. There, Katniss’s only friends from the capitol, her stylists from the hunger games, are taken hostage, and are the victims of severe beatings. That part of the book was described in a really suspenseful way, and the whole time I wanted to know really badly what was going on behind the door. I could perfectly imagine the meticulous white and grey hallways, and the strange, stale smell that the author describes coming from that one room. I almost had a little video clip playing in my head of the scene.

In the previous book, Peeta is taken hostage, and the first time Katniss sees him again is at the beginning of The Mockingjay. He is being interviewed in the capitol, and Katniss is elated to see him alive - she wasn’t sure where he was, let alone if he was alive. Still, during the interview, Peeta says some very controversial things, and suddenly all the rebels, save Katniss, are completely against him. At that part, I completely understand Peeta. He says that both the rebels and the capitol should stop their fighting, and instead they should all calm down. The rebels are extremely mad about that because it shows Peeta has no faith in them for winning, and also if they do get rid of their plans, the capitol would rule over them stricter than ever, making the whole situation much worse. I can still relate with Peeta though, because President Snow, the leader of the capitol, probably forced him to say those things, and by forced I mean tortured or beat. All the rebels are just blinded by their sudden hate; otherwise they would understand him as well. Katniss has the same opinion as me, and she gives a speech directed at the leader of the rebels, saying that she will only keep being ‘The Mockingjay’ if after the war they pardon Peeta for being a traitor – which is what they now call him. I don’t understand how the capitol has not yet realized that all the rebels are hiding in district thirteen. The rebels that were not caught by the capitol after the previous games all escaped in vehicles that managed to escape the capitol’s grasps. The capitol is strictly ruling over all the districts, so they know that the rebels aren’t there, and so they must realize that they went somewhere else. The only other place they could have gone is district thirteen, or in the middle of the woods, but judging by the amount of people that escaped, it would have been really hard to successfully hideaway in the woods without getting noticed. I think that means either the author’s logic is faulty, or the capitol has noticed, and they will attack district thirteen.

This book’s setting and plot is like nothing I have ever experienced in my life, so I can’t say that I really connect with any part of the book up to now. I can relate to some characters feelings at certain parts of the book, but overall they are dealing with problems that I have never dealt with. Some examples of their problems are: having to kill people, going to war, and having to make decisions that could lead to their friends and family getting killed. I have thankfully never had to deal with problems like these, and so I cannot say that I have had similar experiences to the characters. Of course some simple experiences like wanting to go outside and breathing fresh air after staying inside (or in their case underground) for a long time, I can relate to. I hate it when I have a lot of work to do on the computer for school which leads to me having to stay inside for a whole day. The characters in the book stay inside for weeks, so I can only imagine to what extent they want to go outside and just relax. The author effectively uses lots of imagery in the book, to portray all the complicated situations the characters find themselves in. I can perfectly imagine Katniss’s surroundings as well as feelings due to the phenomenal use of imagery. That is the main reason why I enjoy reading this book, the author manages to perfectly describe the various situations of the characters to the extent were I have Katniss’s whole world worked out in my mind. With the help of imagery making this fictional world feel more believable, I think the author has always stayed true to the general plotline, and has made it very believable. Apart from the one fault that I have described earlier – the fact that the capitol would have realized that the rebels have set up their center in district thirteen – I think the whole book is very believable, and none of the twists in the plotline so far have been exaggerated to the extent of ridiculousness.

I love the way that Katniss thinks, she has a very rational and calm way of thinking, and she reacts this way to any situation thrown at her. I appreciate her being so down to earth, and her love of simplicity is refreshing. I would love to be her friend, because she is very loyal to the people close to her, and she always thinks how her actions can benefit others. Today while reading, my conclusions about Katniss have all been proven to be correct once again, and while I wouldn’t say she is predictable, she definitely is a consistent character. Her manner has always been the same in all three books of the series. Not just Katniss, but lots of other characters have stayed true to their intentions throughout this trilogy. The Mockingjay is a very unique book, in a unique series, so I couldn’t say that it greatly relates to previously read books. Of course some aspects are repeated in other works of literature as well, such as the man vs. self theme. Katniss often struggles with herself, and with previous decisions of hers, much like Sam, the main character in Before I Fall, a book I recently read. Sam also struggles with previous decisions, and is forced to relive the same day over and over again until she finally makes the right choices.

In the next section I read, I think the minor battles will all be in full swing, and I believe someone on Katniss’s side might get attacked – which will spark the fire of a full-on-rebellion. I believe that someone who is not careful enough in concealing their hiding place in district thirteen will give them away, and therefore cause this attack. If I could jump into the book, I would like to get there before the real war starts. I would enjoy seeing the way the people live in district thirteen, because I have never seen anything like it – the people live completely underground, and they’re not even deprived of space – meaning that the area must be absolutely huge. The underground area in district thirteen holds an armory, a place where food is grown, a science lab, a cafeteria, a huge auditorium that fits thousands of people, many sleeping quarters, spaces that store airplanes, etc. I would go check out the way they live in their sleeping quarter and I would love to see the armory – where they keep all the weapons. I am not a weapon fanatic by any means, but the way the armory is described in the book seems absolutely unreal and amazing. It is a huge space filled with the latest technology created by a scientific genius. What this technology is capable of just blows me away. Some settings in the book, like the armory, are like nothing I have ever seen, but other places, such as the forest where Katniss likes to hunt, I can relate rather easily to places I’ve been. She hunted near a spring, and there were flowers and lots of tall trees, which is like Yellowstone National Park. When the author started describing that place, I immediately thought of Yellowstone, and I imagined the whole scene going on there. Yellowstone is known for its beautiful nature, and Katniss’s forest sounded almost enchanting as well.

This book has been written extremely well until now; I can only hope that it continues in the same fashion!