Category: Book Report

The lead singer of the popular 70’s group the Carpenters, Karen Carpenter, once sang the words: “Calling occupants of interplanetary quest”. The human race has always had a desire to look to the stars in wonderment. Asking the question, are there any other beings out there within the universe? Is it actually possible to leave the planet to explore unknown worlds, in hopes that, one day, mankind will have another alternative for habitation because we have slowly destroyed the planet that we have? There have been exciting books written that have explored the subject of becoming a castaway on another planet. But for the purpose of this essay, I would like to explore one of the key elements of the book entitled ‘The Martian’ – communication, along with his will to survive, drives our main character to use the technical equipment needed to communicate important information back home.

I hope to better understand ‘how’ Mark Watney, was able to communicate with planet Earth and his crew. By using his unique ability to get the job done. I would like to delve deeper into that technology Watney used for survival. As he races to send out an SOS to tell everyone that he is alive after being left behind on Mars due to an unexpected storm. Watney knew that he had little or no way of getting that information back to mission control. He used everything in his power to communicate back home with the tools that he had right there on the planet Mars. “Jesus Christ, I’d give anything for a five-minute conversation with anyone. Anyone, anywhere. About Anything”. As I explore this fascinating and highly technical novel, written by Andy Weir, I will touch upon several aspects of the story that even the author recognized as being a bit far-fetched. It is my opinion, the key to enjoying this novel is to understand that there are a few weak links within its real-life technicality, using the mechanical know how if this scenario ever took place in the future. This is a story that stretches facts and treads on a very fine line into the world of fiction.

The crew was taken by surprise by a sudden catastrophic sandstorm. The storm was so powerful that it forced the crew to leave Watney behind – as a large piece of debris throws Watney into an area where the crew was unable to find him. The storm almost destroyed the Ares 3 (the rocket ship used to go back to the main ship orbiting around the planet.) Even though, the crew was successful getting back on the ship, by aborting their mission and heading back to Earth without their crew member Mark Watney. This was spectacular; however, it was pure science fiction. Andy Weir has acknowledged in the past: “In reality, Mars’ atmosphere is 1/200th the density of Earth’s. So, while they do get 150 km/hr sandstorms, the inertia behind them — because their air is so thin — it would feel like a gentle breeze on Earth. A Martian sandstorm can’t do any damage. And I knew that at the time I wrote it”.

For the sake of this novel, we should take a blind eye to the actual science in order to have sympathy for our main character. The author brings us on a journey to save his life, and get him back home. Now, the only way for Watney to do this was to use his technical skills to somehow communicate back to Earth with the equipment that had not been destroyed. “Mars is a barren wasteland and I am completely alone here. I already knew that, of course. But there’s a difference knowing it and really experiencing it”. The reality was that Mark was stuck on a planet with little recourse to live. He had to reach deep within his soul to try and find the will to survive. Furthermore, after being left by the crew, Watney discovered that his suit had been punctured by a thin radio aerial; which punctured his space suit. I believe, this would be game over because there is no way that his blood could rapidly coagulate and his own freezing blood would partially seal the suit in order to maintain the pressure to survive the ordeal. This would have been highly unlikely, however, Watney did survive, as he did everything in his power to repair the main communication dish that had become battered in the storm, and get the message that he was alive back to Earth.

While the astronaut’s path is fictitious, Watney’s long haul led him across the wide terrain across Mars. Watney gets into his all-terrain vehicle traveling from Acidalia Planitia, where he was currently, to the larger crater of Schiaparelli where he would find the failed Pathfinder. “I will eventually go to Schiaparelli and commandeer the Areas 4 lander. Nobody explicitly gave me permission to do this, and they can’t until I’m aboard Area 4 and operate the comm system”. His goal was to restore the comm system onboard the space vessel. Moreover, due to his technical knowledge as a mechanical engineer, he was able to successfully send information to NASA via the failed Pathfinder. Nevertheless, communication with NASA was very primitive because he did not have actual vocal communication, so he had to set up an alternative way of speaking with those back on Earth and somehow get information back to the crew, so they knew that he was alive and trying to get back.

This is where Watney comes up with an ingenious idea to use an old computer language to send back to NASA for translation. Watney uses this hexadecimal system primarily because the actual camera did not have enough area for NASA to understand his communication. Watney believed, that the use of ASCII would be a better choice than using a 26-letter system and/or numbers from 0-9, since the Rover moved very quickly’ shooting pictures back to NASA every 24 minutes or so. Watney felt that the 17 card ASCII communication was a far better manageable source. “We’ll need to talk faster than yes/no questions every half-hour. The camera can rotate 350 degrees, and I have plenty of antenna parts…Time to make an alphabet. But I can’ just use the letters A through Z. So, I’ll have to use ASCII. That’s how computer’s manage characters. Each character has a numerical code between 0 and 255. Values between 0 and 255 can be expressed as 2 hexadecimal digits. By giving me pairs of hex digits, they can send any character the like including numbers, punctuation, etc.”.

I believe, that this was the best source of communication for both sides of the fence. When the message arrives back to Earth, they will be able to decipher and transcode it by looking at the raw bites of the message. This would bypass the reasoning for NASA to create another software program in order to truly communicate with Mark on such a level and to prepare for his rescue. But could it even be done? With all of the communication arrays destroyed, it was truly the most logical choice and it worked. Well somewhat. “I knew it was hopeless, but I tried firing up the communication’s array. No signal of course. The primary satellite dish had broken off…The Hab had secondary and tertiary communications systems, but they were both just talking to the MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) which would use its much more powerful systems to relay to Hermes. Thing is, that only works if the MAV is still around…I have no way to communicate with Hermes or Earth”.

Even though Watney was successful in reaching home, he still was not out of the woods yet. This is a story about problem-solving and the ability to overcome adversity and defy everything that is working against you. “In the face of overwhelming odds, I’m left with only one option. I am gonna have to science the shit out of this”. Watney has a unique advantage in problem-solving and getting the information he needs to get back home. Even though, he has become isolated on a desolate planet this was not going to stop him. This leads the reader to feel that nothing is really impossible nor is it hopeless. Watney had the ability to actually reframe his current situation and focus on his ability to solve each problem one by one. Technically, we have a pressing question with all of this information. We are forgetting about one thing: where was the position of the Sun? Because according to NASA, contact with the planet is currently not possible for several weeks at a time when the Sun obscures the Earth’s view of the planet. This would create difficulty getting Watney back safely to Earth; this major problem was not even discussed or touched upon throughout the novel.

It seems as though throughout the storyline. We have wonderful explanations when it calls for the feasibility to do these amazing things that Watney needed to do before he was rescued and brought back to Earth. However, the majority of the story was pure fantasy. I do not believe, that Watney would have been able to escape with the initial blow. The science behind ‘The Martian’ is fairly accurate and the problem solving that Watney did throughout the book was on point. Nevertheless, space and other planets can be very harsh and unforgiving. A place where Murphy’s law is king and the ongoing threat of disaster is always lurking around the corner. “Yet besides this overwhelming danger, humans have consistently overcome these challenges to explore the vastness of our solar system and beyond….Even when you decide on a solution, there is always room for mistakes. Make sure to verify how our solutions are being implemented and check that everything’s running smoothly”. This was exactly what Watney did when he tried to communicate with those back home. Consistent attention will mean success for your solution and, in the case of the rescue mission, the successful retrieval of their left behind crew member. Watney was not only a biologist and mechanical engineer he was filled with his MacGyver-esque ability to create scientific solutions for each problem in communication along the way.

Watney had such a calm way of solving problems, and used that ability towards any type of problem that he could quickly overcome. Communication was key to Mark’s survival. Mark was isolated, alone, and without much food. Mark had a choice to either waste away on this planet or to get him back to work and do his very best to communicate that he was alive and well. However, I may be wrong about all of this, because according to the author, ‘The Martian’ took place in 2035, so it is highly possible that scientist, at that time, have gotten to the point of ‘quantum communications’. Throughout the story, I had several questions on why the author did not bring in possible future types of technology to help communicate with Earth. Quantum communications would not have this so-called ‘time delay’. Mark Watney encountered many problems that each of us experiences every day. Many take communication for granted because we are now adjusted to a world that relies on instant communication and connectivity. In fact, many overlook how this system and infrastructure truly works. While is communication is still governed by the laws of physics and the speed of light, one of these solutions would easily solve his communication conundrum.

Mark Watney stated in his logs, just in case he was unable to make contact with the Earth, by stating: “I don’t know who’ll read this. I guess someone will find it eventually. Maybe a hundred years from now…It wasn’t your fault…in your position I would have done the same thing. I don’t blame you, and I’m glad you survived”. This was a novel based on survival. There are many technical problems throughout this book that even the author believes to be not accurate. I could not understand why the Hab did not have some orbiter relay communication system because currently, we have three orbiters at Mars with relay radios for surface assets…the antenna is a low gain, a stubby thing that would not blow away in wind. In fact, if we were talking about futuristic space suits, we should ask the question of why there were not communication array systems built right into the space suit. I do not think that NASA would set up the mission without major system backups and other ways of communicating due to a system failure. Overall, the math adds up, however, I think the author should have added some aspects of future technology that would simplify the situation. But the main thing we must remember is that this book is based on fiction; with a bunch of real accurate science in between. “This was an insane plan and somehow it worked! I’m going to be talking to someone again. I spent three months as the loneliest man in history and it’s finally over”. Communication received.

Bibiography

1. Telegraph. “Mars Communication Problem Solved”. The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 16 Oct. 2009, http://telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/6346076/Mars-communication-problem-solved.html
2. Morpus, Nick. “The Martian Guide to Solving Event Catastrophes [Spoilers]”. The Martian Guide to Solving Event Catastrophes [Spoilers] – Capterra Blog, Capterra, 15 Oct. 2015, http://blog.capterra.com/the-martian-guide-to-solving-event-catastrophes/
3. Sitler, Ryan. “The Communication Conundrum”. Pages.erau.edu, Sept. 2017, http://pages.erau.edu/~andrewsa/sci_fi_projects_fall_2017/Project_3/Sitler_Ryan/sitlerryan_102462_13640273_sitlerTheMartian/sitlerTheMartian.html
4. Weir, Andy. The Martian. Del Rey, 2016.

An essential contribution to the Young Adult or ‘YA’ genre is the influential trilogy of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Since the first novel’s release in 2008, all three books have generated successful Hollywood movies, merchandise and a large fanbase. Therefore, in a discussion of YA fiction, the impact of The Hunger Games cannot be ignored. To understand the significance of The Hunger Games on YA fiction, an investigation into the first book of the trilogy will highlight the conventions and themes that relate to the YA genre.

The themes present in The Hunger Games are essential to understanding the novel concerning the YA genre. As dystopian fiction, The Hunger Games shares concepts with that of science or speculative fiction such as politics, surveillance, exploitation and segregation. However, the difference lies in how these themes are conveyed and for what purpose. Typically, dystopian literature aimed at an adult audience act as warnings. These warnings encourage readers to be critical of present conditions that could potentially lead to harsh consequences. In contrast, dystopian fiction for young adults can act as a representation of the dissatisfied adolescent psyche (Pharr and Clark, 2012, p. 20).

One of the most prominent themes in The Hunger Games is segregation. Often found in young adult literature, commentary on racism, sexism, classism or discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community can express the injustice behind segregation (Hughes-Hassell, 2013). While The Hunger Games mainly focuses on classism, the intended adolescent reader can associate the inequality represented in the novel to the inequalities they may be experiencing in their own life.

Collins depicts segregation through the division of the districts in the dictatorship of Panem. The most prosperous people live in the Capitol and the twelve districts surrounding it become progressively more impoverished (LitCharts, 2014). However, Collins portrays segregation through not only classism but also the separation of the districts by skill. For example, District 1 produces luxury items, District 4 specialises in fishing, District 11 is agriculture-based and District 12’s industry is coal mining (The Hunger Games Wiki, 2019). This separation by skill is also present in other prominent YA books such as the Harry Potter series, where students are separated into houses by personality traits. The Divergent trilogy, which is often compared to The Hunger Games, also portrays segregation through the division of a city into factions based on psychological qualities. However, in those books, there is a level of interaction between the different groups. This is presented through friendships, relationships or the ability to transfer into another group. In contrast, Collins implies that every person born into a particular district is trapped in it forever and intercommunication between the districts is illegal except for in the Games itself (The Hunger Games Wiki, 2019).

Within The Hunger Games, segregation leads to exploitation. While many YA fiction novels subtly explore the theme of exploitation, Collins places it at the forefront of her book. Within The Hunger Games, segregation leads to exploitation. For example, the Capitol uses the various districts’ manufactured goods for their benefit without much consideration of the well being and health of the people living in those districts (LitCharts, 2014). Furthermore, the core concept of children violently murdering each other for the enjoyment of wealthy people has shocked many worldwide (Bartlett, 2012, p.9). In the United States of America during 2010 alone, there were 348 instances involving the banning of the trilogy. The reasons range from offensive language to insensitivity, although the most common reason appears to be that The Hunger Games is too violent for the intended demographic (Merritt, 2016).

It can be difficult to determine what the intended demographic for The Hunger Games is. The typical age range for YA protagonists is fifteen to twenty-one. Therefore, it can be assumed that the age range for YA readers would be the same (West, 2018). However, a 2012 study revealed that fifty-five per cent of YA readers are adults with the largest portion for YA readers being adults aged thirty to forty-four years old (ShereeKUWTP, 2019). The mature themes of The Hunger Games can be appealing to older readers but Scholastic’s rating of the book reveals the target audience is aged approximately between eleven and eighteen years old (Scholastic, 2019). The young age range has caused concern amongst parents who believe that the content is too mature for their children. However, a study by the American Psychological Association revealed that there was no correlation between reading banned books like The Hunger Games and anti-social behaviour. Although, there was a relationship between banned books and internalising and externalising mental illness and this only affected a small number of readers. Instead, there was an association between reading banned books and an increased desire for reading for pleasure (Ferguson, 2014).

The mature themes of The Hunger Games such as segregation, exploitation and violence are important in understanding the real injustices in the modern world. The violence in the book reflects that of real-world terrorist attacks, shootings and wars (Merritt, 2016). Collins dramatises the violence and exploitation in her book to the point of them being too fictional to happen in real life. This allows for readers to dissociate from the horrors presented while still thinking critically about the themes at hand. The technique of exaggerating horrific events to highlight social commentary is conventional for dystopian fiction. Furthermore, it can be argued that The Hunger Games is reminiscent of prominent dystopian fiction novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell with themes such as propaganda, surveillance, control and rebellion (Mills, 2013). However, what modernises The Hunger Games is the commentary on the ambiguous line between truth and entertainment which reflects the notable ‘fake news’ period of the 21st century (Bartlett, 2012, p. 9).

To tailor her social commentary to her YA audience, Collins utilises her characters as reflections of certain themes in her book. The main protagonist of The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen, represents rebellion. While her rebellion is more literal and obvious in the second and third books of the trilogy, the first book establishes rebellion through her character, particularly her gender. The Capitol not only creates division between the different districts of Panem but also through gender. Katniss lives in District 12, which is considered the most disadvantaged district. It is established that in District 12, the societal norm is for men to work in the mines and for women to stay at home to do domestic duties and bear children. However, if the man in the family dies like Katniss and her friend Gale Hawthorne’s fathers in the mines, the wife would need to find work otherwise her and her family would starve to death. For example, Gale’s mother has to work as a laundry cleaner due to her only skills being in domestic activities. However, her work isn’t enough to feed her family and Gale has to hunt to find food. Katniss’ family is not as lucky; Katniss’ mother is unable to find work, leaving Katniss to become the “man of the house” at the age of eleven, having to illegally hunt to find food. Moreover, the Games themselves are structured in a manner where boys are more likely to win over girls due to being physically stronger and the social culture. Katniss notes that the male tribute of District 12, Peeta Mallark, learnt wrestling in school with the other boys. There is no suggestion of girls learning similar skills, perhaps except for those living in the more privileged districts. Katniss defies all odds of being a girl from District 12. Her secret hunting skills demonstrate her ability to overcome the patriarchal Capitol through the rebellion of gender norms (Henthorne, 2012, pp. 44 – 52). Thus, Katniss’ Mockingjay pin not only acts as a general symbol of rebellion but also as a reflection of Katniss’ ability to overcome the Capitol’s restrictions, just like the mutated Mockingjay bird itself (Shmoop, 2019).

Other characters in The Hunger Games symbolise particular themes. Katniss’ younger sister, Primrose or “Prim” is the epitome of innocence with her name carrying connotations of youth. In the context of the first book, it is the day of Prim’s first “reaping” where the tributes are announced to participate in the Games. The act of drawing Prim’s name at the reaping brings the reader out of the dystopian fiction dissociation and highlights the shock surrounding the child exploitation of the Games. Katniss volunteering as tribute in Prim’s place demonstrates Katniss’ rebellious desire to protect the innocent, even though she is only sixteen years old herself. The act of protecting the innocent is further reinforced through the character of Rue, a twelve-year-old tribute from District 11, who reminds Katniss of Prim. Rue’s death represents Katniss’ failure to protect the innocent and serves as a reminder of the effects of child exploitation, with some arguing that Rue’s death was the beginning of the revolution (Connors, 2014, p. 10). The significance of Katniss’ sisterly relationships with Prim and Rue is at the forefront of The Hunger Games and is perhaps more effective than the love triangle presented later on (Merry, 2015).

Collins’ choice to emphasise the sisterly relationships over the love triangle breaks the conventions of a typical YA novel, where love triangles are a cliche (Wren, 2015). Furthermore, the rejection of the conventional love triangle is apparent in the first book, when Katniss initially rejects the notion of the feigned relationship with Peeta, dismisses Peeta’s confessions of attraction for her and regards her relationship with Gale as platonic, rather than romantic (Henthorne, 2012, pp. 44 – 52). However, as the love triangle is slowly integrated into the later books, the sisterly aspect of the narrative disappears until Prim is killed. However, perhaps correlation does not equal causation in this situation and maybe Collins meant it to be a representation of Katniss’ growth in the trilogy and the death of her sister is the death of her innocence in the face of rebellion. Alternatively, including the love triangle could have merely been a way to appeal to the target demographic of YA literature.

Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games is a valuable example of young adult literature. The exaggeration of mature dystopian themes along paired with key symbolism represented by compelling characters allows the intended teenage audience to think critically with regards to real-world issues without being too direct. Furthermore, Katniss as a heroine is relatable to teen readers yet unique enough to sympathise with her story. It is no wonder that The Hunger Games reached mass success and is a staple in young adult literature.

The Outsiders is a young adult fiction that plays the role of many adolescent characters and shows what teenagers from a different day an age were like. With the book being published in the year 1967 and the major differences and changes within society itself, young adults are still attracted into reading it today.

The book is narrated from the perspective of a fourteen year old boy named Ponyboy, who’s known as a ‘greaser’. Unlike the others boys in his gang, he gets amazing grades in school and loves to read books and watch films. Ponyboy came from a ‘broken home’ due to his parents dying in a car crash when he was young, he is a kid with good intentions and is not into violence, does not drink and gets embarrassed by his friends.

The one thing that stands out into why I love this book is how the character of Ponyboy is portrayed, along with all the other characters. It makes the book bring out more of an authentic feeling as a full. It makes the reader think about any ideas or opinions they have towards what a ‘bad’ person really is. The Greasers sort of become almost like the bad guys because they came from the wrong side of their class, leading many of them into having issues with the law, but yet have the power to maintain faithful to one another. The novel plays the perspective of two gangs within the reading, The Greasers, along with their rival, the wealthy ‘Socs’. This distributes the stereotypes in their class and what it feels like to be an outlaw in your society. The adolescent readers can relate with how each of the characters played their role from both very different societies and the different class they are categorized into, this makes them realize that they are not so different after all.

The book can also distribute both the abrupt and long lasting terrors that young adults face through the character of Ponyboy, which can make him and the story relatable. That’s besides the fact that most people have never been caught up with anything that has to deal with murder. Ponyboy is seen in the story to have a lot of respect towards his older brother Darry whom he genuinely looks up to, being the only one he looks up to ever since his parents left. He’s always trying to follow the rules into pleasing Darry. Darry portrays a tough demand on his younger brothers that we view as parental assurance, something that the reader can relate to. The readers can feel sympathetic towards the main character because we know that Ponyboy wants to be like the young adults we have today, who feel the need to fit in and be a part of a social group, but to also be isolated to then try and find who you really are without having to pay attention to what society, friends and family interprets you to be. This can be a major reason as to why kids today are still reading this book.

The Outsiders is a genuine and authentic novel that every teenager should read. It makes the reader think that at the end of the day, as Ponyboy says, “we see the same sunset, and that while we are the ones who create the divides between ourselves, we can also be the ones to challenge them”(40).

In Orson Scott Card’s book Ender’s Game, genocide is addressed. Even though it was written in 1985 the topic of genocide still hold significance to this day. In the United States and Sudan genocide can either be seen currently or in their history. Though the genocide in these countries might look different from the genocide in the book it is still the same issue. The discrimination and destruction of a people group remains a human rights issue that few know about but all should care about.

What is genocide and why is it still relevant? “The definition contained in article 2 of the United Nations’ 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide: “Genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” From this quote we can see what genocide is. It isn’t just the act of mass murder against a certain ethnic group. It is also the complete or partial attempt at destroying their religion or race. It is clear to see that people have always been afraid of whatever is different from them. People often respond aggressively to things that they are afraid of. This happened in 16th century England. England used to be overrun by wolves but people were afraid of them and started to destroy them. Now, in the modern day, there are no more wolves in England.This is seen in Ender’s game when the government specifically trained soldiers to fight the “alien” race. An aggressive act stemming from fear.

“I believe black Americans face a genocide” This is a quote from the Guardian. The author wrote a whole article about how and why the word genocide is appropriate for what is happening to the black American community. We see in America how the black Americans face genocide in very many areas of their life. One of the examples is about how many black americans are in jail for selling drugs on the basis that they are “poisoning” the community while in Flint, Michigan the state government consisting of mostly white people was quite literally poisoning the community and all the charges were dropped. When it comes to marijuana possession arrests, 567,500 Black Americans were arrested in 2018 compared to 156,100 arrests of White Americans in 2018. We see genocide in the generations of black families who have been economically and psychologically destroyed by a justice system that incarcerated poor blacks for using drugs, while slapping the wrists of white professionals who used drugs.The theme of “getting” rid of or removing the supposed threat from society is echoed in the book as the motive for genocide.

In Sudan, 2003 the Darfur people group were being killed inhumanely because they rebelled. They rebelled because they felt that they were being neglected by their government. Despite the moral question of their rebelion, genocide is never justified. The core issue is that the global reaction to this genocide was minimal and ineffective. People just don’t care about what isn’t affecting them personally. The United Nations promised a 26, 000 peacekeeper force but they didn’t send nearly as many and the sudanese government only let them go to the less impacted zones. This indifference can be seen in the book in that the people are for the genocide against the bugs.

FP says that every genocide begins with the dehuminization of an ethnic group. This can be done really easy today through the media. This can be seen in America done by people that are so afraid of terrorists that they throw all of the Muslim people under one group. They then try to demonize all of the Muslims in America. America has had a long history of tragedies committed by both terrorists on American soil and the Americans on Muslim soil. This should be a war only between Americans and terrorists, not Americans and Muslims.

In the Business Insider they talk about how even though the ethnic purges done in Sudan have left the headlines it is still continuing till this day. In 2016 and 2017, violence has increased and many refugee camps are being attacked by Arab forces, continuing the genocide of 2000.

As you can see from this essay, genocide is still an ongoing atrocity. It doesn’t get recognized for what it is all across the world. Now you know that genocide is still a 21st century problem. This is important because people can’t fix a problem that they don’t know about.

Inclination to obey changes as soon as Harry receives a letter formally addressed to him. He has finally been singled out as an individual, and he becomes determined to learn the letter’s contents and its sender’s identity even if he disobeys his uncle. This new tendency to defy authority intensifies with Hagrid’s arrival. The knowledge Hagrid gives him about himself empowers him to stand up against the abusive Dursleys. Harry continues to show a growing independence by his tendency to break rules, almost from his first day at Hogwarts, as demonstrated by his ignoring Madam Hooch’s command at the flying lesson that all students remain on the ground during her brief absence. This rule-breaking attitude, however, is never motivated by rebellion or to engage in mischief; he instead feels justified if he believes his actions serve some noble purpose, such as retrieving Neville’s Remembrall or preventing Voldemort from stealing the Philosopher’s stone.

Just like Harry, Hermione’s character also develops as the film proceeds. Before the incident with the troll, Hermione is portrayed as an annoying rule-abiding person who keeps nagging Harry and Ron about memorizing and obeying every school rule. Ron describes her saying, “Honestly she’s a nightmare! No wonder she’s not got any friends!” (Heyman & Columbus, 2001, After Floating Spell Class Scene). Later that night, she changes to someone who is willing to lie to her superiors, use magic against Snape and go out after curfew to protect her friends. This can be explained, at least at the beginning, by her need to fit in with Ron and Harry who saved her life and who regarded her obsession with rules as an extremely annoying trait. In other words, her disobedience is her means of conformity.

Social facilitation is one more phenomenon that occurs within group setting and is clearly presented in the movie. Social facilitation can be defined as any positive or negative effect on performance produced by the mere presence of others (Wood et al., 2015). One common example is sports. Skilled athletes will be more likely to perform better when surrounded by a cheering audience than when playing alone in the gym. That is exactly what happens with Harry Potter.

At Hogwarts, as with any school, sport plays an important part in student life. That sport at Hogwarts is Quidditch. Harry discovers that flying on a broomstick is something magical that he can do, not only naturally and well, but better than anyone else in the class. This skill that he has inherited from his father earns him the position of Gryffindor Quidditch team new Seeker. During the match, and despite his broom being jinxed, Harry outperforms his more experienced rivals and wins the match for the Gryffindor House as his mates and friends cheer him.

Social psychologists, however, claim that “the presence of others will improve individuals’ performance when they are highly skilled at the task in … but will interfere with performance when they are not highly skilled—for instance, when they are learning to perform it” (Baron & Branscombe, 2012, p.374). On the train, for example, Ron fails to perform a magic trick that his brother has taught him, and has probably at least done once at home, because his new classmates, Harry and Hermione are watching.

Prejudice and discrimination are another set of psychological concepts that are portrayed in the movie. Whereas prejudice describes the negative attitude towards others based on a number of factors (e.g. gender, religion, race etc.), discrimination is what happens when this attitude is translated into behaviour (Wood et al., 2015). This can be clearly demonstrated by the Dursleys’ treatment of Harry, which Harry’s aunt explains the reason for when Hagrid visits on Harry’s birthday. After Harry’s mother received her Hogwarts letter, his aunt became convinced that Harry’s mother was a freak, and that the wizarding world and anything or anyone tied to it, is ‘abnormal’. Instead of trying to learn more about her sister’s new magic world, she resolved to stay as far away from it as possible and her husband shared the same opinion. “I am not paying for some crackpot old fool to teach him magic tricks!” (Heyman & Columbus, 2001, Hagrid’s visit Scene). This biased view is a classic example showing how human ignorance and fear tend to go hand-in-hand. In a vicious circle, their ignorance causes them to be frightened by magic, while that fear prevents them from developing a better understanding of it. They have since brought out their bitter resentment and animosity onto Harry. The Dursleys’ refusal to allow Harry to attend Hogwarts is clearly intended to deny him what they know he wants most. They want to keep him at home out of pure prejudice.

Obviously, Harry Potter has earned its reputation as a global phenomenon. Although its primary audience are children, the movie series has enough depth to appeal not only to teenagers and adults, but to social psychologists as well. From a psychological point of view, the movie clearly shows how our need to belong to or fit in can have a tremendous effect on the way we behave, how our success or failure can be influenced by the situations we find ourselves in and the people we interact with and finally how cruel our prejudices can make us be. The movie managed to change how obedience is regarded as a positive thing. Sometimes it is the ethical and more responsible choice to disobey as Harry has repeatedly shown us. Harry Potter will continue to educate, motivate and inspire viewers for decades to come.

Octavia Butler’s ‘Kindred’, tells a story of how a woman from the modern era called Dana was taken back in time from her house in California into the antebellum south to protect a man that would become her ancestor. You could say that her survival essentially relied on her ability to keep him alive and well. Throughout her long and inexplicable journey, Dana discovers the true meaning of freedom when she is able to compare her owl life to those in the shackles of slavery thanks to Rufus’ father Tom Weylin. All the characters in the book have an essential role in Dana’s development, especially Alice. Alice is the woman who must have the baby that would eventually become Dana’s great grandmother. Although Alice has no love for Rufus, she must submit to him, which is a totally bogus concept for Dana. The relationship between Dana and Alice is formed so that the reader gains a greater understanding of not only of a twentieth century black woman’s experiences in the antebellum south, but more importantly, of a nineteenth century widow who is also black and a slave. It was important for Alice to be introduced because she creates a parallelism between the past and the present, explaining how Dana and Alice impress each other in areas such as sexuality and motherhood.

The concept of sexuality for Dana was initially one that she felt comfortable with and had control over back when she was in her original time. Dana sees sex as a way of enjoyment and satisfaction, while her ancestor, Alice, has the opposite of feelings towards sexuality because they create pain and agony for her. In the books’ beginning, when Dana talks about bringing Kevin home for the first time, she talks about their first sexual encounter in a way that had a certain amount of pleasure and well-being. “Sometime during the early hours of the next morning when we lay together, tired and content in my bed, I realized that I knew less about loneliness than I had thought” (57). For Dana, sexuality was an outlet for comfort, confidence, and freedom because her environment didn’t allow her to be subjected to any sort of suppression or abuse. On the other side of the coin, Alice’s sexual environment of vulnerability and abuse characterized the sexual experiences of the many black women during times of slavery. For Alice, she was faced with the horrible bottom line that she would have to have sex with Rufus just to survive. Basically, the idea of sexuality as seen by both Alice and Dana provide the reader with different perspectives, thus creating a better understanding of the importance of sexuality.

Motherhood is another example of the elements that Alice and Dana characterize during the novel, allowing us to see the parallels and differences of the times. For Dana, who has yet to become a mother, her maternal instincts sure did come out when she was placed in the Antebellum South. She quickly begins to understand that all her actions on the plantation can and will affect the rest of the slaves. Because of this, Dana is forced to consider her behavior on the plantation so as not to hurt anyone, while still not fully comprehending the full meaning of motherhood. For Alice, being a mother was practically the only thing that kept her from suicide for most of the book. Alice had to live in a society where death sometimes was seen as a better option than living. To add insult to injury, Alice becoming a mother complicated her life even more because she knew that her children would automatically become slaves since she was one herself. Alice also had to refrain from running away because of her children. She knew that if she did something reckless, Rufus was going to sell her children and that was the last thing she wanted. Alice’s main reason to live were her children, as was the case for most if not all mothers in the time period.

With the character that is Alice, the author shows us the fundamental fact that the past informs the present, and eventually the future. Butler goes beyond what information we have always perceived about a black slave woman’s life by creating a dualism between the two timelines (past and present), so that we can inspect them and find correlations with one another. By doing this, we can put ourselves in their shoes and further our understanding of a free black woman as well as a woman just like her in slavery.

“The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace”, – Mahatma Gandhi. This quote connects to a motif shown in each story, ‘Kindred’ and ‘The Book of Martha’ by Octavia Butler. The motif shown in each story is power dynamics, wherein each, they both develop the motif throughout the books and similarly/differently deals with that motif. In ‘Kindred’, it is about a 26-year-old African American woman named Edana (Dana) Franklin. The current time period was 1976, but then was suddenly sent back to 1815, to save a boy named Rufus every time he is about to die. After she saved him, she saw a man with a gun who is Rufus’ dad, Tom Weiyln and she was sent back to her time when she thought she was going t die. It’s only been less than a day when Dana was sent back, this time different. Rufus appeared to be older. The next time she visited Rufus, she was touching Kevin at the time so not only Dana but Kevin also came. Kevin had to declare right away that Dana was his slave to save Dana from being owned by Tom, which he didn’t want. After some time, they realized they would stay a long time and they won’t know when they will get back so they had to make a way for Kevin to earn money to escape being able to buy necessaries, and for Dana to be able to stay safe while doing so. After some time, she got whipped by Tom for having a book, which is the beginning of the development of the motif of power dynamics. In ‘The Book of Martha’, it is about an African American woman, born into a mother who was age 14, homeless and poor and is pursuing a writing career. Martha met God in a ‘dream’ or she thought. When God explains everything, how he wants Martha to make one choice in order to save humanity or perhaps destroy humanity, it makes Martha think about what would happen if she refuses, or what she would do if she were to make that choice, which also shows the motif of power dynamics.

In the book ‘Kindred’, the motif of power dynamics is developed throughout the book through the different characters’ actions and the conflict between Dana and other characters such as Rufus. In the beginning, when Dana ‘teleported’ back into time to save Rufus, he was only 5 years old and despite Dana saving Rufus from death, she was put at gunpoint by Rufus’ father. Later on, she teleported back to Rufus, but this time with Kevin because at the time she was touching Kevin. They both had to live in the Weilyn’s home, making little money in order to be able to escape with more privilege with the power of money. Dana, however, was put to work and was treated like a slave, but not exactly one. Tom and Rufus knew she was off, she wasn’t from here, wasn’t a slave and has the power to ‘kill’ Rufus, or let him die. Tom lets her have a little power to do somethings she wants, doing little to none work, which starts the power dynamics. Tom knew she was educated, meaning she knows how to read and write, in this case, better than Tom can. That posed a threat to any slave owner because if they had a slave that can write, they can write a pass that allows them to go anywhere they want. Meaning slaves could escape using Dana, which means that Tom could potentially loose slaves and money. Tom doesn’t want her to let his slaves free/help them escape but he also doesn’t want her to hate them, causing Rufus to die without Dana there to save him. Tom catches Dana reading a book, and warns her to not read anymore unless asked to read for Rufus and stay away from the library. But she proceeds to start teaching the kids (slaves) to read and write and to take books from the library and is caught and punished by Tom with a whip. “‘I told you to stop reading’, – Tom Weilyn said. ‘But you continue to steal a book!’”. After the whipping, even though ‘she got off easy’, that made Dana become afraid of Tom, and the Whip. Its already been months since she got there and she doesn’t know when she will be able to go back so she makes a desperate attempt to escape. All this connects to the motif of power dynamics because Dana, though she has power, Tom has more physical power than Dana, but if you fast forward in the future, when Rufus is about to die, if Dana is there and cares about Rufus, she can save him no matter what. If she doesn’t want to save him based on what happens, Rufus dies which causes a big conflict between the two, though it’s not seen directly.

In the short story ‘The Book of Martha’, the motif of power dynamics, is developed in the text because Martha, the main character, met God who can do anything he wants to do to the world, who asked her to make one change about the world to save it. Martha was born into a Mother who was age 14 and couldn’t read, was poor and homeless most of the time. It would seem like an easy task to do, but for any choice she might make, it might affect people or a certain group of people without knowing it. They may die, which causes Martha to not want to do the task, but then she thinks of if the task was to be given to another person with tainted thoughts, and what they would do to the world for enjoyment. “She thought of some of these—people who would be happy to wipe out whole segments of the population whom they hated and feared, or people who would set up vast tyrannies that forced everyone into a single mold, no matter how much suffering that created. And what about those who would treat the work as fun—as nothing more than a good-guys-versus-bad-guys computer game, and damn the consequences”. This revealed how Martha thought of the job, if she doesn’t do it that would happen but if she does, people might die and she would be the one to blame. That quote reveals the motif of power dynamics because she would have the power to change something to make the world a better place for everyone, but then if that power goes to the wrong hands if she declines, that can end up being bad for the world, so then it’s up to her to make the right choice, or what seems like the right choice.

In the two texts, ‘Kindred’ and ‘The Book of Martha’, they both deal with the motif of power dynamics similarly by using the character’s background/history, comparing it to the current time/the plot. In ‘Kindred’, Dana is an African American writer. Being African American plays a big role in the book since Dana and Kevin go back into the time of slavery. If she were to be white, she wouldn’t go through all that torture, she would be free without any fear. But since she is African American, since at the time slavery was discrimination towards the black people, she was treated unfairly/poorly, given barley any power as she struggles to find an escape. In ‘The Book of Martha’, it deals with the motif of power dynamics by also using background and/or the character’s history (Martha) and based off that gives her an opportunity to change the world. She was originally born into a Mother, 14, who barely knew how to read. They were homeless and poor most of the time. Martha pursued a writing career to help support their lives. Both the characters in each text have some commonalities, both being African American and writers affects the whole display of how power dynamics were dealt with. However, the motif of power dynamics were dealt with differently based on the time period, setting and plot of the stories. In ‘Kindred’, the time period was the late 1800’s which also plays as a big factor in the book. The setting also shows how different the two stories would deal with it, being in ‘Kindred’, they lived in a white-owned house and plantation, meaning in the South and more slavery. In ‘The Book of Martha’ the setting appears to be in her home and in ‘heaven’ you can say. They also both deal with different problems. Dana has the problem of slavery and mistreatment, and Martha simply has the problem of power, what it will do if its either used in her hands or used in other people’s hands.

To conclude, this is the reason why in the two stories ‘Kindred’ and ‘The Book of Martha’, Octavia Butler develops a motif in each text of power dynamics and the similarities and differences in each text of how the motif was dealt with. In the book ‘Kindred’, the motif is developed the motif of power dynamics through Dana and Rufus’ action and conflict also between other characters. In ‘The Book of Martha’ Butler developed the motif of power dynamics by putting power into a woman that was in the lowest class, African American, mother was 14 years old when she gave birth and were homeless and poor. Butler used that in the book and based on what God had given her, the power to change the world, it creates an issue in Martha’s head about the issue of power and what could go wrong when given to the wrong person. Both books also deal with the issue similarly and differently, similarly being that they both have a really similar character background being both African American women and writers. They deal with it differently because of the setting/time period of the book, ‘Kindred’ is in the late 1800’s meaning time of slavery and ‘The Book of Martha’ was being dealt with in the ‘modern’ time.

‘Kindred’, by Octavia E. Butler, tells the story of Dana, a 26-year-old African American woman from the 1970s, who is constantly called into the 19th century antebellum South by her white ancestor, Rufus Weylin. After learning she must keep Rufus alive to ensure her own bloodline, she explores her family’s roots while at the same time, struggles to witness and endure the hardships of slavery. By allowing Dana to lose her arm on her last trip back from the past, Butler suggests that the past is always going to be there and you can let it haunt you or come to terms with it.

The relationship between Dana and Rufus is what really drives the story forward and during the first couple of encounters between the two we see the development and maintenance of their relationship. Dana is introduced to Rufus during her first trip where she saves him from drowning. At this point she doesn’t know anything besides name. It’s not until her second trip back to Maryland, where she saves Rufus from a fire he starts, that she realizes he’s her ancestor and his survival is important for her own. On the third trip, she aids him with his broken leg and at this point they’ve become accustomed to each other. From his childhood to his early adolescent years, he grows to see Dana as a person of safety and someone he finds comfort in during his times of distress. Between his aggressive dad and his overprotective mother, Dana becomes a parent like figure to Rufus. She’s kind to him, but she’s not afraid to correct and tell him right from wrong – at least what is considered right and wrong during her time. He can be difficult at times, but he still listens and tries to understand Dana. Because he enjoys her presence, he helps her stay out of trouble. Dana has the upper hand in power during their early relationship because of Rufus’ childlike innocence and vulnerability, and she takes advantage of it in hopes of having a lasting influence on him.

Despite what Dana hoped for, Rufus drastically changes when he reaches adulthood. He acts similar to his father and it’s clear that he’s adopted his family’s view of slavery. The first time she sees him as an adult, he’s getting beat by one slave for raping another, who happens to be his childhood friend Alice. He proceeds to argue with Dana that Alice has no rights and he grins at the thought of Alice being punished (123). Eventually he reveals that he loves Alice. Even though he comes off as monstrous in this part of the book, this is actually the first time we see his childhood innocence clashing with his predestined role in the antebellum South. Not only does he argue against Dana’s belief about Alice having rights, but he’s struggling with his feelings for Alice that go deeper than physical attraction because “there was no shame in raping a black woman, but there could be shame in loving one” (Butler, 124). This incident is only one example of why Butler chooses to humanize Rufus early on. If Dana and readers were to meet Rufus after his rape rather than when he was a young boy, our reactions to him would be completely different. Because Dana has that close attachment to him already, she’s not immediately driven off. Butler’s “idea is not to present Rufus as a monster, but as a person with good qualities and major flaws” (Manis, 13).

As Rufus comes to truly understand Dana’s situation, their relationship becomes more complex and the balance of power shifts. Critic Florian Bast states, “at the core of Dana and Rufus’s relationship is their capacity to hurt each other physically” (160). Bast is right. Dana and Rufus have an understood agreement that Dana will help Rufus as long as he respects her, but the breaking of this agreement is foreshadowed. He’s so emotional that he’s inconsistent in their relationship. Rufus pushes Dana to do things in a manipulative way, such as telling her she needs to burn her map of the state if she wants him to reach out to Kevin (PD). He punishes her for things he feels are her fault, such as forcing her to work in the fields for ‘failing’ to save his father from dying, and he uses her sympathy for others against her. Although Dana isn’t completely powerless and has some say in his actions, Rufus still holds more power at the end of the day. As expected, Rufus breaks their ‘unspoken’ rule. He commits the ultimate betrayal when he slaps Dana across the face after she begs him not to sell a slave. At this moment, Rufus holds all power. He’s reduced Dana down to just another slave, even if it is just for a moment (LaFaver). As a result, Dana goes and slits her wrist, which sends her back home to California.

Fifteen days after Rufus’ betrayal, Dana is pulled back to Maryland one last time and finds Alice hanging in the barn. Once Rufus accepts Alice’s death, his relationship with Dana starts to differ from her relationship with him. His possessive love shifts from Alice to Dana; however, Dana absolutely refuses to accept and allow his feelings. She says, “I could accept him as my ancestor, my younger brother, my friend, but not as my master, and not as my lover. He had understood that once” (260). To give in to Rufus means truly becoming a slave and Dana is not willing to do that because she’s intent on keeping her autonomy. So, in one last attempt to stop Rufus’ forceful fight, Dana stabs him twice. With his hand still on her arm, Dana begins to cross time but something takes ahold of her arm “squeezing it, stiffening it, pressing into it… as though somehow my arm was being absorbed into something” (Butler, 260-261). As a result, she loses her arm to the past.

Dana losing her arm is significant because it symbolizes much more. The death of Rufus allows her to let go of the connection that ties her to the past so her amputation symbolizes apart of her being left in the past, even though it comes at a cost. Butler says, “I couldn’t really let her come all the way back. I couldn’t let her return to what she was, I couldn’t let her come back whole and that, I think, really symbolises her not coming back whole. Antebellum slavery didn’t leave people quite whole” (Kenan 498). And Dana doesn’t come back whole. She’s marked by her experience physically and mentally.

The past and present are undoubtedly linked, especially when talking about something as traumatic as slavery, and its impact is still felt across time. Dana’s missing arm will always be a reminder of the past, but it also is a reminder of the freedom that comes with it.

In the novel ‘Kindred’, Author Octavia Butler travels back to the time where slavery was the big part of American life. Butler sends the modern characters like Dana and Kevin to experience the past. As Dana traveled back and forth several times and every time she goes there is a new situation behind it. Butler clears up how interracial relationship had changed Dana’s life as living with kevin as a free women she was happy what she had with Kevin, But at the same time she was also shown having a connection with Rufus in slavery era. Butler also allged that Dana was the only one to travel back, as a free women in the era of slavery and find a different perspective of others.

The novel brings the ‘science fiction’ that Dana is the only one to go back. She traveled back serval throughout the novel with a new story. Slowly she met a lady name Alice Greenwood who was a free woman until she ran away from Isaac. Dana finds out Alice was her old dead ancestor.“We look alike if we can believe our own eyes, I guess so. Anyway, all that means we’re two halves of the same woman—at least in his crazy head” (Butler). Which makes clear that Alice was an ancestor of Dana. Unlike Kevin, Dana was the only one who had suffered the physical and emotional wounds back in Antebellum South. She experienced many different things throughout the journey of traveling. “I lost an arm on my last trip home. My left arm. And I lost about a year of my life and much of the comfort and security I had not valued until it was gone. When the police released Kevin, he came to the hospital and stayed with me so that I would know I hadn’t lost him too”. She had done what it takes but the result always ended up something negative. Dana witnessed many unusual activities which had never seen before. She saw people get beaten up, raped, mentally and physically abusive. Traveling back made Dana stronger about handling things. “She was ready to kill anyone if she had a knife when she went to help Rufus and his family (Butler)”. By the time past by she was not scared of anyone anymore, being a free woman, she had not expected all this situation, she was ready to fight back if she had to.

The interracial relationship between Dana and Kevin was just perfect. They a good close relationship until Dana started traveling south. They were perfect to read each other face and tell what the problem is going no. “He gave me a look that I knew wasn’t as malevolent as it seemed. He had the kind of pale, almost colorless eyes that made him seem distant and angry whether he was or not. He used them to intimidate people. Strangers” (Butler). After traveling back for them the first time, Dana was unconscious because as she was on a gunpoint by tom. When she woke up she saw the love and the caring nature in Kevin eyes which made her happier. She had that mindset that Kevin would never betray her. There was a time where Dana was holding Kevin’s hand and he was also able to travel back to the south. Kevin is a white male he had not suffered what African American did back then. “A place like this would endanger him in a way I didn’t want to talk to him about. If he was stranded here for years, some part of this place would rub off on him. No large part, I knew. But if he survived here, it would be because he managed to tolerate the life here” (Butler). Cleary Dana was in a situation where she didn’t want Kevin to face it as he will be worried for her. This help both to keep their relationship together. There was no way for Kevin go back without Dana, he missed a couple times traveling back. By stating back he also experienced how African American were treated back then. “We didn’t seem to have to grow back into each other. The separations hadn’t been good for us, but they hadn’t hurt us that much either. It was easy for us to be together, knowing we shared experiences no one else would believe” (Butler). By leaving him alone made him stronger and think about Dana’s pain and what was she going through.

Dana felt a connection between her and Rufus after saving him from drowning. She believes that Rufus will not be as his dad when he grew up. But when Dana met him for a second time, she was completely shocked by what she had seen. “The boy had learned to talk that way from his mother and father” (Butler). Which was true as he learned by the influence of the surrounding that as being a white, he could only be the master. The aggression was started to come out from Rufus. As he was just not the same who Dana met her before. “A slave was a slave. Anything could be done to her. And Rufus was Rufus—erratic, alternately generous and vicious. I could accept him as my ancestor, my younger brother, my friend, but not as my master, and not as my lover. He had understood that once” (Butler). This showed us how Dana thinks about Rufus. As a free woman, she didn’t want to be a slave of the little boy who was saved by her when he was drowning. She was ready to accept him in any relationship but not as a master and slave or a lover. She had never thought about Rufus being a white boy and always help him no matter what the situation was. There was an incident were Rufus makes a statement that “n-word can’t marry white people” (Butler), when he knew about Kevin and Dana related. Dana was completed shocked by hearing as he came from a modern world where she had not heard anything like this before. Although the behavior of him towards her was not nice, she still forgives him thinking that he is just a child. And later on, she gets to know that Rufus was also one of the old ancestors of her.

Dana hadn’t had a great experience with slavery. There is not a specific reason why she was the only one to travel back. But whatever she saw or experienced was more than enough for her to handle it. She got to meet the old ancestors And got to know their life better from their point of view. She had gone through various problems that made her though to fight anyone she wanted to. Her relationship with Rufus was very close as she saved him from drowning but things didn’t go well as she thought when he grew up. Relationship with Kevin was like a perfect match as it was an interracial relationship. In the end, she lost her arm but get to know many things that a normal person cannot experience.

References

1. fiction lover 125. ‘Blog Post #5-Octavia Butler: Relationships in ‘Kindred’’. fiction lover 125, 5 Feb. 2016, http://fictionlover125.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/blog-post-5-octavia-butler-relationships-in-kindred
2. ‘Kindred Sample Essay Outlines’. Enotes.com, Enotes.com, www.enotes.com/topics/kindred/critical-essays/sample-essay-outlines
3. LitCharts. ‘Interracial Relationships Theme Analysis’. LitCharts, www.litcharts.com/lit/kindred/themes/interracial-relationships
4. LitCharts. ‘Family and Home Theme Analysis’. LitCharts, www.litcharts.com/lit/kindred/themes/family-and-home
5. LitCharts. ‘Freedom and Privilege Theme Analysis’. LitCharts, www.litcharts.com/lit/kindred/themes/freedom-and-privilege

A Rebellion of Hope

For my second quarter book report, I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, originally published on September 14, 2008. This book is set in the country Panem, which is District 12, The Capitol, and the arena. The significant history is eloquently stated in the film version of The Hunger Games. “From the Treaty of Treason: In penance for their uprising, each district shall offer up a male and female between the ages of 12 and 18 at a public “Reaping.” These tributes shall be delivered to the custody of The Capitol. And then transferred to a public arena where they will Fight to the Death until a lone victor remains. Henceforth and forevermore this pageant shall be known as The Hunger Games.” Throughout the entire book, the main conflict is how Katniss and Peeta are going to survive The Hunger Games.

Considering that this was my second time reading The Hunger Games, I’ll have to say that I love the book. It was inspiring and very engrossing. The storyline was well thought out furthermore the message of survival and political hunger was very clear. The way that the characters found little but effective ways to rebel showed that it is possible to stand up against modern injustices without harming anyone or anything. “ If Peeta and I were both to die, where they thought we were…“ (Collins 344) A few important themes are survival, love, and government corruption.

The main characters are Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, and President Snow, who represents the entire government. Katniss is described as being slender with black hair, grey eyes, and olive skin. Peeta, on the other hand, is of medium height, stocky, blond, and has blue eyes. President Snow is small in stature, has white hair, and snakelike eyes, and is said to smell like blood.

The book starts out with Katniss’s sister, Prim, being reaped, and Katniss volunteers in her place. During an interview, Peeta says that he has always liked Katniss and they are now known as star-crossed lovers which Haymitch plans to use to their advantage. At the start of the games, Katniss nearly dies from thirst. She soon finds out that Peeta is working with the career tributes. Towards the end of the games, the game makers decide that two tributes from the same district can both be victors. “Under the new rule, both tributes from the same district will be declared winners if they are the last two alive.”(Collins 244) As a result, Katniss rushes to Peeta and heals him. Once Katniss and Peeta are the last two alive the game makers revoke the earlier statement of two victors and say that there can only be one. Katniss and Peeta decide to rebel and eat poisonous berries, but the game maker stops them and allows there to be two victors.

I believe this book was very well written and there were little to no things I believe that could’ve been done better. One major thing that irritated me was that the actual games started so late in the book. For reference, the games start on page 147 out of 374 pages. “Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!” (Collins 147) One of my favorite things about this book was how the characters interacted, specifically Rue and Katniss. My favorite part of the book is when Rue dies and Katniss soothes her as she dies. “ I move in closer to her, pulling her head onto my lap. I gently brush the dark, thick hair back behind her ear.” (Collins 234) I believe this writing is very effective because I know for a fact that it has a very large fan base full of people who are very dedicated to the idea of peaceful rebellion.

The Hunger Games left a very lasting impression on me, sometimes I will just get a random urge to re-read the book. One thing I hope that other readers take from this book is that not everything is what it seems. Some people, who you think may not notice you, may take note of your entire presence and you could be changing their life, or some things may be corrupt and it’s up to you to point them out and start to fix them. I would most definitely recommend this book to everyone because it doesn’t matter who you are this book will mean something to you. You could be the ruler of the world for all I care and the message you get from this could be to not rule with an iron fist and to do what is actually best for the people.