Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy and was published in September 2009. It takes place in the future after North America undergoes a nuclear war. After the war, what is left of the continent is now the country of Panem. Panem originally consisted of thirteen districts, and the capitol which control the districts under a totalitarian government. The government was, and still is, completely unjust, and so the thirteenth district had an uprising against the government. The Capitol destroyed District Thirteen, and as a reminder that the Capitol is in control and can obliterate any district if they step out of line, they created the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are an annual fight to the death between twenty-four tributes, one boy and one girl from each district not including the Capitol, between the ages of twelve and eighteen. In Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen, who is the main character, reenters the arena for the Quarter Quell of the seventy-fifth Hunger Games.
About the Author:
Suzanne Collins was born in Hartford, Connecticut. She has been writing for children's television since 1991, and has worked on the stories of Little Bear and Oswald (1996). She has also co-written Santa Baby! (2001), the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment's Clifford's Puppy Days (1999), and was a freelancer on Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!. Along with her five-part series TheUnderland Chronicles (2003-2007), she has written The Hunger Games trilogy, which includes the books The Hunger Games (2008), Catching Fire (2009), and Mockingjay(2010). Collins has decent critial reputation, where the majority of the reviews and articles give praise to her unique take on writting for children.
Characters and Conflict:
The main character is Katniss Everdeen, who has unknowingly defied the Capitol and has been the spark that the districts needed in order to rebel against the Capitol. Peeta Mellark is a boy the same age as Katniss who accompanied her in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games and became a victor with her as well, and he is also in love with Katniss. Gale Hawthorne is known in the Capitol as Katniss's cousin, but he is actually her best friend who Katniss has feelings for rather than Peeta. Primrose Everdeen, or Prim for short, is Katniss's younger sister, who Katniss volunteered to be tribute for in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games. Haymitch Abernathy is a victor of the fiftieth anniversary Hunger Games Quarter Quell and is also Katniss and Peeta's mentor in both the seventy-fourth and fifth Hunger Games. Cinna is Katniss's stylist, who visually created her into the Mockingjay and the girl on fire. President Snow is the president of Panem. The main conflict is that Katniss has acted against the Capitol unconsciously in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games in order to save herself and Peeta, and now President Snow is attempting to punish her and stop the rebellion of the districts that is inevitable anyway.
Theme:
Never underestimate the unlikely hero, because even the most unlikely person who may be seemingly unsuitable can actually be the best fit advocate or leader, or in this case "Mockingjay".
Review:
In Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, Katniss Everdeen reenters the Hunger Games arena for the Quarter Quell, the seventy-fifth Hunger Games. She and a boy named Peeta Mellark from her district, District Twelve, had just won the seventy-fourth Hunger Games. Now, Katniss and Peeta find themselves back in the arena for another round of the Hunger Games. Was it simply coincidence that the Quarter Quell card landed Katniss back in the arena, or was it President Snow trying to suppress the fire the that was ignited in the districts by the spark Katniss created with her defiant victory in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games? Catching Fire is an eventful and mind-capturing book that keeps the reader interested to the very last page. Collins uses a unique pace, figuarative language, and tone throught the course of the novel. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading fictional stories with frequent action.
Style Analysis:
Suzanne Collins writes from the perspective of a teenage girl who is very mature for her age, while creating a fast paced and eventful plot line, in order to create an angry and horrific tone. The book is written from Katniss's point of view, which in turn creates a pessimistic tone. Katniss has a personality that comes off "perpetually angry", because of the unfortunate events in her short life that have forced her to constantly act much beyond her years (Barclay). Katniss seems to always be thinking of the worst case scenario, "I think I hate him more than I do Haymitch. I give up. Stop speaking. Responding, refuse food and water. They can pump whatever they want into my arm, but it takes more than that to keep a person going once she's lost the will to live." (Collins 389). Katniss does not even know the entire story of what happened in the arena and what is going on around her at this point in the story. She only sees the negative and is thinking of the worst case scenarios to happen, so she gives up on living because she fails to see the purpose. Collins also writes with a relatively fast pace. She keeps the action frequent throughout the majority of the novel and Zevin says, " All this is accomplished with the light touch of a writer who truly understands writing for young people: the pacing is brisk and the message is tucked below the surface." Her pace is generally faster and eventful, but that is not constant throughout the entire novel, "If this second installment spends too much time recapping events from book one, it doesn't disappoint when it segues into the pulse-pounding action readers have come to expect." ("Children's Review"). Both of these elements together taints the perspective and tone of the novel to the angry and horrific one that Katniss sees the story through.
by, Suzanne Collins
About the Book:
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy and was published in September 2009. It takes place in the future after North America undergoes a nuclear war. After the war, what is left of the continent is now the country of Panem. Panem originally consisted of thirteen districts, and the capitol which control the districts under a totalitarian government. The government was, and still is, completely unjust, and so the thirteenth district had an uprising against the government. The Capitol destroyed District Thirteen, and as a reminder that the Capitol is in control and can obliterate any district if they step out of line, they created the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are an annual fight to the death between twenty-four tributes, one boy and one girl from each district not including the Capitol, between the ages of twelve and eighteen. In Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen, who is the main character, reenters the arena for the Quarter Quell of the seventy-fifth Hunger Games.
About the Author:
Suzanne Collins was born in Hartford, Connecticut. She has been writing for children's television since 1991, and has worked on the stories of Little Bear and Oswald (1996). She has also co-written Santa Baby! (2001), the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment's Clifford's Puppy Days (1999), and was a freelancer on Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!. Along with her five-part series The Underland Chronicles (2003-2007), she has written The Hunger Games trilogy, which includes the books The Hunger Games (2008), Catching Fire (2009), and Mockingjay(2010). Collins has decent critial reputation, where the majority of the reviews and articles give praise to her unique take on writting for children.
Characters and Conflict:
The main character is Katniss Everdeen, who has unknowingly defied the Capitol and has been the spark that the districts needed in order to rebel against the Capitol. Peeta Mellark is a boy the same age as Katniss who accompanied her in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games and became a victor with her as well, and he is also in love with Katniss. Gale Hawthorne is known in the Capitol as Katniss's cousin, but he is actually her best friend who Katniss has feelings for rather than Peeta. Primrose Everdeen, or Prim for short, is Katniss's younger sister, who Katniss volunteered to be tribute for in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games. Haymitch Abernathy is a victor of the fiftieth anniversary Hunger Games Quarter Quell and is also Katniss and Peeta's mentor in both the seventy-fourth and fifth Hunger Games. Cinna is Katniss's stylist, who visually created her into the Mockingjay and the girl on fire. President Snow is the president of Panem. The main conflict is that Katniss has acted against the Capitol unconsciously in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games in order to save herself and Peeta, and now President Snow is attempting to punish her and stop the rebellion of the districts that is inevitable anyway.
Theme:
Never underestimate the unlikely hero, because even the most unlikely person who may be seemingly unsuitable can actually be the best fit advocate or leader, or in this case "Mockingjay".
Review:
In Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, Katniss Everdeen reenters the Hunger Games arena for the Quarter Quell, the seventy-fifth Hunger Games. She and a boy named Peeta Mellark from her district, District Twelve, had just won the seventy-fourth Hunger Games. Now, Katniss and Peeta find themselves back in the arena for another round of the Hunger Games. Was it simply coincidence that the Quarter Quell card landed Katniss back in the arena, or was it President Snow trying to suppress the fire the that was ignited in the districts by the spark Katniss created with her defiant victory in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games? Catching Fire is an eventful and mind-capturing book that keeps the reader interested to the very last page. Collins uses a unique pace, figuarative language, and tone throught the course of the novel. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading fictional stories with frequent action.
Style Analysis:
Suzanne Collins writes from the perspective of a teenage girl who is very mature for her age, while creating a fast paced and eventful plot line, in order to create an angry and horrific tone. The book is written from Katniss's point of view, which in turn creates a pessimistic tone. Katniss has a personality that comes off "perpetually angry", because of the unfortunate events in her short life that have forced her to constantly act much beyond her years (Barclay). Katniss seems to always be thinking of the worst case scenario, "I think I hate him more than I do Haymitch. I give up. Stop speaking. Responding, refuse food and water. They can pump whatever they want into my arm, but it takes more than that to keep a person going once she's lost the will to live." (Collins 389). Katniss does not even know the entire story of what happened in the arena and what is going on around her at this point in the story. She only sees the negative and is thinking of the worst case scenarios to happen, so she gives up on living because she fails to see the purpose. Collins also writes with a relatively fast pace. She keeps the action frequent throughout the majority of the novel and Zevin says, " All this is accomplished with the light touch of a writer who truly understands writing for young people: the pacing is brisk and the message is tucked below the surface." Her pace is generally faster and eventful, but that is not constant throughout the entire novel, "If this second installment spends too much time recapping events from book one, it doesn't disappoint when it segues into the pulse-pounding action readers have come to expect." ("Children's Review"). Both of these elements together taints the perspective and tone of the novel to the angry and horrific one that Katniss sees the story through.
Works Cited:
Barclay, Shelly. "Literary themes: Anger in Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins." Rev. of Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins. Helium Inc., 2 Sept. 2010. Web. 17 May 2012. < http://www.helium.com/items/1940374-literary-themes-anger-in-catching-fire-by-suzanne-collins >.
"Children's Review: Catching Fire." Rev. of Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Publishers Weekly. PWxyz, LLC. 22 June 2009. Web. 17 May 2012. < http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-439-02349-8 >.
Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. New York: Scholastic Press, 2009. Print.
Zevin, Gabrielle. "Constant Craving." Rev. of Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. The New York Times. New York Times Company, 9 Oct. 2009. Web. 17 May 2012. < http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/books/review/Zevin-t.html >.