Archive: Catching Fire

Catching Fire is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. These books are based in the future in what remains of North America after many tragic disasters left the land devastated. The story revolves around the hardships of a sixteen year old girl, Katniss Everdeen, as well as her friends and family in their struggle to stay alive. And to make things even more complicated there is a love triangle between herself and two boys of whom she deeply cares for but in different ways. This series appeals to many readers since the genre varies anywhere from science-fiction to action, or even romance. Because the trilogy has become so popular, The Hunger Games movie will be in theaters March 27, 2012. Even so, I highly recommend reading the books because too often the movies leave out little details that matter only to the people who read the books.

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Plot Summary
Katniss Everdeen was eight years old when her father was killed in a tragic mining accident, and ever since she has had to provide for her family. She put food on the table and practically raised her younger sister, Prim. Her father had taught her to hunt so she would sneak out of the 20 foot fence surrounding her district- district 12, the poorest district. So one could understand why she took Prim's place in the Games. Here Prim would have to fight to the death or kill off all 23 of her opponents. She couldn't let Prim do that; she wouldn't. At least she was strong and knew how to shoot. But despite her experience with a bow and arrow Katniss did not expect to win. And she certainly did not expect Peeta to win as well. There had never ever been two victors in any of the Hunger Games before. And now they had to go back. Katniss still had nightmares about Rue and the whips. And Gale being beaten for going into the woods.... But that wasn't in the Games. That was in her own town square, less than a block from her mansion. It was then she realized that she wasn't safe anywhere. Neither were the people she loved, and it was all her fault.

Katniss Everdeen- Main character, Her main goal was to keep Peeta alive

Peeta Mellark- Katniss’s fellow tribute that goes along with her “in love.”

Haymitch Abernathy- Katniss and Peeta's mentor due to being District 12's only other living survivor of the Hunger Games.

Gale Hawthorne- Katniss's best friend in District 12, who works in the coal mines and hunts illegally

President Snow- The President of Panem.

Finnick Odair- The male tribute from District 4. He is also Katniss’s ally.

Cinna- Katniss's trusted stylist who makes all of her outfits.

Johanna Mason- The female tribute from district 7.

Themes
1.	Loyalty- Katniss values loyalty almost as much as trust. In real life the two usually go together, but in the arena you often have to be loyal to someone you don't trust, and sometimes you have to trust someone you don't plan on staying loyal to. Katniss had to be loyal if she wanted to stay alive. 2.	Courage- Katniss and Peeta are ready to die for each other and are always acting rashly to defend their values. Mags and Wiress give up their lives to protect the others. Other things matter in life then trying to protect just yourself. 3.	Love- Gale loves Katniss but it is hard for her to love him back because of her situation with Peeta. If the capitol found out about her relationship with Gale she would be in deep trouble. She had feelings for Gale and for Peeta and both of them were a little jealous of each other. It better to stick with one person because it can lead to a lot of controversy between the others.

Symbols
1.	The mocking jay was a symbol of hope and courage by the people in the districts.

2.	The clock in the games symbolized that something bad was going to happen every hour in the night. Katniss and her group overcome the hours by figuring out the clock.

3.	The device Katniss used to stab into the tree to get water symbolized that they still had hope of living and to not give up.

Background
Suzanne Collins was born in 1962. She has worked for several television shows for Nickelodeon. Collins was the main writer for Scholastic Entertainments Clifford’s Puppy Days. In about 14 months, 1.5 million copies of the first two Hunger Games books were sold just in the U.S. Suzanne Collins lives in Connecticut with her husband and their two children. She is one of the most popular authors of today. Collins has also the Underland Chronicles which has five books in the series.