I'm with the Mockingjay

I heard some readers felt emotionally-drained from Mockingjay, the 3rd book of The Hunger Games. I enjoyed it because it had concepts similar to Nineteen Eighty-Four. =) Catching Fire was the emotionally-draining book for me. I felt that Katniss was weighed down by her worries.

There's some spoilers in this post even though I indirectly talk about them.

In the drawing, I wrote vague terms for what I thought were Katniss' main worries in each book before the games. I added trees because nature is her relief. With each book, she is more cut off from it. Dystopic societies usually cut people off from nature or see it as too wild.

Also this series shows nature used as and altered into a weapon. However, nature continues to live as if independent from the story's events. Man suffers and struggles to survive because of man.

I have a drawing tablet now.
I'll try quick sketches to illustrate points.

 In The Hunger Games, Katniss was a survivor but she was numb. Her main focus and devotion was her family's survival.

At this point, she doesn't know that other districts suffer just as bad or worse. Her own district has had worse days, which the adults recall.

In Catching Fire, she should no longer have to worry about her family, but Snow proves that fact wrong and adds more worries to her list. Katniss fears even her own actions and the interpretations of her actions because of consequences.

For fans of the love story/love drama, the second book seems to be their favorite.

I feel that Katniss had the most spirit in Mockingjay. She rebelled at almost every moment. She wants to be more informed on situations. She acts more than fearing on acting. Because of this strong spirit, I was not shocked at her move during the peace ceremony.

I had hoped for that move because the leaders fit George Orwell's attitude in  Nineteen Eighty-Four  that all parties are the same. The people still had to trust a leader blindly. Some people still feared for their lives. Daily life was controlled by the leader. The rebel society still lacked humanity. In the final conference, Katniss states that things are still the same.

I could not think of a right replacement for Snow, but when author Suzanne Collins showed the final leader, I agreed strongly with the choice. That person had showed interest in the people and had suffered from the Capitol.

Mockingjay is perfect...if you expect a dystopia. The first book had the dystopic setup, but was told as an adventure thriller. The second book is the transition to dystopic. Mockingjay is the dystopia of the series. I felt that Collins held back themes and attitudes in the other books. Mockingjay explains the society such as the careers in the games. This book may be my favorite of the three because of these reasons. The first book is still a great example to me of constant conflicts and the audience's influence.

I say perfect, but the book is not flawless.

The reader may get confused when the pace is too fast for storytelling near the end, but you are put in Katniss' position. You feel the rushed moment as she does.

The ending is short and quick, but I am fine with that. Although I read the book over a week instead of a few days like some readers, I needed the story to end already. You feel burnt up by the events and need relief from the tension. I recommend stopping once in a while because of the numerous events and their impact.

If you have not read  Nineteen Eighty-Four, then I recommend doing so including the prologue or section about George Orwell. I was just told that the districts and Capitol in The Hunger Games are similar to Brave New World. I bought a copy, but I'm taking a break again from dystopias.

1984 in Monk show

I finished Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell today. Like I said before, the book is a slow read, otherwise you're not actually reading the whole book. The slowest pace is when the character Winston reads the book inside the story (that's meta!), but then the pace quickens and hooks you until you finish the story.

My coincidental reward for finishing Nineteen Eighty-Four today was understanding the allusion in the Monk episode I happened to watch later. From memory the line was, "I just want 2 plus 2 to equal 4 again." I gasped, giggled, and wanted to give a high-five to somebody! Thank you for the reward. =)

At this point I started thinking of Nineteen Eighty-Four.

The episode was "Mr. Monk Goes to the Asylum" in season 1, and the allusion is given when the criminal is caught.

Pausing One Dystopia For Another

My younger sister talks about the movie adaptation for The Hunger Games by Susan Collins in March 2011. Even my mom has read the series already. Haha. Thus, I bumped the first book higher on my reading list and have even stopped reading  Nineteen Eighty-Four  by George Orwell.  (I may have spoilers in this post!)

 Nineteen Eighty-Four has been a slow read for me, especially because I note elements of dystopic societies such as systems and rules. Here is my book with color-coded sticky notes (I barely passed the half-point):

I wrote on only a few sticky notes. The rest just mark passages.


The Hunger Games has been a faster read, which makes this book better than Nineteen Eighty-Four  for young adults. Sometimes Nineteen Eighty-Four  has long passages about regulations that are close to a manual.

I'm glad I read past chapter 2 before I wrote this post. I'm on Chapter 6, and I have placed 4 sticky notes (I limit myself because the book is my younger sister's).

At first I noticed how the main character, Katniss, is not as blind as many dystopic protagonists. She disagrees with her society and knows how little the government cares for people in her district. Winston in Nineteen Eighty-Four is the same way, but Katniss' attitude is stronger. Then I felt that she knew too much, especially for an adolescent.  Also twice already a moment was explained instantly instead of letting the read figure it out.

However, when Katniss changes her mind about Peeta's motives, I saw that she is confident in her view of things (The reader gets to interpret!)  This quality makes her seem more dystopic and adolescent to me. She may be blind about some facts after all.

The Hunger Games does differ from other dystopias by starting the story after a rebellion. Society has already stood against the government, and the people now face the consequences of their failure. The oppressed life has become more harsh for all common folk.

In addition, Katniss is in the same position as Julia in Nineteen Eighty-Four but the attitude and situation differ.  Julia represents the generation born into the dystopic world. She has grown up oppressed and cannot imagine a world without the current government. She breaks rules for fun. However, she is shown through Winston's eyes who has memories prior to the dystopic world.

As for Katniss' world, the adults who remember the failed rebellion seem to have broken spirits. The generation of Katniss may be broken as well from the consequences and conditions. However, survival is more at stake. Thee will to survive and refusal to accept imposed ways show potential and hope.

Suzanne Collins does a terrific job of keeping her readers in anticipation. I long for answers to my questions such as, "Once tributes enter the game, are they stuck in there until the game's over?" (I think I know the answer already but I have to see the answer. Haha). I try to read whole chapters at a time to pass the suspense of just that moment.

Who has read or is reading The Hunger Games? Please do not say anything pass the training center though. I long to see my questions answered.

Do you mark passages outside of school?

Modern Fairy Tale Contest

Here's another interesting writing contest from Figment.  You adapt an existing fairy tale to contemporary times. Figment's promoting Jackson Pearce's Sisters Red, a modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. The prizes are a copy of Sisters Red, a copy of The Complete Fairy Tales of Brothers Grimm, and a spotlight in the Figment blog. The cover of Sisters Red intrigues me.

Entries must be under 1,200 words and emailed this time to fairytale@figment.com before Sunday, May 8 12am EST.  DOUBLE CHECK the deadline hour on Saturday and Sunday! For the dystopia contest, the hour shifted from 12am to 9pm EST. Plus the wrong tag was given but the fairy tale contest doesn't  require any. Just double check to make sure your entry counts.

My dystopian entry did not meet the new deadline, but click here if you are interested in reading it (Fahrenheit 451 and  Nineteen Eighty-Four were influences). It's less than 600 words. If the contest issues continue then I may delete my account. Writing prompts with a deadline are good exercises though.

I do not think I can enter the current contest, but good luck to those entering. Fairy tales are another one of my interests. In fact, I plan to blog about some research on certain tales.

What is Dystopia

I'll now explain dystopia, one of my favorite types of sci-fi. But first, some definitions according to Merriam-Webster. Media examples will be shown as well.

UTOPIA:  

1. An imaginary and indefinitely remote place
2. A place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions
3. An impractical scheme for social improvement

Some synonyms listed: Camelot, Eden, heaven, and never-never land.

An antinomy: hell

DYSTOPIA: 

An imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives

I like to think of dystopia as a failed attempt at or a false appearance of a utopia. The society is usually oppressed by rules meant for good and safety such as isolation. Theses rules can be lies for control or actually intended to help mankind. Either way, a part of humanity is oppressed or sacrificed. There's usually social or political commentary as well.Technology is usually a method of control while nature is distanced from society.

Dystopia interests me for the philosophy and psychology of what is essential for a humane society to exist. Also, I'm intrigued by a single factor affecting society in various aspects.  Compare a social change in a dsytopia to a change in the past in time travel sci-fii. A single action can build up to a new lifestyle.

If you want more definitions or characteristics, I found this site on George Orwell, author of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm.

Now for some media examples.

 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

1984 screen adaptation

Very political, which is understandable if you read Orwell's bio. There hardly is privacy when even your own child can accuse you as a threat.  The story also has sociology and psychology with brainwashing and fitting in. Even language is covered with changed definitions such as War = Peace, words eliminated to prevent rebellious thoughts, and history is changed to support present announcements.

It's not a fast read though; I've been reading it little by little to appreciate the author's depicted system. "Big brother is watching you."

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Translated from Russian. 

In this one, society's schedule is measure from when you wake up to when you sleep. Calling in sick for work means you let you down society (irrational behavior).  The collective over individual is a main focus.  There's mathematical metaphors and descriptions of working with rhythm like in a mechanical ballet. Surgery on the brain is considered as a way of being rational.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Has been adapted to screen
and on theater stage. 

This dystopia deals more with literature being essential to humanity and society than politics or government. With fireproof houses, firemen are given a new duty.  They investigate homes suspected to hold literature and burn the books.  Fahrenheit 451 is actually one of my favorite novels. It has that one factor changing different aspects of society, including television, teens, and conversation.

At the SD Comic Con, Bradbury stated that he wrote the book in response to his books being pulled off the shelves of high school libraries. However, he also states on the pamphlet for the stage adaptation that the story is NOT all about censorship. So remember to look at literature as a part of society and soul.

Uglies series by Scott Westerfield

I have not read this series, but here is a dystopia geared towards female readers. Society is convinced that a modified face (surgery) is beauty while natural features are ugly and primitive.  Surgery is typically done during puberty, but unknown to everyone is that a part of the brain is modified as well.  The titles list class ranks, with uglies being the lowest rank when a person has not had surgery yet. The book Extras follows a different heroine.

Equilibrium

Emotions are seen as the cause for war so everyone has to sedate themselves. In addition, all forms of art (literature, fine art, music, etc) is shunned because they are stimulating and provoking. There is a squad trained in martial arts with guns, which leads to flashy fight scenes. Christian Bale's character accidentally misses a dose one day and experiences emotion.

No novels were adapted for this film but they must have been an influence or inspiration. I think in the Special Features, the director states he hadn't read Brave New World yet (neither have I).

I have not read The Hunger Games but it is on my list. Have you read this one?

Overall, there's a lot of brainwashing and brain surgery going on in these dystopias. I did not describe the main character in every example, but most of them have a rank with power or an occupation that contributes to controlling society. I suppose the struggle for control is another feature I like in a dystopia as well. The dilemma is safety and control or humanity and freedom in these societies.