I loved the series. I picked up the trilogy from Waterstones last year when they were on sale as part of Waterstones 3 for the price of 2 deal. Why do I like it? Idk. I just think they were a LOT of fun to read. I couldn't put the books down. I read all three books over the course of two days, staying up until 4 in the morning, reading on the Tube, reading as soon as I got home. It's written in the first person present tense which I think really sucks the reader in. There are a lot of interesting themes and motifs in the book about being oneself, surveillance and performance. Plus, I've always been a fan of dystopias.
But the reason I think I really love the series is that, in the end, it's not really about a dystopia. That's just the setting (which is why I don't care that the world building isn't in depth. That's not the point.). The books are really about Katniss, her psychology, and her character journey and growth. This is also why I don't mind the love triangle. The love triangle isn't about which of the guys wins the prize (aka Katniss), but rather the triangle is a way through which Collins could explore what Katniss thinks she wants vs what the Capitol wants vs whether she's just rebelling against the Capitol vs what Katniss REALLY wants.
Rue's death scene brings Ophelia painting to my mind I think this is kind of unfair though. Ophelia commited suicide and it was via drowning and she was all alone and is offstage. Rue was impaled with a spear and dies as Katniss sings her to sleep. The only common theme is the flowers. Nothing about the way her death is portrayed is similar to what Shakespeare wrote.
To answer some of your questions, the Latin names are only used by people in the Capitol. And imo, that's just symbolic of what the Capitol represents (aka an empire that relies on it's colonies, or in this case districts, to survive and exploits them). Plus, it also helps tie into the idea of "panem et circenses" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses) which is pretty much the entire idea behind the Hunger Games and how the Capitol maintains its power. As far as technology goes, it seems like technology IS highly developed, but the advanced technology is purposefully kept from anyone who isn't part of the Capitol. So I suppose you can imagine that only the people living in the districts use the coal. And maybe this is all part of the Capitol's grand oppression scheme. But really I think it's because Collins wanted to evoke a certain area of the US where coal mining is the main industry.
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Date: 2011-12-13 04:19 pm (UTC)But the reason I think I really love the series is that, in the end, it's not really about a dystopia. That's just the setting (which is why I don't care that the world building isn't in depth. That's not the point.). The books are really about Katniss, her psychology, and her character journey and growth. This is also why I don't mind the love triangle. The love triangle isn't about which of the guys wins the prize (aka Katniss), but rather the triangle is a way through which Collins could explore what Katniss thinks she wants vs what the Capitol wants vs whether she's just rebelling against the Capitol vs what Katniss REALLY wants.
Rue's death scene brings Ophelia painting to my mind
I think this is kind of unfair though. Ophelia commited suicide and it was via drowning and she was all alone and is offstage. Rue was impaled with a spear and dies as Katniss sings her to sleep. The only common theme is the flowers. Nothing about the way her death is portrayed is similar to what Shakespeare wrote.
To answer some of your questions, the Latin names are only used by people in the Capitol. And imo, that's just symbolic of what the Capitol represents (aka an empire that relies on it's colonies, or in this case districts, to survive and exploits them). Plus, it also helps tie into the idea of "panem et circenses" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses) which is pretty much the entire idea behind the Hunger Games and how the Capitol maintains its power. As far as technology goes, it seems like technology IS highly developed, but the advanced technology is purposefully kept from anyone who isn't part of the Capitol. So I suppose you can imagine that only the people living in the districts use the coal. And maybe this is all part of the Capitol's grand oppression scheme. But really I think it's because Collins wanted to evoke a certain area of the US where coal mining is the main industry.