Catching Fire

     In the story Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, I experience a jam pack adventure full of sorrow, excitement, mystery and a lot, I mean A LOT, of surprises. This story is a continuation of the book The Hunger Games, an also really interesting and exciting book. The story starts by talking about the character Katniss life after the hunger games, and how it wasn't the same as before. As she was try to put her life together while also trying to forget the hash images of the hunger game, she have face in the last book. The trouble that she had thought was behind her came back again. In the last book, The Hunger Games, Katniss was force to fight for her life against 24 other kids between the ages of 12-18. This fight for the death was call the Hunger games, it was made by the Capitol of the 13 districts. You see, this book is taking placing the future and in this future the U.S divided into 14 parts. The first part is call the Capital, the ruler of all the other district, and the other 13 part are called district. All district were forced to do one task, like district 12 had to do mining, and anyone who live there or goes to school there learns and does mining no other job can they pick unless your the are mayor, or a food maker; which the are rare jobs. One day the districts decided to rebel, the capitol became furious by the betrayal and they destroy district 13 and decided to create the hunger games. That when 2 kids, one girl and boy, from ages 12-18 from each of the 12 districts come to an environment changing arena made by the Capitol, to fight there only the death until there one kid standing. Katniss's sister, was chosen to be in the hunger games but Katniss couldn’t bear to see it and volunteer in her place. At the end of the book The Hunger Games, Katniss want to save her and her new best friend and district partner Peeta, so she thought of a way to deify the Capitol by making them both Peeta and her both eat poison berries and both will die. Then nobody could win and Capitol have nothing to show as a living threat for their power. The Head game maker stop them before they can do it, and declare both of them winners.

In the book I'm reading now Catching Fire, Katniss find out by the President Snow, that Katniss has to pretend to be in love with Peeta, the pretend love that them help them survive the Hunger games. President Snow said is she don't do a better job, she would hurt her childhood and best friend Gale. The reason he said this so there wont be raids in the district and people start rebellion again; which is what districts was doing. Katniss fail in the task but this was the least of her worries. At first she had plans to run away, but later she see it not the best thing to do; she had to stay and fight. Katniss prepare herself for the worst, because she knew fighting the capitol would be very hard. What happens next she could never prepare for. The President Snow going announce Quarter Quell, which is an anniversary of the games and there is always twist in the games itself. This time the twist was, out of all the past victor be the contestant of the drawing of the new 24 people playing the next Hunger Games. Katniss being the only girl in the history of district 12 to win the game, she has guaranteed spot in the next hunger games. As she try to handle the Capitol big announcement, Peeta decide to go to the games with her, mostly for love. While the friends and family of Katniss react to the news, Peeta and Katniss practice for the game and review the old game so see the victor there going against. When it time to go off to the capitol to prepare for the game, Katniss was determine to save Peeta and Peeta, Katniss. Katniss was told to try to find friend during training in the training center with all the district. She found so nice old people and pick up a few trick to in the center. In the actual Hunger game, she found an alliance with Finck and Mags, a young boy and an old lady from the same district. As a team Peeta, Katniss, Finck, and Mags goes though the jungle and try to avoid other players and killing those in there way. The arena itself has a trap, it is round like a clock and built like one to. Between hours like 4:00 to 5:00 something bad happen, like the raining blood, or a fog of material that can rip though skin and kill never cells, but it only happens in the section of the clock that is between the 4 and 5 numbers in a normal clock that represent to hours. Since there's no numbers in the arena the team has to find a way to avoid the bad thing by using the sun as to see the time and observing the arena. The team did well so far but then, then fog was on there tales they had to leave Mags behind to continue on. As they continue on running to the river full of salt water, they saw Johanna, Beetee, and Wiress. Beetee and Wiress are the nice old people Katniss like, but Johanna is one of the kids that Katniss didn't like in the beginning. As the new team form Peeta, Katniss, Finck, Beetee, Wiress, and Johanna, they try to avoid the dangers of the arena. Beetee has the idea to use the walls of the arena, which is invisible and electrify, to blow up the whole arena with a wire. After some doubt the team decided to do so. While they are preparing to do this, by raping the wire to a tire that always get stuck by lighting at 12:00, when making Katniss and Johanna run down to the wall. As Katniss and Johanna was running to get to the wire to the wall, they heard somebody coming toward them. Out of nowhere Johanna get on top of

Katniss and cut into her arm trying to get the tracker off and then running away. Katniss very confuse came running back to the top looking for Peeta. Then the lighting strike and the arena blow up pouring light everywhere. Then a hovercraft came and pick up Katniss, the put her to sleep. As she woke up, she saw Finick, Haymitch and the Head game maker all around a table talking. As Katniss ask whats going on, she found out that there was a rebellion everywhere. Plus, that the head game maker was in the plan to rebelled as well as Finch, Johanna, Beetee, and other people as well. Katniss got mad at first how no one told her about the rebellion but then Gale came to cheer Katniss up. To end the book Gale said that their home District 12 was no more.

A Quote I found that was meaningful was:

“a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot over come the power of the Capitol.” (Collins 380)

This is one of the most meaningful quote it the book, because it show what the capitol trying to prove the hunger games. It also show what districts are trying to prove wrong. Even though the quote has a different meaning for the two enemies, the quote gives both a reason and desire to fight. That why its on of the most meaningful in the book.

Behind the Story: Girl, Interrupted

              Hello, today I am going to take you to the world of Susanna Kaysen. She is an amazing author, who wrote a biography about the time when she was sent to live at McLean hospital. The book was call “Girl, Interrupted and was publication in 1993 by Turtle Bay Books. In this story Susanna talks about how not even spending half an hour with this new doctor of hers, and he ships her off the Hospital for crazy people; where she stay for two years. Susanna often takes us in to the world of mental ill and how they see the see the world.  As Kayen describe it, it’s like there in their own world, they can see normal world and even predict thing going to happen the normal world by living in there own little place there mind create. Anther point Kaysen describes is there two types of crazy. One is when you’re depress or sad or done with life, then everything goes slow around you and you think lot of you propose in this world. The other is when you are overworking, doing anything to much or too fast in a continuative paste, in life and instead of questioning yourself, you just let lose then things go fast for you until you can’t handle it and try keep with the pate in another world. Susanna continue make strong point like this though out the book. She named the book after a panting of a girl being interrupted from her music. She name it this because this is what she was feeling inside her, while because depress. She was interrupted from her normal life because she got wooed by her English teacher. While living in the McLean hospital, Susanna meets many interesting people and describe there experiences in the hospital; while learning things about her own self as well.

Some of the main people she meet were Lisa, Georgina, Wade, Lisa Cody, Polly, Daisy, Valerie, Dr. Wick, and Melvin. Lisa is this happy, excited, and very energetic sociopath, and not afraid to show it. Lisa often brings life to this sometime slow and boring place where Susanna lives. Georgina was one of Susanna best friends, and one of the healthiest people in the hospital. Georgina’s boyfriend Wade had anger issues problem and when he was sent away from ward to a more secured place because he’s rage tantrums, are when Georgina show her more insane side of her because her lack of seeing him. Lisa Cody was the second Lisa in there ward, and she was sociopath too like the original Lisa. The original Lisa like have a second Lisa just like her, so she tries her best to show up the new Lisa (Lisa Cody); it work Lisa Cody is a real Junkie now. Polly is a figure, whom all the people in there ward look up to. Polly had the gut to set herself on fire, which one in the Ward could ever think of trying. Polly is also a nice mother figure to the people coming in to the hospital. Daisy is this chicken obsess girl, who come to the hospital from the holiday includeing her birthday. Daisy’s father spoils her with money, but also rapes her because he somehow develops feeling for her.  Valerie is the head nurse, which Susanna is very fond of as so the other people in the ward. Dr. Wick is the female doctor for all the girl patients at the ward, and Susanna sees her as very old-fashioned. Last but definitely not least is Melvin, he is Susanna’s therapist. He help Susanna sort out many of her problems. If you want to find out more come read the book.

“Scar tissue has no character. It's not like skin. It doesn't show age or illness or pallor or tan. It has no pores, no hair, no wrinkles. It's like a slip cover. It shields and disguises what's beneath. That's why we grow it; we have something to hide. ” (Kaysen 20-23)

Susanna said this when she saw Polly and how her skin is burn off because she set herself on fire. Susanna was envying how now, her skin is gone, she has a shield to cover what she feeling inside or emotion that she want to keep hidden. Susanna want to hide her emotion too, but can’t because people sees her skin; how she scratches her pimples and has a depressive face on it reveal her fear and sadness, which she tries so hard to hide. I love this quote so much because, for me, it defines the whole book and relate to everybody. We all have feeling or memories; we want to hide but continue to remember as we look in a mirror. If we had no skin show to how we are different and no scares to show what happens behind close doors (cutting yourself, get beating/abuse, ECT...) to us, people wouldn’t feel so insecure. It defines the book because Susanna is trying to find her self after being interrupted, but hard for her to find her true self while she can’t forget about her past as she look in the mirror and thinks other can see right though her also because her skin.