{"id":43,"date":"2010-12-02T10:06:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-02T18:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=43"},"modified":"2015-02-07T21:11:30","modified_gmt":"2015-02-08T05:11:30","slug":"mark-reads-the-hunger-games-chapter-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2010\/12\/mark-reads-the-hunger-games-chapter-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThe Hunger Games\u00e2\u20ac\u2122: Chapter 9"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the ninth chapter of The Hunger Games<\/em>, Katniss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rage at the absurdity of the Hunger Games causes her to act irrationally to everyone around her. It takes the calm reasoning of Cinna to bring her back down, but then the final moment of the chapter fucks everything up. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read The Hunger Games<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Man, this book is finally kicking into a higher gear. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t appreciate Collins spending time in the Capitol. I actually welcome it. I think it actually makes the Games all the more reprehensible, especially once you start meeting the people behind it.<\/p>\n

But let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s deal with the Peeta reveal first.<\/p>\n

Betrayal. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the first thing I feel, which is ludicrous.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
NO, SERIOUSLY, IT IS. Why are you worried? I suppose, though, that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a way for Peeta to disconnect himself at this point. Katniss has a great score and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to have to kill her very, very soon. Or at least try to. But\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6Katniss, you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even like him that much<\/em>. Why do you feel betrayed?<\/p>\n
But the boy who risked a beating to give me bread, the one who steadied me in the chariot, who covered me with the redheaded Avox girl, who insisted Haymitch know my hunting skills\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6was there some part of me that couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help trusting him?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I have to admit that in the vacuum of this environment, this is actually a good point. Katniss is not a naturally trusting person, but Peeta has shown a level of respect for her that is rare in her life. So I understand her immediate action, to a point.<\/p>\n
Katniss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s emotional depth, however, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to last long. Within seconds, she is ready to move on, ready to accept whatever plan Haymitch has for her to win the Hunger Games. Separate from Peeta, of course.<\/p>\n
The next couple of scenes are, truthfully, unbearable. I am going to make a comparison in a second. It will not make me popular, but JUST GIVE ME A MOMENT TO FLESH IT OUT<\/strong> and I promise it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not that bad.<\/p>\n
Katniss spends eight hours, four with Effie and four with Haymitch, to prepare for her public television interview, the last thing she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll do before the Games begin. She starts with Effie first, working on her presentation for her interview.<\/p>\n
Effie, who I beginning to dislike less and less as I read more about her, teaches Katniss how she should walk in heels. How she should sit. How she should hold her dress. How she should look at the interviewer. How she should smile.<\/p>\n
Katniss, ever the independent woman, is repulsed by most of this normative behavior; being a woman has absolutely nothing to do with any of this. Even independent of that, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a hunter who lives in a society that has no need for any of these social norms, so why should she be expected to learn them now? She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to kill<\/em> people shortly, not wine and dine them to death.<\/p>\n
So while I was smiling at her beautiful and simple rebellion, one that is pure nature to her, the next section caused me to grimace instead. Haymitch is tasked with helping Katniss with the content<\/em> of her interview. What should she tell Panem? Which angle should she take? Should she portray herself as humble or viciously bloodthirsty?<\/p>\n
Haymitch takes the role of the interviewer and I try to answer his questions in a winning fashion. But I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m too angry with Haymitch for what he said and that I even have to answer the questions. All I can think is how unjust the whole thing is, the Hunger Games. Why am I hopping around like some trained dog trying to please people I hate? The longer the interview goes on, the more my fury seems to rise to the surface, until I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m literally spitting out answers at him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I must say that I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect that even I<\/em> wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do the exact same thing. Katniss has always seemed to understand the absurdity of this entire system and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s precisely that absurdity that enrages her so. But I wondered why she decided to take this out on Haymitch and why she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so angry at him for calling her \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sullen and hostile.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I MEAN SERIOUSLY, THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE DOING NOW.<\/p>\n
Haymitch tries to convince her that even lying about her life at this point is a much better idea than anything else. But this leads to a section that\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6well, just wait until after it. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see.<\/p>\n
The next hours are agonizing. At once, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear I cannot gush. We try me playing cocky, but I just don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the arrogance. Apparently, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m too \u00e2\u20ac\u0153vulnerable\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for ferocity. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not witty. Funny. Sexy. Or mysterious.<\/p>\n
By the end of the session, I am no one at all.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Katniss is Bella Swan.<\/p>\n
OK NOT REALLY. But as soon as I read that, I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help but think of that soulless vaccum, that waste of character space that somehow filled up four books without causing the pages to implode out of fury<\/em>. Obviously, while Katniss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s emotional depth is mostly vacant, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a far better character than Bella Swan, but LOOK. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M SORRY. I COULDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T HELP THAT MY MIND WENT THERE. It just happened!<\/p>\n
Ok great, EVERY HUNGER GAMES<\/em> FAN EVER IS GOING TO WANT TO EAT ME ALIVE. Ooops! I SWEAR I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T HATE KATNISS.<\/p>\n
Katniss, however, hates everything<\/em>.<\/p>\n
I have dinner that night in my room, ordering an outrageous number of delicacies, eating myself sick, and then taking out my anger at Haymitch, at the Hunger Games, at every living being in the Capitol by smashing dishes around my room. When the girl with the red hair comes in to turn down my bed, her eyes widen at the mess. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Just leave it!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I yell at her. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Just leave it alone!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Guess who finally has very special feelings<\/em> that no one understands<\/em> except the broken dishes on the floor<\/em>. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know, this scene is strange. We haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen Katniss react to much of anything and all of a sudden, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s destroying her room? Maybe this is how she overloads. Maybe this is how she reacts under extreme duress. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. I still think this scene is weird.<\/p>\n
The moment where Katniss (sort of) apologizes to the readheaded girl is a nice contrast, though, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure it helps to relieve some of her guilt, which can only help her as she enters the arena. But the scene is incredibly brief and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m left wanting more from the two of them.<\/p>\n
The next day is Katniss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interview and I was thankful to have another scene with Cinna. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what it is about him, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m intrigued by his respect for Cinna; I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m interested to know why he respects Katniss so much and how he plays into this whole story. Here, though, we just get to see him do right by Katniss when he makes her a dress of gems that illuminates in the light. Even Katniss knows what Cinna has done for her, and she is grateful for it. Not as much, however, as she is towards his advice for her regarding her interview: Be herself.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Myself? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no good, either. Haymitch says I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sullen and hostile,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I say.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well, you are\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6around Haymitch,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Cinna with a grin. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t find you so. The prep team adores you. You even won over the Gamemakers. And as for the citizens of the Capitol, well, they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stop talking about you. No one can help but admire your spirit.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Maybe that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part of the reason why Cinna seems to enjoy her so much. But he devises a rather ingenuous plan for her: answer the questions as if she is speaking to Cinna, as if she is speaking to a friend. I think Cinna sees that Katniss is missing familiarity here and if he can give her even the tiniest thing to grasp on to, she might be able to find a comfortable zone to speak in.<\/p>\n
The actual interview process itself reminded me of something someone told me about Collins\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s idea for the series, which was a combination between reality TV and an American Idol<\/em>-type program. The parade of tributes are forced to talk to a man named Caesar Flickerman, who embodies the inanity of the entire Capitol.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a little scary because his appearance has been virtually unchanged during all that time. Same face under a coating of pure white makeup. Same hairstyle that he dyes a different color for each Hunger Games. Same ceremonial suit, midnight blue dotted with a thousand tiny electric bulbs that twinkle like stars. They do surgery in the Capitol, to make people appear younger and thinner. In District 12, looking old is something of an achievement since so many people die early. You see an elderly person, you want to congratulate them on their longevity, ask the secret of survival. A plump person is envied because they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t scraping by like the majority of us. But here is different. Wrinkles aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t desirable. A round belly isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a sign of success.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nice to see Collins not only address the body issues that plague our society, but to flip a mirror and invert them, to see how District 12 might actually envy<\/em> people who are larger than they are. I like it.<\/p>\n
Also, I want to see the movie version of this scene done well because Caesar sounds terrifying.<\/p>\n
Collins sort of rushes through all of the other tributes and part of me actually wanted much more detail as she cycled through the various teenagers and kids. But that also conflicted with my desire for the Games to start IMMEDIATELY, so I guess it didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bother me too much.<\/p>\n
Katniss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interview was executed well; I love that Collins doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have her immediately know what to do. The moment she freezes and her mouth goes \u00e2\u20ac\u0153as dry as sawdust\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was a great touch. Even though Katniss is confident and proud, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still in a place where all of that sort of doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in a completely foreign and completely new environment and it makes her character all the more real to know that she isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t flawless.<\/p>\n
She continues to gain momentum as she is asked leading questions by Caesar, imagining that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s merely talking to Cinna. Seeing Katniss giggle? Why is that such a huge moment to me? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen her laugh more than once and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only smiled a few times. Is she starting to find her humor in all this? (Could she please find her humor in all this?)<\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad her interview goes well and is also not terribly long. The final interview is Peeta, who plays up his self-deprecating sense of humor to his own advantage. Until Caesar asks a certain question:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s her name?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Caesar.<\/p>\n
Peeta sighs. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well, there is this one girl. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m pretty sure she didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know I was alive until the reaping.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Wait. WAIT. NO. NO. IT CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T BE.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153So here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what you do. You win, you go home. She can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t turn you down then, eh?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Caesar encouragingly.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to work out. Winning\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help in my case,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Peeta.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why ever not?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Caesar, mystified.<\/p>\n
Peeta blushes beet red and stammers out. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6she came here with me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
WHAT THE FUCK.<\/p>\n
WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!<\/p>\n
Oh god, IT IS SO OBVIOUS THINKING ABOUT THIS NOW but seriously WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
OH FUCK, THIS IS ALL GOING TO BE SO, SO, SO, SO AWFUL. And I can now see I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve reached the end of Part I and am moving on to Part II: The Games.<\/p>\n
JESUS WHAT THE FUCK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the ninth chapter of The Hunger Games, Katniss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rage at the absurdity of the Hunger Games causes her to act irrationally to everyone around her. It takes the calm reasoning of Cinna to bring her back down, but then … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,488],"tags":[28,24,27],"class_list":["post-43","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hunger-games","category-the-hunger-games-novel","tag-katniss-everdeen","tag-mark-reads-the-hunger-games","tag-suzanne-collins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}