The Hunger Games (Chapters 6-18)

Hey everybody, I hope your Spring Breaks went well! As you all know, we had to read The Hunger Games Chapters 6-18 over break. Last time we left off, Katniss and Peeta were still with Haymitch and were preparing to train for a few days.

We pick up with the start of that training. The tributes get three days of training and one chance to show the Gamemakers what they can do. During this time, Katniss and Peeta decide to not show the other tributes their strengths and instead, learn practical skills like how to to tie knots and camouflage. After the few days of training it's Katniss' turn to show the Gamemakers what she can do. As she's showing off her skills with the bow and arrow she notices no one is paying any attention, so she shoots an arrow at the Gamemakers, piercing the apple in the mouth of the roasted pig that was just brought to their table. She then storms out and begins to panic, thinking she just ruined her chances at a good sponsorship. Turns out she didn't and receives a score of 11 out of 12, meaning she was very impressive. After their interview with the Gamemakers Katniss and Peeta rest up for the next day, which is the start of the 74th annual Hunger Games.

For the next few chapters we follow Katniss around the arena. Tributes are dying left and right, including a friend she makes name Rue. And Katniss is finally forced to kill somebody. Throughout these chapters I slowly started to realize that these were kids fighting and dying. These kids are younger than me and have to put their lives on the line for the sake of a game. At one point they describe a girl begging for her life when a group called the "Career Tributes" find her. That scene really got to me. At first I pictured this as just another video game that I play. People are put in an arena and you kill each other for points. There's no harm in the video game and you don't feel bad because, aside from the fact that they're fictional, they're also warriors. They were made for this. In The Hunger Games, they're kids that were chosen at random. Just think about what is going through their heads. Especially the girl that was begging for her life. Imagine how afraid she must be, knowing full-well that her life is about to end and not in a very peaceful way. Now imagine what it must be like for those kids who must kill to survive. Some may welcome this feeling, being that they were trained for these games, but others probably fear it just as much as they fear death. Taking the life of another human-being. This book is really making me hope that I am never put in this type of situation.