Thursday, 19 January 2012

The Hunger Games- Part Two “The Games”

Chapters Ten through to Fourteen

Peeta has wiped the floor with his competition; he has painted himself as the tragic lover. Katniss is caught in disbelief but she doesn’t fall for his act. After the interviews Katniss is informed that Haymitch has supported the thing, she is furious but they convince her Peeta has done her a huge favour. Peeta has made her interview and appearance unforgettable; this is perfect for getting sponsors. It’s the last night before the games and Katniss is restless. She can’t put her mind to sleep, she thinks about her family, what the arena will be like and her fellow tributes. She ends up meeting Peeta on the roof where they watch the celebrations going on below them. Celebrations that signify the Games are about to begin. Peeta talks about how he wants to die as himself and he doesn’t want to atmosphere of the arena to change who he is. Katniss tells him to focus on keeping himself alive. Morning comes and its time to leave for the arena. Haymitch has told the tributes to not fight for supplies at the Cornucopia, but instead to run and find water. Before Katniss is launched into the arena her designer Cinna repeats this advice and tells her that he would put his money on her.

Katniss has sixty seconds to decide her plan of action once the gong sounds; does she make a run for it, our make a mad dash toward the cornucopia for any kind of useful supply. Within those sixty-seconds she is distracted by Peeta and misses her time to run. She’s too late once the gong sounds so she grabs the closest thing to her and takes off. She spends the day walking and jogging in hopes to come across a source of water. The first night falls in the arena and she has yet to find water, she makes a bed in the trees and waits for morning while she wonders about Peeta. She awakes to someone making a fire; this fire attracts the pack of Career tributes. It doesn’t take long and the girl who started the fire is dead. To Katniss’ surprise Peeta is with them.

Katniss struggles to find a reason as to why Peeta is with the Careers, she thinks they are using him to find her. Katniss needs to find water before she dehydrates. She continues in the same direction as she was going the day before hoping she is getting close. The day wears on and night falls again, Katniss is parched. The next morning she wonders why Haymitch hasn’t had water sent to her yet and then she realizes it is because she must be close! She forces herself to press on and sure enough she finds a pond full of water. The next morning Katniss has a rude awakening, she is greeted by a burning wall of fire.

It doesn’t take Katniss long to realize that this fire is no accident, this is something the Gamemakers have created to flush the scattered tributes together and closer to the others. She runs, she tries to take periodic breaks to catch her breath but is no time because the wall doesn’t ease up. She begins to get hazy from the smoke just as fire balls begin to go off everywhere around her. Katniss’ calf is hit by a fireball and then the attack is over. She scrambles to the pond to try to relieve the burning pain. The burn is bad and the water feels good. She forces herself back up in a tree to settle in for a pain filled night.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The Games have begun and the novel has taken a turn toward action and adventure. The tributes have entered the arena and now their every move is vital. Katniss has entered as a favourite (even though she refuses to believe it), and so has Peeta. In the first day of games eleven tributes are dead. Katniss witnessed one killing that made her realize for real what the games are at that it is. Alliances formed quickly, Peeta as well as the male tribute from District 3 have made a team with the Careers (a pack of tributes who come into the games looking trained and ready). Katniss’ hopes are early diminished when she fears she won’t be able to find water, but with the help of Haymitch she does and all is good in her end. As far as the arena goes, it is set up with woods, a lake, rivers and a grain field. During these chapters the Gamemakes set off the first scientifically created disaster; a wall of fire in hopes to bring the tributes closer together to root more action. The elements of romance has vanished from this small section considering Katniss and Peeta are no longer together and she is under the impression Peeta has left her for the Career pack.

The essentials of an action or adventure aren’t necessarily that strong but they do over power anything else in these chapters.

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