In Book 1 and Book 2, the arena for the
Hunger Games was specifically set to make the killings more entertaining and
challenging. But in book 3, there is no arena because there is no Hunger Games.
The people of the district have reached the threshold of the capitol’s
domination, and with a single spark of the fire started by Katniss, the people
revolt against their oppressors. Mockingjay is a symbol of rebellion and at the
same time hope. Mockingjay is no other than Katniss Everdeen.
But as what I’ve said, the third book
relates the story of the survival of the Mockingjay. How the 17 year old and
the vulnerable Katniss Everdeen survived the war? It’s not surprising that she
survived the tragedy because the existence of the mockingjay is a story of
survival itself. Mockngjay is a hybrid bird, it is a combination of the
Jabberjay and the mocking bird. These birds are genetically created by the
Capitol to help them establish a communication. But they soon killed these
birds but some of them survived in the wilderness. The union of the mocking
birds and the jabberjays has resulted to a mockingjay. You see, Mockingjays
exist unintentionally, and so do Katniss Everdeen. So I think, Mocingjay is the
perfect symbol of rebellion. Both the mockingjays and Katniss should never have
existed.
Back to the question. How did she survive?
The story maybe complicated and cumbersome, but if you are really looking into
the core concept, it is telling us that in order to survive, you must always
secure your basic needs. Yes, the basic needs that we learned from our Home Economics
subject are the reasons why Katniss survived, and so do we. It’s a reflection
of life, that no matter how complicated the situation is, we can still survive
as long as we secure the basic needs. And what are these basic needs?
- FOOD
Apparently, food
is a scarce in the story. From book 1, book 2 and book 3, the author described
how the people struggled to fill their stomachs. There are several accounts in
the book where the author clearly narrates the scarcity of food. There are some
instances where they need to divide the food and make sure that everybody is
getting their fair share. There are also some moments where their shares could
not satiate their empty stomachs but they have no choice but to succumb to the
reality that food is limited. You know that feeling that you still want to eat
more but there’s nothing to eat anymore? In the first place, food is the main reason
why there is Hunger Games, why there is rebellion and why there is war. Food is
the most important element to survive, at least according to my teacher, so
people will do anything and everything to put something in their empty stomach.
Without food, survival is at stake. Food plays a vital role during the war, you
can see how Katniss found refuge when she saw canned goods and when somebody
offered her a hot meal during the war. We can’t deny the contribution of food
to the survival of the mockingjay.
- EDUCATION
I get it,
education is not just about gaining knowledge and wisdom, but it is a very
effective weapon to survive. In reality, education is our first weapon to join
the corporate world. Without this, landing the first job is not that easy.
In the story, I
learned that education is also important in war. You will read how Katniss
reacted in the story when she was obliged to train for the war. She’s just
like, Hello, I won the hunger games and war is all about killing, so why do we
need to learn all these stuffs? But because it’s a must that everybody must
undergo training to join the war, she patiently learned to load and unload the
gun, train, run, and what not. Instinct alone could not help you survive. It is
important that you know what you are doing. If not for the training, I doubt it
if Katniss has survived the war. She has been confronted with a lot of
challenges, she was even burned, but she survived, thanks to the training.
- MEDICINE
War equates
injury. And when there is injury, you need that first aid kid to survive. In
the book, the presence of the hospital, patients and medical practitioners are
everywhere. You can see them In the in the districts, in the capitol and even
underground. Even during the Hunger Games and Quarter Quell, medicine helped
Katniss to survive. In fact, this is the first donation she got during the
Hunger games in book 1. You will read a lot about morphling, about hospital
rooms and first aid in the book. Katniss ended up sick physically and
emotionally, and because of the medicine, she was able to survive.
Everyday, we live to survive, we fight to
survive, we work to survive. You see, life is all about survival, but the only
secret to stay alive is to grasp on the basic needs. Go back to the basic.
Happy Hunger Games.
And for the last time I say, May the odds be
ever in your favour. I can’t wait for the movie version.
:>
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