Post war

I feel like the book  is well organized.the story sequence is well planned to me. It's taken you through some of ever day life back then. I don't it so interesting. Some things in the book are common to know. How people Rob because there poor and need food or money. No it's not to the extreme as before I would hope. But there are similarities. Every body does What they do for a reason. The live the way they did before the war calm because they were able to. They went through a harsh time there after because it was war and people were dying around. Some people stole because they lost everything during the war and times were tuff. Similar to some poor people now. Who have nothing and sometimes steal it try to get things the best way they can. Life circumstances guides some peoples choices and affects them. Post war stories let you know what it's like.

I see the kind of wars and some of what went on years ago.        The later stories are more peaceful, some were funny

Bicycle Thieves and Postwar Stories

What do Bicycle Thieves and Calvino's "Postwar Stories" have to say about the quality of life for many Italian people at the close of WWII? In what ways do they approach their subject matter differently? In what ways are they similar if at all?

Postwar Stories

1) How are these stories different from the stories in the first two sections?

2) Now that you've read several Calvino stories, how would you characterize them in general? What qualities do Calvino stories share?

Rome, Open City

Two of the scenes that stuck out to me had to do with the Nazis. The scene with the drunk high-ranking officer telling the higher-ranking officer he has seen people the Nazis deemed inferior showing great character and courage. Character and courage that the officer in charge attributes to the "master race". He was a drunk man having a moment of clarity. The officer in charge believed wholeheartedly that the Italian man was going to talk. In the officer's mind, he would eventually talk due to the fact that he was part of a "slave race". To him, Italian people don't have strong character or that much courage. If the torture did not break him, that would mean there is no difference between the "master race" and the "slave race". The final scene stuck out to me also because it shows a few Nazi soldiers having some humanity when they refused to shoot the priest.  Perhaps those particular soldiers respected the courage that he had shown and felt like they would be cowards to shoot a defenseless man of God.

war times

I felt Calvino really did a god job showing us all the different types of "War stories" to show us and help us understand better what was happening in those times. One of the stories that really caught my attention was " One of the Three is Still Alive ". even though that story was very Dark, it was on of my favorites i really felt and can visualize what was happening in that story. I felt so bad for the men that were thrown in that hole, as if they were trash. Calvino mentions that these three men were all naked, and how they were scared for their life i thought of slavery. being mistreated. when they were thrown in the hole and the the one that survived I felt bad that he was suffering and that was how he was going to die, it was probably the worst. i know he probably wish he would of died instantly than to live in that hole with all those bodies. these people had no humanity for throwing a person in a hole like that. what was also sad was that the three men didn't know what the word "death" and muttering prayers because they knew that, that wasn't a good word. it was terrible the how they were treated. i was relived in the end when the man found a way out of the hole, it was like his haven.

Another stories that I liked was "Hunger at Bevera". even thought Bisma was deaf that didn't stop him, he seemed to be the bravest among his people. he had a weak mule but that mule was a fighter. Bisma didn't know what was going on but he ended up being the hero for his people he was fearless of the Germans. it was ashamed his life ended, it didn't end by a German. it ended because he took a step back and fell to his death. it was sad but he was a good man that cared for his people and his disability didn't make him weak it made him strong and brave.

The comparison to War Stories and Open city the Germans tourchered people. they really wanted that person to suffer. but what i noticed what was different in Open City from the stories in War Stories. that the Germans targeted specific people and not everyone from the town. that was the only difference i noticed anyone that got in the Germans was in open city they, they killed. 

How to dramatize violence and death

We've seen variety ways of dramatizing violence and death since the last unit. Violence is related to crime (Hery Hills' story, mass gun shot murders), game (the Hunger Game), or war. The stories can be either fictions or documentaries. Violence is dark but it can be entertaining if it is outside of our real world (like video games and the Hunger Game). However, due to its physicality, the violence is mostly associated with its back ground, such as poverty, hunger, and hostility. Why does the war create such a mess? I think it is because of systematic involvement (countries and countries, people and people) and long term sufferer. The war involves too many people for relatively a long period. all factors (poverty, hunger, hostility) are included and these factors exacerbate each other during the war. In the early 20 century, the people were involved in the war almost for a half century since the WWI. The situation made the people crazier and darker. Calvino dramatizes the detail and expresses the violence as if he experienced it (or observed) by himself, or more than that. In "Mine Field", at the end of the scene, mine's explosion is described as "Sun" so as the readers imagine its flash and and the readers imagine the body flipped around into the air. In "Going to Headquarters", the readers can imagine the decayed corpse with his expression, "black with ants". This is more than the fact (gun shot in crime, video games) and it is almost an art. Long term oppression typically leads the people to the art. Rome, Open City, depicts intrigues involving the German generals, Italian rebellion, women and men. The main theme is about the Fascism (supported by the Nazi) and the rebellion. It is interesting to think about how the movie was made at the end of the WWII. I wouldn't be surprised if the movie was made after the WWII (like 60's or 70's). But it was actually made just within the war. I am wondering if the movie could be recognized as an art at that time. Catholic church represents 17 century's  art. The scenes where the priest prays for the lord and the kids are gathering the church show up between the violence and the violence in the film. If the movie implied an political argument, the directors and the casts might be tortured at that time. It is reasonable to think of this film as an art. Both Calvino's book and Rome, Open City dramatize the war as a part of the new arts.

Survival

War time stories show how people's psychology changes in terms of different circumstances. Binda was a healthy lad who is now chased by fear and uncertainty. War changed his daily schedule. It's all about struggle to save his village people and himself now.  Valley of Bevera's people wait for a volunteer from their group to go out and bring food for them. Old Bisma, finally, take the risk to collect food for all, accompanying his weak mule. These people might be thinking of something productive or entertaining in life if there was no war. War brought hunger and fear of survival to their lives. They only think of food and safety now. The unarmed man in the "Going to Headquarters" was suspicious of the armed man's purpose behind taking him to a destination without any direction. The guy thinks of escaping and again takes the risk to believe the armed man. The last thing he can do is to hope that they will not kill him and let him go. He holds on to hope till the end of his life, the hope to survive. The skill of the little kid is noticed by the German commander and is taken to the group in the story "The Crow comes Last". The boy seems to enjoy his life even in the war time. He just loves to shoot. As a young kid, he should be scared of the soldier and the gun. He acts indifferent of the consequences of stealing the gun from the group. This is one of those absurd moment when Calvino exposes the reverse psychology of human when they don't act regarding their situation. Same thing happens in "Animal Woods" where the guy goes behind the soldier to kill him instead of knowing his incompetency as a shooter. In "One of the three is still alive", people of the village acted in response to the tragedy happens to them. They were quick to take revenge and kill the people who burned their village. One of the three guy is seen to struggle to save himself from death. All stories reflect on survival. We take our life and all blessings in it for granted, but when we face any difficulty in life we realize the importance of each and every single thing we enjoy.

The title War Stories is a good title for these stories because they are speaking on times of war. Things that people ere going and foing through. Like the one guy who went to get bread for the whole village and took the mule with him. The mule to me protected him form the Geermens getting him. The Germans to me weren't working about the mule. The guy wouldn't go down without the mule and the im portance of them falling together is strong. Given the information in the beginning of the story. Also the story with the German man going into he woods and trying to get all those animals, that he may have never seen. The guy was going crazy with trying to praise(be hero) for his people and save there animals but he wasn't a good shooter but he still did whatcha was a post to. The Germans were running there lives. They were in there heads all the time.

War stories

The stories gave you a insight to things that may have been going on around the author. It gives you insight to the war times. The stories were dark. In the first story you were unsure wether or not the boy was going to make it to the commanders house to give him the message. He was unsure if he would make it there before the Germans. The movie was darker to me because you able to see what was happening  and see that They were torching the guy in front of him to make him give a statement and the female dropped dead and nobody helped her. The Germans were evil and just wanted what the warned. In both the book and the movie. The Germans are bad and doing bad things and killing people.

La Strada means "the road".

La Strada means "the road". There are always roads in the film, on which Zampano (Antony Quinn) and Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina) leave her home town, go to the city, leave the city, enter the chapel...Gelsomina likes to stare at the sea or the fire. Her property is like the property of a fairy, such as fire, wind, water, soil etc. It might represent the pureness that she has her inside. Once she's learned a music, she keeps playing it and her song is always admired by the people, but it seems especially by middle age women (the lady in the chapel or the lady drying a laundry). I don't see whether she likes Zampano but, at least, she feels sad if she is ignored by Zampano especially when he goes out with other girls. It may be because her role that she is given by her family, which is to work as Zampano's wife. However, the role of the wife is much different than nowadays. It seems like a helper or a servant for Zampano. A good servant may sometime become a good partner. Zampano may realize it at the end but it is too late. He could't tolerate her pureness (feeling of guilty about the murder) and he abandoned her. Gelsomina is too pure and weak like fairy and can't survive in this harsh era. In 1957, the Tokyo tower started its construction in Japan. This tower is sometimes referred as a symbol of Japan to recover from the WWII. La Strada was first released in 1954. Italy lost the war with Japan. Italy might still sink under anxious when the film was released. The title of the film may imply a hope or it may just simply represent that they were losing their ways (wondering their future).

War and Neorealism

This second week of post-WWII fiction and film is all about war. Roberto Rossellini's Rome, Open City (1945) and Calvino's "Wartime Stories" both capture in different ways what it was like to live in Italy during the war. Rossellini's film can be melodramatic at times, but it is also suspenseful and you can still see why it was a worldwide success. Rossellini started work on the film even as the Nazis were abandoning Rome at the end of the war. Like many neorealistic films, a lot of the actors are untrained, just regular people. Much of the camera work is handheld and almost all of it is on location, filming in the dust of the city and the aftermath of the fighting. Remember, Calvino fought in the Italian resistance (which is dramatized in Rossellini's film) and these are the darkest, most violent stories of the collection. That scene in "One of the Three Is Still Alive" where the naked man in the hole grips his wrist and can't feel it and then realizes he's gripping the wrist of a dead man (105) captures the darkness of these stories. Some questions:

• Compare these stories to the stories from the beginning of the collection. How are they similar? Different?
• Compare the tones of the stories w/ that of Rome, Open City? Which is more hopeful? Which is darker?
• How do these tales and this film dramatize violence and death? 
• There is an absurd humor to some of the Calvino stories. What do you make of that? There's a dreamlike quality to "Going to Headquarters." How come?

The Enchanted Garden

The kids in in the story get to briefly experience the life of the rich by walking around in a garden that belongs to somebody that is of a different class than they are. They can never fully enjoy the experience due to the fact they know they are not supposed to be there. They are taking flowers from the garden, they are swimming in the big pool and they are eating the cake that they found. However, they feel guilty throughout the story and that gets in the way of the excitement of the adventure. The boy that they observed, seemed to be anxious and worried also. At the end of the story, the main characters leave the garden and they can now enjoy themselves by doing things that do not cost anything. Maybe with this story, Calvino is saying that riches don't necessarily get rid of problems and that you have to enjoy the little things in life, friendship and companionship.

I felt like she had so many opportunities to get away and even go home. She chose not to go and to stay with him. She just couldn't get herself to get up and leave. He treat so bad but he was indenial about why he wanted to keep her. He couldn't even answer her question, he answered with smart remarks. She deserved so much more. I couldn't believe that he left her there by the fire on the ground and didn't even. Try to bring her home because he needed to make money. Then he finds out she dies and is hit with shock and his sad but he mistreat her badly and didn't show her any affection or try to be there more when she was down because he killed somebody that he should have just left alone. His anger is what stood in his way and why he laid/died on the beach alone drunk.

The enchanted garden

The both of them are trespassing on someones property and they know it. With that in mind of course they would feel uncomfortable  with the situation as they know they are doing some thing wrong and if they are caught they will be scolded. They are constantly pressured by this fear and it doesn't allow them to have fun even though they are in such a fun place.

Giovannino and Serenella were in love and she trusted him with her life, this line shows how much she trusted him "Whenever Giovannino said, Let's go there, or "Let's do this," Serenella followed without a word" (page16). They were both afraid of going into the deserted garden but they did anyways and they found them self into an amazing view with an open sky facing flowers beds filled with neat rows of petunias and convolvulus, and rows of trees and at the end a beautiful large villa with flashing widowpanes and yellow and orange curtains. It seen like the garden was magical but at the end they realize that the garden is not as good as it seem.

Enchanted Garden

They go into a garden that is not theirs, that they had no business being in. They picked up flowers and made bouquet. They felt they were there by luck and couldn't fully appreciate all the things they saw and were doing. Those things did not belong to them. Then they see a rich boy and wonder how could he be more anxiety and nervous then them. He had everything but was still nervous and anxiety. The little boy to them seemed misplaced and that the things that the little boy had was granted to him by mistake. Like the little boy felt no different then them with all this wealth and things around him. When they left they were more come and relax and happier outside the world of the rich boy.

The Garden

This starts off with a cute love story between two children and takes a more depressing and terrifying turn. The children start to become more mischievous in the enchanted garden. Going into the pool they weren't allowed to go in and playing with the ping pong table and almost getting caught. Yet, they're not enjoying it as much as they would have thought which leaves them and to the reader that they are scared of being caught. Yet, when seeing this boy who is assumed to be living in this enchanted garden with all of this around him with any beck and call hes even more worried and scared then they are. My thought is what exactly could be going through that child's head and what spell do they keep referring to? Maybe its the the thought of not being able to have the nice things in life and not appreciating what you have, maybe the boy was just longing for someone to play with and his fear of his parents captivating him in this "Enchanted Garden".

After reading the first chapter Rivera story's. I felt that Calvino stories have something in common. His charters have a relationship with one another. and they are all in different places or awkward situations. I also noticed that all his charters so far are young, in their teens. in the first story i thought it was weird how he tried to bring Maria and Liberso together. a gardener and a maid. i felt like he made maria very awkward. her character kept laughing at most weirdest thing, makes me wonder if that how he views women, shy and weird. another things i found in common with all the stories were they all had men play the leading role. and made the women look kind of weak & have no mind of their own. in one of the stories he speaks about a girl crying he says that she is "fat" which i thought was mean, he didn't describe any of the male charters as ugly or fat or anything really, to me he kind make women look stupid or embarrassed them.

I wonder how old these two children are? The store sounds a bit strange but peaceful. Am trilled at how everytime Giovannino says to do something Serenella just follows. It is so sweet how he pluck the floaers for her.

The Enchanted Garden

I like this story of children being up to no good, on an adventure. Serenella reminds me of myself when I was little, a tomboy hanging out with boys and playing in the dirt. I also like how there are no parents around; this is not something that would happen in today's world. It's interesting how they saw the "little rich boy". The author describes him to be looking sickly, but maybe it is because instead of roaming around outside, he is stuck inside with his luxury.

The Enchanted Garden is kind of like The Secret Garden, two little poor kids kept as help for chores around in a house, run away on a sunny beautiful day to indulge in what the day had to offer.
Following tracks on a path of which they know not where it would lead them, but the excitement and adventure in itself keep them going to explore the unknown.
Quite an adventure going through tunnels, walking underneath eucalyptus trees, all along the way
Giovannino and Serenella goes on their adventure with hesitation as if they would get punished for enjoying themselves. it seemed to them it felt as if the fun time they were having is to good to be true.
Swimming in the lake playing ping pong and having cake and tea although it really was happening it felt like an illusion to them.

The Garden is Enchanted 

The story is about two people in love and the trust they have implemented on one another. It seems to as if they have known each and been with each other for a while now. I say that because they sound as if they have done something like this before and feel like everything is going to be alright. Perhaps the Garden was so mesmerizing that nothing really else mattered to them at the moment.

Impossible to Enjoy

Giovannino's relationship with Serennella is very interesting. They are on the way to explore the railroad. Their journey turns into a dreamy adventure - walking on the railroad, finding a beautiful garden full of natural beauty and means of entertainment, trying to enjoy them with an uncomfortable feeling, learning about the owner of the Villa who himself was unable to enjoy any of the things he owns. Everything happened during their journey to find crab is nothing but a mystery and they don't have the explanation for it. If only it was a real dream they could have enjoyed everything. This might compare to human life. Perfect company, perfect means for entertainment but not being comfortable to enjoy it. Life is never perfect. There is always something that becomes the barrier to the perfect image of our life.

More questions than answers for The Enchanted Garden

Calvino opens up the story with another set of characters that are not unlike the first two in the beginning story. In the first paragraphs there's an overwhelming sense that the characters are the same, yet entirely different. Almost as if it's American Horror Story and its the same actors but under different character names. It's a little hard to understand the meaning and purpose of the Enchanted Garden. What does this out-of-place garden represent in the real world, if it represents anything at all? And why are the characters in this story so similar to the ones before it? The Enchanted Garden also reminds me of Hansel and Gretel; two children walk into a forest that is magical, but don't belong there. It also reminds me of Bridge To Terabithia in which another set of kids enter of a forest to find it magical and enchanted. The story reads very unsettling through the constant discussion of this overwhelming anxiety that the two kids have. As a reader, I felt anxious wondering if anything were to happen to these kids; it reads like the lead up in a horror movie right before the crazed killer makes a big entrance. Also, the little pale boy in the villa adds more questions to the story. Why is he so anxious? Was he another wondering traveler that then got stuck in this "magical place"? He expresses the same anxiety as the children even though he seems to be apart of the scenery.

Enchanted Garden

I love this story, love the stories in this first section of the book, esp. the stories about children. I love the "Ping!" of the telephone line snapping (and it catches the general disrepair that Italy suffering immediately after the war), the sense that amazing things happen and that if you don't pay attention you'll miss them. I think Calvino captures the innocence of childhood, esp. the way children sense injustice, that there are places in the world that they "don't belong" based just on the accidents of their birth. The garden seems to be "enchanted" to them, but the irony of the story--what we see that the children don't--is that this garden is typical and banal, a rich person's place wasted on the people who live there.

Unit III: Postwar Italy in Fiction and Film

The four films we're watching this unit and all of the stories were written/created from 1945-1962. Some background: Italy was a fascist country ruled by Benito Mussolini before WWII until about 1943. Germany occupied much of Italy after the fall of Mussolini until the end of the war in 1945.

Italy was devastated by six years of war. In addition, many of the artists who weren't allowed to express themselves under a fascist system were suddenly free to do so. The films that we're watching next week and the week after (Rome, Open City ('45) and Bicycle Thieves ('47)) were part of a cinematic movement that came to be called Neo-Realism, or the new realism. You can't overstate the effect that this movement had on world cinema. It led to the French New Wave, the German New Wave, the Hollywood Renaissance, and, of course, the Italian New Wave. La Strada ("the road"), directed by Federico Fellini was one of the earliest of the Italian New Wave films. In fact, Italy was one of the world's strongest film producers up until the mid-60's and Fellini one its most important directors.

Italo Calvino was one of Italy's most important writers, in fact, is one of the most important world writers (many say he should have won the Nobel Prize for literature before his death in 1985 at the age of 61). During WWII, at 21, he fought in the anti-fascist underground resistance in Italy. (His parents were taken captive by the fascists as a result.)

Both Calvino's "Riviera Stories" and La Strada deal with people from different worlds thrust together. They're simple stories that have complex subtexts, so I'd like you to spend some time picking them apart. They're about gender roles in post-war Italy and about class and how people survived in an impoverished country decimated by war. What kind of connections do you see between these literary texts and the cinematic one we screen on Wed. night? What questions do you have?

Hunger games

Katniss is such a responsible character in this scene it shows how she cares about her family and that she would do anything to protect her family. Since her father's death, Katniss to me has taken the role of provider for her family. Katniss even though to me she seems to resent her mother, she still cares for her. It's cold and dingy in the little shack that they live in but they make do with what they have. Katniss goes to great lengths to provide for her family.

Finishing up this unit...

As we finish up Unit II, I would like us to make some closing conclusions about violence in America as revealed in our pop culture. We've talked about both class and race/ethnicity and their roles in US violence, but there are many other ways (and other kinds of texts) that could have been explored. For instance, the recent fall of media stars (Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Bill O'Reily, Roger Ailes among others) b/c of sexual assault charges and the fact that Donald Trump was elected to the presidency despite the fact that he openly bragged about sexually assaulting women (and over a dozen of those women came forward). What do these incidents tell us about violence toward women in our country? Or we could have looked at violence toward the LGBT population despite the fact that same-sex marriages are now legal in our country. Feel free to apply these perspectives ("lenses") to any of the texts we've read/watched or any other recent texts that you've consumed. 

As far as finishing up w/ The Hunger Games, I think there are a lot of these issues that we've started to explore, but maybe haven't exhausted. We discussed economic class last week and I felt that our conversation was perhaps not as thorough as it could have been. As it was pointed out in class, the gap between rich and poor has grown exponentially in recent decades, reportedly the widest it's been since the Great Depression. As I finished rereading Collins' book this past week, I was struck again and again with what a nuanced approach to class she takes in the book. Not only do different people in District 12 exist in different classes (the mayor vs. a miner for instance), but different districts seem to be better off than others (11 and 12 seem poorer than 1 & 2). Even Peta and Katniss are in different classes (check out the exchange on pp. 292-293 concerning Thresh's decision NOT to kill Katniss). Why approach class in this complicated way? The main story seems to be the districts vs. the capital. Why complicate the story?

What other things have you noticed about the novel? What is lost in the adaptation to film? What is gained? 

Violence in America: Mass Shootings

I don't think Michael Moore reaches a definitive conclusion about why there are so many mass shootings in the US. Today in The Times, there is an interesting theory about why, perhaps obvious: We have so many guns. What do you think?

the hunger games

The beginning of the book paints a bleak picture. The people of the district are oppressed and poor. Katniss, at a young age had to become an adult and take care of her mother and her little sister. She risks her life by going hunting to provide food. The kids in the district have to live their lives knowing that their names can always be drawn to go kill or be killed. How can you be happy living like that? Your name or the name of a family member or friend can always be drawn. The kids are all disposable. You can always lose a loved one. Katniss had to volunteer as tribute to take the place of her sister who she lives for.

Hunger games

The hunger games beginning is so good. I love the details that let you see and feel like your there. I could see Gale and Katniss in the woods hunting together. The relationship they have is awesome. When the drawing was happening I was wishing that Katniss didn't get picked not thinking that her sister wood. I was shocked when she got picked and I was happy they Katniss stepped up to the plate for hee little sister. I think that would have been really hard on her mom. I love how brave Katniss is. I knew that Katniss would go far in the hunger games because she is brave and can not her own. The weird thing to me was the f act that her and Peeta had tok be together and pretend to have some friendship together and get along well. But I think it played a good part for them to get sponsures and Peetas interview was what drew me in most and made me think like maybe that's why Peeta was doing what he was doing and Katniss was not seeing it. The hunger games to me is just plane cruel. That is a terrible way to keep.districts in check. But so far a great book.

Hunger Games

Edwidge Duval

The Hunger Games


As the scene is being describe to capture your attention, I feel as if I'm there along with Katniss
and her family. The visual viewed in my mind is cold, dingy, not enough to eat nor warm clothing to wear. The family makes do with what they possess and make the best of the lifestyle they live.  There seems to also be some type of resentment that Katniss has towards her mother. The games are coming up close and somehow Katniss has manage to avoid the reapings.

The Hunger Games opening

The opening of The Hunger Games provides great insight for the characters and the eventual roles they will have in each other's lives. The language used to describe Prim and her mother through Katniss' eyes shows exactly how she loves most. Katniss compares her sister's face to a raindrop, which casually discussing her mother's features in the past tense and saying "she looks younger....not so beaten down." We can see right from the start that Katniss cares for her sister very deeply, enough for her to not kill Prim's cat and learn to live harmoniously with the animal. She cares about Prim first and foremost which is a subtle foreshadow to her volunteering as tribute in place of Prim. Also, it is her interaction with Buttercup that we also see a major key element in Katniss' character. Katniss references Buttercup as "just another mouth to feed." With this, we see Katniss as someone who is practical and not very affectionate, with the exception of her sister. Later on in the book, this practicality is what ends up keeping Katniss alive during the Hunger Games and becomes a strategic advantage. One of the reasons why she distances herself from Peeta is to avoid any connection she knows she would have to severe later one. This characteristic also translates into her "I owe you" mentality that appears later on in the book. Further along in the first chapter, we're also introduced to Katniss' father and the important role he takes in her life. She describes her father as her role model, since he's the one who taught her how to hunt and has crafted bows for her. Her ability to hunt becomes another advantage that she takes into the Hunger Games.

Hunger Games

The beginning of the Hunger Games sets the stage for action, death and pain. It describes a world of survival, order and routine.There's no time for pleasure. Food sources are limited and only the strong and alert will win the brutal game. 

 Hunger Games Introduction

     The beginning of this book is a detailed look at what the character, Katniss, is going through. It goes into a little detail of the day it is, the reaping where they choose the people being put into the hunger games. Not only what day it is but the nature of what she does. Shes a criminal of some sorts who leaves her designated place to go in the woods to hunt for food to eat. Even what happened with her father and his death. The author is painting a vivid picture and description of what it is that Katniss is doing and why. 

The entry of the novel

The entry of the novel gives me a picture how their world is different than my world. Her family isn't wealthy but, even so, we don't normally eat rats or squirrels because we know they are contaminated with some worms that are highly contagious and possibly impact our health. I thought, if their world is on the same Earth, this story could be about the story in early centuries but the fact is opposite. The entry leads me easily into the picture that I shouldn't be aware of. It is concise but very efficiently telling me about the main character, Katniss, and her family.

Unpredictable Image

The opening of The Hunger Games gives us the idea that Katniss have a very special kind of love for her sister, Prim. She praises her mom's beauty. She talks about her resentment for Prim's cat. She mentions reaping day but she doesn't immediately go into the description of the reaping day, rather she pauses along her explanation of things like what kind of a place is district 12, or how people are not allowed to trespass the wood, how her dad taught hunting, how good she is while dealing with bow and arrow, etc. and she gives more details about each topics. The opening is not foreshadowing the scary truth of hunger games that will be described by Katniss later when the story progresses. 

The beginning of The Hunger Games, is describing the living conditions Katniss and the village lives in. It also talks about how Katniss is responsible of taking care of her little sister and her mother. It also describes what she has to do to survive  

The Hunger Games Intro

In the introduction of The Hunger Games, we immediately find out the adversity that Katniss has overcome, and is still overcoming. We learn that Katniss was forced to provide (hunt, bargain) for her family from a young age, which has essentially prepared her for the Hunger Games. Having to forage in the woods, climb trees, shoot, clean, and cook her prey are all skills that will be useful to her in the arena.

The opening introduces who Katniss is and her family and what they do in order to survive. when i read that I was thinking to myself i wouldn't be able to live that type of life style. for example, when im hungry I would normally make something to eat or go out and buy something to eat from a local place. but Katniss has to hunt & make trades for food or for anything she needs. they dont talk about money to purchase the things they need.  when Katniss mentions how her mother and sister sleep, i can paint a vivid picture, they live uncomfortable but show love for one another, because of their situation. Katniss mentions her sisters cat and how much she despises of but keeps it because it makes her sister happy.the way katniss is portrayed is the provider for her family. She is the Man of the house, she makes the rules, brings home food and love & care for them.

The Hunger Games

I think an interesting aspect of the opening is that it's told in present tense. It's actually a pretty artificial way to narrate. (Do people really think: "I wake up. Now I am putting on my boots which are made of leather. Now I am going outside," etc.) However, it captures the immediacy of the events, the nowness of everything. She is still describing the Hunger Games, the tessarae, etc. for us as if we don't know what those things are, as if we are aliens from outer space and don't know the ways of this world. But we learn to go through the motions w/ her so that we find out what happens--it's a plot-heavy book. Also, it's very much about the media which is as immediate as things get. Things happen and they're filmed about and sent out into the world. Many of us knew about yesterday's terrorist attack in NYC right after it happened b/c our phones told us about it and even sent us pix. And people on the other side of the US and some even outside it found out at the same time as we did.