In The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, the story of Katniss Everdean unfolds: the story of a young girl living in poverty under a tyrannical government. Katniss volunteers to compete, in her little sister’s place, in a competition held yearly called the Hunger Games. These games consist of a fight to the death between 24 teenagers, a boy and girl from each of the 12 districts under the Capitol’s control. Katniss teaches the reader to persevere and be strong. She shows her strength in adversity and fights against the government that threatens to consume everything she loves. The savageness of human nature is also revealed in this story. The Capitol enjoyed watching the tributes fight to the death in the arena. The Hunger Games is a story worth reading because Katniss demonstrates kindness, courage to stand up for what right, and that people can overcome savage situation through intelligence and trust.

The most striking quotes in The Hunger Games, was a line by Katniss. She questions how anyone could find enjoyment through watching children kill each other in the most brutal ways possible. Upon reading this I was almost forced to turn on myself and close the book, because doesn’t enjoying the novel make me just as bad as the people from the capitol who enjoy watching the blood bath televised live? I tried to justify it to myself saying it would be different in real life, but I was engrossed with the tragic tale which unfolded as I read. The truth is almost everyone has a morbid curiosity in other people’s struggles and pain. I think Suzanne Collins, the author, wanted her readers to understand that everyone has a savage nature. She wanted people to understand how easy it would be to be sucked into this type of society where fear and anger rule.

Katniss, the main character has a strong and brave personality. She knows no other life besides one of constant fear and hunger. Katniss hunts to keep her family afloat after her father was killed in a mining accident. Her mother sunk into depression and did nothing to help, Katniss was forced to learn everything herself and become strong. And strong she became, so strong she’s locked herself away from others. This strength kept her alive in a world so set on seeing her die. I love Katniss because she continues to fight until the very end and never listens to anyone who tells her she can’t succeed. She turns others’ scorn and disapproval into fuel for her perseverance. I think Suzanne Collins wants to excite people to strive for a better world and not to just be content with what we’re given. To most citizens in District 12, being chosen for the hunger games was a death sentence, but Katniss decided to use it as a chance to revolt against the Capitol and the injustice presented her. I respect Katniss immensely for this. It’s so easy to become discouraged and so much simpler to give in; but the satisfaction of persevering and ending up victorious is indescribable. I think Suzanne Collins wants the readers to understand the satisfaction of even a small victory in the face of a seemingly unconquerable enemy.

Just like many other stories throughout time, The Hunger Games, addresses the issue of government. The Capitol controls the twelve outlying districts with fear. The Capitol keeps most of these districts impoverished so they don’t have the resources to revolt. Most of the citizens resign themselves to this treatment but Katniss refuses to settle for such injustice. Instead of violent out bursts or throwing tantrums, Katniss sneakily and subtly finds ways to revolt. After volunteering for the Hunger Games Katniss tries in every way possible to foil the Game Makers strategies and show she still cares for people. When Rue died, instead of leaving to let the hover craft collect Rue’s body, Katniss collected beautiful flowers to ring about her. This was a small way of defying the game makers. Katniss showed them she truly cared for Rue. Rue wasn’t merely a pawn in their game, and neither was Katniss. Perhaps the ultimate victory was the final victory. She delivers a fatal blow to the Capitol’s and Game Maker’s egos when Katniss convinced Peeta to commit the double suicide that leads to a double victory instead. This attack couldn’t be kept from the public because it impacted the entire results of the games. Just like the founding fathers Katniss has a dream of a better place and is willing to put herself into danger to make it happen. She strives to unite the districts against the Capitol and hates each person in the Capitol who is responsible for the desolation she deals with back home.

Many stories contain important morals or lessons for everyday life. It’s often easier to relate to a character in a story than to a definition. For example in the children’s story The Ugly Duckling, the Ugly Duckling is bullied by the other ducklings. The poor Ugly Duckling is hurt by their cruel taunts to the point where he flees to be alone. I think almost every child who reads this story, or has it read to them, can understand this pain. Even without realizing it, the child may subconsciously decide bullying is wrong because it hurts others before they even really understand what bullying is. As a high school student I have received many talks about how bullying is wrong and heard many stories related to this topic; however, The Ugly Duckling, a child’s novel, is the only story that lingers in the back of my mind. Another lesson from The Ugly Duckling is that of patience. At first the Ugly Duckling was sad that he was ugly and felt he belonged nowhere, but soon grew to be a beautiful swan. This serves as a reminder that things will always look up and never as bad as they first seem, it may just take some time to improve. When I feel down I can hear the Ugly Duckling reminding me to never give up.

Stories are how we learn and relate to each other. People who share similar stories get along well, and those who don’t, share their stories so others can learn from others’ experiences. What’s more interesting really: an instructions manual or a novel? I don’t know about you, but when I try to read instructions or educational textbooks my mind tends to wander and it takes quite a few attempts to absorb any knowledge. However, I can remember every character, scene, and many minor details from the last novel I read. To put it simply, novels are an entertaining way to learn of new people, situations, and cultures. I read a book not so long ago about a girl who was the same age as me only she lived half way around the world in the deserts of Saudi-Arabia. I followed her story as she lost her first love and was forced to marry a man thirty years her senior for the good of her family. At first I found it hard to relate to a girl who seemed to have nothing in common with me. Then I noticed little details, like how she loved new clothes, thought there was nothing better than swimming, and her love of animals, that brought us together. I soon found myself walking beside her as she ventured into the dessert to find water and felt the pain of her brothers’ death as if he were my own brother. I learned of the differences in our cultures. There were many things I disagreed with, but some I appreciated. Unlike in textbooks, I learned from the eyes of a native the pros and cons of this culture.

Books have an amazing ability to grab their readers’ attention and allow them to escape their lives momentarily. I think many authors write stories to uplift their readers and allow them a reprieve from their monotonic daily life. I love stories, especially well written stories, because I can slip inside the heroine and be someone else for a little while. I can be a beautiful princess with grace and poise, or a great athlete winning an important race, or a young girl experiencing her first love. It’s kind of nice to have a place to go to escape the little stresses and irritations of my life. If I was an author I would want to create a story that would grab people’s attention to the point where they don’t want to put the book down and would simply enjoy reading it. Stories where I can relate to the main character are the best because it’s easier to slip into their personification. Books aren’t as good when I don’t understand the emotions of the main character. InNight by Elie Wiesel, I couldn’t connect with Elie at all. All these horrible experiences happened to him and he expressed his pain in beautiful poetic phrases, however, I felt no attachment to him so I couldn’t feel sadness or hate. I understood the situation perfectly but it was surreal and impersonal. Conversely the novel The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak, brought me to tears. The characters in the story were figments of Zusak’s imagination, they never really existed in real life; however, the emotions expressed by a young Liesel Meminger were a great deal more real than those expressed by the living Elie Wiesel. When Liesel found the bodies of her friends and family after the airplane raid destroyed her entire town, I was standing right there with her holding onto each loved one and feeling the tremendous loss that came with each new discovery. I couldn’t tear my attention from the story, it consumed my consciousness. The spell began to wear off as I finished the final chapters but I can still recall that chilling loss the story caused in me. Books like these surpass all others because they leave the reader with emotions they may not have experienced before. Even though the story was extremely depressing I felt happy and oddly satisfied after reading it. I enjoyed the plot and grew to love people I had never met before and will never meet. I think that’s the best part of stories.

Stories have been told for centuries; even before writing, stories were passed down orally. History, lessons, knowledge, and fun accompany each story; which is why they have remained important to this day. Stories have the amazing ability to change someone’s perspective. They can calm a crying child, or bring a grown man to tears. There is nothing as wonderful as a book that broadens horizons and brings happiness in its wake. The Hunger Games was an amazing novel because it shows the depth of human nature and hopefully teaches the reader a bit about themselves. Like a window, this book allowed me to peek into a world where people were starving, children were fighting to the death, and a young girl was still worried over love and friendships. I hope people will continue to enjoy stories and learn from their timeless messages.