Food for the hungry
THIS WEEK’S WINNER
Beatrice Anne D. Malveda, 16, of Quiapo, Manila is a graduate of University of Santo Tomas-High School. A Student Achiever, she won the university-wide Chilean essay writing competition for its bicentennial independence. She will attend University of the Philippines-Diliman, majoring in journalism.
A good book is dangerous. It can make you fall into laziness or slip out of reality, mixed with the wonder of imagination. It gives you no chance of stopping. The books I’m writing about — Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games and its two sequels — stripped me of all my plans and left me no choice but to read on. I had to clean the room but, instead of picking up that broom, I found myself lying in bed… and reading. I told myself silently, “Just one more chapter...” But after reading the last word, I would scour for another page and read again. I just can’t drop a good book and keep the story hanging. I cannot let my excitement waver when I’m in the middle of some intriguing twist that seems to lead to the climax. The problem is, there is no possible means of escape but the book’s end.
I have had three similar experiences with the books I’m describing. I invested an enormous amount of time reading the trilogy and let my summer schedule suffer. It was a birthday gift from my friends. To be honest, I never really liked the genre which, at first glance, screamed “action” to me. Nonetheless, I suggested The Hunger Games as one of my gift options because it’s popular. Getting my hands on a bestseller that didn’t rob my friends’ allowances was a definite jackpot. When I ripped open the wrapping, I gave a half-forced smile and my thanks. The Hunger Games trilogy did not exactly make my body jump for joy as Confessions of a Shopaholic did, but I soon realized that an obsessed chick flick reader should know how to experiment sometimes. Sure enough, it was worth the experimentation. By the end of chapter one, I was already engrossed in the story. It’s amazing how Collins was able to blend elements of excitement, adventure, evil, goodness and love all together and come up with a beautifully crafted masterpiece.
The plot is highly ambitious, taking place in the future, but rooted in pure imagination. What is interesting is that while such a future nation is unlikely to exist, the setting doesn’t seem totally unrealistic; it could happen if today’s civilization acts according to its history. Set in Panem, the defunct North America of the future that is ruled by the Capitol under President Snow’s command, it follows uprisings in what are called the “Dark Days,” a time when the Capitol creates the Hunger Games in which each district sends a pair of children from ages 12 to 18 to fight for their survival in an arena of sorts. The Games are nationally broadcast for everybody’s entertainment. There are only two ways to win: to survive, or to kill.
The book is gory. When you are in the arena, you have to give up your morality or else you’ll lose your life. Peeta, one of the leading characters, wants to be more than just a pawn in the Games. Katniss, the protagonist, becomes the binding force of the new uprising and together with other rebels and the entirety of Panem, the Capitol is destroyed and freedom and justice restored.
Katniss Everdeen, in a way, is like any other typical heroine. Like Mia in Princess Diaries and Bella in the Twilight Saga, the last person she is concerned about is herself. She is also not the girly type, though some drop-dead, gorgeous boys are attracted to her. What differentiates her from other heroines is her ability to survive. After her father’s death, her mother falls into extreme loneliness and she is left as the head of the family. She learns to hunt, gather and trade to feed three hungry mouths. This frail 11-year-old saves her starving family. She is hardened by early life struggles to know that life is unfair and that to survive, you have to live with reality. She displays toughness but beyond that exterior is a loving and selfless heart that is human too, and also weak at times. Still, she isn’t overpowered by her weaknesses and even takes the biggest responsibility for everyone’s sake. She becomes their Mockingjay, the face of the rebellion. She is worthy of respect and admiration. Using Peeta’s words, “She has no idea. The effect that she can have.”
And author Collins does not know the effect she had on me! The Hunger Games trilogy made me embark on a venture that is both exciting, happy and, yes, tearful. On the other hand, I take delight every time I smile at moments of sweetness and love in the books. Then there are times that I blurt out little shrieks of horror when someone is in danger of death or is in the middle of combat. But nothing compares to those moments when my mother instructs me to do a chore and I answer in response, “Six more pages, Mom. I promise.” But after reading those six pages, I sneak and read some more. It’s okay, because I do my chores later anyway. You see, it’s important to maintain that balance when a book makes you crazy.
