Hunger Games

[Buster]

Then don't read it.

Bingo. The beauty of literature is there is something for everyone out there. I don't care for mysteries, romance, westerns, or fluff fiction now days. I think they are a waste of paper and library shelf space. But there are many people who love all of that stuff, and it should therefore be available. I'm not going to belittle their choices just because they aren't mine.

I do, however, love quality literature that makes me think and feel. Everything I have read about this book is that it is quality literature. Geared to young adults, sure, but the quality is still there.

There is plenty of stuff out there for teens that would make many of you happy. People do write fluffy happy stuff for teens, but kids by and large don't read it. So do we give them only what we think they should have, or do we give them what they want to read?

 

[Old Sew'n'Sew]

The violence is a symptom of the society as it is set up in the story. The book is NOT just about violence. You guys read the bible, right....there's a LOAD of violence and bloodbaths in there, but that's not what it's about either. Just saying.

You are correct in saying there is considerable graphic violence described in the Bible. From the down fall of man in the book of Genesis to the torture and execution of Jesus Christ (which is very difficult to read), to the Book of Revelation. > "I saw also an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice and said to all the birds that fly in midheaven: Come here, be gathered together to the great evening meal of God, that YOU may eat the fleshy parts of kings and the fleshy parts of military commanders and the fleshy parts of strong men and the fleshy parts of horses and of those seated upon them, and the fleshy parts of all, of freemen as well as of slaves and of small ones and great. Rev. 19:17,18

And yes it is not about the violence. The comparison of the Bible to secular literature doesn't seem to fit.

The Bible was not written for the purpose of entertainment or profit, nor are the violent scenes depicted in the Bible said to be a game. The Bible tells us what those stories are there for: Romans 15:4 For all the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope.
2 Tim. 3:16,17 All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.


That being said......
I guess I left the impression that I didn't want to read a book that depicted violence, and that's fair.


I will clarify my comment about the "Hunger Games". I think that this story, was written to provide entertainment for the reader, and profit for the author. As I understand it the majority of the consumers of this tale are younger people in their teens, and from the reports about how much the movie grossed in one weekend, people evidently are going in droves (as in sheep) to see the movie, and read the book. It's almost as if somebody has some supernatural control over these fans. I think it is not a good thing for the younger people to be manipulated like this, and I wonder how it will affect some of them besides being parted with their $$.

Then don't read it. But ya can't really say it's because of the violence. I could see if you'd read part of it, and found it to be not to your liking, but you obviously haven't. I try not to judge things before trying them. Maybe I'm just more adventurous I think sometimes folks just get it in their head how bad something is because of what they've heard or read ABOUT it...and then have a biased opinion about it due to the "controversy." Or, they just listen to what everyone else's opinion is on the matter and decide based solely on others opinion to not read/do/watch whatever.

I really appreciate that what you are saying here, you are right, I probably don't have enough information as to the content to say I wouldn't like it, I don't want to read it because I choose the road less traveled. am i bad

 

[Wannabefree]

No more bad than I am for reading it I actually agree with pretty much everything you're saying, but I still think you have the wrong idea about the book in general. The title of "game" given to the book is misleading. It is not a game to the main charachters. The oppressive government gave the trial that name as a slap in the face to the main charachters. The passive agressiveness of the government is the evil. The kids killing each other is a byproduct of the evil the government is forcing on the population. The story is like any other in that it's good vs. evil. I used the bible as an example because first off, that's the book I am most familiar with. And second, the violence in the bible is to promote good and promote God. The violence in this book carries about the same weight, it promotes the idea that these kids hate the oppression of the government because it forces them into things they know are wrong and would never do otherwise. Today example: Tax dollars for abortion...I would NEVER pay for that otherwise, just my personal belief system, please don't anyone get political about this sentence. Think about the raids on the dairies we have seen lately due to raw milk sales, the Monsanto monstrosity that is taking over our food supplies and promting GMO crops, the healthcare proposals that are springing up everywhere, and the corrupt politicians getting busted for everything under the sun etc. etc. There are plenty of other examples and parallels I could give, but this is getting too long a response already Are we bad for paying for abortions, are we bad for allowing the government to raid peoples livlihood..after all we do support the government whether we like it or not Are we at fault for supporting GMO agriculture personally? The undertone of the book is that we do all these things through force, personally I would never support half what our governement forces me to support through taxation. It's murder in a sense too...it is killing the freedoms we have left, slowly and deliberately smothering out life as we know it and have enjoyed for 2 centuries. This book, is just a dramatically amped up play on the feelings of despising the government for what we are forced into today that we wholely disagree with just because the governement says we must support it. It is a rebuttal in fiction form of all the strong arm activity going on in our own country. It's throwing it back at them. You wonder why it's so popular..I think that is why. Everyone is fed up IRL and this is ficticious release of the anger at our own system.

I agree it could be a bad thing, to minds that are already feeble. If a child who is going to be a mass murderer grows up slaughtering chickens it's going to make it an easier transition to slaughtering people because they already know how to kill and how to land a deadly blow, but that's the mechanics of it. Killing and murder are two different things, some folks can't decipher one from the other. If my child had serious mental problems, they wouldn't be allowed to read it or watch the movie either This again, is not the basic idea of the story though.

The book is very SS, which is why I thought most here would enjoy the read of a fiction about surviving in a time not entirely unlike our own, but with strong parallels to our society. Of course the book amps it up for dramatic entertainment purposes, it's still a good read. The idea of fighting back against oppressive government is the main idea of the whole story, not the violence. So what if the author makes a buck off of it? We have to have money to survive in this society, so good for the author IMO. I don't begrudge them an honest living, and if writing is their thing..who am I to say they should work in a factory instead I don't get that point at all. And people DO make money off the bible, off printing it out and translating it into other languages, etc. etc. otherwise like any other book that doesn't make money it wouldn't cntinue to be printed. The Author doesn't even get any royalties!!!! How sad is that?

 

[FarmerChick]

Is everyone is assuming the author did this for pure entertainment and profit?

probaby not. every writer HAS A reason for writing. They have a statement to be put on paper and read by others. Wanna is right in saying there is tons of depth in this book the author is conveying.

profit and entertainment MUST happen obviously. Or any book would never be written, printed or read


There are degrees of violence in every single book you read, from squashing a bug on purpose, to family violence, to murders, to horror books like Steven King etc.


In the end read it or not, but by gosh DON'T be criticizing a book YOU NEVER READ. that is just pathetic. A person THINKS they know what a book is about never having read it and hearing maybe 4 paragraphs about in total. yikes IF THE violence 'seems' to much for them from the few things they've heard, obviously don't read it, but to judge it is just wrong.

 

[moolie]

Why is this conversation so animated? It's a book, for heaven's sake--read it or not as you choose.

Violence is all around us, whether it be described by the Bible or the action of smashing a mosquito. It is a part of the life-and-death struggle we all engage in every day when we wake up alive. Yup, modern society protects us from all kinds of violence, yet exposes us to more fabricated violence through various types of media. That's life as we know it today.

FWIW my girls (14 and 16) both read all 3 books long before there was any talk of a movie and they are looking forward to seeing the movie. I read both the first and second books yesterday (we don't own the third so I have requested it from the library) to find out what all the hype in this thread is about. Simple writing and sentence structure, well-described characters who evolve over time with the aid of flashbacks, good plot, nice twists, pretty classic tale with the caveat that each of the first books ends with a bit of a cliffhanger--truly meant to be a trilogy. I understand that the author wrote them after watching The Amazing Race on tv and then flipping over to a channel that was showing news footage of the Iraq war and then imagined children in a world that included both.

I don't for one moment believe that people who choose to read a book, or see a popular movie, are being guided by unseen evil forces. We live in a hype society, people do what others do--but the perceived "peer pressure" out there is no different than what it was in the 80s, the 60s, or the 40s (and I'm sure down through time).

My girls also read Jane Austen, Mark Twain, and Jules Verne--in some cases when their friends were also reading those authors--were there demons involved then as well? Good grief.

And yup, along the way they have loved the Harry Potter books, started reading them in second grade. And they read the Percy Jackson books when their friends got into those. I guess my kids are demon-possessed, rather than merely voracious readers.

My kids have always been surrounded by literature, always been read to--just as hubs and I were as children. We all read, rabidly. Fiction, non-fiction, magazines, newspapers--whatever. I'd far rather that my kids get their kicks from a book that forces their minds to imagine the characters being described, than sit for hours and hours in front of a tv or video game. And if there's a movie made now and again based on one of those books or a series, it just allows them to escape for a couple of hours into someone else's fantasy world, and then come home and complain about how the movie makers didn't understand the story/characters/etc.

If you want to raise children to be thinking adults, they should read. And play, and imagine, and write, and draw, and dance. And learn the difference between what is imagined and what is real. My kids have known since before they started school that there is a difference between reality and a story, and they revel in a good book.

 

[Wannabefree]

Thanks everyone for your opinions and I hope those of you who CHOOSE to read it, thoroughly enjoy it as I did. I'm gonna request this thread be closed now before an all out brawl breaks loose in here.

 

[FarmerJamie]

And there was violence and death in the Narnia series, too, which in this house the series was thoroughly enjoyed. (and that DOES has a Christian theme to it)

When I was a youngster, it was the Lord of the Ring series.

Violence is all around us, whether it be described by the Bible or the action of smashing a mosquito. It is a part of the life-and-death struggle we all engage in every day when we wake up alive.

As I exposed my kids to history, particularly military history, I do not shield them from the harsh realities of life, so they can understand the virtues of the choices that they make.

I am taking my son to the movie Saturday.

 

[Nifty]

Closed by request of original poster.