Jash Reads: Mockingjay (Chapter 5)

I read Chapter 5 of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

Jash Reads: Mockingjay (Chapter 4)

I read Chapter 4 of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

Jash Reads: Mockingjay (Chapter 3)

I read Chapter 3 of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

Jash Reads: Mockingjay (Chapter 2)

I read chapter 2 of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

Jash Reads: Mockingjay (Chapter 1)

I read chapter 1 from Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Jash Reads: Mockingjay (Intro)

I talk about my readthrough of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

Best of 2014: #5 Mockingjay Part 1

I talk about Mockingjay Part 1 and why it's number 5 on my top 5 movies of 2014 list.

The Surprising Death of Mockingjay

Warning: MAJOR Spoiler Below

The Hunger Games is a wonderful trilogy of books. It follows the adventures of Katniss Everdeen as she's unwillingly made into the symbol of a rebellion. The third book in the trilogy is my favorite and has one of the saddest events of the entire trilogy. Hell, Collins took a huge chance doing it and I really hope the movie adaptation keeps it or else I'll be as mad as I was at the end of the Cujo movie adaptation.

The event that caused me so much pain, but I love it anyways, is Prim's death.

I enjoy her death for a few reasons:

1.) You didn't see it coming.

My favorite type of deaths are the ones you don't see coming. This makes it so that the death is so much more painful. If you see a death coming you are able to prepare yourself. You're able to put on armor so that the death doesn't hurt you as much as it could've.

Prim wasn't someone you expected to die. She was Katniss' sister and she was on the safe list. ESPECIALLY since this is a Young Adult book.

2.) Her death meant something.

A death can hurt you and be wonderful, but what really makes a death special is when it means something. When all your tears aren't in vain.

Prim dying caused Katniss to make her first real decision in the entire trilogy (not counting her decision to volunteer in the first place). In that I mean it wasn't organized by one side or the other in order to use her. Katniss is unique as she's a hero that doesn't mean to be a hero but keeps getting pushed into the role while all she cares about is her family (but that's a story for another post). So when Prim dies that leads her to killing President Coin.

3.) It was beyond heartbreaking.

With any death, to really effect me, it needs to touch me. It needs to touch me and pull my heart out. Then I have to like the extreme pain for some unknown reason. Maybe since I read depressing stuff a lot and love it when I finally feel something.

Prim was someone I didn't want to die. I wanted her to live so when the war was over Katniss could find peace in her sister. Katniss started her whole journey because she wanted to keep Prim safe. So Prim dying is ironic in that the whole reason Katniss did everything was lost to her by the end.

So I really REALLY hope that Prim's death is kept in the movie adaptation. Prim's death IS important. She helps push Katniss' story forward in that if Prim didn't die President Coin could still be alive to make President Snow's reign seem like Christmas. Prim's death also shows that not everyone gets out of war alive.

Splitting of Mockingjay

I talk about my opinion on Mockingjay being split into two movies.

Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)

Title: Mockingjay

Series: The Hunger Games Trilogy

Author: Suzanne Collins

Released: 2010

Rating: 6/5

Basic Plot: Katniss Everdeen becomes the Mockingjay (symbol of the rebellion) as the war truly begins. aka Shit gets real!

President Coin vs. President Snow
Previously in the series President Snow is shown to be a very cruel bastard. He is willing to kill children (in the Hunger Games) to control the districts. So you naturally believe he'll do anything, but he does have rules. They are few and far between, but they are rules. Lines even he won't cross. President Coin, leader of District 13, doesn't have any rules. She'll kill children to win the war. I won't give away what her great plan was. So, in the end, the person who lead the rebellion was an asshole and not to be respected. While the person who was already in control was a bastard who had rules.

The Role of the Mockingjay
I give kudos to Collins for making Katniss Everdeen fucking pointless to the overall war against the capitol. Her role as the Mockingjay is as pure distraction. Plus it gives the rebellion a figure to follow. Someone everyone admirers and so gives strength to the rebellion. What makes this role sad is it's like Katniss never left the Capitol's control. She traded the Capitol designing her as a Hunger Games victor for District 13 designing her as a pure figurehead with no real power.

The Choice Between Gale and Peeta
Throughout The Hunger Games Trilogy there has been a love triangle between Katniss, Gale, and Peeta. In the beginning it seems like of course Katniss will end up with Gale. But in the series all three change. Katniss changes due to her actions and what she goes through in the arenas. Gale's darker side comes to the forefront. Peeta is hijacked (a form of brainwashing) and his love for Katniss has to battle through what President Snow did to him. And, by the end, there is no doubt that Katniss and Peeta have become perfect for each other.

Final Thoughts
This book is intense. I knew it would become very dark but I didn't know how dark it would get. I got up and read the part of the book where Prim dies because I didn't believe it when I read it the first time. This is a book that has deeply affected me and that I won't be able to soon forget. For better or worse, I love this book. And would recommend everyone check out The Hunger Games Trilogy (as Mockingjay won't mean as much if you haven't read the first two books before you read Mockingjay).

First Thoughts of Mockingjay