chapter one observations 📚🏹🌼
Katniss putting her hunting boots on before any of her clothes is such an odd, funny detail
the Seam is a nickname, not an official designation
small descriptions of the district I have glossed before: “black cinder streets” “squat gray houses” and the Meadow (Katniss’s caps, not mine) is a “scruffy field,” not exactly the idyl we often imagine
Katniss’s description of her father’s death is so abrupt and perfunctory in comparisons to some of her other descriptions you can almost feel the walls built up around her grief
the woods are not just hard to get into, they’re dangerous, with rabid animals and poisonous snakes
the surreptitious apple harvest is a lovely image of the stubbornness of the people of 12
Katniss looking quickly over her shoulder after making the “starve to death in safety” remark is a great characterization moment: a hint of rebellion, then instant fear
I love the mention of younger Katniss being a feisty girl with lots of opinions about the Capitol
and yet another key characterization about her learning to school her tongue and her face to stay safe: Katniss isn’t a cold person, but she is very cautious
even she acknowledges that her detached demeanor isn’t her truest self when she admits she can be herself when she’s with Gale
I love the detail of the berry bushes protecting from unwanted eyes because it feels like yet another folksy detail
she smiles when she sees her best friend, and I love that for her
Gale and Katniss’s names are elemental: Gale’s is an air name, connected to wind and storms, and Katniss’s is a water and earth name, because katniss plants grow by water
real subtle with the arrow in the bread there, Suzanne
how did I forget how genuinely sweet this moment with Gale and Katniss getting excited over bread and cheese is? oh platonic Everthorne we barely knew ye
I also seemed to forget that Mr. Everdeen met Mrs. Everdeen because he brought her herbs
Katniss says she’s not the forgiving type, but right before she says that, she seems to be trying to extend empathy, however sour, to the mother who let her turn to “skin and bones”
Katniss’s description of the landscape of the woods (“teeming with life” with a “blue sky” and “soft breeze”) again, speaks to her eye for beauty and capacity for possibility
and then the topic of children comes up and there’s almost instant irritability between Gale and Katniss: it’s so sudden and Katniss is so instantly defensive and eager to explain to the audience that she and Gale are not an item — I’m curious why they snap at each other so quickly when the topic of the future comes up? thoughts?
I do think it is very sweet that Gale is thinking of children, despite the state of his world
of the three main kids, his family is easily the most functional we see, and I bet that influences his thoughts and expectations
they fish with poles! how backwoods of them
as someone who was so taken aback when I discovered that the black market wasn’t actually a place you could go to, it appeases me somewhat that the Hob is an actual physical black market in a warehouse
I think it’s so compassionate of Katniss to understand that just because some people have it better than her, it doesn’t make them bad people or snobs (in the case of Madge)
okay, this exchange is not nearly as heated as I remembered: Gale makes a comment that could either be genuine or sarcastic, and Madge responds in kind, Gale makes his comment about it being far less likely she’ll go to the Capitol (which is true, if unhelpful), and Katniss mediates, and they leave
I understand there some class and race interpretations that could be read here, but I don’t think it’s as toxic of a conversation as I remembered
and Gale and Madge are big kids: they can both say things that are both correct and insensitive
the expositional purpose is served, and Katniss comes away looking even more compassionate than ever when she expresses that Gale’s frustration is founded and it’s easy to resent people like Madge when they make comments with harmless intent, but hurting impact
but even Gale has the emotional maturity on the very next page to acknowledge that the system is what is truly broken, and the interpersonal relationships because of it
“I let him yell” — Katniss is such a caring person, because even as she shoves her own needs and emotions down, she allows Gale this outlet for his, even as it scares off game
Prim in Katniss’s first reaping outfit is such a macabre bit of hand-me-down nostalgia
the “lovely” soft blue dress is such a beautiful image, as is Prim’s “hushed” voice when she tells Katniss she’s beautiful
the detail of them saving the strawberries and bread for later is another gut wrenching foreshadowing (because we know something is going to happen even if we’ve never read the book before) in the vein of a side character in a movie saying they’ll do something with their family when they get home and we just know they’re going to die in the next scene
Katniss describes the town square as a place that can be pleasant, especially on market days!
but then she immediately counters it with the image of bright (I read that as too colorful) banners against grimy buildings and cameras like “buzzards” above
much as the movies are not my cup of tea, I think they did a good job with the too bright, overexposed atmosphere of this scene
Effie wears a green suit, not a pink one! though her wig is pink
some quasi-religious language with the “time for repentance and thanks” line from the mayor (though it’s my personal belief the Capitol did its best to stamp out organized religion, some sermon language never hurt to use in your dictatorship)
I remember reading Prim’s name be called and my heart dropped right into my stomach: I was NOT anticipating it, and Suzanne really knows how to end a chapter on a cliffhanger
these are just my personal (probably typo ridden) thoughts! no discourse is meant to be incited, but your girl loves discussion! I’ll see you all in chapter two!
