All the Right Notes: The Hunger Games trilogy, Part 2

In Part 1 of my review of The Hunger Games trilogy, I talked generally about the idea of Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality, the idea that many readers nowadays get frustrated with some stories because the characters are not "likable" or act contrary to how we would like them to act.

In this part of my review, I'm going to delve specifically into the character of Katniss and why Catching Fire and Mockingjay suffer unfairly from Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality.

When I began reading Catching Fire, I found myself becoming frustrated.  The Hunger Games has the potential to be a high-politics war epic, full of intrigue and leaders who step up to urge the citizens of Panem to victory.

And yet, and yet, Susan Collins has cornered herself into writing this story from a first-person perspective.

Readers do not get to see the battles in the other districts or fully understand the motives of the leaders of the rebellion or the Capital.  Because of the first-person writing style, we only experience events Katniss experiences, and more than that, we only get to understand these events from Katniss's point of view.

Katniss's POV is one of--if not the most--inappropriate means to narrate the war between the districts and the Capital.  Katniss know nothing about war, but instead of exploring District 13 and its war efforts, Katniss instead rejects becoming involved at all, thus disabling the reader from doing the same.

I was frustrated because I wanted more details about the war.  I was tired of putting up with Katniss's inner demons: her distrust of everyone, her mental instability, her callous and unfeeling remarks.  I wanted Katniss to "get over it" and become involved in the war effort.

In short, I was falling victim to Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality.

And when I realized that, I had another realization: The Hunger Games is not about the war or who is victorious in the end.

What is it about?  Check out the rest of the review after the break.

All the Right Notes: The Hunger Games trilogy, Part 1

...or, an alternative title: Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality in The Hunger Games trilogy.

I did not first hear about The Hunger Games until the fans of the books pulled the movie out of the mess of other movie trailers and into the spotlight last year.  Upon reading the first book before seeing the movie, I was duly impressed.  (I also believe the movie is fantastic, but since this AtRN is about the books and not the movie, that is perhaps a discussion for another day.)  I then resolved to finish the trilogy--even though I had heard some troublesome dissonance about the last two books--as soon as possible.

Well, "as soon as possible" turned into "months later," but I've finally gotten around to consuming the entire series.

I have heard many different opinions on the trilogy.  Some say the last two "suck."  Some say the second "sucks" and the third one is "better."  Many lament that the books are good "except for the damn love triangle."  Most people agree that the first is the best.

Before I delve into my AtRN thesis for The Hunger Games, let's just get my very quick opinions of the three individual books out of the way:

• The Hunger Games (the first book) is fairly superb.  It is engrossing, well-written, and overall has excellent balance to its numerous aspects.
• Catching Fire is certainly the weakest of the trilogy, and suffers the most from Collins's selected writing style for the series.  I would not go so far as to say it "sucks," but the book sadly places itself in the tired category of the "weak-but-unfortunately-necessary-second-book-in-a-trilogy."  It is in no way a horrible book, however.
• Mockingjay, though not as strong as The Hunger Games, surprised me with its satisfying end and left me with a pleasant association with the entire series.  In that way, I'd say it's highly successful, and a worthy end to the trilogy.

Although I have issues with the second (and somewhat the third) books, clearly I am far from condemning them as some readers have.  This is because I believe readers of The Hunger Games often suffer from what I am calling Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality, a problem I find increasingly in modern audiences and have even caught myself succumbing to.

What is Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality, and what does it have to do with The Hunger Games trilogy?  Read on after the break to find out!