Mockingjay Discussion 26: Getting to the Ballad Roots of “The Hanging Tree”

Last week, in Mockingjay Discussion 15: The Hanging Tree, we covered some of the fascinating symbolic possibilities for the haunting song Katniss sings to Pollux, primarily to distract the mockingjays from singing Rue’s four-note tune, but which echoes all through the novel.   “The Hanging Tree” additionally connects to real ballad types and actual ballads. Understanding the different types of ballads and where “The Hanging Tree” fits can add to our understanding of the way Collins u…

Mockingjay Discussion 25: A Week Later

Three quick questions for serious readers of Mockingjay, the finale of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy, a week after its publication:
(1) How many times have you re-read or re-visited that story after your first reading?
(2) Has your thinking about the book or series changed in major ways in that day? minor ways?
(3) Mockingjay was clearly meant to be a knock-out blow kind of reading experience. Did you find it a robust or painful blow? A painfully robust head shot?
Thank you in adva…

Mockingjay Discussion 23: A Hogwarts Professor – “What Have I Unleashed On My Students?”

Several months ago, when I first read The starvation Games and Catching Fire, I decided to assign The starvation Games to my ENG 111 (Expository Writing) students at my college. I was plus singing the praises of the book to friends, colleagues, and former students. The ENG 111 folks started reading and writing about The starvation Games last week, before Mockingjay’s release, and I already have students emailing me to tell me how much they love the book, as well as engaging in thoughtful, in…

Mockingjay Discussion Post 24: So Whatever Happened To…? Mysterious Absences in the Finale

In some of our recent flurry of fabulous conversation, someone mentioned that Collins ought to do a follow-up “whatever happened to…” book rather than a prequel. I know many readers were thrilled when J.K. Rowling filled in gaps about characters, such as Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom both getting married, just not to one another.  Of course, Collins may be in no way inclined to do any such thing, but it might be interesting to speculate on the fates of a few characters, based on wh…

Mockingjay Discussion Post 24: So whatever happened to….

In some of our recent flurry of fabulous conversation, someone mentioned that Collins ought to do a follow-up “whatever happened to…” book rather than a prequel. I know many readers were thrilled when J.K. Rowling filled in gaps about characters, such as Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom both getting married, just not to one another.  Of course, Collins may be in no way inclined to do any such thing, but it might be interesting to speculate on the fates of a few characters, based on wh…

Mockingjay Discussion 23:What Have I unleashed on My Students?

Several months ago, when I first read The starvation Games and  Catching Fire, I decided to assign The starvation Games  to my ENG 111 (Expository Writing) students at my college. I was plus singing the praises of the book to friends, colleagues, and former students. The ENG 111 folks started reading and writing about The starvation Games last week, before Mockingjay’s release, and I already have students emailing me to tell me how much they love the book, as well as engaging in thoughtful, …

Mockingjay Disco 22: Ring and Mirror Composition

We have already noted that the plot point sequence of Mockingjay is consistent with Hunger Games story formula down to the chapter. What I missed my first hurried read through the book was the story structure of the 27 chapters in Mockingjay specifically. In a nut shell, the series finale is a book whose last 13 chapters mirror the first thirteen chapters and whose beginning, middle, and end points echo one another. Let’s look at precisely how that works with chapter line-ups and soon afte…

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