7/2/14
ELA: 8
MOCKINGJAY
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Science fiction/ dystopian/ Young adult

Setting: The story takes place in district 13, the capitol and district one. Katniss and Gale we’re
Main characters: The main characters in the story are Katniss, Gale, Prim, Petta, Snow, Beetee, and Joanna
Plot: Katniss Everdeen, her sister Prim, and her friends Finnick, Odair and Gale Hawthorne all reluctantly adjust to a highly structured life in the underground District 13, which has been spearheading the rebellion in Panem. Katniss eventually agrees to act as "the Mockingjay but only on the condition that District 13's President Alma Coin vows to grant immunity to all of the past Hunger Games tributes, including Katniss's friend Peeta Mellark and Finnick's lover Annie Cresta, and to reserve for Katniss the right to personally kill Panem's President Snow once he is captured. Tasked with starring in rebel propaganda films, called propos, Katniss is unhappily kept out of actual combat until she defiantly participates in a tragic battle involving the bombing of a hospital at District 8.
Meaningful quote: "Are you, are you Coming to the tree where I told you to run, so we’d both be free. Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree. Are you, are you Coming to the tree Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me. Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree." This is the last two stanzas in a song that has been taught to Katniss when she was very young. It has always been in this trilogy. What is very significant about the last two stanzas is that it reflects the life of Katniss and the events that surround her so well. For starters, the first stanza mentions, "Where I told you to run, we'd both be free." This symbolizes the revolution that is going on right now between the Capitol and the Rebels. The belief is that if we drive out the Capitol, Panem would be freed of the horrible Capitol.
In the second stanza, it mentions, "Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me." This signifies the how Katniss wants all of the Rebels to join with her in this Revolution. In the book, there are still some Districts in Panem that are still under Capitol control. Being the mockingjay, she can help convince Districts to join forces with the Rebels in District 13.
Background Info about Author: Collins was born on August 10, 1962 in Hartford, Connecticut. She is the daughter of a U.S. Air Force officer who served in the Vietnam War. As the daughter of a military officer, she and her family were constantly moving. She spent her childhood in the eastern U.S. Collins graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham in 1980 as a Theater Arts major. She graduated from Indiana University in 1985 with a double major in theater and telecommunications. In 1989 Collins earned her M.F.A. In dramatic writing from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
Theme: The theme of the book is action. The theme is action because, there’s a lot of explosions and a tid bit of murdering. The bombing happens in two places only. The first bombing happens at district 12. The capital went to destroy the whole district 12, and the whole place got messed up. The second place that got bombed was a Mountain to trap the capital people inside for them to die. The murdering part happened when Katniss killed Snow, the president of the Capital and all of the other districts so Petta would not be mad at her anymore.
Tell how I feel About the Book: I felt that the story was sad in the beginning because when Katniss came back from the hunger games, district 12 got bombed by the Capital. She was sad that the capital killed many of her friends and their families that were very generous to her. I also felt that the capital was not being very fair to the district because they had bombs and missiles that would destroy the district easily and the people didn’t have any defenses that could protect them from the explosions. She said that she wanted to kill everyone’s soul because of all the destruction they have caused in Katniss home town. How I felt at the end of the book was happy because Katniss and Petta got along together at the end. At the beginning and the middle of the story Petta kept on yelling at Katniss for no reason. But they worked it out and now they are friends again.