Who Said What

You’ve prepared for this for a while now, your job interview. Practicing day and night, memorizing what to say, knowing how much you need this. This interview was much more than just for a job. It was the outcome of future events,  it was life and death for people close to you, it was a difficult decision with only one clear choice. This is how Katniss felt in the book Catching Fire (Collins). In the point of view of others the decision Katniss has to make may seem more or less difficult.

Katniss must prove to the world that her and Peeta are madly in love or many of the people close to her may be killed. President Snow has come to talk with her about how having two people win in the Hunger Games may set up an uprising against the Capitol. He wants her to prove to be madly in love with Peeta. In her point of view risking the lives of her family and friends is too much to bear and is set on trying to convince people her and Peeta are in love, however she is not sure if she is in love with Gale, one of her oldest friends. Katniss’ view on this may be different than others’ view.

In President Snow’s point of view the decision is not difficult at all. He thinks all this girl has to do is prove she is in love with a boy, what is the harm in that? While he knows about Katniss and Gale he thinks nothing of it. He is just determined to keep people under control so a war doesn’t break out.

He also thinks that by putting a threat in his statement Katniss is sure to choose to fall in love with Peeta so she can save the lives of those close to her. In his point of view he is just trying to keep balance in the world.

Another book with a crucial decision is the book Speak. Melinda has had a chance to make her decision right but instead hides from everyone. She is too afraid to tell anyone what happened and thinks that it will hurt some people if she does speak the truth. However, in the view of her friends she is being psychotic about the whole deal. That she would feel better if she would speak the truth.

The decisions made by Katniss would have seemed more or less difficult if there was a  different point of view. Maybe if others viewed it in her way they would think differently about the actions and impressions they made on her. It would have dramatically changed the story and made Katniss’ life a little bit easier.  However, if Katniss saw what they thought and knew perhaps she would have thought differently as well, and how she needed to change to make things normal or safe.

Bibliography

Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. New York: Scholastic Press, 2009.