‘The Road to Hogwarts Sweepstakes’

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

  September 2, 2010 in Hunger Games

  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 throughout the novel.   “The Hanging Tree” also connects to real ballad types and actual ballads. Understanding the [...]

• Mockingjay Discussion 25: A Week Later

  September 1, 2010 in Hunger Games

  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 this story after your first reading? (2) Has your thinking about the book or series changed in major ways in that time? minor ways? (3) [...]

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

  August 31, 2010 in Hunger Games

  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.  [...]

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

  August 30, 2010 in Hunger Games

  Several months ago, when I first read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, I decided to assign The Hunger Games to my ENG 111 (Expository Writing) students at my college. I was also singing the praises of the book to friends, colleagues, and former students. The ENG 111 folks started reading and writing about The [...]

• Mockingjay Disco 22: Ring and Mirror Composition

  August 29, 2010 in Hunger Games

  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 [...]