Suzanne Collins's Mockingjay

Mockingjay (2010), the final book of the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, takes Katniss to the fabled district 13 to join the rebels in an attack against the Capitol. After some persuasion, she acts for them as "the Mockingjay," the spark and living symbol of the rebellion. She nurses physical, emotional, and psychological injuries in this book, but in a way, displays more strength than ever before.

In the previous two books, I was constantly disappointed in how passive the main character is. Not until the end of book II does she realize that in her fighting, she has not yet targeted the real enemy, but instead has done its bidding. Even her so-called "stunt" with the poisonous berries, which the people of Panem (and to a certain extent, President Snow) saw as an act of rebellion was merely an almost thoughtless reaction to emotion. She realized that the only way she or Peeta would not have to kill the other was for both of them to decide to die. Her hope that the Gamemakers would prevent this in favor of having at least one victor did not include a hope to deny their rules. She just didn't want to lose "the boy with the bread." Her decision to volunteer in the place of her younger sister came about in the same way. She illegally enters the woods to hunt only out of a need for survival. She does not entertain thoughts about her feelings for Gale or Peeta because her relationships with both of them are born out of chance. When deciding to kiss either of them, she does it mostly to either create a spectacle for the cameras, to comfort them, convince them of something, or because she thinks it's something they want. She evades questions about her true feelings from either of them and maintains a seemingly romantic relationship with Peeta only to preserve their lives in the arena.  Regardless of the fact that the people of Panem have raised her up as a hero, she hasn't thought much about the world or her own place in it. This might be realistic for a young teen - especially one who has spent her life under the weight of tragedy and the threat of death - but I was annoyed by her constant passivity nonetheless.

So in Mockingjay, when Plutarch comes up to her with something they'd like her to do for the camera
and she "[walks] away from the conversation right then. That is not going to happen," I got a little excited; although this is still more of an evasion than a direct action, it is when she first begins to make decisions for herself (247). She starts to rely less and less on the direction of her mother, Gale, Haymitch, or any other person she might normally have listened to. This change in her thinking leads her finally to reach a secret (or so she believes) decision to disregard orders in the Capitol and go after President Snow herself.

There are a couple of other aspects of the book that would be excellent to discuss and analyze in a class.

Who is the enemy?
Collins makes this an essential question for Katniss in this book. Students can follow her constantly changing ideas of who to trust and analyze her reasoning for suddenly feeling less trusting of even those who have been closest to her (Gale, Haymitch). An excellent scene to start this discussion would when Katniss examines the broadcast in which Peeta asks her, "do you really trust the people you're working with? Do you really know what's going on? And if you don't... find out" (116). They can also discuss why Katniss shoots President Coin - the leader of the rebels - instead of President Snow at his execution. There could be a very rich written or discussed comparison of the two leaders.  Ultimately, I think Collins wishes to make the point that those who seek extreme levels of power and develop a disregard for human life grow closer and closer to evil.


Pace and Writing Style
Why does Mockingjay move so much more quickly than The Hunger Games  or Catching Fire? Students can analyze the differences in pacing between similar events and teachers could lead them to the discovery - perhaps with use of the film version(s) of the book(s) - that Mockingjay more closely resembles the pacing of a movie. Students could learn about the ability their generations have mastered to swiftly interpret and stitch together the complex visual cues seen in film, TV, ads, and other motion graphics. They could then answer the questions, "does this work in a novel?" and "why or why not?" They could also, from a creative writing standpoint, discuss the necessity or non-necessity of the author's tendency to use the first couple of chapters to summarize the events of the previous books, talk about missed opportunities in this book, find places where they would have changed things about the writing, and compare the strength of the story in this novel to the first two books.

Games
Katniss has had two terms in the Hunger Games arena. While she is no longer forced to play in this game, she regularly compares her new life to the arena. Students can examine how the theme of "game playing" interlaces the novel. Is she still forced to see everyone around her as a possible attacker? How do her experiences with politics compare to her experiences in the arena? What kinds of "moves" does she make with the knowledge of who is watching her in mind? Does she have any new weapons (besides her bow)?

What other opportunities for analysis have you found?

Obviously, these books are exciting and easy reads. Teens eat them up! I was surprised not only at how much I enjoyed them, but at how much there is to actually keep track of and analyze in the series. It has just as much content worthy of literary discussion as some of the classics I read in high school. I think the books would be suitable for ages 12-17. However, it may be difficult to introduce these in a classroom because most kids will have already read them.