Katniss Sorrows

Khoa Do Truong

1/5/12

ROAR BLOG: Catching Fire

Summary:

     Katniss and Peeta got home from the game, they are now living in luxery, having more food than they can eat, Gale doesn’t accept Katniss help. However Katniss still goes hunting, mostly alone because Gale got job in the mines, and she will give what she hunts to Gale’s mom. Gale and Katniss talked during their hunt together, Gale was mad at her relationship with and they end up kissing each other. One day President Snow visits Katniss, which shocked her. Snow threaten Katniss that he knows her relationship with Gale and know about their kiss in the forest. And that she have to continue her fake relationship with Peeta or she will face the consequences. Gale wanted to start a rebellion after Katniss told him that she heard about an uprising in district 8 during a party at the Mayor house. Katniss refuse and Gale was mad. When Gale bring his hunts to the district peacekeeper, he didn’t know there was a new one and were punished by the new peace keeper, being whipped badly in the middle of town, Katniss jumps in, got a lash on her face and Haymitch helped. Gale was taken home, to be treated by Katniss mother. Peeta supported them and feels sad at how much Katniss cares for Gale, and that she knows she likes Gale more. At the start of the next Hunger Game, Katniss watches it on TV and cries in terror that she, Peeta and other district victors will be the Game again, even though they were promised that victors won’t be reaped anymore. Haymitch were picked with Katniss, but Peeta choice to replace Haymitch to save Katniss again, but Katniss and Haymitch want to help Peeta survive this time. Katniss and Peeta went on the train and Cinna dresses them up in burning ember, glowing from the inside, making them looks them mockingjay and during the gamemaker interview, both Peeta and Katniss acts rebelliously towards them and both got a 10/10 score,  making them the target of everyone. When the game was about to start,, Cinna led Katniss to the arena and Katniss saw Cinna being beat and taken away, probably because during the show for all the tributes, Katniss tells everyone that her dress makes her looks like a Mockingjay. During the arena, an old lady and Frinnick, and 4 others teamed up with Katniss and Peeta, but most of them dies. The arena was set up as a clock, each of the 12 section will have a disaster that will happen for an hour. During one of their team mate plan to use lightning to destroy the others tribute, Katniss was betrayed by a member and were suspicious of the others and only trust Peeta, trying to search for him when they were separated to start the plan. Katniss was found by one of her teammate, which scares her to shooting an arrow up into the weak spot of the barrier around  the arena and it exploded, and a hover craft appear lifting her way. When she wakes up, she was scared until she meet Haymitch, whom told her that they couldn’t save Peeta and she was mad and passed out. Waking up and saw Gale, who tells her district 12 is destroyed but her family are safely in district 13

Quote:

     “Because I’m selfish. I’m a coward. I’m the kind of girl who, when she might actually be of use, would run to stay alive and leave those who couldn’t follow to suffer and die. This is the girl Gale met in the woods today.”(Collins 73)

Reaction:

   This quote tells that Katniss is always sadden herself, blaming everything on herself. Susan Collins always put Katniss in a terrible situation, making her feel sad and down, having the story seem so tragic. How Katniss is always regretting and nervous about her actions like when she tells the audition about how her dress looks like a mockingjay, which causes Cinna to be in trouble later. She suffers so much from having to pretend to be star lovers, choose between Gale and Peeta, rebel or not rebel, and being in the hunger game twice.

A dog who is his life: Thunder Dog

Thunder Dog

By Michael Hingson

Published August 2, 2011

By Thomas Nelson

Summary:

     When Michael was born, he was blinded, he lives with his parents in California. However his parents refused to let him goes to a school for the blind, so he has to goes to a normal school. His parents let him do whatever he likes, he even ride a bike. He later meets with another blind person whom introduced to him her guide dog, and they keep in touch a lot. This led Michael into having a guide dog. His parents were very caring, they feel they should always treat him like everyone else, never stop him from doing things that only sighted people should do. When the school did not let him on the bus because of his dog, based in school rules. His parents’ fights for him, which they lose at first, but won when a letter was written to the government, which let him ride the bus again. He went to a college that did not care if he was blind, he learn about communication, and math, which made him interested in radio, later worked at a radio station. He even bought a car, which he sometimes drives! But mostly he let someone else drive for him. He later became a sale man.

     As a sale man, one day he went to New York to the Twin Tower with his guide dog, Roselle for his work. When he was setting up his work, the building starts to rumble. Everyone was scare, thinking they’ll die. Their cell phone did not work and they were all confused. Then they all head straight for the stairs walking down from floor 78^th. As they walk, David, Michael’s friend led everyone in order, telling how many floor are left. People were scare, but file orderly and Michael makes jokes to calm them down. When they got down to around 35^th floor, they finally meet up with the fireman, which Michael got a little argument about how he do not need help getting down. When they got to the 1^st floor lobby, they still try to head out, through waterfall of Jet fuels. When they got out, they were shock at how the buildings were on fire. This was caused by terrorists who stole two planes and crashed into the Twin Tower in September 11, 2001. They ran away even more as debris falls on them, later the 1^st Tower collapse, and then the second. His wife, Karen were worried, being called by family and friends, but still waits for Michael to call, which when he did, she was so relieve. When Michael got home, he cares for Roselle first, and weeks later, many reporters come to him for interviews. In the last few chapters, he talks about his way of living and do not wanted to be treated as someone who needs help. He wanted people to see that his blindness is giving him a different respective of life and help him see things differently, rather than something to feel sorry for.

Quote:

     “I trust Roselle with my life everyday. She trusts me to direct her”(Hingston, 29).

Quote Context:

     This quote happens when Michael were running down the stairs with his guide dog Roselle, his friend David, and other workers to get outside after the tumbling of the Twin Tower. This quote is a good part of what I enjoyed about this book is because it shows the relationship between the two, and how they got out safely because of it. It also show why like in every page, Michael mentions about Roselle, his guide dog.

Reaction:

          The author’s writing styles is simple and are easy to understand. For every section, he explained the topic very clearly and informative, always telling what his guide dog is doing, and how everyone reaction to the building tilting and shaking, and add in details he later found that he don’t know at the time of the incident, like how a plane crashes into the building by terrorists. He sometimes add vocabulary that are uncommon into the section and uses it a lot in many different sentences, letting you figure out the meaning of it easily. For example, he uses the word debris most of the time, like the debris is falling, or there are debris everywhere, or the debris is falling on Roselle’s nose, enabling her from smelling. I eventually know that it mean dust, fragments, rocks falling down from the plane crashing into the building. He focuses his writing on his surround, and other people more than himself.