Category: Uncategorized
I Hate History
“I hate history.”
Can you imagine my shock when my little sister said those three words to me? I come from a very academic family, after all. My father is the resident expert on the 20th century, my mother loves Medieval European history and I am obsessed with anything Roman and Egyptian. For my little sister to hate history was like a fish hating water; it didn’t make any sense. Alas, school had robbed her of all desire to have anything to do with history.
But I am a patient person. I had a plan to change her mind. Continue reading
Why is The Hunger Games so Popular?
Since it was announced that The Hunger Games would be made into a movie, the series has become even more popular than before. I don’t know about you, but ever since I wrote my piece on the allusions to the Roman Empire in The Hunger Games, I’ve been thinking about the series quite a bit. And with the movie release only yesterday, I have decided to examine the reasons behind the Hunger Games phenomenon.
1. Katniss is more of a unisex narrator.
Stephenie Meyers’ Twilight series was (and still is) popular, but it will never reach the popularity level of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Other than the quality of writing, the main difference is the target audience. Twilight appeals to women, both young and old, but that means it’s only targeting 50% of the population at most. This is because Bella Swan is a very helpless, extremely feminine protagonist that every girl wants to be. Harry Potter, on the other hand, appeals to far more than just 50% of the population because he is a boy, but he is not so overly masculine as to turn away girls.
Do you see what I’m getting at here? Generally speaking, protagonists must be written almost as if they are unisex if they are to achieve a high level of popularity. Katniss is a female protagonist, but she is far from a damsel in distress and her point of view is not so overtly feminine that it turns off male readers. And that simple fact is what contributes to the series’ immense popularity. Continue reading
What Makes a Character Memorable?
In my reviews, I often critique an author’s characterization, but I haven’t really touched on what separates a good character from a memorable character. Here I hope to tell you some things I’ve noticed as a reader and as a reviewer.
1. Their names.
Isherwood Williams. Lestat. Katniss Everdeen. Harry Potter. Do any of these ring a bell for you? If they don’t—particularly the last one—you’ve obviously been living under a rock for the past decade or so. What makes these names so memorable is the fact that they’re simple, easy to pronounce and yet they’re unique. In my opinion, many of them are just about the right length to roll off the tongue with ease, no matter what your reading level. Truly, most first graders can sound out these names and get something close to what they really are. Names are so important for characters that on BabyNames.com there is an article about how to choose character names for writers. Continue reading
The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome
As I mentioned before in my review of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games is really one huge allusion to the Roman Empire. For those of you who don’t know what an allusion is, Dictionary.com defines allusion as “a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication.” There are a lot of allusions in The Hunger Games, but I have always been fascinated by Roman history, so now I will attempt to go into more detail about all of the allusions to the Roman Empire I found in the trilogy.
1. The Games themselves.
The Roman Colosseum as we know it was started by the emperor Vespasian and finished by his son Titus Flavius in 80 A.D. It soon became popular for its spectacular gladiatorial games, animal fights and even its mock sea battles when they would actually flood the arena and bring in ships. All these things were meant for the public’s viewing pleasure and they served to raise the popularity of the emperors. The Games that the Capitol holds every year serve as entertainment as well, but also publicly demonstrate its power over the districts. The Hunger Games are every bit as brutal and inventive as the gladiatorial games. Continue reading
Sick Day
Today I’m taking a break from the blogosphere. I’ve come down with a nasty fever and stomach ache, so I’m going to be AWOL the rest of the day and unfortunately I wasn’t able to type up a book review. But rest assured, I’ll publish two tomorrow to make up for it.