Brian Jestice read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins for a summer reading essay. The story takes place in Panem in the mid-2100s, which used to be North America. It follows Katniss Everdeen, who lives in the poor mining District 12. She volunteers to take her younger sister's place in the annual Hunger Games, where teenagers must fight to the death on live TV. Though she allies with Peeta and Rue, both die, but Katniss survives by outsmarting the gamemakers and pretending to commit suicide, forcing them to name her and Peeta as dual winners.

1. Brian Jestice
Summer Reading Essay Prompt 2
For my summer reading essay I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne
Collins. Throughout the bookthere was a great deal of political unrest by the
citizens of Panem (the country where the booktakes place). This is especially
prominent in district 12 where the main character Katniss Everdeen lives. District
12 is a poormining town where money and food is hard to come by. It is made
harder by the capitols laws where citizens can’t go out the borders of the district.
Katniss is the older of two daughters of a single mother. In the years before her
father died in a mine explosion she was taught how to hunt. After her father died
she had to supporther family by hunting illegally out of the district. Because of the
strict laws forcing her family to struggle to survive she was determined to someday
take down the Capitol.
The story is set in the mid 2100s in a country called Panem which used to be
North America. There were originally thirteen districts; however district 13 was
burn to the ground after an unsuccessfulrebellion by the citizens. That gave the
Capitol more influence and power on the way the people lived their life.
The biggest reason of political unrest by the people of Panem was the
Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games one male and female teenager from each
district is selected to compete in brutal fight to the death live on national television.
The Capitol uses the Hunger Games to show power over the citizens and in turn

2. makes the citizens less likely to rebel. The winner returns to their district to find
money and food and supplies to last a lifetime.
Katniss’s twelve year old sister was originally picked to compete in the
games but Katniss volunteered to take her place. The other tribute from district 12
was Peeta Mallark. Katniss had known Peeta since they were young. Before the
games Peeta was interviewed and went on record by saying he and Katniss were
star crossed lovers becauseone was going to have to kill the other in the end. Once
the competition started found a good place to hide and decent supervisions.
However when the games started, Peeta teamed up with the careers. After over half
of the tributes were eliminated she was trapped by the career tributes (the
competitors who trained their whole life to be in the games. She climbed up a tree
where no other tributes could reach her. From there she met Rue, a young tribute
from district 11. Rue tipped off Katniss about a nest of trackerjackers, a deadly
wasp like creature. She dropped the nest down to the careers and was able to
survive. Later Rue was off picking berries and roots when she was hit by a spear.
Before she died, Katniss sang a lullaby to her then placed flowers on her. This was
meant by Katniss to defy the Capitol’s ideas of brutality and lack of beauty and the
arts.
Later she found Peeta badly wounded and learned that he had saved her from
the careers. The gamemakers announced that there could be two winners this year.

3. Though it was tough work with help from sponsors shebrought Peeta back to
health. Near the end of the games Peeta and Katniss were the last two standing.
Then the gamemakers announced they lied and there could only be one winner.In
ordetr to trick the gamemakers they both acted to eat poisonous berries. Before
they could swallow them the gamemakers changed their minds again to allow two
winners to avoid no winners. This was a tactical move by Katniss to make the
Capitol look bad in front of Panem.