Extra Credit Event
I attended the video lecture with slam poet Ken Arkind. We had talked about him in my Honors class, so going into it I knew a little bit about him. He is from Denver and has based many poems on his hometown. He grew up with a rough childhood and was able to escape it through poetry. He is super passionate about everything that he writes and you can tell by the way he delivers each line with emphasis and excitement. A lot of his poems tend to be humorous as well.
During the video chat with him, he talked about how he teaches at different schools and colleges in the Denver area. He has ties to HBO TV shows and many slam poet organizations. He has performed in 49 states and 7 countries.
He talked about how when a class of his first starts off, they don’t write they just talk amongst themselves so everyone can feel comfortable around each other. He also went on to explain that one of the first writing assignments is to not use slang; literally explain the real meaning of every word so someone from a different country can understand it. When we read Pride and Prejudice it is in a different language than we are accustomed to, so we need to break it down to understand what the words or slang means. It goes to show how everyone can enjoy literature.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Critical Perspectives on The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins author of The Hunger Games has a similar style to Shirley Jackson, author of The Lottery. In both stories the government requires all the residents in the villages or Districts to gather and have one or two people to be sacrificed in order to maintain piece in the nation. Both stories fail to explain specifically how and why they have these events happen. The citizen’s don’t see the ethics in the situation either, but they are forced to obey this unethical law because an uprising could mean disaster. It’s scary to think that these are possible government systems that could be in effect in the future and the residents then wouldn’t give it a second thought.
It’s sickening how the people in the Capitol find teenagers killing each other as entertainment and to be completely normal. Katniss’s prep team are good examples of characters who saw entertainment in death. “It’s funny, because even though they’re rattling on about the Games, it’s all about where they were or what they were doing or how they felt when a specific event occurred” (353-354). Katniss along with all the rest of the Districts see how unethical the Games are. Even people in the Capitol see that there are no real ethics in the Games and are even brave enough to show the Capitol that they are willing to fight against their own home. Like when the red-headed girl was trying to run away but ended up becoming an Avox. Cinna also keeps bringing back the mockingjay pin for a lot of Katniss’s outfits because he can see how it is a symbol for the Districts. In the other books the mockingjay becomes a symbol of rebellion.
Even in this world it seems like we are becoming immune to death and violence.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)