Let me just start by saying books are some of the greatest things ever, and I'm talking about real books...not magazines, not online articles, not even Kindles (personal preference), though these things all have a time and a place where they can be fun and informative too! I have so many books that I love, so many genres and so little time to enjoy them all. In fact, I love so many books quite equally that it's really hard to talk about just one...but I will try my best.
The book I would like to discuss today is "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins. It is the third book in the "Hunger Games" series, and if you haven't read the book, I am sure you have at least heard of Katniss, Peeta and their friends from their time in gracing the silver screen.
To briefly catch you up on the events from Books 1 and 2, "The Hunger Games" and "Catching Fire" respectively, the story line features main character, Katniss Everdeen. Katniss lives in a futuristic time in which America rebelled against its government and failed. The country is split into twelve districts and a Capitol. The capitol is where the elite live and control the districts,symbolizing government reign on the people when democracy fails. The districts are in varying degrees of poverty, with Districts 1 and 2 being favored heavily by the government. Katniss comes from District 12, the poorest of all the districts. She lives with her mother and sister, as her father passed away in a coal mining incident. Once a year, as punishment for their rebellion, the capitol calls two children aged anywhere from 12-18 (one male and one female) to fight in the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is an event in which these twenty-four children will fight to the death. There is only one winner, and if that person wins, they are rewarded with riches and other perks for the rest of their life. Katniss' sister Primrose is only 12 and her name is selected. Katniss volunteers to take her place, and joins Peeta, a delightful and handsome baker boy, to represent her district. Through some tricks up Katniss' sleeve, both her and Peeta win the games and come home alive. That is the end of "The Hunger Games", minus several awesome details but if you want to know them, crack a book open over the summer and find out for yourself. In "Catching Fire", Katniss is called back to the Hunger Games due to a stupid rule for the Quarter Quell, which was totally made up just to spite her and Peeta despite the Capitol saying it was written at the beginning of the new political system. Her and Peeta go, make some allies, almost die about one hundred times, and then Katniss is lifted out of the arena after her actions trigger another full-scale rebellion, but Peeta is left behind.
There, you're all caught up. Seriously though, if that's a good enough explanation for you, we can't be friends. Just kidding, but you really should read the books if you haven't. In Mockingjay, Peeta comes to join Katniss in a secret district that will lead the fight against the Capitol. However, he was severely tortured and brainwashed so he wants to kill her. Gale is there too, being as smug as ever, and fueling her hatred toward just about everything and everyone. Prim remains Katniss' saving grace as the little sister who only sees a hero. Katniss fights in the revolution, but some bad stuff happens that I will not spoil here, and she ends up at home feeling all but completely dead, emotionally and physically. In the end, Peeta helps her to see love again and she fights her depression.
This is a book I love, because I love Katniss. She is all the things that I am, and all the things that I wish I could be. She is fierce, dedicated, motivated and individualistic. She doesn't shy from a fight, especially when she knows she is standing up for others who are in the right. She loves her sibling in an unconditional way, despite how most other siblings fight. She chooses her family over men, and supports them even without the influence of a father. Finally, she chooses someone to love based on their ability to make her want to be a better person. That is a good reason to love, as opposed to sharing mutual hatred and anger.
In the end, she is the mockingjay, a symbol of love overcoming hatred, and that is what I want to be. As many of you know, I love this country very much. I want to defend it as a law enforcement officer, and when I say "it", I mean the people. It is the people of our countries, our cultures, our families and our inner circle that make life worth living. To love all of them is to be above the squabbles and ready to fight for them rather than against them. Everywhere you look these days, there is some kind of ism- racism, sexism, ageism, nationalism, and so on. People are disrespecting history, denying God and trying so hard to fit in with what's current that they miss what's right. How can we demand the Dukes of Hazzard be removed from television for its painting of a confederate flag on a car's roof, but not demand that God stay in our schools and government? How is it okay to be upset at the racism, sexism or homophobia of yesterday or today, and then discriminate against others as revenge? The answer is that it's not. It's not okay. Racism isn't okay no matter what the color of your skin is. There's no such thing as reverse racism. It's just racism. Being homosexual and disrupting someone's life for having religious beliefs is no worse than them discriminating against you. Learn to love. Leave the hatred in the history textbooks, and move on. Be a mockingjay.
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