The Hunger Games Journal Assignment

Answer the following questions in paragraph form in the journal section of your notebook.

Journal 1—Chapters 1-3
“May the odds be ever in your favor”

1. Katniss tells her story in first person (I, me) and present tense. What effect does this have on your reading of the story? Does it engage you more or less than a book with a different approach? Why?
2. What can you tell about Katniss’s family situation? What roles does she fulfill in her family? Why?
3. Is the Reaping a fair way to choose tributes? What other traditions or practices does the Reaping  resemble? What is usually “reaped”?
4. Effie Trinket, along with other Capitol representatives, often uses the phrase, “May the odds be ever in your favor!” What role do chance, destiny, and fortune appear to play in this story so far?
5. Katniss reveals, in rapid succession, her love for her sister and her role as an often ruthless hunter. How does this shape your perception of her and your expectation for her story’s outcome?
6. What do you think the Capitol Anthem sounds like? What other images–visual, auditory, gustatory (taste), olfactory (smell),  and tactile (touch)—do you have while reading this story?
7. Why is Katniss upset that Peeta Mellark is her fellow tribute? What reaction does the crowd have to Katniss’s volunteering and Peeta’s selection?

Journal 2—Chapters 4-6
 “like a long dream that deteriorated into a nightmare”

1. Why did it take Katniss so long to think of entering the forest alone?  What skills has she gained by providing food for her family?
2. Why do you think Haymitch is always drunk and irritable?  What changes his attitude toward Katniss and Peeta?
3. What is Katniss’s first glance of the Capitol like?  What does her evaluation tell us about her?  About the Capitol?  District 12?
4. What kind of “prep” does Katniss undergo?  Why is this part of the tribute preparation?  What does the process reveal about Capitol ideals of beauty? Do these resemble our own?
5. How do Katniss and her prep team view one another?  What prejudices do they each labor under?
6. Cinna states that Katniss must find the Capitol people “despicable”;  does she?  Do you? What does this statement reveal about Cinna?
7. Cinna creates the unforgettable image of the “girl on fire” in the opening ceremonies of the games.  Why does he use this imagery instead of the usual?  What other instructions does he give Katniss and Peeta?
8. Effie is wrong about coal turning to pearls, of course, but how is a pearl actually formed?  What connections are there between a pearl’s formation and what has happened in our story so far?
9. How has Katniss met the Avox girl before?  What are Katniss’s feelings about this?  Why does she tell Peeta?

Journal 3—Chapters 7-9
“ She came here with me”

1. Is the treatment of the tributes what you would expect of people who are being sacrificed for the rebellion of their ancestors and the entertainment of their oppressors? What other sorts of people or animals get treated this way?
2. Why is it considered “rebellious” for Peeta and Katniss to appear as a team? What are their feelings on this portrayal?
3. What was Peeta’s special job in the bakery? How can that be considered a survival skill? How does it affect your perception of him?
4. Why does Katniss think Rue is like a bird? What do you know about the plant called Rue?
5. Why does Katniss perform as she does before the Gamemakers? What does she think will be the result? What actually happens? Why?
6. Why is Katniss so upset over her performance with the Gamemakers? What cheers her up?
7. Haymitch has trouble finding an “angle” for Katniss’s interview. How does she finally work  the interview? How would you coach her?
8. On page 124, Katniss explains about the Capitol’s obsession with plastic surgery.  How are the Capitol’s views radically different from those of people in District 12?
9. Were you surprised by Peeta’s interview revelation?  How does it alter your perception of him?  What effect does it have on your expectations for the rest of the story?

Cause and Effect Assignment

The following assignment comes from The Norton Sample, an on-line resource that is very useful. I recommend browsing the website for other helpful information about the various rhetorical strategies we are focusing on this semester.

Please send your answers to questions 1-4 to me in the text of an e-mail. (mmcneely04@gmail.com) 

Chapter Eight

Cause & Effect

A nondescript, fly-on-the-wall kind of guy is nominated for a Grammy and becomes a huge success in the glitzy music industry. One of the world’s largest steel manufacturers closes its doors, leaving thousands unemployed. How did these events happen? Were they brought about by accident or fate, or were there complex, underlying causes that need to be considered? The authors of the essays below suggest a number of causes to help explain the effect of sudden fame and equally sudden loss. You may find that the authors have met the two conditions that prove causation; that is, the causes are both sufficient and necessary. On the other hand, your careful analysis may reveal that the authors have not considered all of the possibilities, or that some of the causes are not correlated. A successful cause-and-effect essay can give the reader a model of success to follow or a lesson in avoiding failure.
Pop star Moby is the subject of this article for Wired magazine online. Author Ethan Smith uses a cause-and-effect strategy to explore the secrets to Moby’s success.
4http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.05/moby.html?pg=1&topic=&topic_set=

1. What does Smith posit as the immediate and ultimate causes of Moby’s success as a musician? List these causes and, in a short paragraph, see if you can describe the complex cause.
2. On page 2 of this article Smith introduces a concept put forth by the sociologist William Whyte. Why does Smith include this particular idea, which may seem, on the surface, to be completely unrelated to music? How does Smith elaborate upon the effects of this specific cause?

One of the largest and most well-known steel manufacturers, Bethlehem Steel, closed its massive doors in 1995. Writing for Wired magazine, Richard Martin explores the how and why of Bethlehem’s closing, attributing its demise at least in part to its resistance to globalization.
4http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.02/steel.html

3. What are the issues that contributed to Bethlehem Steele’s closing? Do you find the causes Martin offers to be both sufficient and necessary?
4. Martin’s article is rather brief. Are there points in this essay that deserve further clarification or elaboration in order for you to be persuaded that Martin’s analysis of the situation is correct? Describe the characteristics of the audience that would find Martin’s argument most persuasive.

Link to Textbooks.com to buy Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar grade 12

If you are still having trouble locating the Prentice Hall textbook, below is the link for the book.

this is what the book looks like, it was published in 2008.

http://www.textbooks.com/ISBN/9780132009676/Carroll/Writing-and-Grammar-Grade-12_-_0132009676.php?CSID=QMD0CAT0CDD0CAUCMUCCT2KTO