M.J. Psychological Critic& The Historian& The Learner- Devany Sandoval
Physiological Critic
Motivation against Capitol
Throughout Mockingjay, the rebels are at war with the Capitol. The main motivation that spreads throughout the districts to overthrow the Capitol is to stop the harassment of the Capitol in the districts. Although this is a common motivation, some people are motivated by personal experiences, such as Pollux. Pollux is part of the camera crew that follows Katniss and films her for the propos. Pollux is motivated to overthrow the Capitol because the Capitol made into an Avox and cut off his tongue. The fact that he can and never be able to speak again turns into actions against the Capitol, and he contributes with the rebels.
Peeta and the cease fire
The first time that Katniss sees Peeta on the screen, Peeta calls for a cease fire. Why would he call for a cease fire and for the rebels to stop fighting the Capitol, when the Capitol has captured him and has ripped him apart from Katniss? The answer is simple, he is trying to protect Katniss. In his interview, he also says that Katniss didn't know about the rebel's plans, which is true. He is trying to protect her by having her "lie low, remain safe and imprisoned, while the war plays out" (30). He thinks that by calling for a cease-fire and defending Katniss and insisting that she didn't know about anything is going to protect her from President Snow's harm. Also, he was probably threatened or tortured to make him call for a cease-fire.
Mockingjay Katniss
After seeing Peeta's interview when he calls for a cease-fire, Katniss makes up her mind and decides that she is going to be the Mockingjay and be the main figure in the war. It took so long for her to make this decision; so why did she decide to be the Mockingjay instead of rejecting the idea? Peeta's interview helped her realize that the Games are still on. She realizes that if the rebels win, they will execute him, but if the Capitol wins, they might be able to live, but she will have to keep playing things the right way, which means that they will forever be part of their Games. When she makes this realization, she realizes that if the Capitol wins, she will be part of their Games for the rest of her life, and the Hunger Games will come back, or something worse will happen, as a punishment to the districts. She realizes that if the Capitol wins, they will go back to a life full of hunger and misery; therefore, the rebels have to win, and she decides to be their Mockinjay.
Grown up Prim
The very first time we saw Prim was before Katniss went off to her first Hunger Games. From Katniss's perspective, Prim was small and fragile, and it was Katniss's job to keep her alive and protect her from everything. In Mockinjay, Prim has grown up and matured a lot. She sees the evil in the world and thinks on her own. She realizes important aspects of the war that not even Katniss realizes. For example, Prim helps Katniss realize that she is extremely important to the cause and can ask for almost everything, and she will get it. This helps Katniss realize that she can ask for Peeta's, Annie's, Johanna's, and the other tributes' immunity from the rebels. Prim also helps Katniss realize that the Capitol will never kill Peeta and will do anything to him in order to break Katniss. According to Katniss, when Prim tells her that the Capitol will do whatever it takes to break her, "Prim sounds about a thousand years old" when she tells her this (150). Prim also shows signs of growing up when she consoles Katniss during the bombing of District 13. She explains to Katniss how the bombs work and talks to her; it used to be Katniss consoling Prim. Prim is no longer the fragile little girl that Katniss last saw in District 12.
Mental and instability and Physical Harassment
Some of the characters in Mockinjay have been tributes in the Hunger Games at least once. Katniss, Finnick, Johanna, Haymtich
, and Peeta are some of the people that have been tributes before. Watching people kill each other, seeing people melt way or be blown to bits, and being killed in a variety of ways will cause some sort of mental trauma. All of these things happen during the Hunger Games and traumatize the victors and cause them to have mental instability and become anxious, and live a life where the nightmares visit every night. For example, Haymitch falls into the influence of alcohol while trying to escape and scratch out all of the horrific memories of watching the children he mentors dies. Annie, the victor from District 4, has a great mental instability and zones in and out of the real world and covers her ears as if to block out horrific noises. She is known as the crazy girl. Katniss is mostly mentally affected by the Hunger Games than physically affected. She receives some wounds in the Games, but even after the Games, nightmares visit her every night, and she is chased by wolf mutts or sees her most beloved family members die.
Although they were victors, they do not live the easy life. Some, like Haymitch and Annie suffer from addiction and mental instability, but some also suffer from physical harassment, such as Finnick. Because Finnick is extremely attractive and desired, President Snow use to sell his body to citizens of the Capitol. Finnick was perceived as having many lovers, but when in reality, he was being forced to satisfy the citizens of the Capitol. Johanna is also an example of physical harassment. When she was captured by the Capitol, they physically tortured her. She was soaked in water and then ran electrical shocks through her.
Peeta is a great example of both mental instability and physical harassment. When he was being held by the Capitol, the people in the Capitol hijacked him. They hijacked Peeta by showing him videos of the Games in which Katniss and he were in, causing that memory to come to the front of his mind. Then they inject him a small dose of trackerjacker venom, and the trackerjacker venom alters the memories of Katniss into horrific ones, and the altered memories are restored. Because the altered memories are restored, every time he time he thinks about Katniss, he remembers her as a killer and a mutt from the Capitol. He also loses sense of what is real and what is not real. They also mentally tortured him by forcing him to watch Darius being tortured. The Capitol people tortured Darius for information, but he could not say anything because he was an Avox, so his tongue had been cut off. They just tortured him, just to so Peeta could watch. Not only are his memories messed up, he was also physically tortured. He became weak and feeble. The bags under his eyes also show his lack of sleep.
President Coin's motivations
President Coin is the leader of the rebels. She is the head and makes plans for the rebel troops. Why would she choose to lead in a rebellion against the Captiol? She wants power. She wants to get rid of President Snow so she can have all his power. Her craving for power is not for the better. She hates anyone who is a threat to her. For example, she despises Katniss. The reason for hating Katniss is because Katniss has a lot of power and influence on the people. That is why President Coin sends Peeta to join the Star-Squad. She sends him because he has been programmed to kill Katniss and he is free and can carry a gun when he is in the Star-Squad. That way, Katniss dies without Presidents Coin being responsible for her death.
The Learner
Leadership and tough decisions
The theme of leadership appears throughout the entire book of Mockingjay. Katniss takes the role of leadership throughout the book. When Boggs dies, he assigns Katniss as the leader by transferring the holograph to her. She has the map with all of the
streets and leads them into an apartment to escape the terrible black goo that fills the streets in the Capitol. With the help of Pollux, she leads her companions through the underground streets and to safety from the horrible lizard mutts. Being leader means making tough decisions. Katniss demonstrates this when she sees Finnick being killed by the lizard mutts. She sends the holograph into explosive mode because she sees Finnick die. As she takes on the role of leader, she realizes that even though she really wants to, she can't save everyone. She will have to keep on moving forward no matter who dies in order to complete her mission.
Value of Life and Morals vs. Justice
This book also demonstrates the lesson of the value of life. It brings to mind many questions such as: even if we are in war, is it fair and humane to kill whoever or just the individuals who are the enemies? Can we just kill anyone? Why must we kill? Gale brings to mind these questions when he wants to explode the Nut. He wants to start an avalanche at the top of the mountain and bury everyone inside it, including their own rebel soldiers. His plan offers no escape exit for the people inside the nut. The plan is genius and achieves what they want, but is it fair? His plan is a death trap with no way out. Katniss knows this and puts herself in the Nut's inhabitants' shoes. She already lost her father in a mine explosion, and this is exactly what is going to happen to the Nut. The people will be buried under tons and tons of rock and never find a way out. Katniss thinks of all of the relatives of the Nut's inhabitants and of all the brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and friends that they are going to kill. She points this out to Gale, who says that he will willingly die to help the cause. He points out that the Capitol did not take any of that into consideration when they destroyed District 12. The question is, should we put morals before revenge, or seek justice even if it goes against our morals? We also see an example of this at the end of the book when President Coin offers the option of having a last Hunger Games with the Capitol's children. The victors, Peeta, Annie, Enobaria, Katniss, Johanna, and Haymitch vote to see if they should have them or not. This also brings up the morals vs. justice question. Peeta says no because that would not make them any better than the Capitol people, but Johanna votes yes to give them a taste of their own medicine. So, what is the right thing to do?
Awfulness of War
Mockinjay also taught me that war is cruel and awful. It also shows that war affects everyone including innocent people. It also shows that war can make people make extreme decisions. The death of Prim shows this. Prim was indirectly and directly affected by the war. She is indirectly affected because she barely sees her sister. Katniss is always busy making propos or training or doing something that contributes to the war. Also, Prim has grown more mature. She no longer says the pretty side of ugly things; instead, she says how things really truly are. With the war going on, she is able to treat more patients and her level of nursing increases. War also makes people make extreme decisions. For example, the rebels where the ones that bombed the innocent Capitol children. The districts would have never done that on an ordinary day because they know what it is like to have your children killed because they have been forced to send their children off the Hunger Games for 75 years. They know what it is like to watch their children die. Another example of extreme decisions is when President Coin authorizes for Prim to go to the front line and get killed. She did that just to completely destroy Katniss because for what other reason would you send an innocent 13 year old on the front line in a war? President Coin makes an extremely selfish decision because of the war. The war affects Prim directly by killing her. Prim was an innocent young girl who just brought good, and the war took her away from those she loved.
The Historian
Imporant Individuals
In Mockingajay, Katniss's main job is to unite most, if not all, of the districts against the Capitol. She, alone had the most power and was most able to do it, in order to have freedom from the Capitol. This is similar to the revolts for independance of most of the South American countries during the 1800's. Jose de San Matin and Simon Bolivar were individuals who worked to free most of the colonies in South America from their mother country. Jose de San Martin led the revolution that liberated Argentina from Spanish control. He also led the revolution that set Chile free from Spain also and helped liberate Peru from Spanish control also. Simon Bolivar also led the revolutions that liberated Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. Many other countries became independent with the help of these two individuals. This is similar to the events in Mockingjay because Katniss, being an individual, helps unite every district, including District 2, against the Capitol. Katniss, Jose de San Martin, and Simon Bolivar are individuals who have a great role in gaining independence from a controlling government or country.
Death of Dictators
At the end of the book, President Snow is tried, found guilty, and executed. This is a similar death of many dictators in the past.
For example, Koki Hirota was the Prime Minister of Japan during World War Two. At the end of the war, he was tried, found guilty
and charged, and then was executed and hanged. Another dictator that was overthrown, tried, and executed was Prime Minister Tojo Hideki of Japan. Prime Minister Tojo Hideki was Prime Minister a little bit after Koki Hirota during World War Two. Because he was Prime Minister during the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was declared responsible and after his trial was executed by hanging. Of course, who can not think of Saddam Hussein when one says dictator. He was also tried and executed by hanging.
"Them" attitude
Gale sees all of the Capitol people as evil and cruel. He thinks that they know that watching children kill each other is bad. He does not understand that they grew up in an environment that taught them that watching children kill each other is not bad. He has an attitude as "them" towards the Capitol people and does not think that there is at least one nice person. He shows this when he questions Katniss about why she defends her prep team. This "them" attitude is similar to Hitler's attitude toward the Jews. He blamed everysingle Jew and person that is not "perfect" for the bad economy and problems of Germany. He killed men, women, children, teens, and babies in concentration camps even when they did not do anything. He killed innocent people, just like Gale was preparing to kill innocent people in the Nut and how it could have been his bomb that killed the Capitol's children and the rebels' medics, including innocent Prim among them.
M.J. Psychological Critic& The Historian& The Learner- Devany Sandoval
Physiological Critic
Motivation against Capitol
Throughout Mockingjay, the rebels are at war with the Capitol. The main motivation that spreads throughout the districts to overthrow the Capitol is to stop the harassment of the Capitol in the districts. Although this is a common motivation, some people are motivated by personal experiences, such as Pollux. Pollux is part of the camera crew that follows Katniss and films her for the propos. Pollux is motivated to overthrow the Capitol because the Capitol made into an Avox and cut off his tongue. The fact that he can and never be able to speak again turns into actions against the Capitol, and he contributes with the rebels.
Peeta and the cease fire
The first time that Katniss sees Peeta on the screen, Peeta calls for a cease fire. Why would he call for a cease fire and for the rebels to stop fighting the Capitol, when the Capitol has captured him and has ripped him apart from Katniss? The answer is simple, he is trying to protect Katniss. In his interview, he also says that Katniss didn't know about the rebel's plans, which is true. He is trying to protect her by having her "lie low, remain safe and imprisoned, while the war plays out" (30). He thinks that by calling for a cease-fire and defending Katniss and insisting that she didn't know about anything is going to protect her from President Snow's harm. Also, he was probably threatened or tortured to make him call for a cease-fire.
Mockingjay Katniss
After seeing Peeta's interview when he calls for a cease-fire, Katniss makes up her mind and decides that she is going to be the Mockingjay and be the main figure in the war. It took so long for her to make this decision; so why did she decide to be the Mockingjay instead of rejecting the idea? Peeta's interview helped her realize that the Games are still on. She realizes that if the rebels win, they will execute him, but if the Capitol wins, they might be able to live, but she will have to keep playing things the right way, which means that they will forever be part of their Games. When she makes this realization, she realizes that if the Capitol wins, she will be part of their Games for the rest of her life, and the Hunger Games will come back, or something worse will happen, as a punishment to the districts. She realizes that if the Capitol wins, they will go back to a life full of hunger and misery; therefore, the rebels have to win, and she decides to be their Mockinjay.
Grown up Prim
The very first time we saw Prim was before Katniss went off to her first Hunger Games. From Katniss's perspective, Prim was small and fragile, and it was Katniss's job to keep her alive and protect her from everything. In Mockinjay, Prim has grown up and matured a lot. She sees the evil in the world and thinks on her own. She realizes important aspects of the war that not even Katniss realizes. For example, Prim helps Katniss realize that she is extremely important to the cause and can ask for almost everything, and she will get it. This helps Katniss realize that she can ask for Peeta's, Annie's, Johanna's, and the other tributes' immunity from the rebels. Prim also helps Katniss realize that the Capitol will never kill Peeta and will do anything to him in order to break Katniss. According to Katniss, when Prim tells her that the Capitol will do whatever it takes to break her, "Prim sounds about a thousand years old" when she tells her this (150). Prim also shows signs of growing up when she consoles Katniss during the bombing of District 13. She explains to Katniss how the bombs work and talks to her; it used to be Katniss consoling Prim. Prim is no longer the fragile little girl that Katniss last saw in District 12.
Mental and instability and Physical Harassment
Some of the characters in Mockinjay have been tributes in the Hunger Games at least once. Katniss, Finnick, Johanna, Haymtich
, and Peeta are some of the people that have been tributes before. Watching people kill each other, seeing people melt way or be blown to bits, and being killed in a variety of ways will cause some sort of mental trauma. All of these things happen during the Hunger Games and traumatize the victors and cause them to have mental instability and become anxious, and live a life where the nightmares visit every night. For example, Haymitch falls into the influence of alcohol while trying to escape and scratch out all of the horrific memories of watching the children he mentors dies. Annie, the victor from District 4, has a great mental instability and zones in and out of the real world and covers her ears as if to block out horrific noises. She is known as the crazy girl. Katniss is mostly mentally affected by the Hunger Games than physically affected. She receives some wounds in the Games, but even after the Games, nightmares visit her every night, and she is chased by wolf mutts or sees her most beloved family members die.
Although they were victors, they do not live the easy life. Some, like Haymitch and Annie suffer from addiction and mental instability, but some also suffer from physical harassment, such as Finnick. Because Finnick is extremely attractive and desired,
Peeta is a great example of both mental instability and physical harassment. When he was being held by the Capitol, the people in the Capitol hijacked him. They hijacked Peeta by showing him videos of the Games in which Katniss and he were in, causing that memory to come to the front of his mind. Then they inject him a small dose of trackerjacker venom, and the trackerjacker venom alters the memories of Katniss into horrific ones, and the altered memories are restored. Because the altered memories are restored, every time he time he thinks about Katniss, he remembers her as a killer and a mutt from the Capitol. He also loses sense of what is real and what is not real. They also mentally tortured him by forcing him to watch Darius being tortured. The Capitol people tortured Darius for information, but he could not say anything because he was an Avox, so his tongue had been cut off. They just tortured him, just to so Peeta could watch. Not only are his memories messed up, he was also physically tortured. He became weak and feeble. The bags under his eyes also show his lack of sleep.
President Coin's motivations
President Coin is the leader of the rebels. She is the head and makes plans for the rebel troops. Why would she choose to lead in a rebellion against the Captiol? She wants power. She wants to get rid of President Snow so she can have all his power. Her craving for power is not for the better. She hates anyone who is a threat to her. For example, she despises Katniss. The reason for hating Katniss is because Katniss has a lot of power and influence on the people. That is why President Coin sends Peeta to join the Star-Squad. She sends him because he has been programmed to kill Katniss and he is free and can carry a gun when he is in the Star-Squad. That way, Katniss dies without Presidents Coin being responsible for her death.
The Learner
Leadership and tough decisions
The theme of leadership appears throughout the entire book of Mockingjay. Katniss takes the role of leadership throughout the book. When Boggs dies, he assigns Katniss as the leader by transferring the holograph to her. She has the map with all of the
streets and leads them into an apartment to escape the terrible black goo that fills the streets in the Capitol. With the help of Pollux, she leads her companions through the underground streets and to safety from the horrible lizard mutts. Being leader means making tough decisions. Katniss demonstrates this when she sees Finnick being killed by the lizard mutts. She sends the holograph into explosive mode because she sees Finnick die. As she takes on the role of leader, she realizes that even though she really wants to, she can't save everyone. She will have to keep on moving forward no matter who dies in order to complete her mission.
Value of Life and Morals vs. Justice
This book also demonstrates the lesson of the value of life. It brings to mind many questions such as: even if we are in war, is it fair and humane to kill whoever or just the individuals who are the enemies? Can we just kill anyone? Why must we kill? Gale brings to mind these questions when he wants to explode the Nut. He wants to start an avalanche at the top of the mountain and bury everyone inside it, including their own rebel soldiers. His plan offers no escape exit for the people inside the nut. The plan is genius and achieves what they want, but is it fair? His plan is a death trap with no way out. Katniss knows this and puts herself in the Nut's inhabitants' shoes. She already lost her father in a mine explosion, and this is exactly what is going to happen to the Nut. The people will be buried under tons and tons of rock and never find a way out. Katniss thinks of all of the relatives of the Nut's inhabitants and of all the brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and friends that they are going to kill. She points this out to Gale, who says that he will willingly die to help the cause. He points out that the Capitol did not take any of that into consideration when they destroyed District 12. The question is, should we put morals before revenge, or seek justice even if it goes against our morals? We also see an example of this at the end of the book when President Coin offers the option of having a last Hunger Games with the Capitol's children. The victors, Peeta, Annie, Enobaria, Katniss, Johanna, and Haymitch vote to see if they should have them or not. This also brings up the morals vs. justice question. Peeta says no because that would not make them any better than the Capitol people, but Johanna votes yes to give them a taste of their own medicine. So, what is the right thing to do?
Awfulness of War
Mockinjay also taught me that war is cruel and awful. It also shows that war affects everyone including innocent people. It also shows that war can make people make extreme decisions. The death of Prim shows this. Prim was indirectly and directly affected
The Historian
Imporant Individuals
In Mockingajay, Katniss's main job is to unite most, if not all, of the districts against the Capitol. She, alone had the most power and was most able to do it, in order to have freedom from the Capitol. This is similar to the revolts for independance of most of the South American countries during the 1800's. Jose de San Matin and Simon Bolivar were individuals who worked to free most of the colonies in South America from their mother country. Jose de San Martin led the revolution that liberated Argentina from Spanish control. He also led the revolution that set Chile free from Spain also and helped liberate Peru from Spanish control also. Simon Bolivar also led the revolutions that liberated Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. Many other countries became independent with the help of these two individuals. This is similar to the events in Mockingjay because Katniss, being an individual, helps unite every district, including District 2, against the Capitol. Katniss, Jose de San Martin, and Simon Bolivar are individuals who have a great role in gaining independence from a controlling government or country.Death of Dictators
At the end of the book, President Snow is tried, found guilty, and executed. This is a similar death of many dictators in the past.
For example, Koki Hirota was the Prime Minister of Japan during World War Two. At the end of the war, he was tried, found guilty
and charged, and then was executed and hanged. Another dictator that was overthrown, tried, and executed was Prime Minister Tojo Hideki of Japan. Prime Minister Tojo Hideki was Prime Minister a little bit after Koki Hirota during World War Two. Because he was Prime Minister during the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was declared responsible and after his trial was executed by hanging. Of course, who can not think of Saddam Hussein when one says dictator. He was also tried and executed by hanging.
"Them" attitude
Gale sees all of the Capitol people as evil and cruel. He thinks that they know that watching children kill each other is bad. He does not understand that they grew up in an environment that taught them that watching children kill each other is not bad. He has an attitude as "them" towards the Capitol people and does not think that there is at least one nice person. He shows this when he questions Katniss about why she defends her prep team. This "them" attitude is similar to Hitler's attitude toward the Jews. He blamed everysingle Jew and person that is not "perfect" for the bad economy and problems of Germany. He killed men, women, children, teens, and babies in concentration camps even when they did not do anything. He killed innocent people, just like Gale was preparing to kill innocent people in the Nut and how it could have been his bomb that killed the Capitol's children and the rebels' medics, including innocent Prim among them.