Pursuing your values as an act of rebellion
against those who think they can control you

Blazing Reader,

Two years ago, I read The Hunger Games to my (at the time) 15-year-old son and remember closing the last page and saying something like, "Well, that was a good read. Nice ending." I had no intention of reading the rest of the trilogy (mainly because the arena fight scenes bored me).

But my son, Jonah, was adamant we read the whole thing. I'm glad we did. If for no other reason than for its underlying theme — which Angelica Walker-Werth sums up so precisely in her philosophical dissection of Suzanne Collins' dystopian trilogy:

"...pursuing your values requires freedom and is an act of rebellion against those who think they can, or should, control you."

That, in one sentence, sums up the trilogy and what I loved about it.

"The Capitol is determined to turn [Katniss] into a killer," writes Angelica, "but Katniss sets her own priorities based on what matters to her — whom and what she values."

You can read Angelica Walker-Werth's full philosophical analysis of The Hunger Games series on her Fictionosphy Substack.

John C.A. Manley

PS Warning: Angelica's Hunger Games essay contains a lot of spoilers, so if you haven't yet, you should first read the series.

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona: A Dystopian Love Story, the forthcoming All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of speculative fiction. Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber at: https://blazingpinecone.com/subscribe/