#snow constantly being haunted by lucy gray and sejanus......

[eulaties]

just saw on reddit that suzanne MIGHT be writing a sequel to tbosas........ofc this should be taken with a massive grain of salt but like IM GOING CRAZYYYYYYYYYYYYY

[fyreflys]

Everyone tries to compare the characters from TBOSBAS to Katniss and Peeta, because we like to try and draw literary parallels & analyze and find meaning where there may or may not be. And I feel like that kind of detracts from all the characters. We try to fit them in a box by saying “so-and-so is just like so-and-so!” When in reality all the characters are so drastically different. Sure, Peeta and Lucy Gray were the performers. Sure, Lucy Gray and Katniss were the singing mockingjays from the seam. Sure, Sejanus and Katniss both pushed against the Capitol control. Sure, Jessup and Peeta were the gentle protectors, who got hurt and needed nursed. We could go on and on and on, but (to me at least) it feels like trying to shove puzzle pieces together that don’t fit but still make up part of the same picture. Yeah there’s similarities, but the differences seem to outweigh them, so saying they’re parallels for each other just doesn’t seem fair to the complexities of their characters. It strips them of their background and the meaning and impact that they serve in their individual stories. I think we see the few nods and foreshadowing Collins throws at us for the original trilogy, and we immediately want to say everything is symbolic of each other, because history and art repeat themselves, & perhaps the idea of Snow reliving everything he went through when he was 16 is a satisfying twist for a corrupt character. But the truth is it is its own story.

HOWEVER- I’d still like to offer my own spin/parallel, just for shits & giggles.

I don’t think I’ve seen anyone mention how similar GALE is to SNOW. Again, far from a perfect fit, but there’s a lot about Snow and Lucy Gray’s story that reminds me of Gale and Katniss.

Gale seems to view Katniss as belonging to him; he’s possessive, and jealous of Peeta. He wants Katniss where he knows she’s safe. He is the cage, and she is the bird. Just like Snow is Lucy Gray’s cage, not wanting her to be free, but rather his. In control, belonging to him, and jealous of even the idea of another man or thing in Lucy Gray’s life (man gets jealous of a fucking goat, thinking it could be a person, let alone Billy Taupe). Additionally, despite Snow and Gale seeming to be on completely opposite sides of the spectrum (Snow is 100% for the Capitol, & Gale is 100% against the Capitol), they seem to value the same things. They want power. They want control. They want attention and recognition. Gale goes searching for that in the form of joining the rebellion and it’s highest ranks. He helps develop and plan bombs with little to no regard of the civilians they might kill, literally telling Katniss that it’s a price worth paying, an eye-for-an-eye type thing. He buddies up with President Coin (who, we could say, for parallel sake, represents evil & tyranny and totalitarianism, like Dr. Gual). Snow does it in the way of sucking up to anyone and everyone he can (Dr Gual, Mr Plinth) in the name of gaining positive recognition & money (or whatever else he might want) & constantly playing politics. He also shows little regard over the deaths of others. He kills Bobbin, and doesn’t seem haunted by that whatsoever, just sees it as a stain on his name. When faced with the possibility of having to open fire on the civilians of district 12 when they show anger at a hanging, his first thought is “do I remember how to shoot a gun?” and not “I don’t want to kill people”. Both of them fawn over a girl who is quite clearly not theirs, nor anything close to a “perfect match”.

By no means am I saying Gale is as bad as if not worse than Snow; we don’t know Gale’s inner thoughts and workings, and he does seem to act out of the kindness of his heart & show selfless qualities, and he’s not nearly as controlling and possessive when it comes to Katniss as Snow is to Lucy Gray (at the end of the day, Gale cares about Katniss being happy- Snow cares about Lucy Gray being his). But I think the comparison is interesting to consider regardless, and I haven’t seen anyone talk about it. :)

[beckysblogs12]

Falling Hard Blog post 6

I want to jump a little ahead and talk about what has happened after Lucy Gray won the Hunger Games and when Coriolanus got caught cheating so he got assigned to be a peacekeeper in district 12. Actually more like he wanted to go to district 12 to see Lucy Gray. I think with his demotion from the capitol he wants to build his way back to the top, but will have to go through the ranks. I love the dialogue so much when Coriolanus sees Lucy Gray for the first time at the bar and she is singing. She looks at him like he is the only person in the room and he admires that a lot.

Entreaties: an earnest or humble request 

Billy Taupe is such a snob and a disgusting human being, he had no right to attack Lucy Gray on the stage while she was singing, but let me tell you when Coriolanus walked up there and punched him in the face it was so satisfying. Now I can't tell if that was a good or bad decision on his moral character because he could have done it because he was acting like a jerk or it was something to do with his possessiveness on her. Also I don't know what is going on with Sejanus, but he is acting really weird, he is talking to the district 12 people really secretly and it seems like he knows them personally. I was kinda surprised when Lucy Gray did not run after them after they got kicked out of the bar for fighting. Coriolanus definitely made it up when he visited her the next day in the flower fields. I really liked this part of the book because it gives a lot of insight into Lucy Gray’s perspective because the majority of the book is written from Coriolanus' point of view. Chapter 30 demonstrates how Lucy Gray lived her life in district 12 and Coriolanus seems to really like her life. 

Gaunt: lean and haggard, especially because of suffering, hunger, or age. 

The big argument all over the internet is that did Coriolanus and Lucy Gray actually love each other or were they just using each other? I think because of the events that occurred throughout the book they used each other for comfort and did care for one another. Although I think towards the middle to the end of the book Coriolanus started to show his true colors with his possessiveness towards her and his demand to win the plinth prize. Ultimately love did not work out because Coriolanus decided power and glory mattered more. Lucy Gray could see through his indifference for her and she represented everything the capitol wanted to stay away from. I love everything about the whole book because it foreshadows the future of the Hunger games, Catching Fire, Mocking Jay part 1 and 2. It all shows the start of why everything ended up happening in each installment of the hunger games. Like why all around the districts it is closed off by wire fencing to remind everyone and himself that no one could ever be that different. 

Even though Coriolanus made his own decisions that doesn't mean he is all to blame. People influence people, it happens all over the world and in everyday life. Dr.Gual had a lot to blame for because she pushed teh ideas that the districts deserved the brutality and ultimately influenced him so much was because he wanted to be like his father. To the Capitol money and glory is the most essential way of life and the only way to prosper the gains of leadership.

I think the overall message of The Hunger Games, The Ballad Of ASongbirds and Snakes is that influence from others really does matter. Maybe if Coriolanus didn’t  have these bad people in his ear constantly and had the pressure of being the best, he could have ended up with Lucy Gray. Maybe if Lucy Gray had tried hard enough to help him, he would have been saved himself. Unfortunately Coriolanus became Snow the president and Lucy Gray haunts his mind for the rest of his life.