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Prompt 1: Select a character that has deliberately sacrificed, surrendered, or forfeited something in a way that highlights that character’s values. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the particular sacrifice illuminates the character’s values and provides a deeper understanding of the meaning of the work as a whole.
Prompt 2: Select a novel, play, or epic poem in which a character holds an “ideal view of the world.” Then write an essay in which you analyze the character’s idealism and its positive or negative consequences. Explain how the author’s portrayal of this idealism illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole.
FRQ 1: Sacrifice based on values
FRQ 1: Sacrifice based on values
In the novel “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, Katniss sacrifices everything at the beginning of the book to protect her sister, and again at the end of the book to avoid killing Peeta, ultimately illustrating that love is complex and requires sacrifice before it can triumph.
At the beginning of the book, Katniss sacrifices her life to the capitol through volunteering to take the place of her sister in the games. Volunteering for the hunger games is unheard of, especially in district 12 because they never win. When Katniss volunteers to take her sister's place, it is seen as a death sentence. Because Prim is picked for the hunger games, Katniss is overwhelmed with emotion and panic. Consequently, her love for her sister leads her to volunteer her life, knowing she will probably die. Katniss ends up winning when if she didn't sacrifice herself, her sister would have died. Therefore, Collins' use of sacrifice early on sets a melancholy tone in the book and foreshadows the theme of love’s triumph due to the inherent human need to sacrifice for loved ones. Sacrifice is set as the norm early on with characters like Katniss’s dad. Katniss’s father is one of the earliest symbols of sacrifice in the book. He worked a hard, dangerous job in the coal mines because it was the only way he could provide for his family. He ended up dying in a mine accident, showing that sacrifice can be over a long period of time and not just in a single instant. Because Katniss’s dad loves his family, he works a terrible, deadly job on a daily basis to provide for them and keep them alive. He was able to teach Katniss a lot about hunting before he died. Since he works in the coal mines, his death is brutal and implants one of the earliest ideas of sacrifice in the book. Thus showing the lengths a person will go to for their loved ones and the multifaceted approach Collins has on sacrifice.
Sacrifice remains a constant theme from the start of “The Hunger Games” to the end. Furthermore, Collins further employs the theme of sacrifice until the end of the book. At the end of the games the only two people left are both the district 12 members who end up falling in love with each other. Instead of killing a weak Peeta, Katniss decides that they will both eat poisonous berries to kill themselves together, rather than kill her loved one and live with it. Because Katniss loves Peeta, she opts to end her own life with him in a Romeo and Juliet esque double suicide. Consequently, at the last minute, the games end and they are both crowned winners. Therefore, Katniss’s willingness to sacrifice everything leads her to triumph due to the constant theme of love's triumph through sacrifice. Collins further utilizes Katniss and Peeta’s sacrifice for each other because of love to show that sacrifice doesn't always have instant results, but still leads to love triumphing overall. When Katniss finds Peeta disguised in the mud, he is nearly dead. Instead of leaving him for dead, she sacrifices her own chances at winning to nurse him back to health instead of moving forward. Because Katniss loves Peeta, she is unwilling to continue knowing she could’ve helped him, but didn’t. Since she decides to help him, she loses valuable time that could’ve been spent hunting, gathering resources, and scouting to help her win. Katniss eventually nurses him back to okay health and she and Peeta are able to win the games together. Thus utilizing the delayed gratification of love's triumph to build suspense.
All in all, In the novel “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, Katniss sacrifices her life multiple times to keep people she loves safe. Collins approaches the theme of sacrifice with a variety of different types of love: siblings, parents, significant others. This sacrifice can lead to instant success or delayed success, showing the complexity of love and its ability to triumph over all else with sacrifice.
FRQ 2: The impact of a postive idealistic view
FRQ 2: The impact of a postive idealistic view
In the book, “The Hunger Games Catching Fire” by Suzzanne Collins, Katniss Everdeen's ideal world view for an uncorrupt, transparent government serves as a positive juxtaposition to the reality of the government. Ultimately illustrating the positive impact having a good mentality has and how it shapes a person's future.
To begin, Katniss is seen as a symbol of rebellion for the struggling district; she believes she can just survive without being a symbol or resistance sign. After defying the rules and going against what the Capitol said in the last games, she goes on a victory tour where she is told how to act and what to say, showing how the Capitol controls the narratives that the average person sees. Because it’s impossible for neutrality, her idealistic view makes it easy for people to look up to her. Consequently, people with idealistic views tend to have a better outlook on life's challenges, making them pleasant to be with and inspiring. Thus, a person's positive idealistic view can quickly inspire many, due to their perception of the world around them and their sympathy. To add on, at the beginning Katniss believes she can once again just survive after a talk with president Snow. She believes that she can protect the people she loves by putting on a convincing enough show, so the Capitol doesn’t punish her. Because her idealism earlier is different from what she is portraying now, people become suspicious and rebel. Consequently, a person with strong, firm beliefs is often seen as a person worth standing up for. Therefore, Katniss’s different behavior leads people to suspicion that ultimately results in rebellion due to humanity's natural aptitude to help those who want better for the world.
To continue, Katniss begins transforming into more of a symbol as she starts understanding that she can’t just survive. Growing up in a poor hunting district, Katniss’s mindset was always focused on survival. She is forced to finally give up her idealistic world where she just survives when she becomes the symbol of rebellion. Because Katniss is seen as a symbol of rebellion, she changes from an independent survivor to more of a player in a greater game. Consequently, a person's shift in their idealistic views can lead to a change in their future. Therefore, Katniss’s future changed and her perception of the world around her changed, due to a person with a positive idealistic view’s ability to change their future with their views. Furthermore, when Katniss begins to see reality for what it is and drops her idealistic views, she begins to have hope for herself as opposed to giving hope to other people. Because Katniss loses her idealistic view for survival, it allows her to seek more realistic forms of hope; leading her to seek strength in numbers instead of on her own. Consequently a person's idealistic view is important for a positive outlook and future, but paying attention to reality is just as important. Thus Katniss’s ability to change her outlook changes her future, due to the importance of seeing reality for what it is.
All in all, a positive idealistic view can be used to change a person's future for the better or worse depending on if they also account for reality. Katniss consistently changes her positive view when things get bad, leading her future to change and things to get better.
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