There are many different parallels between The Hunger Games and The Wizard of Oz. They are both stories about great journeys that the female protagonists undergo. I feel like both of these stories are coming of age journeys for these girls, they have been thrown into situations that are extremely abnormal circumstances and force them out of their comfort zones and to grow up.
The settings of the
stories both start out very similar, they are at their homes, which are both
dreary and depressing settings. Dorothy’s home in The Wizard of Oz is
constantly described as gray and depressing. Katniss’s home in The Hunger Games
is full of starving people controlled by a higher power. The people are unable
to overthrow this power and are struggling to stay alive. This is much like the
Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz; they have been controlled by the Wicked Witch of
the East and celebrate when Dorothy kills her with her flying house. The people
in the separate cities are also another similarity in the two stories. Both Katniss
and Dorothy have never seen anything like them before. The life that they live
is very different from the girls. They both look to the girls as a higher
figure and admire them; Dorothy as the good witch that saved them and Katniss
as the girl on fire.
Although Katniss’s journey
is much scarier and dangerous than Dorothy’s, Dorothy is still going on a
journey that makes her grow up a lot. In the beginning of the story she wanted
to run away from home and once she is in Oz there is nothing she wants more
than to go home. She starts out very immature and realizes throughout her journey
that she should not take those things for granted. Katniss on the other hand is
not immature; she has had to take care of her sister after her father passed
because her mother would not. This hardened Katniss to life because she had to
grow up a lot quicker but in the process she lost her sensitivity and feelings.
Through Katniss’s journey she learns to tap into those skills for the benefit
of herself in the games as well as her love for Peta. Both of the girls develop
in several ways that really help them mature into women.
I feel that going into this I grew up with the Wizard of Oz but I have not seen it since I was much younger. It was my Grandfathers favorite movie so every time we would visit him we would watch the movie together. Since I have gotten older our visits are not as frequent as they once were so I have not seen the movie for probably 5-6 years. A lot has changed in those years which in turn has drastically altered my impression of this movie. When I was younger I remember someone admiring Dorothy. Now that I have seen it again I question everything about her character. She seems foolish and childish, it is not a character that I would like my daughters idolizing. Katniss in the Hunger Games is a character I would like my daughters to idolize, she is a strong, confident and brave young woman. She is responsible as well as caring. I was somewhat shocked about my change in opinion of the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy's character, I never expected this character I grew up loving to have so many qualities I did not admire.
My defining characteristics of a reader is that when I am reading I look for qualities and behaviors that I admire and ones that I dislike. Reading for me is having a view of the world without an tight emotional connection that may alter my view. I feel like in the real world I can be judgmental of people because I have an innate reaction to their behavior and their history. In reading I have to put all these judgements away because I don't have the ability to do that. This allows for me to learn from the characters without having the true emotional connection as to why I feel this way.
I feel that going into this I grew up with the Wizard of Oz but I have not seen it since I was much younger. It was my Grandfathers favorite movie so every time we would visit him we would watch the movie together. Since I have gotten older our visits are not as frequent as they once were so I have not seen the movie for probably 5-6 years. A lot has changed in those years which in turn has drastically altered my impression of this movie. When I was younger I remember someone admiring Dorothy. Now that I have seen it again I question everything about her character. She seems foolish and childish, it is not a character that I would like my daughters idolizing. Katniss in the Hunger Games is a character I would like my daughters to idolize, she is a strong, confident and brave young woman. She is responsible as well as caring. I was somewhat shocked about my change in opinion of the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy's character, I never expected this character I grew up loving to have so many qualities I did not admire.
My defining characteristics of a reader is that when I am reading I look for qualities and behaviors that I admire and ones that I dislike. Reading for me is having a view of the world without an tight emotional connection that may alter my view. I feel like in the real world I can be judgmental of people because I have an innate reaction to their behavior and their history. In reading I have to put all these judgements away because I don't have the ability to do that. This allows for me to learn from the characters without having the true emotional connection as to why I feel this way.
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