Fiction Reading Response ***Spoilers from Hunger Games***

Jaylene Miranda806ELA   Have you ever wondered if a character's world,even if its fantasy, ever had any similarities to our world? Well even if we don't realize it authors usually include little parts of our world into theirs. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is about a 16 year old girl named Katniss who participates in the brutal death games hosted by the Capitol, the government of Panem, North America, while trying to keep up an act of love with someone she will eventually kill if she wants to get out of the 'arena'. Panem and the world we live in now are very similar.   
   Panem and the world we live in now are very similar. For example, in chapter 18 of The Hunger Games after Rue has bled to death Katniss says, "I’ve lost the will to do the simplest tasks, to do anything but lie here..." This is similar to our world because when somebody close dies people can fall into depression and just loose the will to live or move, like Katniss. Katniss said she didn't want to move but, unlike people who have lost someone Katniss was fighting for her life. I also think she was motivated by the promise she made to Rue saying that she was going to win and Katniss didn't want to break it. Another example is in chapter 1 Gale Hawthorne, Katniss' best friend, says, "Leave the district. Run off. Live in the woods. You and I, we could make it." This quote shows many similarities. One similarity is the fact that most people run away from their problems like Gale wanted but, people like Katniss held them back and stopped them. Another similarity this quote shows is, most people show arrogance and say they can do anything and it looks like Gale is implying that he can survive in rebellion, whether he can or can't. This shows similarities between Panem and Our world.     
    Although it may not be intentional many authors implement real world characteristics to the book world. I think the author implemented bad similarities to show us that we can change for the better. I think the author chose to put in characteristics that make the worlds different so people can relate to the book. I personally agree with making worlds similar because its allows teenagers to relate without having to open up to somebody when they don't want to.

No Job? Get Lost!: A Non-Fiction Reading Response

  The article, "No Job? Get Lost!" written by Andrew Higgins published in Upfront Magazine is about Norway's northernmost territory, Svalbard and its requirements to live there. The beginning of the article talks about the requirements of living in Svalbard and what is illegal. Then, the article talks about the effects these laws had on citizens. And, finally the article talks about the trouble polar bears cause and how citizens deal with them. I think Andrew Higgins is trying to tell us that living in Svalbard can be safe.
    Andrew Higgins uses different crafts to prove that living in Svalbard can be safe. One craft the author uses is by quoting a powerful political figure that lives in the location. In this case it's Governor Odd Olsen Ingero, who says, "It is a very quite and law abiding society." By using this tactic the author makes us believe that because it comes from a resident, a very political resident, it must be true. Another tactic the author uses is using descriptions of every day life to how how the residents feel about living there. One description showing this is, "Residents regularly leave their car and snowmobile keys in the ignition and don't bother locking their front doors." This shows how residents feel about Svalbard and what they do regularly to prove it. this tactic is used to draw the reader into thinking nothing bad happens in Svalbard and how safe people feel there.This shows how the author uses different crafts to prove that living in Svalbard can be safe.
    In conclusion, the author uses interesting crafts to sway the reader into thinking living in Svalbard is safe. I realized that the people in Svalbard feel so safe that they leave their belongings  powered, left alone for a certain amount of time, and leave their front doors unlocked. I don't feel like that is right. It is still good to be cautious even though you are safe. In the article it said wild polar bears attack citizens some times so why would somebody leave their door unlocked if anybody can get in, even a polar bear, and attack them.