Surviving Alone, The Hunger Games-spoiler alert

I'm reading The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins. The protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, feels like her mother was completely irresponsible and careless. She feels this because when Katniss's father died, her mother went into a state of shock and depression and couldn't take care of herself, let alone her children. Katniss had to take on the job of taking care of her mother and her younger sister Prim. Now that Katniss is a tribute in the annual Hunger Games, she will not be there to care for Prim. She is anxious that her mother will do the same thing she did before, where she completely thought about herself and didn't take care of her children.

On one hand, I understand that losing someone in the family can be a big trauma. You may even feel like part of you has been broken off. I understand that her husband died, so I do feel sympathetic towards Katniss's mother. Maybe she didn't know how to cope without her husband and she felt she would be unable to raise her children without him. She may have felt stressed to have to take care of these kids with absolutely no help. The people in district 12 couldn't care less. Everyone is struggling to survive.

On the other hand, I understand why Katniss is frustrated with her mother. In a time when Prim and Katniss needed her most, their mother just wasn't there for them. It was already saddening enough that their father died and now they are probably terrified because their mother can't take care of them anymore. I think what Katniss's mother did was very selfish because when something big happens like a death in the family, you need to think of your children first. You need to go through the difficult circumstances together and not leave them alone in the dark. They are already scared because their father is gone, and they may even have to worry about losing their mother because she is pining away in front of their eyes.

Death of a father

I'm still reading a Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith. A recent issue in this book that I have come across is death. Francie's father, a beloved member of the family has passed away. I was very  surprised at the family's reaction. They seemed to be indifferent about it. I didn't know whether they were didn't care or they were just holding their feelings in.

Johnny had been sick for a while, but I don't think his family knew how serious his illness was. They expected that this would pass and everything would be fine. This however was not the case. Maybe they didn't want to believe that the sickness was this awful. I was a little bewildered because personally, if my father died, I would be beside myself. And I think Johnny was a very influencial person for Francie and her brother Neeley.

I think that sometimes, in an awful situation, people try to be too optimistic because they fear that they will enter a great state of depression if they don't. On one hand, I think this is good because they will at least have the slightest bit of hope that a miracle will occur. But on the other hand, if something goes terribly wrong, they are just setting themselves up for terrible sadness. For example, everyone knew my great uncle was very old and a little bit sickly. But everyone in my family thought that it was just the usual symptoms that came from old age. But one day, he had a heart attack, and took everyone by surprise. I think what would most help this situation is to be aware what is happening and keep up to date with the news. This way, if something horrible happens, you will have an idea that it was going to happen sometime in the future.