Before we delve into this, I wanted to give a couple of disclaimers/warnings/comments.

One, this series of blog posts will be riddled with spoilers and my theories/connections to the original series, so if that bothers you, just go read the books already! 🤪

Two, I will be discussing sensitive topics such as war, humanity and politics, both real and not real. (Mockingjay reference definitely intended.) However, this is not with the intent of promoting a particular worldview, i.e. mine, but more to show how the pages of this book in particular have “stirred the pot” of my thinking and furthered my spiritual development.

And three, there is SOOO much I could talk about and time alone would not permit to mention all of it. That said, I’ll be limiting myself to discussing the things that I’m perseverating on more than others. Though I am hoping that by answering the reader’s guide questions provided in the back of the Barnes and Noble edition of Ballad, I’ll be able to touch on or embellish further the topics I missed in my weekly posts.

Here we go and hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

Alright, so to kick off, one of the first things that always captures my attention is the trash situation in the Capitol. And more specifically in that there was been no trash collection for years?! I mean, I’m an aspiring minimalist myself, but to not have trash at all?! Holy cow! 🤯

However, the circumstances that brought about this “trash free” period of time in the Capitol opened my eyes to something I often forget about when we are discussing and thinking about wars: There are human beings across enemy lines.

When I look at our world today, it seems like we’re so eager to villianize each other. That just because I hold a different opinion than you, that somehow lowers my worth in your eyes. And this notion that people once evil were always evil. They deserve whatever comeuppance comes their way. But here we have the young Snow revealing the horribly tragic circumstances of what it was like being under siege by the Districts during the war, or Dark Days. And I sit back and see it once again: war dehumanizes us. Neither side of a war ever comes out unscathed, but we romanticize and rationalize what’s going on to make it feel that way. That good prevailed over evil, never considering the real cost of these actions.

This always brings to mind how poignet Gregor’s discourse at the end of The Underland Chronicles is to our real world right now.

At what point are we going to reject war and say that it is an unacceptable way to resolve our differences?

Like Gregor, I don’t even know if it’s possible on a global scale, even though I can certainly hope for it. But what I do know is that I can change myself. How do I do that? By asking in what ways on a daily basis can I bring peace to my little part of the world? I can be more patient and kind. I can be less selfish, conceited and arrogant. I can be more diligent in helping others. I can choose to see the light in anyone around me, to believe the best of every person. To draw on the goodness of others when it shows and encourage develop in it. Just to list a few ideas. It’s definitely a life long process, but certainly one I’m committed to following through with.

Another thing Snow mentions in the first paragraph of the book that gives me pause is how he spends all his time trying to keep up appearances. All his family wealth is gone, and he has nothing to live on “but his wits.” And it got me thinking, “How much do I try to do this too?” 🤔 Instead of allowing others to help me through life’s difficult moments, why do I try so hard to do it on my own and make it appear that everything is perfectly fine? Like Snow, am I just too proud to admit that I need someone else’s help? Probably, but I’m working on it.

Chapter 2

Something that struck me at the end of this chapter, because it’s a recurring theme all throughout the book, but the wording here is much more apparent. When Snow is ruminating over what will become of him if he doesn’t get on Highbottom’s good graces he says:

“They’d ship him off to some horrid backwater district where the people were hardly better than animals.”

And well, irony aside, for that is exactly what happens later on in the story, the thing I wanted to point out was the verbiage here. He gives no second thought to how divisive his phrasing is. And yet we think like this all the time. Passively allowing ourselves to think we’re better than someone else for one reason or another. Never acknowledging that as we let these thoughts persist and go unchecked they start poisoning us. I feel like I’m constantly staying on top of what I’m choosing to thinking on and praying for mercy because of it. If I don’t, I become calloused, bitter, resentful, dejected, all manners of behavior and emotions I don’t want to exhibit or feel. Yet so often I find myself getting lazy about it. I shouldn’t! Because let’s face it, our thoughts determine our lives. If I continue to change my thinking, then by the Grace of God, I can continue change myself for the better and subsequently my world.

Chapter 3

The way the Tributes are literally treated like animals. It’s just— I don’t even have words to accurately describe it. It’s appalling on every level. They are brought to the Capitol in unclean animal cargo boxes, herded brutally like animals off the train into the caged truck that takes them to the zoo!! Then they are kept in the vacant monkey cage, without food, until the Games begin at the end of the week! 😱😱😱

And then we have Snow, who’s sole concern is trying to win over Lucy Gray. He gets embarrassed to be seen with the Tributes both in the truck on the road and in the zoo. And he’s shocked some of the Tributes want to kill him? I mean, come on, bro. Hate knows no reason, nor do animals. It’s like at least you could stay somewhat consistent with your theory of the people from the Districts. I mean, even the most skilled lion trainer the ever cognizant of the risks involved with handling his beast. Maybe Snow can be praised for his courage of conviction and self-control in the face of fear, but— Gah! Snow’s intentions are all wrong and his scumminess drives me up a wall.

In light of that though, do I not in some ways treat the homeless and destitute people in my community the same way? 😅🤔 I’m apprehensive about making eye contact with or giving money to the pan handler on the side of the road. Or of saying hello to the one muttering to himself as he walks down the street. And maybe there’s a bit of wisdom there, for I don’t know what these people are capable of. But it’s certainly not an excuse for me to hide the Light of Christ that burns within in me and to love them when it’s within my power to do so. Anyway, its something more for me to consider more deeply going forward.

Chapter 4

Okay, stop. The Covey. What do you mean you they just wandered into District 12 one day and then got detained? There’s no border patrol?! Or borders for that matter? Why aren’t people just fleeing Panem? Like there’s no way Panem has enough Peacekeepers to keep everyone in their place, sooo— Can someone at Scholastic please offer Collins another book deal so I can an origin story for Panem? Please? And I’ll throw out a theme suggestion, we can discuss failed democracies and how people move forward in the fall out of them. 😏

But like in all seriousness, this does raise a lot interesting Panem world questions for me. Like did parts of Canada survive and just decide to not join Panem? Did the Covey come over from Europe? And how has the rest of the world fared since North America collapsed? 🧐 I know none of this pertains to her stories, so I’ll likely never get an answer, but man I would love to see Collins “dump zone.” Cause I’m pretty sure there’s a story about the Covey at all sorts of other awesomeness there too.

Moving along to the famed Dr. Gaul and her infamous line, “There are no Games if no one watches.”

Now, this is something that’s been hinted at through the first four chapters already. The Academy students are Mentors to the Tributes, because we need to engage the audience. We have Lucy Gray and Snow putting on a show at the zoo, winning the children and parents of the Capitol crowd over. Snow mentions in the first chapter that after ten years of the Games the Capitol citizens don’t celebrate Reaping Day and don’t really like watching the Games... Because it reminds them of the war that they don’t want to think about anymore. They want to move on. Almost as if to suggest that forgiving and forgetting are part of the human makeup.

But no, they have to keep watching the Games. Or so Dr. Gaul keeps insisting, but no one really understands why. So they just keep watching. Because the law says so. Because everyone else is doing it. And well, because now it’s entertaining. And as long as we watch, we remember what they did to us. That theyare savage beasts that must be contained. They must be under our control. After what they did to us and our children, we have every right to be angry and hate them for it. And if we don’t contain them, they will destroy us like they did before. And the Hunger Games are how we keep the peace. So we can have life. Liberty. The pursuit of happiness...

The Hunger Games could’ve ended here. If all of the Capitol just stopped watching their TVs, listening to the radio, scrolling on their social media pages they could’ve saved the lives of thousands of innocent children. Including their own.

Just like us, they have power to just STOP, and just like them, we don’t. And I don’t know why.

Chapter 5

Sejanus Plinth... 🙄 Let’s just say I can relate to Snow’s perpetual reservation in actually being this guys friend. I can appreciate his desire to hold on to who he was born as, a fellow District citizen. There’s a lot of value to that in the post war Panem, especially when you’re the new most powerful family in the Capitol. But his never ending pity party immobilizes him, incredibly gullible and well super annoying. Like how do you not see how jealous and disingenuous Snow is to you for ten years?! It’s no wonder his life ends the way it does. (We’ll get to that in about two weeks. 😉)

So yes, he wants to get out of participating in the Games and ending them because they are evil, which is commendable, but he has no clue how to actually do that and lacks the courage to just stand up and say “nope, not doing this!” This is kind of the reason why I have difficulty understanding why other readers say that Sejanus is some preincarnate Peeta. 🙄 Unlike Sejanus, Peeta uses his gift of words to successfully cast the spark that sets Katniss on fire, and brings about the second rebellion which ultimately ends the Games. Sejanus, seemingly all powerful, at least to Snow, is about as useful as a clanging symbol. While on the other hand Peeta, seemingly powerless on many levels, actually shares the credit for ending the Hunger Games. I almost feel like Sejanus might have accomplished his goal of ending the Games by, oh I don’t know, finding a way to usurp Snow gaining attention for the Games. Or finding a way to cause a city wide power outage. If he were smart enough to realize what’s actually going on here, maybe he would’ve been more successful with his plight. 😩 Sorry, had to get that out there. 😅

Anyway, moving along to Lucy Gray Baird. Maybe this isn’t the most popular opinion of her, but she’s a little disingenuous to me. 😅 Like I know, according to Collins, she supposed to represent a particular school of thought when in comes to the discussion of human nature, which will be come more evident as the book goes on. But I don’t know, I find her jarring at times. Maybe even inconsistent. Like I said, I’m sure that will even out as we go along further, since we haven’t had much time with her yet.

What I also wanted to point out is her role in being a performer. She’s an amazing one and it’s kept her alive all these years, but here in the Capitol I find it odd. Ironic really. She’s basically hinted at potentially not even being a citizen of Panem, and yet now being forced to fight in a death match that is designed for Panem citizens. But instead of pointing that out, or better yet trying to stop the Games from continuing by making them boring (which she seems to have picked up on and makes a joke about during the interview at the zoo), she has a hand in making them survive for another 66 years. Paving the way for Katniss to do what she could’ve done right now. 🧐 It’s like she’s subconsciously helping Snow perpetuate this madness.

And in another way, she’s almost like Snow’s conscience. The better part, that’s trying to guide him in a less bitter direction. And their relationship dynamic is reminiscent of this constant struggle. It’s like both of them are playing each other. Trying to use the other to survive, and neither of them willing to compromise for the others’ benefit. Without which a real relationship can’t survive. Their ending should come as no surprise since it began on such shaky ground.

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Alrighty, sooooo that’s it. Those are some of my thoughts from this weeks readings. 😅

I’ll be back next week with more. Until then, stay alive.