Adam Blumer

What Can We Learn from The Hunger Games? Part 3

By Adam Blumer April 19, 2013 Book Review, Christian Living, Fiction, Inspiration, Weekly Post, Young Adult Fiction No Comments

See Part 1 and Part 2. Some Christian reviewers have praised The Hunger Games because it describes good versus evil without moral ambiguity. I would have to disagree. There’s more gray than black and white in this novel (see Part 2 for my discussion of killing in the story). Katniss is also a very gray character. She has good qualities (self-sacrifice), but she does some bad things too (euthanasia). She is likable, but she doesn’t always do the right thing—which, by the way, is typically of what makes for a memorable character. Readers don’t like a character who is too perfect. Katniss is flawed, but is she too flawed? To be fair, Katniss doesn’t act like a believer for the very reason that she isn’t one. She doesn’t know any better. But I do think there is value in considering her situation and evaluating what a believer might do if he…

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What Can We Learn from The Hunger Games? Part 2

By Adam Blumer April 5, 2013 Articles, Book Review, Books, Christian Living, Weekly Post, What I'm Reading, Young Adult Fiction 1 Comment

See Part 1. This novel made me think. A lot. What if my name were drawn in an annual death lottery and I was released into an arena where twenty-three other people wanted me dead? What would I do? What would you do? Would you try to kill them before they killed you? Would you fold your arms across your chest and refuse to play in the Games (and very quickly be killed)? Or would you—like little Rue—run, hide, and simply try to stay alive? Anyone who gives this chilling dilemma serious consideration can’t help but sympathize with Katniss in her plight. Yes, The Hunger Games offers a very dark and disturbing premise most of us would rather not consider. And the premise is even more disturbing because teens—in some cases, children—are the ones doing the killing. But all things considered, The Hunger Games is a story about war, except kids are the ones…

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