life for the Games, kids from the districts train for only three days ( The Hunger Games , 88). Yes, just three days in which to learn how to:
Throw a knife.
Throw a spear.
Throw an ax.
Use a bow and arrow.
Swing a mace.
Tie a knot.
Set up snares and traps.
Start fires.
Make shelters.
Fight in hand-to-hand combat.
Identify edible plants.
Lift weights.
Use a slingshot.
Climb trees.
At the beginning of the Quarter Quell Games, Katniss leaps forward and grabs a lot of weapons from around the Cornucopia. She can choose from bows and arrows, knives of all lengths, spears, tridents, axes, maces, swords, and awls. ( Catching Fire , 269–71). If you’re in a situation as deadly as the Hunger Games, you want to pick up everything you might possibly be able to use, even if you’re not particularly well trained to use the items.
It’s unknown to readers how starved children lacking preparation and training with weapons can succeed in remaining alive. We know that many tributes are quick witted, that some are fast runners, that others understand how to cope in the saltwater arena, that others are good with knives, etc. Each tribute possesses particular skills upon entering the Games, and they then have three days to bone up on what they don’t know.
However, remember that the children are selected by lottery —that is, in random drawings. A physically weak child, a starving child, someone who is mentally ill or retarded, handicapped, extremely young, sick with anything from the flu to cancer or asthma—a vast majority of children, it seems—would be ill-equipped after three days of training and would be dead within an hour of landing inside the arena.
Keeping this issue in mind, let’s look briefly at some of the Hunger Games weapons, including items such as the pyramid trap, land mines, nuclear missiles, radiation, bunker, and bombs.
THROWING A KNIFE
To excel at knife throwing, you must master a lot of techniques, such as: holding the knife, throwing it, spins and rotations, distances, and targets. Knife throwing isn’t something you can master in three days, particularly when your three-day training includes so many other subjects. Maybe this is why one of the first tributes killed in The Hunger Games dies with a knife in his back ( The Hunger Games , 150). Much later, Katniss is injured by a knife thrown by Clove, but she doesn’t die. Perhaps Katniss is lucky. Her forehead is sliced open, and Clove moves in for the kill, revealing an “impressive array” of knives in her jacket ( The Hunger Games , 285). However, luck comes into play in the form of Thresh. If not for Thresh and his rock, Katniss probably would have died by the knife right then ( The Hunger Games , 286).
First, it should be pointed out that there are many types of knives, and each requires a different set of techniques. Most likely, Clove’s huge array of knives includes most or all of the types described in this chapter. By the way, we’ll assume that ordinary kitchen knives and diving knives, which are used underwater, are not part of the Hunger Games weaponry cache. We’ll focus on the knives used for hunting, fighting, and overall survival and talk a little about some of the more common types.
A hunting knife is used when “dressing game,” which is the common euphemism for “carving up animals.” This type of knife may have a mildly curved blade, an extremely curved blade, or a clipped blade. A subcategory of the hunting knife is the skinning knife, which as you might guess from its name, is used for stripping animal hide; these have short razor-sharp blades sometimes tipped with a barbed hook—known as the “gut hook”—for eviscerating animals. We’re told in Mockingjay that to feed eight hundred people in the Seam, Gale is equipped with only one hunting knife, two sets of bows and arrows, and a fishing net ( Mockingjay , 7). We don’t know what kind of
Throw a knife.
Throw a spear.
Throw an ax.
Use a bow and arrow.
Swing a mace.
Tie a knot.
Set up snares and traps.
Start fires.
Make shelters.
Fight in hand-to-hand combat.
Identify edible plants.
Lift weights.
Use a slingshot.
Climb trees.
At the beginning of the Quarter Quell Games, Katniss leaps forward and grabs a lot of weapons from around the Cornucopia. She can choose from bows and arrows, knives of all lengths, spears, tridents, axes, maces, swords, and awls. ( Catching Fire , 269–71). If you’re in a situation as deadly as the Hunger Games, you want to pick up everything you might possibly be able to use, even if you’re not particularly well trained to use the items.
It’s unknown to readers how starved children lacking preparation and training with weapons can succeed in remaining alive. We know that many tributes are quick witted, that some are fast runners, that others understand how to cope in the saltwater arena, that others are good with knives, etc. Each tribute possesses particular skills upon entering the Games, and they then have three days to bone up on what they don’t know.
However, remember that the children are selected by lottery —that is, in random drawings. A physically weak child, a starving child, someone who is mentally ill or retarded, handicapped, extremely young, sick with anything from the flu to cancer or asthma—a vast majority of children, it seems—would be ill-equipped after three days of training and would be dead within an hour of landing inside the arena.
Keeping this issue in mind, let’s look briefly at some of the Hunger Games weapons, including items such as the pyramid trap, land mines, nuclear missiles, radiation, bunker, and bombs.
THROWING A KNIFE
To excel at knife throwing, you must master a lot of techniques, such as: holding the knife, throwing it, spins and rotations, distances, and targets. Knife throwing isn’t something you can master in three days, particularly when your three-day training includes so many other subjects. Maybe this is why one of the first tributes killed in The Hunger Games dies with a knife in his back ( The Hunger Games , 150). Much later, Katniss is injured by a knife thrown by Clove, but she doesn’t die. Perhaps Katniss is lucky. Her forehead is sliced open, and Clove moves in for the kill, revealing an “impressive array” of knives in her jacket ( The Hunger Games , 285). However, luck comes into play in the form of Thresh. If not for Thresh and his rock, Katniss probably would have died by the knife right then ( The Hunger Games , 286).
First, it should be pointed out that there are many types of knives, and each requires a different set of techniques. Most likely, Clove’s huge array of knives includes most or all of the types described in this chapter. By the way, we’ll assume that ordinary kitchen knives and diving knives, which are used underwater, are not part of the Hunger Games weaponry cache. We’ll focus on the knives used for hunting, fighting, and overall survival and talk a little about some of the more common types.
A hunting knife is used when “dressing game,” which is the common euphemism for “carving up animals.” This type of knife may have a mildly curved blade, an extremely curved blade, or a clipped blade. A subcategory of the hunting knife is the skinning knife, which as you might guess from its name, is used for stripping animal hide; these have short razor-sharp blades sometimes tipped with a barbed hook—known as the “gut hook”—for eviscerating animals. We’re told in Mockingjay that to feed eight hundred people in the Seam, Gale is equipped with only one hunting knife, two sets of bows and arrows, and a fishing net ( Mockingjay , 7). We don’t know what kind of
Similar Books
