Trevor Guitar
05-17-2012, 05:56 PM
The Yearning Pangs
A rebuke to the The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.
By Trevor Guitar
Catless was a young girl, only fourteen. Her childhood had been stolen from her because she had been raised in a hard-hearted society. She had been taught from a young age to dress up in awkward and revealing clothing. She was made to dance promiscuously in front of her parents.
Her parents did not do this to her; they were Implicit, but not directly. No. It was the society. Her television was constantly on, she was watching. She was babysat by the television, her parents worn out from work, they were blind to the obvious - like a toad that is slowly boiled in a pot, as the temperature rises; they didn't notice the change that had taken place in their child. So subtly it crept into society, so evil.
They were unaware.
When Catless reached the age of fifteen, she remembered her childhood. One more year of experience added. There was this time in particular, she recalled, as she got dressed for school, when her parents had a cat with a litter of kittens, and they enacted an old practice - can't afford the kittens, drown them in a bag, in the bathtub.
How badly she wanted a kitten.
Her parents weren't evil. Not as society sees it. It's sad. An old tradition. Maybe cruel. But, not out of place. Not aberrant enough for it to matter overmuch. For that society.
Catless cried in her childhood innocence. Though as we know, children are not all innocent, but they do have their moments.
The mother cat, named Onna, had died in giving birth. So Catless, was - well, it is said to be bad prose to include puns, (forgive me for breaking down the narrative fourth wall).
Catless wanted a kitten. And Katniss Shrugged. Katniss tried to drown a cat. But she didn't learn it from her parents no. She was a fictional character, out of the mind of an adult. We'll get to that later.
For now let's hear more about Catless.
The old tradition of drowning kittens. The new society. The mother cat, Onna, she didn't have a choice. But if she did, she probably would not have drowned her own kittens. Her name has significance.
Catless, Catless, Catless prayed.
Her prayers reached heaven and God heard. He turned His attention on that society and His followers asked, 'How much longer. How much longer Lord?'
'God, if you are real,' prayed Catless, 'why did you kill my ****ing cat?!'
Catless prayed a lot, though she said she was an atheist to all her friends. Secretly, she knew she was mad at a God that her heart wanted to believed in, enough to pray, but her mind, it said that it was irrational. It was common-knowledge in her schooling, and society that such a silly notion was irrational. She struggled, she didn't fully believe it was irrational, but you know, her doubts wouldn't let her go.
The next day Catless met Katniss on the silver screen. She later picked up a book, and read it.
She only cringed at one part, when the main character had tried to drown a cat, but otherwise, 'What a fantastic book!' she thought. And she bought another one. And so on until they were all read up, books three in one. A trinity.
And Prim watched Catless reading; Prim was more real than Catless, yet obviously not real in any way, for no girl was like that. Catless thought she must be a pretender. Yet something at her tugged.
This is when she began to notice her yearning pangs.
When she grew up and the great wars came to her country. A country that never thought they would see death, or suffering, anywhere except on the silver screen.
Now Catless couldn't even watch a second of a horror film, that is if she could sneak in somewhere secretly and watch one, it would remind her too much of what was going on around her right in front of her eyes. Just thinking about it presently made her cry out in her thoughts, 'Oh please God, if you are real, end this.'
Her prayers had changed too.
Now she couldn't afford, in this society to have no hope. She noticed those who had no hope didn't survive. She believed in God, but dared not speak about it. In this brave new society - after all it was irrational. But to have no hope, would have been the most irrational of all. Those without hope went mad. But those who showed they had hope, they were killed. She wasn't sure which was better, to stay alive or to die, but she knew if she was not going to go mad, she needed to have hope.
She had decided for herself that she'd rather keep her sanity until she might any day die, for stepping out of line, or showing the wrong signals, then to suffer madness and then die anyways because she did not please the state well enough. There were so many reasons she knew she could be killed for.
Everyone kept a facade of composure. They would praise the state and all the good it has done with the great fervor of one that is scared to be ratted out and killed for not showing enough enthusiasm.
She vaguely remembered a documentary she had seen, when things were good in her society, about North Korea, and shivers went up her spine. Now North Korea, from what she was told, was doing fine. But who could believe the media. The internet has changed.
Catless thought about the Hunger Games, that little girl, now grown up, remembered the movies she had seen, the books she had read, and like many in this newer society, she was secretly horrified - but kept that to herself too. She even entertained the idea that it was planned.
'I've seen death now,' she said quietly in her mind - which was not even entirely safe, 'I've tasted suffering now, I have seen horror now. Why would I want to see those movies as a kid? I didn't understand. I knew about the wars going on around the world but I had no idea. Oh God forgive me. Oh God what have we done?'
She had a final thought, 'I'm now almost as old as that author was, who made those books, what was her name again?' Catless shrugged. 'Did she know? Did she know these things were real? Why didn't she warn me? Why did she allow children to read her books, why was her movie allowed to be seen by me? If I had known what I'd have to go through in this life, I'd never wanted to see those at all, I could have had peace while there still was some time. I could have been playing with my friends, instead now all I have are these memories. The horror I witnessed as a child, when I thought it was play, is now only one more memory, in my judgment day.'
Catless was shot in the head by someone in a van, who was listening in. Yes. Listening in.
Catless remembered a lot of things, during her life when the wars came and her society finally reached one-hundred degrees. She enjoyed those movies, those books, as a kid. But they were just one more reminder of death, horror, and the madness she had to live, when she was all grown up, in that brave new society. The country that could not be touched.
She realized too, what a lie that was. 'A country that can't be touched,' she smiled and cried, at the same time. She looked at a van and said, 'Like a person that cannot be shot.'
A rebuke to the The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.
By Trevor Guitar
Catless was a young girl, only fourteen. Her childhood had been stolen from her because she had been raised in a hard-hearted society. She had been taught from a young age to dress up in awkward and revealing clothing. She was made to dance promiscuously in front of her parents.
Her parents did not do this to her; they were Implicit, but not directly. No. It was the society. Her television was constantly on, she was watching. She was babysat by the television, her parents worn out from work, they were blind to the obvious - like a toad that is slowly boiled in a pot, as the temperature rises; they didn't notice the change that had taken place in their child. So subtly it crept into society, so evil.
They were unaware.
When Catless reached the age of fifteen, she remembered her childhood. One more year of experience added. There was this time in particular, she recalled, as she got dressed for school, when her parents had a cat with a litter of kittens, and they enacted an old practice - can't afford the kittens, drown them in a bag, in the bathtub.
How badly she wanted a kitten.
Her parents weren't evil. Not as society sees it. It's sad. An old tradition. Maybe cruel. But, not out of place. Not aberrant enough for it to matter overmuch. For that society.
Catless cried in her childhood innocence. Though as we know, children are not all innocent, but they do have their moments.
The mother cat, named Onna, had died in giving birth. So Catless, was - well, it is said to be bad prose to include puns, (forgive me for breaking down the narrative fourth wall).
Catless wanted a kitten. And Katniss Shrugged. Katniss tried to drown a cat. But she didn't learn it from her parents no. She was a fictional character, out of the mind of an adult. We'll get to that later.
For now let's hear more about Catless.
The old tradition of drowning kittens. The new society. The mother cat, Onna, she didn't have a choice. But if she did, she probably would not have drowned her own kittens. Her name has significance.
Catless, Catless, Catless prayed.
Her prayers reached heaven and God heard. He turned His attention on that society and His followers asked, 'How much longer. How much longer Lord?'
'God, if you are real,' prayed Catless, 'why did you kill my ****ing cat?!'
Catless prayed a lot, though she said she was an atheist to all her friends. Secretly, she knew she was mad at a God that her heart wanted to believed in, enough to pray, but her mind, it said that it was irrational. It was common-knowledge in her schooling, and society that such a silly notion was irrational. She struggled, she didn't fully believe it was irrational, but you know, her doubts wouldn't let her go.
The next day Catless met Katniss on the silver screen. She later picked up a book, and read it.
She only cringed at one part, when the main character had tried to drown a cat, but otherwise, 'What a fantastic book!' she thought. And she bought another one. And so on until they were all read up, books three in one. A trinity.
And Prim watched Catless reading; Prim was more real than Catless, yet obviously not real in any way, for no girl was like that. Catless thought she must be a pretender. Yet something at her tugged.
This is when she began to notice her yearning pangs.
When she grew up and the great wars came to her country. A country that never thought they would see death, or suffering, anywhere except on the silver screen.
Now Catless couldn't even watch a second of a horror film, that is if she could sneak in somewhere secretly and watch one, it would remind her too much of what was going on around her right in front of her eyes. Just thinking about it presently made her cry out in her thoughts, 'Oh please God, if you are real, end this.'
Her prayers had changed too.
Now she couldn't afford, in this society to have no hope. She noticed those who had no hope didn't survive. She believed in God, but dared not speak about it. In this brave new society - after all it was irrational. But to have no hope, would have been the most irrational of all. Those without hope went mad. But those who showed they had hope, they were killed. She wasn't sure which was better, to stay alive or to die, but she knew if she was not going to go mad, she needed to have hope.
She had decided for herself that she'd rather keep her sanity until she might any day die, for stepping out of line, or showing the wrong signals, then to suffer madness and then die anyways because she did not please the state well enough. There were so many reasons she knew she could be killed for.
Everyone kept a facade of composure. They would praise the state and all the good it has done with the great fervor of one that is scared to be ratted out and killed for not showing enough enthusiasm.
She vaguely remembered a documentary she had seen, when things were good in her society, about North Korea, and shivers went up her spine. Now North Korea, from what she was told, was doing fine. But who could believe the media. The internet has changed.
Catless thought about the Hunger Games, that little girl, now grown up, remembered the movies she had seen, the books she had read, and like many in this newer society, she was secretly horrified - but kept that to herself too. She even entertained the idea that it was planned.
'I've seen death now,' she said quietly in her mind - which was not even entirely safe, 'I've tasted suffering now, I have seen horror now. Why would I want to see those movies as a kid? I didn't understand. I knew about the wars going on around the world but I had no idea. Oh God forgive me. Oh God what have we done?'
She had a final thought, 'I'm now almost as old as that author was, who made those books, what was her name again?' Catless shrugged. 'Did she know? Did she know these things were real? Why didn't she warn me? Why did she allow children to read her books, why was her movie allowed to be seen by me? If I had known what I'd have to go through in this life, I'd never wanted to see those at all, I could have had peace while there still was some time. I could have been playing with my friends, instead now all I have are these memories. The horror I witnessed as a child, when I thought it was play, is now only one more memory, in my judgment day.'
Catless was shot in the head by someone in a van, who was listening in. Yes. Listening in.
Catless remembered a lot of things, during her life when the wars came and her society finally reached one-hundred degrees. She enjoyed those movies, those books, as a kid. But they were just one more reminder of death, horror, and the madness she had to live, when she was all grown up, in that brave new society. The country that could not be touched.
She realized too, what a lie that was. 'A country that can't be touched,' she smiled and cried, at the same time. She looked at a van and said, 'Like a person that cannot be shot.'