Flag Raising Ceremony Students’ Sharing 2025-5-29

Sarika, a student from MY1, did a book sharing about The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. She also explained how it helps her develop a deeper understanding of the world.

Written by Sarika Jaiswal (MY1)

Good morning everyone. I’m Sarika from MY1. Today, I want to share a book that has meant so much to me over the years: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

I first read it when I was 9, and since then, I’ve read it more than 10 times. Every time I read, I have a deeper understanding of the world.

At first, it might seem like just a dystopian story about survival. But it’s so much more than that. It’s about control, trauma, sacrifice, and what people are forced to become in order to survive. And what was the worst part? It is a reflection of real life.

In the Hunger Games, nothing in the arena is real. Everything is part of a simulation created by the Gamemakers. They control the weather, the food, the dangers, the rules. At any moment, they can send fire to chase you, or beasts to kill you. And all of it is done for entertainment. While children are dying, people in the Capitol watch it like a game show.

Isn’t it like the real world sometimes? Perhaps we should not totally believe in what we see, especially what people put on social media.

One thing that stayed with me is knowing many characters died before we ever got to truly know them. Like Rue, she only spendt a few days with Katniss, but in that short time, we see her kindness, her intelligence and her genuine self. And then she was gone. Rue was only 12 and her death hit me hard because it reminds us how unfair and unforgiving the world of the Games is.

Even the so-called villains, the Careers, are actually just kids too. They’ve been trained their whole lives to win, raised to believe that being strong and ruthless is the only way to survive. But deep down, they were also scared, trying to live in a world with impossible expectations. It made me realize that sometimes people are forced to be bad, they have to do that because they have to survive. That’s a pity indeed.

Another main character, Katniss, is thrown into all of this while still being a teenager. She lost her father at 11. After that, her mother completely shut down, unable to care for her and her little sister, Prim. Katniss had to step up. She had to hunt and trade to keep them alive. That kind of responsibility shouldn’t fall on any child’s shoulders, but it did. And that’s what makes her so powerful. Not because she wanted to be a hero, but she had no choice. Just like others, it’s all for survival.

Reading The Hunger Games made me think about the world we are living in. It made me see how power can be used to control, and how people often suffer silently under that control. But it also reminds me that even in dark times, people can still choose to love, be kind, and be courageous.

Reading is a fantastic way to explore the world, expand our mind and learn new things. I have a better understanding of the world after reading the Hunger Games. It made me ask questions. I want to be a righteous person and protect someone who is undergoing unfair treatments.

That’s the end of my sharing, thank you.