Suzanne Collins' The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

This post contains minor spoilers.

I recently finished reading Suzanne Collins' The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes for the first time.  Here are some small observations.

In chapter six, the narrator explains that "Everybody called him [Pliny Harrington] Pup to differentiate him from his naval commander father" (p. 91).  The combination of Pliny Harrington, Sr. and Pliny Harrington, Jr. seems to be a nod to Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger.

Bridging chapters twenty-four and twenty-five, the Covey experiences a tense encounter with Billy Taupe.  As Coriolanus sizes him up, the narrator explains that "over one shoulder hung a boxy instrument with part of a piano keyboard along one side" (p. 368).  Shortly after this, Coriolanus again glimpses Billy Taupe who is accompanied by "a soft, mechanical wheeze," and the narrator notes that "his instrument [was] the source of the wheeze" (p. 373).  Apparently, his instrument is an accordion.  Since the accordion is a reed instrument, it contrasts with the stringed instruments that the rest of the Covey play (mandolin, fiddle, bass, and guitar, listed on page 361), and the difference between these instrument families highlights the rift that exists between Billy Taupe and the rest of the Covey.

The main character is called Coriolanus for most of the book, but in the epilogue, he's referred to merely as Snow.  This change seems to indicate that after his experience with the Hunger Games and his time in the Peacekeepers, he's become more impersonal and withdrawn.  This is hinted at near the end of chapter thirty, where he's glad that the snake bite he received while chasing after Lucy Gray will probably leave a scar because he thinks that "it will remind me to be more careful" in his relationships (p. 506).  His concern for his family legacy, which appears throughout the book, probably contributes to this shift, too.

Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games Trilogy

I recently finished re-reading The Hunger Games trilogy (I've read it four times now).  At some point, I want to do a more in-depth study of the books, but for now, here are some minor points I noticed.

The Hunger Games

In Chapter 26, Katniss deduces some of the layout of the Training Center:  "It's a relief to be alone with Cinna, to feel his protective arm around my shoulders as he guides me away from the cameras, down a few passages and to an elevator that leads to the lobby of the Training Center.  The hospital then is far underground, even beneath the gym where the tributes practiced tying knots and throwing spears." (p. 352).  This also works metaphorically as an indication of the hospital's lesser importance; the Capitol is more concerned with training children to fight each other than with healing them afterwards.

Catching Fire

Near the beginning of Chapter 6, Katniss lists the foods and drinks at the Capitol party:  "Countless cheeses, breads, vegetables, sweets, waterfalls of wine, and streams of spirits that flicker with flames" (p. 77).  As if to mirror the extravagance of the Capitol, part of her description alliterates:  "waterfalls of wine, and streams of spirits that flicker with flames."

Mockingjay

In Chapter 4, Katniss comments on her shoes:  "Mine don't fit right anyway, since in the spirit of waste-not-want-not that rules 13, I was issued a pair someone had outgrown.  Apparently, one of us walks funny, because they're broken in all wrong." (p. 52).  This, too, can be understood more metaphorically as Katniss's not fitting in to District 13.  Earlier in the book, she even admits this, although it's just a small example:  "once I moved into Compartment 307 with my mother and sister, I was expected to get with the program [the schedules printed on her arm every day].  Except for showing up for meals, though, I pretty much ignore the words on my arm." (p. 18).