Games vs. Life

Author’s Note: This is a comparative essay. I compared one of my favorite books, The Hunger Games to my social studies book, Sarah Bishop. I explain the similarities and differences they share in the theme of Survival. I support my ideas with quotes from the story and different events.

Imagine you’re hanging one hundred feet above the ground; slowly your fingers are slipping off the edge One by one, each finger is slipping. You try to grab on again,  yelling for help. You’re hanging on for your life, for your survival. In The Hunger Games and Sarah Bishop this is exactly how the main characters feel every second of the day. The Hunger Games and Sarah Bishop are both based on the theme, survival, though they do show this is many different ways.

One similarity between the two books is how Katniss and Sarah, the main characters of the books, are fighting for their lives. “Determined to go on until nightfall, I walk until I’m stumbling over my own feet.” This quote shows how hard it was for Katniss to even keep up with herself in the arena, literally! Every second of the day, they are on edge. Anyone could come out of nowhere and kill them on the spot. With having to kill animals for their only food, and living in hazardous conditions day and night, they only hope they live for the next days

Even though fighting for their lives is a huge similarity between the two books, another similarity is trying to survive without all of your family. Katniss and Sarah both have a broken family. Katniss lost her dad in a mine accident, when he was working one day. Sarah lost her dad and her brother because of the revolutionary war.”By the time dawn came and the sky clouded, he was only breathing in gasps.” “They want us to die Sarah. Chad is dead. He died this morning.” These quotes show when Sarah found out that she lost all of her family. Sarah and Katniss both have to figure out how to survive without all of their family. Katniss had to try to feed her family and take care of them, but when she goes off to the Hunger Games, who will keep them alive? Sarah has to live on her own, all by herself! A fifteen year old basically has to become an adult early, so she can survive throughout her life.

Although similarities are very important for showing that both books have one of the main themes as survival, there are many differences between the two. In The Hunger Games Katniss did not have a chose. When her little sister Prim got chosen for the Hunger Games, Katniss had to volunteer for her. If Prim went, she probably would have died! So she had no chose and went. “Trying to remember how to breathe, unable to speak, totally stunned bounces around the inside of my skull.” This quote shows how Katniss felt when Prim got picked to go to The Hunger Games. Katniss had to fight for her survival throughout the Hunger Games and was very close to dying. What’s different between The Hunger Games and Sarah Bishop? Well, in The Hunger Games when she was fighting for her life, it was all just a game, but she could die at any time. In Sarah Bishop, this was real life. Sarah had to kill dangerous animals for food, and live in a frigid cave on her own!

     Overall, survival is used in many different ways in the books Sarah Bishop and The Hunger Games. Sarah is in the middle of the revolutionary way trying to survive without her dad and brother. On the other hand, Katniss is stuck in the horrible game; the government puts on, where to win the all the players must kill each other to win! They are always on edge waiting for a coal, black bear charging at them or another player throwing a killing spear at them. The two girls went through a lot, but survived till the end. What if you were living in a cave or in a horrible game like The Hunger Games? How would you survive?

Her New Life

Author’s Note: This is a writing piece to show that I know how to explain the cause and effect of the climax of a book. I support my piece with supporting details from the story and different quotes.

            In the book, Sarah Bishop, Sarah is a fifteen year old girl in the middle of the revolutionary war. She had something big happen to her and had to basically take care of herself. Sarah ran away from the war and decided to start a new life in the woods, in a cave. The climax of the story is the British soldiers coming to her home and burning it down. A little while after the fire, her dad died after the British put tar and feathers on him. A few days after, she found out her brother died while he was on a boat called the Scorpion. “Sarah, Chad is dead. He died this morning.” David, Chad’s friend said when he Sarah asked where Chad was. She was devastated. Her brother and her father were the only ones she had and now they were gone. Sarah didn’t have anybody left, so she decided to run. What else could she do?

             The cause of the climax was her brother deciding he was going to fight against the British.”We have enlisted. We are soldiers in the militia, and we shall fight the King until he surrenders.” This quote shows how he told his family that he was going to fight with as you can say, the rebels.  Sarah’s dad got angry and called him a fool, but Chad didn’t care. The next day was when the British found out that Chad, the brother, was going to fight and ruined their home. “I stood there staring at the flames and screaming at Birdshall. I have no idea what I was saying.” This quote shows how fast it happened and how hard it must have been for Sarah. The one main consequence was that were her father and brother died. The other big effects of the climax were being accused of starting a fire and losing her real and only home. Sarah encountered many problems throughout the book but lived through them all.

Those Red Coat Soilders

Author’s Note: This is a piece of writing about point of view. This piece demonstrates that I know how to identify what point of view the story is in and how it would be different in another character’s point of view.

     Sarah Bishop is a 15 year- old girl on the run from the war. Her brother, Chad, comes home and says he signed up to fight against the British. This novel is written in Sarah Bishop’s point of view. When he told his family about fighting for the rebels, it caused a lot of trouble. What began this run was the fire of her home and the British soldiers killing her father. This event caused what she did throughout the story and how she reacted to the war and to the different people throughout the book.

       In Sarah Bishop’s point of view, the event was a disaster. It happened so fast, she barely could keep up! When she saw the soldiers light the torch and threw it onto her house and barn, Sarah was literally unable to move or think.”The house and the barn and the cow shed and the pigsty were now one mass of sparks and leaping flames.” This showed what had happened to her home. Sarah hated the British soldiers for ruining her home, and now she knew why her brother was fighting against them. She was terrified, not knowing where her father was and what all happened. This point of view made Sarah think differently of the war and just wanted to get away from it. I the reader, personally think that this was the best way to tell how this event happened and how Sarah felt about it. It made me feel bad of Sarah’s family and wondered how the soldiers could have possibly ruined their home! Did it really have to come to burning their house, just because Chad was fighting for the Americans?

          This event could be completely different in a different character’s point of view such as one of the British soldiers.   When they came to the house, he probably thought it was the best thing to do since the owner’s son, Chad Bishop, was fighting against the British. How could a young boy be brave enough to fight against the country they were born from? Not possible and completely unacceptable. He probably did not think of how the scared, little girl, watching her home burn to the ground, felt. This could be a completely different event in another person’s eyes!

           Overall, point of view is very important and forces you to see only one side of the event, not two.  A single event can change everything! Sarah Bishop’s view of the war changed after what the British did to her home and why she was running away from the war. She didn’t have anyone else after her father died, and soon brother died, so she ran away and didn’t come back. The point of view of another character in the story changes the whole view of the event. How would you describe this story if you were watching this all happen? How would your point of view be different from the solider or Sarah Bishop?