May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

... So Does Seasons

       As the book says, seasons are somewhat a reflection as to how life on Earth functions. Divided into quadrants; spring, summer, fall, winter. In my eyes, seasons are like a warning or a guideline of what will be upon all living species, and out of instinct, every species has developed a way to survive. Spring allows the act of growth, development, or let’s says ‘a spring into what life may be’. Summer is a time of adulthood, warmth, and the act of being, well, scandalous- especially with the lack of clothes this season demands upon the human race (even more so in Dallas where the temperature reaches 112 degrease). Fall is the gradual decline process of life. Leaves begin to lose pigment turning them red, orange, and yellow. Finally, winter is the so called end of life. Trees begin to shrivel bare, grass is now white cold snow, tension and bitterness is upon life. Because each of these seasons has such distinct traits, it is really quite easy to compare them to everyday life. It could be a personality, a feeling; it could represent an endless list of things.

      My first immediate connection of season, whether it’s manufactured or natural, was to The Hunger Games, a movie with manipulative violence greatly shaped by climate, temperature and season. It was winter when Katniss and Peeta where brought together for an interview, and let me be the first to say that those smiles are very misleading and in no way honest. In this scene we see the clear representation of winter as bitterness between these lead characters. Peeta makes it quite aware that he is feeling are aggrieved towards Katniss who is only resentful towards her forced partner. There’s even a line spoken by Haymitch when he first sees the two together since the last hunger games had finished; he said “Well you two have some warming up to do.” This directly refers to summer, the season of heat where it is the time that is known to be much more warm and loving. Bringing a little bit of ‘summer’ to this ‘winter’ relationship will ease the tension and create a life dependent bond between the two of them. 

 1) Before in the Arena – Winter (dead feelings, sharp cold eyes, tension between the characters)

 

      Subsequent to their meet in District 12 in the brutal cold, their next meeting was in arena full of summer. Warmth, sweat, love arose in the duration of this part of the film. Just as the feelings differed within the two scenes, so did the given season and weather. This is when the love of Peeta and Katniss becomes honest and real. 

2) In the Arena – Summer (Trust, Love, Warmth of feelings between characters)

 

     

      Though seasons are practically the foundation of life, often we as readers overlook such a simple clue as to the mood or tone of the film, piece of literature, conversation, or feelings between two people. Why? Well, because we’re already pros at it and as students are too naive to say, “I know exactly what this author is trying to portray since summer is directly correlated with heat, love, and adulthood.” It’s so simple, as humans we decided to make it complicated. We’ve been taught and grasped the concept of seasons since we were in elementary school, yet we fail to see that these elementary skills are actually key steps to better understanding the meaning authors want us to notice.