1. UNDERSTANDING DEEPER MEANINGS

2. 1. What is the meaning of the title? 2. What do you make of the beginning of the novel? 3. What are the meanings of the names? 4. What symbolic objects have you noticed? 5. What allusions (historical and literary) can you find in the novel?

3.  Spartacus, a gladiator in Ancient Rome, later a leader of a slave rebellion.  Shakespeare’s “Roman” plays, Julius Caesar and Anthony and Cleopatra: names and themes.  Sacrificial rituals in various cultures and mythologies.

4.  Capitol: the Capitoline Hill of Rome; Capitolium (a Roman temple); Capitol as a legislative building.  Play on words: homophone (sound- alike) of a capital [city], capital as something major, and capital as wealth.

5.  How are the characters created in the novel, with what means?  Is Katniss a reliable or an unreliable narrator? Why?  How is foreshadowing formed?  Are your reader’s expectations confirmed or challenged as the plot progresses?