Question

What happened in "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" by Suzanne Collins I was supposed to be reading but watched YT instead.

Answer 1

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel to the Hunger Games series, follows a young Coriolanus Snow who mentors District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird in the 10th annual Hunger Games. The novel explores Snow's transformation from an ambitious student into the authoritarian President Snow.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a novel by Suzanne Collins, which serves as a prequel to the Hunger Games series. The story is set in the world of Panem, 64 years before the events of the original trilogy, during the 10th annual Hunger Games. The protagonist is a young Coriolanus Snow, who later becomes the tyrannical President Snow. Snow is initially presented as a sympathetic character, struggling with his family's diminished status and the pressure to restore their fortune and name. He is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute from the impoverished District 12.

Throughout the novel, we witness Snow's moral descent as he navigates the political and personal challenges of his society. The book explores themes of power, ambition, manipulation, and morality. As Snow and Lucy Gray work together to survive the Hunger Games, their relationship becomes complex, introducing a new perspective to the world Suzanne Collins created.

Coriolanus faces various moral decisions and the book charts his progression from ambitious student to the ruthless leader seen in the Hunger Games series. Readers are given insight into the events and experiences that shaped his character and led to the establishment of the oppressive regime featured in the original books.

Answer 2

This book deals mainly with the rise of Coriolanus Snow from being a poverty-stricken mentor to a peacekeeper and eventually as a Gamemaker in the Capitol.

Explanation:

Suzzane Collins' "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" is a prequel or backstory of the famous "Hunger Games" trilogy. The Hunger Games is a dystopian world where the people are classed and divide into districts and made to 'volunteer' or 'offer' two persons from each district to participate at the annual Hunger Games that is to form the entertainment of the ones living in the Capitol and the winner districts are awarded food and other supplies.

This prelude is more about Coriolanus Snow who would become Panem's dictatorial president at the time of Katniss Everdeen and the Hunger Games. This book focus on the early days of Panem and how the Hunger Games came to be. It follows the story of Snow who was tasked with mentoring Lucy Gray Baird, a "tribute" from District 12. With plans to rise above the poverty of his family, Snow has aims to be an official at the Capitol and gain access to the 'wealthy' part of the society.

After cheating and winning the Games through the help of her mentor Snow, Lucy and some people from District 12 decided to escape north and live away from the control of Capitol. But along the process, he was also involved and even agreed to accompany them in the escape plan but his plans of making it into Capitol as an officer looked more pleasing to him and he went to the Capitol to work under Dr. Gaul as a peacekeeper and was admitted to the Academy. At the end of the novel, we see Snow implementing many of his ideas into the future Hunger Games and also becoming the Gamemaker.