Blog 6: Discourse

            Through the texts that we have read and our discussions in class, I was able to get a sense of Appalachia and what it is like. My understanding and outlook on Appalachia has changed drastically since we began this class at the beginning of the semester. Before, all I knew of Appalachia was really only what I had seen in movies or on television, which in most cases only portrays the negative stereotypes that are associated with it. Now, I associate Appalachia with having strong family values, hardworking and helpful people with bold personalities, and strong community bonds.

            In The Hunger Games, I think Suzanne Collins did a nice job depicting District 12 as being in Appalachia. As she describes the landscape it gave me a picture of what I had thought some parts of Appalachia to be, poverty stricken, and run down. Then as the book went on I started to get a sense of the community and the people, and it was easy to see that District 12 was a strong community of hard-working people. District 12 was the coal-mining district, which connected with one of the speakers who talked about her view on coal in Appalachia. Coal mining is a very hard and dangerous job, which the men in District 12 had to do once they turned 18. Katniss was the provider for her mom and little sister after her father died and throughout the book it was clear to see that she had very strong family values. She knew that she was the one keeping her mom and little sister alive and did everything she could to make sure that they would be taken care of if she did not return from the games. The community stood behind Katniss and Gale when they would defy the Capitol and hunt in the woods. In return Katniss and Gale would take some of their game into the Hob to sell. Everyone in District 12 would help each other and make sure that people had what they needed to get by.

            Nationally people probably have a different outlook on Appalachia because they only know what they have seen, as I did before this class. Being in Athens at Ohio University I never thought of it as fitting into the negative stereotypes associated with Appalachia. I was able to build my own sense of Appalachia throughout this class and through my own experiences while living here.