book basket: The Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes

What would you prefer? Man, or Bear?

The novel The Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins shows Coriolanus Snow's inner monologue a lot more deeply compared to the movie, whereby Man is more terrifying than Bear.

Even when he is supposedly in love with Lucy Gray, honestly I don't think he was ever in love with her. 

I think he was in love with the idea of her.

I think he was in love with the power he had over her. 

Like the yin and yang concept, I think they suited each other at the time. Coriolanus was evil with a little bit of good, Lucy Gray was good with a little bit of bad, and they were able to bring out both sides of each other... for better or for worse. 

His inner monologue shows just how evil humans can really be and begs the question of nature vs nurture. Because despite being in the same situation, or maybe even in a worse one given the sacrifices she had to make, Tigris Snow is not sinister like her cousin but rather, is compassionate.

Either way, we will never truly understand Coriolanus Snow. We will never find out what happened to Lucy Gray. I'm really excited for Hamish's story to be told. I'm excited for Suzanne Collins to show the world that despite being in a world full of hate, we can rise as a collective and fight for a better world.