James Smith
Ms Mary Britt
3rd Period Honors American Literature
02/06/2018
In Suzanne Collins’ renowned young adult dystopian fiction trilogy The Hunger Games, The United States of America, now known as Panem, is divided into twelve districts, of various wealth, who send their children to fight each other every year in an event known as the Hunger Games. The twelve districts annually sacrifice their children for the stability of the nation, and also for glory and wealth for the victor of the Games. The sacrifices that each character in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins allows the reader to understand that sacrifice is necessary to survival in the nation of Panem. At the beginning of the novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, the reader
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These sacrifices are viewed in a variety of ways, depending on the district. The wealthier districts view the sacrifices of their children to the Hunger Games as an event to be proud of, and, according to Collins, “In some districts, in which winning the reaping is such a great honor, people are eager to risk their lives” (Collins 23). During the selection process, known as the “Reaping”, Katniss’ sister Prim is selected for the Hunger Games. This scene shows the first example of sacrifice in the novel. The people of Panem, either willingly or begrudgingly, sacrifice their children to the Hunger Games. This sacrifice is to maintain the peace and relative safety. Katniss simplifies the message of the Hunger Games by stating, “Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen” (Collins 19). This shows how cruel the Capitol is to the other districts, and it also details that the institution of the Hunger Games was never optional or wanted by the districts. Instead, the reader learns that the Treaty of Treason, a treaty created after a civil war, was forced upon the
In society rules are made so no one gets hurt and so that there is a standard of living we can all abide by; however, in The Hunger Games and “The Lottery” the rules are set to do the opposite. The rules made by “the game makers” are in place to cause chaos, death, and fear among the citizens in both stories. A rule of significance in each story is that everyone must be present for the “reaping.” Although each story has different reasons as to why everyone must be present the consequences are implied to be the same. In The Hunger Games the accumulation of potential tributes serves two purposes. The main purpose of gathering everyone and putting them in a small area is that the Capitol thrives off of power. The most evident example of the Capitol’s thirst for power is when Katness Everdeen mocks the Capitol by saying; “Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you” (Collins, 19). By herding everyone into a small area it shows that the people in the Districts have no power and are merely lambs to the slaughter in the Capitol’s eyes. The second purpose being that the hunger games reaping serves as a census for the Capitol. Before the children are lined up in front of the stage they are counted, inspected, and sorted according to age then all the information the peacekeepers collect go to the Capitol. The only excuse for missing the “reaping” is said bluntly by Everdeen: “attendance is mandatory unless you are at death’s door” (Collins, 16). If ...
Suzanne Collins has, through her writings, used great imagery to expose the meaningful side of ‘The Hunger Games’, the side that is not all about what takes place in the arena. The Capitol’s rule over the districts, the reality-show part of the Hunger Games and the Mockingjay pin are all fragments of deeper meanings that create the basis of all that the story is. Suzanne Collins has depicted the country of Panem as a place overruled by a large city, known as the Capitol. The Hunger Games is apparently a means to keep peace and a fair punishment for the rebellion of the districts, where district 13 was obliterated in the mess. However, Collins has spun this interpretation around and unveiled a different perspective – that The Hunger Games is
Throughout Catching Fire, the reader sees many examples of an increase in violence. Collins doesn’t tell her reader she’s indicating violence; instead she invites the reader to feel the pain and emotion of the violent acts through hate, betrayal, fear, and despair that may be seen throughout the book. The reader’s blood will boil as Collins unreels the idea of Dominant Violence. The setting of Catching Fire is during the future of a postmodern city of America called Panem. Panem is the Capitol city which has absolute control over twelve Districts they violently subdue. Panem demands the yearly sacrifice from each of the twelve district of two innocent tributes that must fight to the death in a survival of the fittest like game called “The Hunger Games.” These teenage scapegoats keep the d...
The Hunger Games is the first book that makes up the famous trilogy written by Suzanne Collins. Katniss, the book’s main character, is a sixteen year old girl, who lives in Panem, a country divided in 13 different districts. Each year, a reaping is hold, where every district chooses one boy and one girl to participate to the games. The participants have to kill each other for their survival, and only one person can end up as a winner. Because of Katniss’ ingenuity and strategies, both tributes from her district were able to survive and get through this challenge. This world clearly relates to the reality television in our contemporary world and to the gladiator fights. This essay will analyse the different themes, which are used to convey symbols and messages, that arise throughout the novel.
As you can see the hunger games is no different than our society because we go through the same things, even though they are done differently. We both suffer of violence, terror, and brutality. This is three of the big things that stand out because they are either people’s real life or just their
The Hunger Games are a systematic way of reminding the citizens of Panem that the Capitol is not to be defied. It is also widely seen as a form of entertainment by the wealthy in the Capitol; the people who are not required to enter the games. Every year, a male and female between the ages of 12 and 18 are ‘reaped’ and chosen to represent their district at the games. The rules of the games are simple, you must be the last survivor; it is a fight to the death. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are the two tributes chosen to represent district 12 at the 74th annual Hunger Games. Katniss did not have her name drawn, rather she volunteered to take the place of the female who had originally been selected; her sister Prim. This act highlights one of the quality personality traits Katniss possesses; selflessness.
The contest within The Hunger Games is rooted deep in the film's backstory, in which the nation of Panem was rocked by a civil war. Twelve oppressed Districts rose up against an oppressive Capitol, and the end result of this civil war was a Capitol victory (Hunger Games). In response to the rebellion of its outer provinces, the government of Panem decreed the creation of the Hunger Games, in which each District would send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to fight in a battle to the death, until only one Victor emerged supreme, who would then, “be showered with glory”, by the Capitol, in order to show the mercy and kindness of their overlords (Hunger Games).... ... middle of paper ...
Community, Empathy, and Sacrifice are three important themes that run through to book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. These are all important elements in the story; but the main theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is coming of age, a moment of transition from childhood to adulthood. The community of Maycomb is a small, low class town where the people are trapped in their own heads and don’t consider expanding out of their mindset. People’s lack of empathy affects how one person feels towards another person. When a character does feel empathy, they become more likely to sacrifice things that represent them. Through out the story these three things help contrast Jem and Scout from the
Max Despail wrote a critical essay that was published in the book Of Bread, Blood, and the Hunger Games: Critical Essays on the Suzanne Collins Trilogy that specifically focuses on “[t]he unusual culture, rooted somehow out of contemporary America, [and how it] reveals its complexity through social habits best portrayed in its use of food” (70). The novel’s culture may seem unusual; however, it is not that far off from the society of today. Yes, America does not have a reaping to select one man and woman to represent each ‘district’ in an annual game that children fight to the death leaving one victor, but America does have a steady line between classes that derives around food. Katniss lives in the poorest district in Panem, and is required to slip past the fence that confines her home to find food to feel herself and her family. Peeta, living in the same poor district, works at his family’s bakers; however, he is not usually allowed to eat the bread that is baked. On the contrary, the people in the Capitol do not have to worry about if they are going to eat because they know they will. This shows the complexity of food in relation to the societal
The book The Hunger Games, portrays a society where people are treated unfairly based on factors that they cannot control. The people are born into one of 13 districts. There lives vary drastically based on where they are born. Someone born in the Capitol has a completely different life than someone born in district 12. A person born in the Capitol lives a wealthy life and is always treated with respect. On the other hand someone born in district 12 has a life of constant back breaking work. They live in poverty and struggle to survive.
In a not-too-distant, some 74 years, into the future the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 13 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games; these children are referred to as tributes (Collins, 2008). The Games are meant to be viewed as entertainment, but every citizen knows their purpose, as brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts. The televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eradicate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. The main character throughout the series is a 16-year-old girl from District 12 named Katniss Everdeen.
Katniss makes a huge personal sacrifice when she takes her sister's place in the Hunger Games. Sacrifices make a big impact because they remind us that human life means something. In a world of reality entertainment like the Hunger Games, that can be a very powerful thing. The third and last main theme in the novel is Society and Class. The Hunger Games is a novel about the “haves” and the “have nots”, the people who have money and the people who don't.
The Hunger Games- “a futuristic dystopian society [Panem] where an overpowering government controls the lives and resources in twelve different districts” (The Hunger Games). The overpowering government lives in the Capitol of Panem and from there controls the citizens of the twelve districts through propaganda and other means. The Capitol has all of the economic and political power in Panem; they have complete control. The leader of the capitol is the harsh, dictator-like figure, President Snow. President Snow’s methods for keeping order in the districts are through Peacekeepers and the annual Hunger Games. The Peacekeepers are an army that monitors each district. Any sign of rebellion, and the Peacekeepers take care of it, usually by killing the rebel in some way. The annual Hunger Games are used to remind all of the citizens of Panem about the uprising in the now obliterated District 13. The Hunger Games, in a way, brainwashes all of the citizens, but a select few such as Katniss Everdeen, to believe that an uprising would be horrible and is not necessary and that the Capitol does what is best for all of the citizens. In
After watching Lions Gate Entertainment’s 2012 film The Hunger Games, one might see it as a typical dystopian science fiction adventure film in which Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mallark, underdogs from District 12, victoriously beat the odds and become the famed and much loved winners of the 74th annual Hunger Games. However, in a world where districts are strictly separated and subjugated, where young boys and girls are forced to fight one another to the death while the Capitol benefits from their sacrifices, one can see the underlying Marxist subtext of the film. The leader of Panem, President Snow, takes advantage of and uses the districts’ hope to ensure that the factions stay oppressed, silenced,
The hunger games create strong contrast between the prosperity of the Capitol and the poverty of its surrounding districts (Ross, 2008). It can see in the tesserae system and the way tributes are chosen for the games. In theory, the lottery by which tributes are selected called the reaping is random and anyone can be picked. But in reality, the poor are much more likely than the rich to end up as tributes. In exchange for extra rations of food and oil, called tesserae, those children that qualified for the hunger games can enter their names into the reaping additional times.