A story set in the heart of Panem; a fictional country which is divided into 12 districts and the Capitol. The Capitol selects a boy and girl from each district by random selection, the 24 chosen ones are to fight against each other in order to win as there is only one winner. The story is centred on Katniss. She takes the place of her little sister who is chosen for the game after which she heads of for the game with her male partner. This is an adventurous story of hope, love and sacrifice. When one moves outward from a text while analysing it is called the extrinsic attitude of analysing a text. There are various forms of extrinsic analysis such as Marxist analysis. Marxist analysis is a form of extrinsic analysis where the ideology of the text and the social classes are examined closely. It is a way of analysing text in relation to the economic standing of people and treating everything as a commodity which can be bought or sold. Its major focus is on the interaction between the rich and the poor. The city of Panem is a society which is divided into two major groups; the 12 districts and the Capitol. These 12 districts all serve under an autocratic political state known as The Capitol. The Capitol represent the bourgeoisie and the 12 districts the proletariats. There is endless conflict between both classes. This is seen when the district rebelled against the Capitol and failed. The Capitol uses the fact that they failed to oppress them more. The districts are ruled with the Capitol reigning over precise areas and controlling all forms of production and usage of output. Each district represents a form of natural resources for the Capitol. District 12 was for coal mining, District 11 for agriculture, District 10 for livestock... ... middle of paper ... ...orest part of District 12. There is disparity between the availability of resources in the districts. Rebellion is seen when the little girl from District 11 dies. Those in that district start to fight the men in uniform and start destroying things around. Also, when Katniss and Peeta attempt suicide at the end of the game they make the authorities change their mind. By this action Katniss and Peeta manage to affect the decision of the gamemakers which is the first time it has happened. Katniss can be seen as the intellectual leader who stood for what she believed in as she didn’t kill her male counterpart. The president of the Capitol hates the fact that Katniss is making changes to the game although she does this indirectly. “Hunger Games” can be seen as a text with an authoritative and an undermining class, displaying the Marxist Literary theory in this aspect.
When Gary Ross’ 2012 adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ famous novel ‘The Hunger Games’ exploded on screens, it was received as an action-packed, thrilling story of survival, determination and over-coming corruption. Audience’s watched in equal parts awe and horror as Katniss was thrust into Panem’s battle arena and fought for justice, family and friendship. However, if we as an audience think more critically about the film; if we think beyond the wild costumes, gripping action and skilful performances, we can see that the story explores complex philosophical ideas that strongly relate to the experiences of humanity in the real world.
As human beings, we thrive to find the meaning of our existence and also the truth. In the books and movies, The Hunger Games trilogy, the very heroic character Katniss Everdeen is on a quest to find truth. As she peels back the layers of lies that swaddle her world, she finds truth within herself and everything around her. To reflect on the novels and films, we must look at the principles of axiology and also examine the plot, characters and how they react to each situation; for reflecting on “the girl on fire” we must study the grounds of epistemology with her own identity. The whole story starts off with the day of the reaping when Prim, Katniss’ sister is selected to enter the Hunger Games, a game created by the government at the time to keep the society scared. One boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected by an annual lottery to participate in the Hunger Games, an event in which the participants must fight to the death in an outdoor arena controlled by the Capitol, until only one individual remains.
...there are so many that only a small group of people are to fulfill in the district that they are responsible for it seems impossible to do all of this along with prevent crime and bring criminals in to the main police houses.
These ideas can be seen when considering the links between our surroundings and difficult situations as well as the part human nature plays within the discovery process. Each persona in The Tuft Of Flowers, Fire and Ice and The Hunger Games each face various situations and problems which enable themselves to uncover what is hidden and reconsider what is known in order to work towards a solution resulting in positive outcomes for each persona. Although each main character possesses differing morals, attitudes and ideas, they all evolve and transform themselves through this common discovery process whilst considering human nature and their surroundings, leading to successful
Thus, it is with these three key points that the government of Panem has been able to keep the Games going on for so long, without the system collapsing in on itself. Furthermore, The Hunger Games also shows us just what we as a species could become with the right about of social influence and conditioning by an authoritarian force. The peoples of the Capitol and Districts have been taught and conditioned for decades to accept the Hunger Games, especially so in the case of the Capitol, where its citizens applaud and enjoy the Hunger Games, much like many Romans enjoyed the Colosseum in ancient times. It is a rather frightening, but realistic, look at what any of us could become with the right social influences and conditioning.
Entertainment can come and be enjoyed in many different forms. Television shows and movies are some of the different forms of entertainment can be in. The lives of famous actors from shows or movies are constantly scrutinized on and off screen. Within the world of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins a version of reality entertainment is the televised murder of innocent children. Those who are chosen to be within the Hunger Games become a scrutinized celebrity. Katniss and other tributes that are forced to fight and kill show how human identity can become lost as they become objectified for the people of Panem. The Hunger Games helps represent the harm that reality television can have by using the glorification of death with the objectification
Here is where I begin to see the first parallels with Marxist Criticism. In a Marxist society or in Marxist Criticism, class differences are a major part of the social system. In analyzing a Marxist society it is necessary to look at who is oppressing and who is being oppressed; in the case of Brave New World the alphas and betas are the oppressors because they are conditioned from birth to be leaders and thinkers.
Murty, Govindini. "Decoding the Influences in "The Hunger Games"" The Atlantic. The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Complete governmental control develops as an apparent theme of both 1984 and The Hunger Games. 1984 uses the concept of big brother for the sole purpose of instilling a dependence on the government for every aspect in the citizens’ lives. Similarly, the capitol of Panem in The Hunger Games censors information from the people so that any idea of revolution will be instantaneously
Since she is the female victor from district 12, she is in the 74th Hunger Games. She sees how painful and scary it is and so she tries to stop the capital which is who is controlling everything. She doesn’t want that to happen to anyone else. She rebels against President Snow in plan of eventually killing him to take over the capital and change the world. Teens can relate to this because a lot of the time we feel controlled. It might be by a parent, teacher, grandparent or someone else but all of us are controlled by someone. A lot of teenagers end up rebelling because they feel as if they have no choices. They go against the rules of who they are rebelling against. That persons rules and values are not necessarily right. Who decides what is right? It seems as if we have entered into a state time where there is no right and wrong. Katniss breaks free of that control and does her own thing. Another way teens can relate to the hunger games is through the love triangle. Some of us might have a similar situation of where we might like two people. In the movie it says, “What I need is not Gales fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can
For instance, the way the social classes in the novel are being represented is an example of the presence of the Marxist theory in the novel.
But in this movie, a person in charge picks a girl and a boy between the ages of twelve and eighteen out of a lottery from each district to represent their district and fight to death. The children, who are chosen, are trained for a week and then sent to and outdoor arena. In the movie, the capitol shows a video explaining the tradition, the rules of the game and how it must be followed no matter what. The characters in this movie have to orient themselves in order to stay safe from the capitol; they also need to follow all the rules provided in order to live. In the story, Prim Everdeen was chosen as of the children to represent the district but her sister Katniss Everdeen volunteered instead to save her sister. After the children are chosen, they are placed in an arena that is controlled by the people who invented the game with advanced technology. The game is being broadcasted all over the world as a reality show, showing the kids of each district killing each other and how they live. The children were almost treated like animals, they were out in a forest setting that is made with the technology, and having to survive off the environment they were given. They were rewarded with food or survival kit each time they kill each other. This portrays exploiting their tradition as entertainment and not seeing the cruelty of
The glory of Panem, at least on sociological perspective, is that each of its’ 13 districts are divided by area as what they are required to produce as suited for their climate. Being divided as such has allowed each district to form very deep-set morals and values that have been unchanged and will continue to be unchanged through their lack of ability to communicate with other districts (2008). This is at most the best example of a “pluralistic society” (Henslin, 2003) that can be made.
The Capitol, which rules over the districts of Panem, is representative of the bourgeoisie. It has a small population and is incredibly wealthy, reaping the benefits of the districts. Each district must send food, materials, and sometimes labor to the Capitol depending on what their specified district’s role is. In this dynamic the districts represent the proletariat. The Capitol dress lavishly and feast on excessive amounts of food while the districts work hard to maintain life at the poverty line. The Capitol claims to provide “protection” (which is an ideology created by the Capitol) and small amounts of goods in exchange for the work being done by the districts. This relationship also points to another Marxist theme, the alienation of labor, which is the buying and selling of labor as a
These two works may both be looked at from a Marxist point of view in finding explanation for the authors' purpose in putting pen to paper. When using a Marxist approach to analyzing literature we must bear in mind several key terms. As we look at these texts we must bear in mind what the bourgeoisie is; this is the upper or ruling class of a society. They are in place to rule due to their control over the "base, or the economic means of production" (Bressler 212). Because the have control over the base the bourgeoisie will, "consciously and unconsciously force" their "ideology" on the proletariat, or working class. The ideology referred to is the beliefs, values, and art of a society. When analyzing Coketown and Watercress Girl we can see definite influence on the ideologies of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie conveyed in the text.