Extrinsic Analysis of Hunger Games

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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.

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