Suzanne Colins’ The Hunger Games as a Dystopian Fiction

Step 1: Brainstorming

Thesis

Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games is a dystopian fiction

Blueprint statement

To show the dystopian state of The Hunger Games, this analysis provides evidence that Collins’ work carries the central themes that are core to every dystopian entry including presence of strict government control, a significant destruction of the natural environment, heavy and widespread technological control, and a loss of individualism and uniqueness to have all people thinking and working towards a similar goal.

Step 2: SEE Format Worksheet

Topic sentence

The Hunger Games explores several core themes and characteristics of dystopia with the most obvious and prominent being the conspicuous government control and division.

Statement 1

The government stamps its authority and control through various strategies with that of oppression being more prominent followed by responses such as providing entertainment and food to keep people content and subdued in a cocoon of passive obedience.

Example 1 quotation from novel

“What must it be like, I wonder, to live in a world where food appears at the press of a button? How would I spend the hours I now commit to combing the woods for sustenance if it were so easy to come by? What do they do all day, these people in the Capitol, besides decorating their bodies and waiting around for a new shipment of tributes to rill in and die for their entertainment?” (Collins 5.27)

Explanation 1

The example shows the thought process of the main protagonist, Katniss, as she imagines the culture of the rich and how they see the poverty=stricken District 12. She not only mentions the notable differences between her own culture and that of the “others” but also imagines what it feels like being them and being different. The government control and the division that has been created by the government. Despite being in the same country, these individuals live differently complete with variant customs and cultures. The criticism against these cultures highlights how the government imposes control, through entertainment and provision of food.

Statement 2

The government also ensures that there is a separation of the classes, involving a dichotomy between the rest and the Capitol and a subdivision of the poor between 12 districts evidenced through decreasing government favor and standards of living.

Example 2 (quotation from novel)

“I want to do something, right here, right now, to shame them, to make them accountable, to show the Capitol that whatever they do or force us to do that there is a part of every tribute they can’t own. That Rue was more than a piece in their Games. And so am I.” (Collins 18.38)

Explanation 2

Rue’s death is a polite reminder that the government controls how people interact, including allowing some to die in a game for the entertainment of the rich and wealthy Capitol. In the passage, Katniss honors Rue as a reminder that she was a person deserving of dignity and respect. There is a clear division, including the value of people and the role of death, all meant to increase control.

Example 3 (quotation from novel)

“Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch – this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. “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 1.76).

Explanation 3

The games, the killing of young people for the entertainment of the rulers, was a way for the political elite in the Capitol to flex their might and to remind the weaker Districts of their place in the society as their deaths are televised all over the country for the pleasure of the citizens of the Capitol, as a form of control.

Concluding sentence

The isolation and separation of the various districts and the Capitol, including the lack of information and rampant ignorance, are all a form of entertainment and a larger plan to ensure control through reducing the chances of the Districts from organizing, communicating, and uniting towards a common enemy.

Introduction

This essay focuses on Suzanne Collins’ novel, The Hunger Games. The novel centres on Katniss Everdeen, a resourceful teenage girl living in the worst of the 12 Districts. The Capitol hols an annual blood bath called the Hunger Games, where young people participate in representing their districts in a fight to death game meant for the entertainment of others. The last one alive is declared the Victor. The games are a source of entertainment for to the Capitol, and a punishment for the Districts for a failed rebellion in the past. It is a cruel reminder that the government has full control of the entire country. Overall, Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games is a dystopian fiction. To show the dystopian state of The Hunger Games, this analysis provides evidence that Collins’ work carries the central themes that are core to every dystopian entry including presence of strict government control, a significant destruction of the natural environment, heavy and widespread technological control, and a loss of individualism and uniqueness to have all people thinking and working towards a similar goal.

The Hunger Games explores several core themes and characteristics of dystopia with the most obvious and prominent being the conspicuous government control and division. The government stamps its authority and control through various strategies with that of oppression being more prominent followed by responses such as providing entertainment and food to keep people content and subdued in a cocoon of passive obedience. “What must it be like, I wonder, to live in a world where food appears at the press of a button? How would I spend the hours I now commit to combing the woods for sustenance if it were so easy to come by? What do they do all day, these people in the Capitol, besides decorating their bodies and waiting around for a new shipment of tributes to rill in and die for their entertainment?” (Collins 5.27). The example shows the thought process of the main protagonist, Katniss, as she imagines the culture of the rich and how they see the poverty-stricken District 12. She not only mentions the notable differences between her own culture and that of the “others” but also imagines what it feels like being them and being different. The government control and the division that has been created by the government. Despite being in the same country, these individuals live differently complete with variant customs and cultures. The criticism against these cultures highlights how the government imposes control, through entertainment and provision of food. The government also ensures that there is a separation of the classes, involving a dichotomy between the rest and the Capitol and a subdivision of the poor between 12 districts evidenced through decreasing government favor and standards of living. “I want to do something, right here, right now, to shame them, to make them accountable, to show the Capitol that whatever they do or force us to do that there is a part of every tribute they can’t own. That Rue was more than a piece in their Games. And so am I.” (Collins 18.38). Rue’s death is a polite reminder that the government controls how people interact, including allowing some to die in a game for the entertainment of the rich and wealthy Capitol. In the passage, Katniss honors Rue as a reminder that she was a person deserving of dignity and respect. There is a clear division, including the value of people and the role of death, all meant to increase control. “Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch – this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. “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 1.76). The games, the killing of young people for the entertainment of the rulers, was a way for the political elite in the Capitol to flex their might and to remind the weaker Districts of their place in the society as their deaths are televised all over the country for the pleasure of the citizens of the Capitol, as a form of control. The isolation and separation of the various districts and the Capitol, including the lack of information and rampant ignorance, are all a form of entertainment and a larger plan to ensure control through reducing the chances of the Districts from organizing, communicating, and uniting towards a common enemy.