Preview

The Hunger Games Literary Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
452 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Hunger Games Literary Analysis
Analysis
The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) focuses on the main character Katniss and her journey to revolt against the corrupt power system of her government the capitol. The ‘Hunger Games’ is a way of controlling those in the capitols power. Comparison “All I can think is how unjust the whole thing is, the Hunger Games. Why am I hopping around like some trained dog trying to please people I hate?” communicates how Katniss feels the Capitol is corrupt and there ‘hunger games’ is a way to exert there power over those they control. Like Katnisse’s viewpoint “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” reveals how those oppressed by the capitols power realise that their lives are controlled by the capitol and they have no option
…show more content…
The storyline represents power on many scales. Put simply it is a novel about corrupt power and those ready to revolt against this power. The Hunger games is used as a tool political tool to control the citizens of Panem and is a representation of corrupt power by allowing those that are rich to live freely and those that are poor to entertain the and provide for them. It is also a form of political power by forcing those under the capitols power to partake in there events with their lives at stake no option but to submit to the Capitols power. This thought leads to irritation of those under the Capitols control and like Katniss viewpoint lead them to express this questioning why they should be controlled by power and how come some people attain power and some don’t. With this questioning comes thoughts of revolt, when those oppressed by power chose to rise up against it. Due to the success of Katniss in breaking the capitols power chain those that have for so long been oppressed by power chose to rise up against

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The last reason The Hunger Games is a dystopian novel is free speech isn’t given. Katniss said, “ When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12 about the people who ruled our country Panem...I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts.” Katniss’s mother must have known of something that happened previously to someone that spoke badly about the Capitol. This is the reason she would get scared when Katniss would use her free speech and say what was on her mind.…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Hunger games is a film that at first glance is disguised as a romantic teen movie for young adults to enjoy watching on the weekend with all of their friends and family. But with just a small amount of critical thinking and understanding of the themes and images that are presented in front of you during the viewing of this film you can receive a whole other level of understanding to what the makers of the film are trying to help you visualize in a discreet manner.…

    • 1257 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The Hunger Games are an annual event, in Panem, in which young boys and girls fight to the death in a televised battle.”(Collins, Suzanne. n.a. ¨Suzanne Collins Biography.¨ Biography.com. Biography.com Editors, n/a. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.) The capitol is wealthy enough to be in charge and control all of the districts and the people within them. They use their power of being able to control the games and their wealth to control the people of the districts. The Hunger Games happen every year when tributes from districts compete in an arena for their lives. “Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute standing wins.” (1.75) These games are put together and ran by the capitol. The capitol could be looked at as the government of Panem, in The Hunger…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I despise the games so much for all the pain they cause to the districts. Why do 24 people have to fight to win a stupid game; men, women, teenagers even kids aren't spared. The people of the capital make me sick. Every year I watch friends killing friends and family killing family. The worst part of all of this is that the capital calls it a retribution….A penance for the uprising that happened all those years ago. Every year we are forced to watch the inhumane tv show called, “the hunger games.” (Turn to watch tv) Katniss is in such pain, the wound gushing with blood. Memories broke through the wall that i built and i remembered my dreadful past and all the people i have to kill. That's what made me a victor; a strong will to survive and…

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Even thought there are plenty of food in the world for everyone, there are about 21,000 people die every day of hunger-related causes, according to the United Nation. [1] The Hunger Games, as its name denotes, its about poverty, hunger and social inequalities. This film is set in the near future where there are 12 Districts and a Capitol that controls them. In this film, the main character Katniss lives in one of the district with her fatherless family. The district she lives in is in poverty and hunger. Since she is the eldest, she has to take responsibility in taking care of her family. Her main job is to keep her family well fed. She is a skilled hunter, so she hunts to feed her family. The people in the Capitol are rich and they use the district people to labor for them. They host a game called Hunger Games and for that they pick two people from each district. The contestants have to assassinate other participants to keep him/herself alive. This demonstrates that people with the power to control others do not care about lives and they are willing to enjoy death. When they choose Prim, Katninss’s little sister, Katninss volunteered instantly in Prim’s place. She is the only one who would volunteer because no one else wishes to die. This emotional switch helped the author demonstrate how people are eager to sacrifice…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Now in the film The Hunger Games there are a lot of themes that mirrored in our society today. First and foremost there is the politics of Panem. The government, or “The Capitol,” is corrupted. Their control over the country “Panem” is very iron like in the fact that they control everything from resources to where you can go and what you can do. After awhile of this the districts get fed up and rebel. The capitol succeeds in quelling this rebellion and then to prevent any more rebellions actions or from being embarrassed, they, the Capitol, ensure their power/superiority over their people through a “holiday” they created called the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is a fight to the death between two tributes from the twelve districts displayed on a television program which is mandatory and to be enjoyed.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This novel describes a government, the Capitol that controls twelve different districts categorized to one’s wealth in Panem. The poorest district, 13 did attempted to rebel against the government which did not work for them. Due to this rebellion they created the hunger games to be conducted every year to remind others about their authority and make them pay for what they did. By creating the games, they try to prove to others that if they rebel the government they will torture them even to death. One boy and one girl between the age ranges of 12-18 are chosen from all twelve districts each year. These 24 tributes are placed in an arena and fight each other to survive until one person is surviving. In the Hunger Games, written by Susan Collins the hunger games is seen to negatively harm the society…

    • 942 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Simple plot of The Hunger Games- Capitol uses the "Hunger Games" in order to enforce their control over the twelve districts. The districts are exhausted by constant violence and rebel against the Capitol.…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Hunger Games are a manifest of the most barbaric form of power exercised by the Capitol; an annual event where each district that has survived the war has no choice but to sacrifice two tributes; a boy and a girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen in a fight to death in a deadly arena. The Capitol is forcing these children to kill each other on national TV and get them slaughtered in front of their families and loved ones. That is all because the Capitol wants to remind the districts of how it has defeated the first rebellion and to claim its ownership of supreme…

    • 109 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the words of Niccolo Machiavelli “is it better to be feared than loved?” The answer to this question in Niccolo Machiavelli's mind was it is better to be feared if you cannot be feared and loved at the same time. When being loved people cannot be able to take your word seriously and will do whatever they please. But when you are feared people will follow your word in fear that you can cause harm to them. The capital uses the Hunger Games as a tool to inflict fear into their people. Each year two children, one boy and one girl, from every district are forced into a battle to the death. Their families are forced to watch as their loved ones are killed off one by one. The Hunger Games are the capitals way of reminding everyone that they are in control because if they want to take your children and make them die they can easily do that. During the Hunger Games the capital also has the power to change the playing field for certain contestants and have them die easily. Everyone in the district knows that if one of them misbehaves and the capital finds out they can easily have their contestant killed off. The worry and fear is what has everyone acting the way they should. If the capital did not use the Hunger Games to inflict fear then citizens in certain districts may easily disobey and start a second revolution against the capital.…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins illustrates that symbolism and characterization makes survival the result of strength. First off, Suzanne uses characterization to present how strength is key for survival. For example, we can see that Katniss Everdeen had to use a lot of her strength to try and get through the hunger games. At one point in the story, Peeta Mellark got cut by Cato's sword. He was deeply wounded and Katniss had to try and treat him in order to save his life. Earlier in the book Suzanne Collins actually wrote that Katniss had always been squeamish when it came to treating other people. She just couldn't endure seeing blood at all. At this point in the story, Collin demonstrates exactly what I mean by Katniss showing her strength, “...I examined the content of the first-aid kit. It's pretty basic stuff. Bandages, fever pills, medicine to calm stomach ache. Nothing of the caliber I'll need to treat Peeta.” (257). If it's not obvious enough, you can tell how determined Katniss is to treat her friend Peeta to prevent him from dying. Not only does Katniss have enough strength to learn to survive, but Rue does too. In the book, Rue treats Katniss from tracker jacker stings she got trying to protect herself. She knew a special way with only using leaves. “...To my surprise, Rue places the handful of leaves into her mouth and begins to chew them. My mother would use other methods, but it's not like we have a lot of options. After a minute or so, Rue presses a sloppy green wad of chewed leaves and spit on my knee” (Collins 200). Seeing she did this, she used the strength of her mind to think of the best possible way to treat Katniss and save her life from the deathly stings.…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout countless novels society remains a common theme. Societal structure greatly reflects upon the composure of the plot, as well as the characters. In the novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Collins creates an alternate society which is completely controlled by their government, the Capitol. The Hunger Games is reminiscent of the Greek myth, Theseus and the Minotaur. They both share the idea of a society supervised thoroughly by the government, and the idea of a method of rebelling against higher powers. Collins uses the literary device of allusion to reference her literary work of The Hunger Games to characters and themes found in Theseus and the Minotaur. The Hunger Games and Theseus and the Minotaur both express the themes of sacrifice, oppression, government control, and survival through characterization and allegory.…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins survival is the main theme. The main character Katniss Everdeen has to survive her daily life, which has many hardships she must face and also the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is an annual event where one boy tribute and one girl tribute are chosen from each of the twelve districts. The tributes have to fight to the death in an arena, on live T.V until one survivor is left.…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Hunger Games

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages

    One theme that really stands out throughout The Hunger Games is government control. In the novel, the Capitol controls everything they do. They make the citizens watch the 24 kids get put in the arena and kill each other until one victor emerges. That is not all that they control. If someone disobeys or rebels against the Capitol, then the Capitol turns them into Avoxes. This means they take the rebels as slaves and cut off their tongues so they cannot talk. “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” (18). The theme of government control is present in this quote. This quote shows that the Capitol has complete control over all the districts and that the citizens are too terrified to rebel against them because they know they would be punished.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Susan Collins’s book the “Hunger Games” the character of Katniss Everdeen is considered by many to be an example of gender role reversal. Though Katniss does portrait many traits that may be considered masculine in and of themselves, she also portrays feminine traits. Her possession of these feminine even instinctually motherly traits steer my opinion to the thought that these traits are more due to her position in her family then to that of a girl who is tomboyish in nature. In this paper I will show that the behaviors of Katniss Everdeen are traits of an eldest child of a single parent household by assuming the roles of both mother and father as opposed to simply being characterized examples of gender role reversal.…

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays