Peeta explains to Katniss the night before the Hunger Games, “If I die I still

The Hunger Games want to be me.” Just because the government is seeking control of everything
Author: Suzanne Collins and everyone, he is not standing for it. Despite being forced into the arena, he
wants his character to remain intact. If you sacrifice your individuality, you will
risk losing your identity. At the end of the day, isn’t it most important to stay
THEMES
true to your values and beliefs? Don’t conform to someone else’s idea if it is not
• There’s nothing wrong with getting a little bit of help. something you believe in. People will respect you a lot more if you are confident
in your motives and beliefs.
Peeta saved Katniss when she was younger by throwing her burnt bread
from his bakery when she was starving. For some reason, people think that • Fight for what we rightfully deserve.
asking for help is a sign of weakness. This can be linked back to societal
Just like Katniss and Peeta, there is a burning flame inside their hearts to
pressures of perfectionism. The belief that you should be able to survive while
fight for what they rightfully deserve like they fight for equality in all aspects,
only depending on yourself is both unrealistic and unnecessary. Having this
peace and harmony in the city. That one of the reasons why both of them manage
mindset will only prevent you from reaching your goals. Look at the reality of
to stay alive until the end of the game because they are fighting for what they
your situation: Do you really need help? Is the only thing preventing you from
deserve for in order to show the Capitol that they are shouting for equality.
asking for help your own ego? No matter how embarrassed you are about asking
Nowadays, we must fight for what we rightfully deserve if you think that there is
for help, sometimes it’s necessary.
a thing that you are deserved for. Fight for it and show them that you deserve it
• Sometimes you really just need a drink. just like Katniss and Peeta they show the whole city that they deserve what is
best for their district.
This is something Haymitch caught on to a long time ago as he’s sipping on
booze in essentially every scene he is in. There is a well-known quote: "Know PREVALENT THEMES
when to give up and have a margarita." Sometimes life just gets stressful --
you’ve done all that you can manage to do and still you are frustrated. At this  The inequality between rich and poor
point, instead of getting increasingly angry, have a drink! Or two or 15!
In Panem, wealth is heavily concentrated in the hands of the rich,
Whatever you need to relax, just do it. This doesn’t need to be a literal drink, just
particularly those people living in the Capitol and certain of the districts, and the
any activity that will alleviate your stress: may that be a yoga class or reading a
result is a huge disparity between their lives and the lives of the poor. This
book. Everyone needs to have a go-to to relieve anxiety.
disparity reveals itself in numerous ways throughout the novel, but among the
• Arrogance can become a big problem. notable is food. In the poor districts, many of the residents do not even have
enough to eat. Katniss notes that starvation is common in District 12, and she has
This little bit of advice (or more so a warning) Haymitch offers Katniss is to hunt illegally in the woods beyond the district’s borders to feed her family.
one that can be applied to anyone’s life. Confidence is key in any and all aspects The novel suggests that most of the district’s residents are not able to or don’t
of life, this is no surprise. However, there is a fine line between confidence and know how to hunt, meaning even given the little Katniss’s family has, it is still
arrogance. It’s vital to be sure of yourself and your values, but when they more than many of the other families in her district. Furthermore, all but the
become overbearing, some level of arrogance is likely to emerge. That trait is not most basic foods are luxuries. Katniss later learns that Peeta’s family, which
an admirable one and will actually deter people from associating with you. Be owns a bakery and is thus one of the more well-off in the district, can’t afford
careful of how you assert yourself before you scare people away. most of the food they bake and eat mostly the stale leftovers that nobody guys. In
• Stay true to who you are until the very end. contrast, when Katniss arrives in the Capitol, she is awed by the lavish feasts and
elaborately prepared dishes. The food is rich and abundant, and Katniss, for the
first time, tries hot chocolate.
 Perhaps the best example of the inequality between rich and poor can be then the entertainment is over). The principle is best exemplified in Cato’s slow
seen in the tesserae system and the way the tributes are selected for the Games. death at the end of the novel. Once the muttations have defeated Cato, they don’t
In theory, the lottery by which tributes are chosen, called the reaping, is random kill him immediately, and Katniss realizes that the Gamemakers want Cato to
and anyone can be picked. But in reality, the poor are much more likely than the remain alive because it creates an exceedingly gruesome spectacle. It is the
rich to end up as tributes. In exchange for extra rations of food and oil, called finale of the Games, and so they want to deliver prolonged suffering the
tesserae, those children eligible for the Hunger Games can enter their names into audience at home won’t be able to turn away from. The suffering, however,
the reaping additional times. Most children of poor families have to take tesserae doesn’t have to be purely physical. It can be psychological as well. Katniss’s and
to survive, so the children of poor families have more entries in the reaping than Peeta’s romance, for instance, is the subject of so much fascination because it is
children of wealthy families who need no tesserae. They’re more likely to be presumed to be doomed. They become the “star-crossed lovers,” meaning ill-
picked as a result. Moreover, the rich who do become tributes tend to have an fated, and that promise of suffering adds drama and makes them fun to watch.
additional advantage, because they are often trained to take part in the Games
In essence, the Games are the equivalent of a televised sporting event in
and volunteer to do so. These trained tributes, which Katniss refers to as Career
which several participants compete to win. Katniss even refers to the tributes as
Tributes, are generally bigger, stronger, and better prepared for the tribulations
“players” sometimes when talking about the Games of past years. Most of the
of the Hunger Games than those poor tributes selected by chance. They are
players, however, are unwilling, and winning entails outliving the other tributes,
consequently more likely to survive. For these rich tributes, it is an honor to
mostly by fighting and killing them. In both these ways the Hunger Games recall
compete in the Games, while for the poor tributes it is essentially a death
the gladiatorial Games of Ancient Rome (notably, the gladiatorial Games were
sentence.
one of the most popular forms of entertainment of their time), in which armed
IMPLICATIONS: competitors, some voluntarily and others not, would fight to the death. That the
Games are televised and discussed incessantly in Panem’s media also, of course,
recalls today’s reality television, and the novel consequently draws a parallel
between the gladiatorial Games and reality TV. This parallel suggests that reality
television, though perhaps not quite as barbarous as the gladiatorial Games, still
offers up real life as entertainment, and in doing so it turns real people into
commodities. Their value becomes determined by how much entertainment they
provide, and as such they lose their identities as people. Reality television, the
novel suggests, is a form of objectification.
Slum area vs. Urban areas where there is a huge Justice is not served well because
disparity between the lives of the people. nowadays some of the rich people
use their money to twist the truth
where injustice occurs.

 Suffering as entertainment IMPLICATIONS:

The Hunger Games present the tributes’ suffering as mass entertainment, and Nowadays, we love to watch some
the more the tributes suffer, ideally in battle with one another, the more competitions and one of these is the boxing
entertaining the Games become. The main draw of the Games for viewers is its where we watch two people fight to each other
(not barbaric) which sometimes end up with
voyeurism, in this case watching the tributes, who are of course children, some injuries and bleeding in some parts of the
fighting and dying. Katniss at various points talks about past Games and what body and the person who will stay long and can
made them successful or unsuccessful, and the recurring motif is that the viewers endure all the pain will be the winner. They
hurt themselves just to deliver entertainment.
want to see the tributes battling one another and not dying too quickly (because
  The importance of appearances

Throughout the novel, Katniss and her team use her external appearance, We dress and take care
ourselves to impress others
including what she says and how she behaves, to control how other people
and to look and feel good We put some make up in order to
perceive her. At the reaping ceremony, for instance, she won’t allow herself to impress and to beautify our face.
cry in front of the cameras because she doesn’t want to give the impression of  Significance of sacrifice
being weak (and therefore an easy target). Moreover, at the opening ceremony of
the Games, the novel emphasizes how important appearances are by focusing a In the book, “The Hunger Games” there are many examples of sacrifice and
great deal on Katniss’ preparations. The main feature of this focus is the dress for different reasons, for loved ones, to protect themselves and many more. One
Cinna creates for her. It is covered in synthetic flames, earning Katniss the of the main characters, Katniss Everdeen, is constantly making sacrifices, no
epithet “the girl who was on fire,” and it makes Katniss stand out among the matter to what extent she is always there for her family or anyone.
tributes. Drawing attention is more than just vanity in the Games. The tributes One example of sacrifice in, “The Hunger Games” is when Katniss
that are most memorable tend to attract sponsors, who can provide gifts that may volunteered to replace her sister in the games. In the text it states “I volunteer!” I
prove critical during the Games. Katniss hides her tears during the Games for a gasp. “I volunteer as tribute!” The main protector of the family, Katniss offers
similar reason, as self-pitying tributes are unattractive to sponsors. A tribute’s herself instead of her sister as District 12’s tribute. She is making a double
appearance and behavior can therefore serve as a significant part of their survival sacrifice, one for her sister, the other for her community.
strategy.
Another example of sacrifice in, “The Hunger Games” is when Katniss
Perhaps the most notable part of Katniss’ strategy involves her romance has to go get the little backpack from the cornucopia that her sponsors put
with Peeta. This romance is not entirely genuine on Katniss’ end. She cares together to help her. Peeta, the other person representing district 12, is really
about Peeta and develops a romantic interest him, but her feelings don’t have injured and cannot fight so Katniss goes alone to get the backpack. But, there are
nearly the same intensity as his and she always remains ambivalent about him. other backpacks too. Each backpack has a number on it representing the district
For the cameras, however, Katniss plays up her feelings for Peeta and works to number. All of the contestants will come to get their sponsor’s gifts. She must
convince the viewers, and especially the Capitol, that she’s deeply in love with face everyone else to help get the medicine for Peeta. She is sacrificing her life
him. The act is one Haymitch devised for strategic reasons: Katniss’ and Peeta’s to save her friend.
love story elicits more gifts from sponsors than if they’re simply friends, and it
seems even to influence the Capitol’s decision to allow two tributes to be The last example of sacrifice in, “The Hunger Games” is when Katniss
declared winners rather than the customary one. Consequently, the act Katniss and Peeta are the only ones left and they don’t want to listen to the governments’
puts on has a significant effect on both her and Peeta’s survival. Through these commands so they decide to eat poison berries that would make them die. In the
events, the novel suggests that what cameras show, on reality television for text it states, “I spread out my fingers, and the dark berries glisten in the sun. I
instance, is not necessarily reality, and that appearances are just as consequential give Peeta’s hand one last squeeze as a signal, as a good-bye, and we begin
as the truth. counting. “One.” Maybe I’m wrong. “Two.” Maybe they don’t care if we both
die. “Three!” It’s too late to change my mind. I lift my hand to my mouth, taking
one last look at the world. The berries have just passed my lips when the
IMPLICATIONS: trumpets begin to blare.” They’d rather both kill themselves rather than give in to
the governments’ commands, so they both decide they could sacrifice their life
in a more simple way and eat berries that would kill them.

Katniss is a very brave person, she went to the games without even
hesitating and she was confident from the beginning and she made it out alive.
Some of the people nowadays do some
plastic surgeries in order to achieve the
desire look and to impress other people
Also Katniss is very loving and caring. She shows her loving side when she IMPLICATIONS:
sacrificed her life instead of her sisters who was supposed to go to the games.
She shows her caring side when in the games, Peeta, the other person
representing district 12 got sick and she was taking care of him, like getting him All of us are striving everyday in all aspects of
life. We work not for the money but in order to
soup and medicine. In conclusion Katniss has many personalities, however that’s survive everyday and provide our daily needs.
what makes her a good person. Every day we do find some food in order not to
starve, we fine potable water in order not to
IMPLICATIONS: become thirsty, we dressed ourselves in order to
protect ourselves from harmful vectors, we find
Some of us have parents or loved ones working from shelter in order to protect from rain, heat waves
far places or outside the country just to provide our and others. Every day we do our best to survive in
daily needs which they almost sacrifice everything just order to make our lives longer.
to make our lives not miserable. They are working not
just for money but for the people who badly need their
help which
Survival of the fittest
they sacrifice their time, effort, sweat,
tears, and blood. They are one of our 21 st heroes
Katniss
because struggles
they will forjust
do anything survival on afuture.
for our better daily
basis, hunting and gathering out in the woods
to provide for Prim and her mother.  For her
and many others in District 12, the threat of death is ever-present and it only gets
ratcheted up about 10 notches when Katniss is chosen as a tribute.  She has to
survive her normal life, she has to survive in the deadly Games with only a 1/24
chance of survival (in the beginning anyway) and she has to survive the wrath of
the Capitol afterward.

They have been set the task to survive, and we follow Katniss Everdeen as
she tries her best to, in the cruel, torrid Hunger Games. They have to fight for
their lives by killing other tributes and learning to cope with the guilt that
follows. They also have to find food and shelter to protect from the elements and
to give them the strength to protect themselves against formidable, well trained
opponents.

At first it is all about ‘survival of the fittest’ (Darwin’s theory of evolution).

This is made more challenging, as the tributes from District One and Two are
specially trained from an early age and volunteer to take part, as it is seen as an
honour to take part and win (much the same as the Spartans who trained to
fight). The other Tributes are like Gladiators that are forced to fight to death.
Katniss tries to keep away from the ‘career tributes’ but is forced into their area
by the game- makers, who are trying to keep the viewing public interested by
throwing the people together in the hope that a bloodbath will ensue. The film
exposes how, with a little team work and common sense, you are able to be
victorious in the race for survival.