Karim Sharif Essay on ”The Hunger Games” 08/11/2022
Dystopian genre in The Hunger Games
As already known, in the latest years the dystopian genre has become very popular throughout the
reading community, mainly in the young adults and children section. As the main story progresses in
dystopian literature, we notice the crusader or the so-called champion rebel for their community as a
significant gesture to relieve the dystopia in their world. It is mostly noticed in a teenager’s life when
you see a pattern of rebellious behavior against their guardians. That could be parents, teachers or even
friends. Examples of the rebellious act could be skipping classes or sneaking out, however, we
sometimes come across cases where the rebellious act originates from life-changing events. This could
be viewed in the book where Katniss Everdeen loses her friend and from that, she has an eye-opening
moment that triggers her rebellious behavior throughout the book where she doesn’t want another
friend’s life to end where she realizes that game-makers plan all along was to end the games with one of
the star-crossed lovers having to sacrifice their life for the other. Here she shows a clear act of rebellion
when she takes the poisonous berries to mark for everyone watching all around all 12 districts and the
Capitol that it’s either both or nothing.
In” The Hunger Games” We notice many themes being carried along the book, one of them being the
rebellious act that Katniss went with when she lost her friend Rue to one of the other competitors. but
how did Katniss find a way to rebel against and fight the Capitol. After the tragic event of Katniss losing
her friend, she plans out that she wants to take out the Capitol and show them that she is not a pawn in
their board game.” Rue’s death has forced me to confront my own fury against the cruelty, the injustice
they inflict upon us but here, even more strongly than at home, I feel my impotence. There's no way to
take revenge on the Capitol. Is there?"(ch18, p288) (source 1). This exact quote is the time where
Katniss finally recognizes the threat that the capitol really holds for all districts and that she needs to
find a way to suppress all the power that they force on the districts. It shows the injustice that the
Capitol has perpetuated. Although she has still not recognized that the true passage to her victory
against the Capitol lies in her trust in people that care about her and that is the step, she needs to make
to come to peace with everything the Capitol has done. After Rue dies, she finally finds out that this is
her time to make an impact on every district. She decides to show rebellion by covering Rue’s body with
flowers and then when leaving she looks back and raises three fingers in the air to point to all the fallen
tributes that have lost their lives to the Capitol. This gesture originates from district 12, we see it being
used at the start of the book when Katniss volunteers to be a tribute, so her sister primrose doesn’t. This
gesture was a passive-aggressive way to show that Katniss will not be ordered by the Capitol and that
she will stand together with all the other districts against the Capitol.
Suzanne Collins shows a real passion for details in the book, she talks about how Katniss feels and how
she thinks about everything around her. At the start of the book, we read about Katniss seeking prim’s
warmth and how the other side of the bed is cold. This shows emotion in the book, where the readers
get a straight gateway to how Katniss must have felt through the whole experience. Suzanne expresses
Panem as a very dystopian place. She describes district 12 as the smallest and poorest of the before
Karim Sharif Essay on ”The Hunger Games” 08/11/2022
called 13 districts of Panem. District 12’s main industry was coal mining. Life in District 12 was described
as extremely difficult, due to the poverty and starvation that was ongoing in the district. Suzanne might
have exaggerated the problems in Katniss's society to create something for Katniss to fight for, she
made a battle for her from the start of the book by showing us how hard it was for Katniss to live her
daily life in the district and how getting a fresh loaf of bread was something considered very hard.
summing up everything about “The Hunger Games”. The crusader Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12.
She lives with her sister and mother where we notice the first signs of dystopian life in Panem. As the
book starts, we quickly figure out that it’s the day of reaping where the districts children round up for a
draw of who gets to be the next tribute. Prim, her sister, gets picked alongside Peeta where Katniss
herself volunteers to be a tribute instead of her sister to save her from dying in the games. When they
arrive at the capitol they are to be introduced by everyone there and are welcomed. They get the best
food which they are not used to, and, in that moment, we find the utopian part of the story. noticing
how the people of the Capitol are so privileged compared to the districts where there are clear signs of
dystopia. Katniss and Peeta manage to charm the crowd by pretending to be a couple and having a suit
made of fire to present their district as coal miners. When Katniss is in training, she meets her only
friend Rue who eventually dies in the Games by one of the other competitors, she then shows her side
of rebellion by waving the three fingers in the air to show the sacrifice that Rue had to give for the
games and how it should not be the case. Later, when it is revealed that only 1 winner can be
progressing, she shows an act of rebellion again by wanting to die together with Peeta and by having no
winners of the annual. The moment where they are supposed to take the poisons berries the game
maker then gives up and announces that the annual winners are the both of them.
Sources:
Source #1
While looking for info about the book I came across some quotes and found this quote very helpful for
my analogy.
https://www.gradesaver.com/the-hunger-games/study-guide/quotes
Karim Sharif Essay on ”The Hunger Games” 08/11/2022
