The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Book Report/Review Example

The Hunger Games- Book Review ‘The Hunger Games’ is a science fiction (can also be ified into the young/adult adventure) book, written by Suzanne Collins and published by Scholastic Press in 2008 (Collins). ‘The Hunger Games’ is the first book in ‘Hunger Games Trilogy, penned by the author. Suzanne Collins is a seasoned writer for children’s television series and had worked with Nickelodeon, Kids WB and Scholastic Entertainment before writing this book. Plot Outline The Hunger Games is based in post-apocalyptic era. The plot is woven around a fictitious country of Panem which is formed after the destruction of North America. Panem is situated primarily on the western side of North America and the central city of Panem is located on an area formerly known as Rocky Mountains. A cruel government called Capitol controls the twelve districts of Panem. The totalistic government keeps the subjects of the twelve districts in line by threatened devastation, starvation, and brutality. Capitol operates out of the central city which is richer than the other twelve districts. The Hunger Games are annual televised events which are a sort of annual punishment to the districts which once unsuccessfully revolted against the Capitol. The horrific rite at the heart of this uncivil civilization is an annual event -- somewhere between a sport and a sacrifice -- The Reaping. The rules of the Games require each district to send two participants to the games – one boy and one girl, aged between 12 to 8 years. The participants or ‘tributes’ are chosen by lottery and have to fight against each other till only one survives. The Games are a popular source of entertainment for the Capitol and are glorified and dramatised to increase the fun. The protagonist is a sixteen year old girl named Katniss Everdeen, from twelfth district, who volunteers to participate in the seventy fourth Games; to save her sister who was originally nominated. Twelfth district is the poorest of all the districts. The boy tribute from the same district is Peeta Mellark who is in love with Katniss since he was five. Katniss and Peeta are brought to the Capitol where they meet other tributes. Their participation in the Games gives them a sort of celebrity status. To be presentable on television screens, they are done up by the fashion specialists. Cinna, the fashion guru of Katniss, dresses her as a girl on fire, tells her that people would definitely admire her spirit (Collins 121). This is the first time in the book that Katniss thinks about the existence of her spirit. Just before the 74th Games start, Peeta tells Katniss that he would not allow the Capitol to dehumanized by the games, rather he wants to die as himself. When the tributes are brought in public glare, Peeta announces his unreciprocated love for Katniss. Katniss suspects his declaration as a ploy to win public support. The public audiences can be crucial in a win or loss since they can send gifts to their favorite tributes during the games. On the first day of the games, 11 out of 24 tributes die. Katniss is able to survive the day due to her skillful hunting moves. The progress of the games results in higher death toll although both Peeta and Katniss manage to put off death. Katniss and Peeta earn an image of ‘star- crossed lover’ and become popular in the audience. Supposedly due to this image, a change in the rule is announced midway through the games stating that two tributes from the same district can win the Hunger Games as a pair, which was not allowed earlier. Katniss, on hearing this changed rule, searches for Peeta and finds him wounded. She enacts the part of a teenager who has fallen in love after the declaration of her courter. She also looks after Peeta so that he regains health again. The above mentioned role play was intended to gain more positive opinion of the public and to get more gifts from her sponsors. Both Peeta and Katniss are able to survive the games until the last when only two of them remain in the arena. The Gamemakers suddenly reverse the rule change and try to push them into a highly sensationalized dramatic finale where one must kill the other to win. Both Peeta and Katniss refuse to fight against each other and threaten to commit suicide by consuming poisonous berries. They hope against hope that the Gamemakers would stop the reversal of rule change to have winners rather than no winner. Their hope turns into reality, and both Katniss and Peeta are declared winners of the 74th Hunger Games. The victory in the games gives super-hero’s status to Katniss in the Capitol. But at the same time she is warned that she might have to bear consequences for her defiance to the Capitol in such a public glare. When Peeta comes to know that their love story was partly manipulated in order to gain audiences, he is heart-broken while Katniss is unsure of her own feelings. Critical Analysis The book is written in simple language and majority of the book describes action than anything else. However, the beauty of the book lies in the vivid imagination of the new world and complex characterization of the heroine Katniss. The concept of the book is not particu­larly original: a similar premise is explored in “Battle Royale,” a terrifically gruesome Japanese novel that has been spun off into a popular mega series. Panem is the setting of the book which is the remains of modern day North America after some environmental tragedy struck the world. Author, indirectly, hints at climate change /global warming as the environmental change. Panem is similar to modern America in more than one way. The luxuries of America are the result of somebody’s poverty; just as the riches and entertainment of the citizens of Capitol is a result of depravation and starvation of other twelve districts. Most people in Panem live at subsistence levels, working to feed the black holed tummies of the Capital’s citizens. It appears that Collins has sometimes failed to exploit the rich allegorical potential here in favour of crisp plotting. Nevertheless, it is unfair to fault a novel for being too engrossing. Most strikingly negative similarity between modern day America and Panem is between the role of America as the policeman of the world and that of Capitol as the cruel and selfish government minding people. The obliteration of thirteenth state at the time of rebel draws collateral with America’s invasion on Iraq. A very striking similarity exists between inhabitants of the Capitol to some present day U.S. citizens for whom entertainment and celebrities have become such an obsession that they have become blind to others sufferings. The book brings out the insensitivity of people when they choose entertainment over humanity. In the book, the tributes are made presentable by stylists, a trend, which matches with many of the reality shows which are being aired in USA, like Survivor.The stylists are a satire on Hollywood’s obsession with fashion. Though the stylists are generally portrayed as shallow,it is Katniss’ stylist who ignites the process of self realization when he talks about her spirit. Katniss thinks, ‘My spirit. This is a new thought. I’m not exactly sure what it means, but it suggests I’m a fighter.’ (Collins 121) Cinna also seems to understand Katniss even more than her words which is evident from his line , “Katniss, the girl who was on fire." (Collins 67) In spite of the post-apocalyptic era, the book draws many similarities between the current state of affairs and the world of Panem. A selective real-time video is played on television (just like current reality shows) and in an interesting twist to the events, watching The Hunger Games is mandatory. This draws similarity with various governments of the world forcing their own views on the public and curbing the independence of the media. Like the Capitol inhabitants, modern day Americans are also obsessed with grooming, trying to sound funny and strangely superficial. When Katniss is sent to stylists to be made more presentable before she competes, she stands naked in front of them, strangely unembarrassed. She feels that all those who watch this game are as much at risk of losing their humanity as the contestants. The thought is as much valid in modern era as it is in post-apocalyptic one. The book is written in first person; Katniss Everdeen is the protagonist describing her journey to and through the games. It would be more appropriate to call Katniss an antagonist than a protagonist. This is because the dystopian setting of the novel is constantly trying to kill her and the goodness in her. The setting of the book, that is the games, becomes a vehicle for self-realization of Katniss. She evolves from a physically fit girl to a thoughtful individual during the games. Sixteen-year-old Katniss is smart, athletic, fast and courageous. She had the courage to replace her sister when she was selected for the 74th Games although she hardly had any idea of how to survive the games. She can match the agility of a rabbit and hunt it down with a bow and arrow, hitting it straight through the eye. However, the games are more than just show of skill. Her sheer devotion to keep her sustains her mother and sister drives her into the decision of replacing her sister in the games. Katniss is a practical and level-headed girl; she knows that if at anybody between them has a chance to win the games it is herself and not her sister. Her practical side was also evident when she played the part of a young girl who has fallen in love with her suitor and nurses Peeta back to health when he is injured. She had no intentions of hurting Peeta but she wanted her sponsors to send her more gifts which made her play this part so genuinely. This also goes on to show that she had no second thoughts of Peeta while taking this decision. However, in the end when Capitol reverses the rule change, she declines to fight against Peetaa and threatens to commit suicide which reflects that she is not entirely without any feelings for Peeta. However, she realizes that as far as Peeta and her relationship is concerned, she is confused. During the games she realizes that she is a fighter with a spirit which shows throws light on her transformation phase from the girl of gumption to the symbol of gumption. However, inspite of such a hight tension plot, Collins has been able to bring out tenderness of human nature well, particularly in Rue, a tribute. Following line tell us a lot about Rue: “Rue, who when you ask her what she loves most in the world, replies, of all things, “Music.”.” (Collins 211) In response to catastrophe, there’s always a set of people to capture power and reap the benefits of a weak civilization by taking away people’s freedoms. This is what the Capitol does in Panem, a world split into 13 districts that exist on the land that remains and the thirteenth district obliterated in the rebellion. Panem, as we know it through the book, is post-rebellion. The reader is not given much background on the catastrophe that put the world in the shape it’s in; but s/he is just 74 years removed from a revolution that was quelled with horrific force by the Capitol. As a yearly reminder to the failed rebels so as to not to get out of line, two children from each district are selected for The Hunger Games – thrown into an arena where they are expected to kill each other, and the last kid standing wins. Through The Hunger Games, the Capitol displays its unforgiving attitude to the districts which once revolted against the games. It displays the fun people derive from watching violence from distance. It also shows that there is something even more painful than your own death; the death of your children. The Capitol is a model of today’s insensitive breed of people who indulge in war games even if the games are played only on computers. The brutality of the whole concept of hunger Games is aptly described in the lines below: "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!" (Collins 19) The irony is that to see them dying, state ensures that they are alive. This irony is very evident in Peeta’s and Katniss’ conversation given below: Peeta: I asked Cinna why they let us up here. Werent they worried that some of the tributes might decide to jump right over the side? Katniss: Whatd he say? Peeta: You cant. Some kind of electric field throws you back on the roof. Katniss: Always worried about our safety. (Collins 81) A very interesting part of the book is the responses of Katniss and Peeta to the sudden change in their life pattern. They are torn from a simple life of surviving in a harsh, oppressive existence and dropped into a technologically sophisticated environment with the luxuries of abundance of food and sumptuous clothing, as well as having all of their physical needs met. But the luxuriating readers are constantly reminded of the dark underside of these moments of pleasure. A sudden jolt from this luxury ride was the scene where a servant’s tongue was removed as a punishment for running away. Katniss recalls (for us), the power of the Government to genetically engineer predators for their own amusement. Readers are not given the comfort to forget that the end of this journey is a violent and spectacular death, broadcast to the nation. Collins is a skilled storyteller with vivid imagination which detail out even the darkest of the secrets of a dystopic world. Her nightmare vision is a convincing one. Characters are multi dimensional in nature ranging from the insensitive, relentlessly cheerful government representative, Effie Trinket to Haymitch, the last winner from their district, who -- despite his continuous drunkenness-- may become a resourceful and effective mentor. His drunken state is also a sign of mental trauma that takes place in the head of the participant of such a gruesome game despite the fact that he had won. Given the high stakes, Katnisss single-minded focus on survival and predicting the others strategy, to the disregard of nearly all else, is what is called practical and believable. The plot is stretched tight and Collins throws readers with plenty of minor clues that complicate the scenario and build suspense while the plot is brewing hot. The book definitely makes more sense than just a science fiction for a young adult. In the classrooms, children experience cruelty and deprivation, some just trying to survive to adulthood. Abuse behind closed doors, from the same people who are supposed to be the guardians, small kindnesses taking disproportionate meanings; are some of the few examples of tortures our children are forced to undergo. A good classroom culture emphasizes the need in a strong community for compassionate members who take care of the weakest and not exploit them for their own benefits. Young readers will be able to derive a deeper meaning from what on the surface might seem to be the depiction of a violent reality-television show. Last but not the least; the book is a bundle of tightly knitted plot with the design of suspense and future woven in it. It is ambitious with adequate romantic tension to interest a young mind. Its cliff hanging uncertainty and engrossing vision makes it a must read, for the possible future’s sake at least. Works Cited Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholistic, 2008.Print. Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholistic, 2008.19.Print. Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholistic, 2008.67.Print. Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholistic, 2008.81.Print. Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholistic, 2008.121.Print. Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholistic, 2008.211.Print. Read More