Censorship In The Hunger Games, By Suzanne Collins

Harry Potter. The Giver. To Kill A Mockingbird. And Tango Makes Three. Of Mice And Men. The Witches. The list goes on forever. These are all books that have been banned for profanity, references to the occult and witchcraft, references to drugs and alcohol, and many other reasons. Censorship could have started as early as 339 BCE in Rome, when Socrates, a renowned Greek Philosopher, was sentenced to drink poison for his corruption of youth and his acknowledgement of unorthodox divinities (Newth 1). This was what modern censorship evolved from, the punishments becoming less and less severe from the poison drinking. Censorship is the act of limiting access and knowledge of ideas and materials, enforced by a higher official. Censorship should not be a concept used in society due to lack of civil rights, limited knowledge, and how censorship affects everyone.

Plutarch then replies with, “Be patient. They’re holding hands now, but the minute the gun goes off, it’ll be a bloodbath.” This is because of the fear caused by the Games that put the tributes thinking that they need to win the Games for themselves. As Plutarch predicted, that is what happened and the people quickly began attacking each other, just after recently holding each other’s hands. Further into the Games, Beetee explained his plan about attaching the wire to the tree to kill off the other tributes.

Books are said to be teachers, playing an important role in providing information. The lessons and information taught in these books can initiate many thoughts and influence the choices one makes depending on the information that the book feeds the mind. A way that is used to control and regulate the books that the young people of society read and the knowledge there for them to grasp is through the use of censorship. Book censorship is the practice of officially examining books and suppressing unacceptable parts. Censorship is most often placed on books because of religious reasons, inclusion of sexual content, and as well as offensive language to prevent society from engaging intolerable acts.

Banned books are books that are taken away from libraries or schools, maybe even some stores. Some famous banned books (they may have been un-banned at some point) are The Catcher in the Rye, The

Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security. Which is basically saying its the ceasing of using words and imagery that offends the people or isn’t politically correct. Censorship is the cause for many bans and suppression such as books. One book in particular which has been banned is William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.

The people fighting for their lives have no choice but to turn into cruel and vicious monsters. With the conditions they’re in and the little control they have in the arena forces Tributes to kill. People watching in the Capitol also have strong savage instincts. They watch the Games like if it were not reality. These people clearly demonstrate how savages behave.

Books are banned for multiple reasons. To ban something is to forbid or prohibit it (Ban). Some of these reasons are not very clear.

A utopia is described as a place where “no social ills such as crime, poverty, and injustice [exist]” but is “impossibly ideal and unattainable” (Werlock, par. 1). Some American authors have explored what would happen if a government attempted to form a utopian society in America, and the result is typically a dystopian nation. The government, in an attempt for perfection, censors what the populace can read or experience creates uniformity, banning self-expression; and surveils the community to ensure everyone is compliant with the rules. While some dystopian societies are obviously oppressive, as shown in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, other dystopias are hidden behind the facade of a utopia, like the government in the Matched trilogy

“From 2000–2009, the biggest reasons books were banned was because they were “sexually explicit” and had “offensive language. ”("Infographics | Banned & Challenged Books") When a book is banned it has been withhold or censored from the public by an authority being either the government, the library, or a school system. A banned book will be removed from a library or school system. Most of these book bans are most likely to be challenged because of concerns from parents.

Violence is commonly used in the book. For example, in the beginning, the main characters find a dead body, which they find out that the dead person committed suicide. Suicide is a very strong topic for children under the age of thirteen. To add on, in the book, there are many acts of vandalism such as, spray painting cars that don't belong to he person and also breaking in and entering a place. Vandalism is constantly seen throughout the book.

Natalie House Hunt English 110 23 September 20XV The Hunger Games: Should it be censored? Since its publication in 2008, The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins has become “one of the top 50 books sold on kindle and in stores today” according to Forbes Magazine.

According to the online article “Book Banning”, the banning of literature has occurred ever since the first words were written on paper. Book banning is a form of censorship, and its primary purpose is to limit thoughts and ideas that are seen by society as harmful or offensive. Within the online article “Censorship”, censorship is the regulation or suppression of writing or speech that is considered harmful to the common good or a threat to national security. Like book banning, censorship

People have different opinions on just about everything in this world, and it is their right as a human being do what they please. Censorship is used for protecting people from inappropriate or “wrong” material in books, movies, magazines, and any type of media. Book banning is a pointless usage of power many have used and still do since the printing press was invented. If something seemed too extreme, evil, or wrong then people like authority figures would have them banned because reading the content would have been considered harmful. This is very pointless because whether or not reading the content is wrong or right, anyone should be allowed to do and or read whatever they want.

The twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland. Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute standing wins… this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy” (18). After each reaping, families come out and celebrate while the two families’ whose children were called for tribute lock themselves in misery and in pain because they don’t know how to handle waiting weeks to see whether or not their child survived the Hunger Games.

Censorship is the practice of officially examining books, movies, or other forms of art, and suppressing pieces that are deemed unacceptable. It is used to regulate what citizens in a society are able to view in their everyday lives. Censorship is an outdated practice and is no longer necessary in a democratic society.