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Essay on Cultural Analysis of The Hunger Games

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Christen Giordano
English 101-068
Matt Stark
October 16, 2013
The Hunger Games The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins, is set in a dystopian country called Panem. This country is split up into twelve districts, and the districts are lead by the Capitol. Annually, the Capitol forces children of the districts to fight in the Hunger Games until only one child is left alive. The Capitol uses the games to show their power and to discourage the people of Panem to start another war. The games are very entertaining to the people of the Capitol, and the whole country is required to watch on television. Even though this seems unusual to enjoy watching children fight to their death, this idea has been around for thousands of years. …show more content…

The emperors and the rich homeowners of Rome would choose their best slave to become a gladiator and fight in the arena. The masters of these slaves would train the gladiators to become better fighters, thus better representing the strength of their household. (Augustus) In the Capitol, if someone liked a contestant better than another, they would buy gifts to send in aid of the contestant. These people were called sponsors. The people of the Capitol would also place bets on the contestant they wanted to win. (Collins) Ancient Rome’s gladiatorial games shape how Collins wrote about the contestants and the role they played in the arena throughout her novel. In both cultures, the games were lead by the leaders or those who were high in power. In ancient Rome, they were lead by the emperor and in The Hunger Games they were lead by the Capitol and President Snow. The fighters in ancient Rome were purchased slaves and conquered people. (ushistory.org) These people were forced against their will to fight in these games. Much like the gladiators, the contestants in The Hunger Games were forced to fight against their will. The fighters in the Hunger Games were two children from every district, and were chosen at random through something like a lottery. This was called a “reaping”. (Collins) Both of these cultures overlook the fact that the people fighting are humans and cheer the contestants on as they kill

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