Hunger Games: Rebellion Is Needed

Machiavelli led us to a question that was continuously in disagreement. That question was “Is it better to be loved than feared, or vice versa” (p.392)? Machiavelli thought that one is to be loved & feared. Nevertheless, at the same time it’s tremendously hard to achieve being both loved & feared. Machiavelli believed that if one had to do without one of them that it would be a safer to be feared than to be loved. For example if a ruler was more loved than feared then if you served their men’s interest & were also devoted to them they would promise you their blood, possessions, lives, & children until you needed help because once you needed help you were on our own. If you’re more feared than loved then when you’re in trouble your

Suzanne Collins, the author of The Hunger Games, imagines a world where people are divided by district just like the real world does with the high, middle, low classes. This book is full of themes, literary devices and also talks about how the government — in this case the Capitol — oppresses their citizens.

Can you imagine the feeling knowing that at anytime, a close one could be taken away. A best friend could be stolen. A family member could be killed. Even yourself could be sacrificed for nothing. Do you think that the emotions a family member may encounter, the sadness of an entire community, or even just the thought of dying, is worth it to provide a dominant government their “Hollywood ending”? Well, in the book “The Hunger Games” written by Suzanne Collins, Katniss Everdeen lives in a dystopian society where her community is divided by 13 different groups. Each year, their government randomly selects two participants from each group to play in the Hunger Games, which is a fight to the death among the other participants. In the book, Katniss’

In a life where one must rebel to stand up for what is right. In a world where there is only one government. In a game to kill or be killed. Who truly has the power? In the novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, power is shown in many parts of the book. Although the government is initially successful at controlling everyone’s lives in the Districts, as Katniss’ journey of survival progresses in the Hunger Games, her rebellious actions damage the Capitol’s power. This causes her to prove the Capitol that they do not own her, and she has self-power. Throughout the book, Suzanne Collins portrays that everyone has certain control. Collins uses the Districts, the rebellions, and the Capitol to get this message across to the readers.

Corruption is a fraudulent behaviour that occurs excessively in the world of Suzanne Colin's novel, "The Hunger Games". Furthermore, this form of activity takes place most often in the Capitol. It's difficult to say if the capitol is corrupted or not, however many believe that the capital is doing what they must to survive. Citizens of the capitol do radiate a form of corruption over power. The capitol is undeniably corrupt and advantageous. Three meaningful reasons that corroborate to the contention are: The totalitarian government of Panem is noticeably corrupted because of the drastic differences in the treatment of its citizens. Secondly, the capitol forces voyeurism to symbolise authority and power, to grasp obedience from the districts. Thirdly, the future of the districts will be non-existent if the Capitol continues to make them pay sacrificial benefits with their respective citizens. These reasons noticeably state one of Suzanne Collins most prioritised morals. Too much power leads to corruption.

The Hunger Games, the movie, was adapted from the popular young adult novel by Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games is sometimes described as another cliche love story for which the young adult genre is infamous. Despite appearances, The Hunger Games illustrates a complex and creative dystopian world with a much deeper underlying message, including topics such as, politics, history, and celebrity worship. The setting appears to be a futuristic version of America. This future America is very classist, and the tyrannical government is sure to keep the classes divided by heavily oppressing the working class. The working class is divided into twelve districts, which used to be thirteen districts until the thirteenth district was annihilated as a result of its uprising. In response to the thirteenth district’s resistance, the President created a game called “The Hunger Games” in an effort to instill obedience in the remaining twelve districts. Through the course of the movie, we learn that “The Hunger Games” are not only a mechanism to force obedience on the working class, but also to serve as entertainment for the elite society who live in the Capitol. The Games require 24 randomly selected children from the working class districts to fight to the death in an elaborately staged battle, all of which is filmed and broadcasted to the entire nation, working class and elite alike. Thesis: The Hunger Games, the movie, has a hauntingly feasible storyline and clear references to real

The dystopian genre makes parallels between the fabricated society and actual society. The reality TV element of the games demonstrates the link between the society of Panem and our society. From child beauty pageants to a rich family that no one knows why is famous, these shows are watched by many in today's society. People forget that these people are real and living their own lives compared to the “scripted” TV shows with paid actors. Capitol dwellers are obsessed with their image, making body modifications to look young and to stay in trend. This aspect of the novel makes a comment on plastic surgery and image in today’s society (Frade, 2014). The use of the hunger games as a social event shows that Capitol views the people in the districts as lesser individuals and are willing to watch people die for their entertainment. The games are watched “At homes and community halls around the country, every television set is turned on. Every citizen of Panem is tuned in” (Collins, 2008, p. 124). There is a disconnection from the people in the Capitol and the children fighting in the games. To the Capitol, those children are just part of an elaborate game, but for the Districts, those children are daughters, sons, brothers, and sisters. The view of humans as lesser individuals can be translated into society today. The top 1% of the population that control most of the wealth have power over the individuals that have less money. The Capitol is comparable to the top 1% and the Districts are comparable to the rest of the world. The geographical aspect of

Society as a whole is drawn to dystopian media primarily because of the evident similarities between the government being portrayed in the media, and the government that society has to live under. A film that is constantly spoken about for its almost satirical comparison between America’s own government and the government presented in the film itself is The Hunger Games. The comparisons made show similarities between the civil unrest within communities under the oppressive government, and the acts of defiance that follow. In the film, by keeping disturbance prevalent within the separate districts, the leaders keep themselves safe from unrest being directed towards them. The government - in the film, the totalitarian government - is well aware of their actions, and justifies them by giving the districts the belief that “It was the price [they] had to pay” (Ross). In addition, districts are shown to have a deep-rooted hatred for each other as a result of the competitive nature of the Games; this enmity keeps them from fully seeing the tyranny of their leaders. This can be related to real life: in America, there is a consistent tension between several different racial groups or religious societies because of circumstances that the government or significant leaders, such as Donald Trump or Roy Moore, create for society. However, the film implies that members of the community are not completely blind to the government’s tactics, and because of this, small acts

In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins expresses two themes. The first one is that we can’t let the government use their power to treat, and use people like they want, they are oppressing them. “At one o’clock, we head of the square. Attendance is mandatory unless you are on deaths door. This evening, officials will come around and check to see if this is the case. If not you will be imprisoned.” (Collins, 16) we can see that the Capitol forces the people to participate in the reaping by threatening them. “When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol. Eventually I understood this would only lead us to

Reality television has differed throughout the years. At one point it was meant to be a literal depiction of everyday life. Now, reality television has changed to be more dramatic and outrageous than an average person or family’s life. The Hunger Games, in a way, depicts the lives of those who live in the poorer districts where the necessities for life are not in such abundance as in the Capitol. Although children are not forced to kill each other in the districts, there is still the struggle for one’s livelihood. That reality is depicted in the games and it seems that The Capitol takes that theme and develops it into The Hunger Games that we know and love. The Hunger Games suggests that reality television is manipulated to the point where the viewers see what the creators (game makers) want them to see.

These values differ from that of the Capitol, which is exempt from the Hunger Games. It appears that their only purpose is to use the goods and services that the districts create and to do so unscrupulously (2008). The citizens of the

"Life’s just not fair. Why should I eat this food? Why is my family so poor? Why do I have to listen to my parents? Everything is horrible in my life!" Chances are, everyone has thought of at least one of these sayings before. Every day, there are complaints slurred out like rabbit reproductions. However, these complaints are minuscule compared to the amount of suffering in The Hunger Games. Set in a post-apocalyptic North America now called Panem, there are 12 districts each responsible for its assigned production and a tyrannical government city called the Capitol. Since the 75 years of the 13 district’s failed rebellion against the Capitol, there has a been a Hunger Games every year. The Hunger Games was an annual event in where 24

“Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve defeated the thirteenth obliterate” (Collins 18). The Capitol used their power and technology they had to defeat the districts, soon after the Capitol created the Hunger Games in order to take control of the districts and punish them for their rebellion.

Throughout both the film The Hunger Games and the novel The Maze Runner, the theme corruption of power is manifested from a centralized governing body who controls all the people of its population. In the film The Hunger Games directed by Gary Ross, Katniss is speaking about how the government, known as The Capitol, is forcing children from the twelve different districts to fight in the annual games against one another. Katniss also mentions how the Capitol is making sure that everyone knows that they will have no chance of survival if they tried to rebel against them and that there is nothing that the people can do if they kill their children. This is evidence of the corruption of power as everyone is afraid to stand up against the Capitol.

Niccolo Machiavelli stressed that “one ought to be both feared and loved, but as it is difficult for the two to go together, it is much safer to be feared than loved…for love is held by a chain of obligation which, men being selfish, is broken whenever it serves their purpose; but fear is maintained by a dread of punishment which never fails.” He felt that a true leader must be cunning and deceptive, winning the hearts of his people through power and influence. If he could not be liked, he could at least get by knowing he has intimidated these below him into submission. However rash or cruel this may seem, Machiavelli’s argument is not one to be countered easily.