The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Essay

Introduction

The novel, Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins best explicates the effects of starvation, poverty, oppression, as well as the effects of war on others. Its central focus is self- preservation struggle being faced by Panem inhabitants in their districts. In addition to that, it lays much emphasis on the Hunger Games, a yearly event whereby girl and a boy between ages twelve and eighteen from the twelve districts are selected to go fight in a public arena, at the Capitol (Suzanne 14). The game has it rule that the participants are supposed to kill each other, and only one person should come out alive.

Discussion

The events in Hunger Games tend to indulge with some of the ideas proposed by Stephen King in his writing, Why We Crave Horror Movies. To begin with, King argues that, most people attend horror feelings to establish their essential normality feelings, to prove that they are not afraid, and to have fun. This is clearly evident in Suzanne’s novel, Hunger Games in the manner in which the annual event is given wide media coverage. Most people enjoy watching the participants battle for their lives to the extent that they give gifts, medical supplies and food to their favorite participants. They do this to motivate the participants and to encourage them to fight on as they get entertained.

Katriss Everdeen, the protagonist in Hunger Games is a perfect example of King’s definition of an insane person. King asserts that insane people sometimes do things to confirm they can do them even if it can cost them their lives. Katrina decides to fight in games in place of her younger sister despite knowing the dangers involved in the fight (Suzanne 18). She knows extremely well that she may end up dead during the fight, but she does not give up her decision. This shows insanity to some extent since she is seeing possibilities of death yet she is walking straight to it.

In as much as there is lots of bloodshed in the game, millions of people in Panem tune their television sets to watch it. They seem to have fun in watching people suffer and kill themselves. In my opinion, readers of this book are similar to the Panem people viewing the game. Reading the book makes one a spectator too. The book is so captivating in a way that if one commences reading it, he wouldn’t wish to stop till he finishes it. Despite the horrible things happening in it, it gives an insight of what is happening in our society; the rot in our society that promotes violence and bloodshed. It also shows how people are happy seeing other people suffer.

The novel brings out poverty and oppression clearly. These are some of the vices facing our society. In the novel, the Capitol is the only wealthy district, whereas the other twelve districts are languishing in poverty (Suzanne 38). It simply means that the Capitol is exploiting the other districts to maintain its status quo. Poverty is also explicated in the way Katriss Everdeen and Hale Gawthorne hunt wild game to sell so that they may take care of their families. They are teenagers, yet they are responsible enough to take care of their families (Suzanne 56).

Conclusion

All in all, Hunger Games is a must read for individuals wishing to understand the social evils the society faces. Its entertaining nature also gives one the urge to read it repeatedly without getting bored.

Works Cited
Suzanne, Collins. Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Publishers, 2008. Print