“The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins
If you have not read “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, go to your nearest Borders, or jump on Amazon, and buy it immediately. This book is impossible to put down once you start reading it. Collins creates characters that you will love and hate. Her book is multilayered and full of multiple messages that appeal to all ages and genders.
Although this book is considered science fiction because it takes place in a futuristic society, the comments made on reality t.v., government control, and technology applies to our world today. These issues pull in readers, forcing them to analytically think about these issues throughout the novel.
If you have ever seen the movies “The Gamer”, or “The Condemned”, you have an idea of the reality show that “The Hunger Games” portrays. However, “The Hunger Games” takes this idea of people fighting to the death, with the one survivor being the winner, to a whole new level. These games involve 24 children, one male and one female from each district, fighting to stay alive in an isolated environment controlled by the “Gamemakers”. The children must use their survival skills to kill one another and remain the sole survivor.
But what happens when you fall in love with another contender? How do you kill someone you grew up with? These issues arise in “The Hunger Games”, and Collins shows what happens when people must choose between their own survival and their relationships with others.
Collins’ commentary on reality t.v. through this novel makes readers think about our programs that have all of America obsessed. For the most part, these shows, such as American Idol, The Real World, Survivor, etc. are harmless. She turns the idea of harmless reality t.v. into a life and death reality show in her novel, showing how far reality t.v. can go, and commenting on America’s obsesion with watching these programs. Even though the Hunger Games takes 23 childrens’ lives every year, everyone in Panem, the futuristic North America society, watches these games on t.v. While the people living in Districts are forced to watch, citizens of the Capital enjoy the brutality and even place bets on their favorite contendors. How much do Americans love reality t.v.? Enough to watch children suffer and die? Or is this going too far? Collins also shows how reality t.v. is not necessarily an accurate portrayal of the way people act. Katniss, the protagonist, hides her feelings about Panem and her emotions whenever she is on t.v. She does not want to seem weak, frightened, or angry with the entire nation watching her. Not only does she do this to keep from seeming like an easy target, she does it for sponsorship. The more likable she appears, the more sponsors will send her tools to survive the Hunger Games.
The commentary on reality t.v. goes even further as Katniss and Peeta, her district 12 counterpart, show the world that they are in love. Whether this love interest truly exists, or they are simply faking it for publicity sake, their relationship helps their sponsorship and survival. This shows that Americans are drawn in to watching “real” love stories and the drama that revolves around intimate relationships.
Play the Hunger Games and see if you would survive.
