Suzanne Collins has attracted millions with her novel The Hunger Games. Full of twists and turns, loss and love, self-discovery, compassion, bravery and the extremely controlling and vile Capital, this novel is one that keeps you entertained and at the edge of your seat until the very last page. When you really analyze this book in depth, it becomes more and more apparent that it is actually a mirror image of our society today. Valerie Frankel, a scholarly writer, agrees by stating, “Panem with its Hunger Games begins to mirror another world ─ ours. This isn’t just a dystopian future; it’s the dystopia of present day America” (49). Although Panem, in many ways, is unrealistic and strange in its unique and barbaric ways, it is actually an exaggerated
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Shannon Mortimore-Smith’s article, “Audience as ‘Gamemaker’”, discusses the connection between the Hunger Games and our beloved reality television shows by proving that they both need to have sponsors and an audience that is interested in the drama to insure that “the games will go on” (159). Another connection between the real world and Collin’s novel, is established by looking at the importance of body modifications and waste. In Valerie Frankel’s article, “Reflection in a plastic Mirror”, she analyzes the depiction of perfection in the Capitol and the extreme measures they go through to achieve it, compared to things we do to meet our societies version of perfection. This forces Katniss and many other tributes in the games adopt “artificial personas” (52), in hopes of catching the attention of the audience. She also discusses how “gluttonous and wasteful” (50) the Capitol is, especially with food, when people in all the lower districts are starving to death every day. This is similar to how reality television stars spend tremendous amounts of money on unnecessary things while many people in our world are going …show more content…
Everywhere you go you see magazines with models that leave the impression in the minds of the young and old that unless you look like them, you are less than perfect. This idea is distributed throughout the Capitol and the districts as well. By practicing cosmetic surgery, tattoos, drying hair more desirable colors and wear pounds of makeup that cover every flaw, the Capitol preforms many of the same things we do. Frankel agrees by stating that these acts “aren’t much more extreme than those of Americans today” (50). In the eyes of the districts, the Capitol looks crazy with their dyed skin and crazy hair with outfits to match. They can’t afford these luxury things. To them the Capitol looks “despicable” (HG 65), but in the Capitols eyes, it is the people of the districts that look as if they are struggling to overcome “barbarism” (HG 74). Although exaggerated, the Capitol is a representation of American pop
Shannon Mortimore-Smith’s article, “Audience as ‘Gamemaker’”, discusses the connection between the Hunger Games and our beloved reality television shows by proving that they both need to have sponsors and an audience that is interested in the drama to insure that “the games will go on” (159). Another connection between the real world and Collin’s novel, is established by looking at the importance of body modifications and waste. In Valerie Frankel’s article, “Reflection in a plastic Mirror”, she analyzes the depiction of perfection in the Capitol and the extreme measures they go through to achieve it, compared to things we do to meet our societies version of perfection. This forces Katniss and many other tributes in the games adopt “artificial personas” (52), in hopes of catching the attention of the audience. She also discusses how “gluttonous and wasteful” (50) the Capitol is, especially with food, when people in all the lower districts are starving to death every day. This is similar to how reality television stars spend tremendous amounts of money on unnecessary things while many people in our world are going …show more content…
Everywhere you go you see magazines with models that leave the impression in the minds of the young and old that unless you look like them, you are less than perfect. This idea is distributed throughout the Capitol and the districts as well. By practicing cosmetic surgery, tattoos, drying hair more desirable colors and wear pounds of makeup that cover every flaw, the Capitol preforms many of the same things we do. Frankel agrees by stating that these acts “aren’t much more extreme than those of Americans today” (50). In the eyes of the districts, the Capitol looks crazy with their dyed skin and crazy hair with outfits to match. They can’t afford these luxury things. To them the Capitol looks “despicable” (HG 65), but in the Capitols eyes, it is the people of the districts that look as if they are struggling to overcome “barbarism” (HG 74). Although exaggerated, the Capitol is a representation of American pop