The Hunger Games Review

Suzanne Collins’ book series ?The Hunger Games? takes place in a dystopian America, where there are twelve districts that live in full control of the Capitol. Each district works for a different field, and being born in a district forces you to go into the workforce in that field when you turn 18. Each district also lives in great poverty. Most of the materials, products and goods from every district go into the capitol, the only place without poverty. Each year, something similar to a draft called a Reaping happens in every district, and chooses a boy and a girl from the ages of 12 through 17 to go to the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is organized by the Capitol, and is a fight to the death with only one winner. The books are told from the perspective of Katniss, a girl from district twelve who volunteered for the games when her sister got chosen. In this essay I will be focusing on Catching Fire, the second book in the series. In this essay, I will be writing about the theme in the second book of the series, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I think the theme of Catching Fire is that good things come in unexpected ways. First, after learning of the strike that the other districts are doing, Katniss meets some people from district 8 that escaped to try to get to district 13, which is believed to still be active despite the nuking that had happened when they tried to rebel against the capitol. When these people meet Katniss, they are immediately grateful, and explain the symbol of rebellion she is used as. Katniss has been thinking about rebelling against the Capitol, and finally has a better grasp of how much political power she has. The people she meets, Bonnie and Twill, only escaped their district because of the tragedy that had been occuring there.

It was not just by chance that they managed to meet Katniss, and describe what kind of impact she has on society. Another reason I think this is the theme is because of when she is brought into the games. It is announced that for the year 75 Quarter Quell, two victors from every district, one male and one female, will be brought back into the games. Katniss finds out and is devastated, as she is the only female victor in district twelve. While most would see this as a bad thing, they forget that this is what eventually leads her to escaping from Panem altogether. Every tribute has always had the goal of keeping Katniss alive and overthrowing the capitol. The head gamemaker himself, Plutarch Heavensbee, is part of a secret group within the capitol that believes in district rights. He designed the games in a way that Katniss would be able to escape to district 13, where she would continue to act as a model for hope within the districts. When Katniss first enters the games, she thinks that all hope is lost, but because she is able to escape, she is defying what she believed. This example is by far the most valid sample of this theme, because as she starts to think that all hope is doomed, she gets saved, and even finds out that almost every district has stopped functioning, as hoped for. Not only does Katniss survive and continue to act as a sort of spokesmodel for the rebellion, but we also find out that the rebellion itself is finally in full effect. Another example of this theme within the story is in the beginning, when Katniss and Peeta are visiting district 11 on their victory tour.

At the end, shortly after Katniss talks about her sincere thoughts about Thresh and Rue, an old man whistles the same tune that represents the end of a work day, and safety in the arena. After that, everyone present puts three fingers to their lips, and then raise them in the air as a sort of salute, more specifically a salute that is associated with rebellion against the capitol. After Katniss and Peeta are supposed to be leaving, Katniss realizes she forgot a bouquet of flowers that she got from the district. When she goes back for them, she sees some peacekeepers dragging him in front of the crowd, making him get on his knees, and then shooting him. It seems as if this may have no significance, but to me it does. For one, seeing what happens to people who rebel in very subtle ways inspired Katniss to continue the path of defiance she had been taking the entire time, while also playing all the right cards to stay alive in the process. Another reason this turned around in a good way is because as we find out later, every district goes on strike. The death of this man, while maybe common within 11, definitely added pressure to the tension within 11, that eventually caused it to corrupt entirely. Terrible things occur in the story, but they always manage to get turned around in a positive way. District 8 gets bombed, a man in district 11 gets brutally killed, and Katniss is forced into the games once again. As I have described in the paragraphs above, every one of these events has a good result. In conclusion, I believe that the theme of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is that good things can happen in unexpected ways.

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