English
Thesis Statement: The theme of the story is about the inequality of the rich and the poor.
In the country of Panem, it is apparent that wealth and power lie in the hands of the rich people, as shown by the residents of Capitol. In the case of Katniss Everdeen, she lives in District 12 where most of the residents are poor and their only source of livelihood is coal mining (Collins 6).
The gap between the rich and the poor was shown in the story in various scenarios showing the rich people from Capitol have tables brimming with food. There is abundance in food that it will seem like there is feast every day. However, in the poor districts, the people have nothing to eat. Katniss is a good hunter because she has to find ways to feed her family. Starvation is the biggest problem in District 12. Unlike some of the other residents in District 12, Katniss learned how to become a good hunter for the sake of her family and to give them the most basic necessity which is food.
Another scenario in the novel which shows the disparity between the rich and the poor is how the tributes who chosen for the games. The residents of the poor districts were chosen in the form of a lottery, where any person can be randomly picked. As a result, the poor residents have a greater probability of being chosen as tributes. In order to receive food and oil, called the “tesserae”, the children who are qualified to join the Hunger Games are allowed to enter their names several times (Collins 20). The children have no choice but to accept “tesserae” for survival so they end up having more entries and are more likely to be handpicked to join the games.
The purpose of the author in showing the inequality between the rich and the poor is to show that in real life, there is a division in our society between those who have less in life and those who have more. The rich people can live extravagantly without thinking of their future. In the novel, the people from the poor district such as District 12 are placed at a disadvantage since they become tributes who join the games without enough training. Unlike those from wealthy districts are often trained and take part in the games freely, without being forced to join. The tributes from rich districts are stronger, bigger, and are well-prepared for the Hunger Games than poor tributes who were randomly chosen by chance. The tributes from rich districts are more likely to survive in the games. On the other hand, the poor tributes are considered to have been placed in death sentence.
The tone of the author is more sympathetic to the poor tributes since the people from the Capitol see their suffering as a form of entertainment. It is unfortunate that the more they see the tributes linger in pain and suffering, the more entertaining the games have become. The author wants to send the message to the audience that there are wars and battles in this world which have resulted to the death of innocent victims. In the novel, watching the tributes fight for survival is not something that should be tolerated.
It is ironic that the audience who view the games find excitement to see young children who are fighting against each other, while the others end up dying (Collins 18).
Works Cited:
Collins, Suzanne. Hunger Games Volume 1. New York: Scholastic Press, 2008. Print.
