The Hunger Games Discussion - Archived

[Elena Galatas]

This isn't a requirement by any means, though I might be assuaged to offer extra credit points if you need them at the end of the semester if you post more than once, but I want to encourage students to talk about The Hunger Games here, whether it be about the novel or the film! It's always nice to have a good discussion with other people about something you all find interesting.

What were your opinions on the novel? How did it compare to the film if you've seen it? Feel free to use the answers you gave for the Watchful Eye assignment here to get the conversation going if you'd like.

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

I just finished re-reading The Hunger Games. I've read it before, read the sequels and have seen the movie(s).

I'm just so impressed with the lucidity of the book and how it is written. Strictly seen through the eyes of Katniss, the story unfolds in a manner which could have been rather boring but instead starts with a telling of how-life-is and what is happening at every moment. Moment of introspection, of memory of scenes of events of the past, intertwine with what is going on in the current moment of the story.

As for the actual story itself, it's sort of hard to read -- only because it could be a true thing. This is close to what happened with different groups of people in moments of history here on the planet. No, there wasn't the futuristic manipulation of genetics or the technology available in Panem, but the sequestering of groups of people 'for their own good' and/or to keep them under control, has happened again and again on all the continents of Earth (well, not Antarctica)(that I am aware of anyway).

It's just a great book.

I'm keeping this short so that I can respond when/if others reply in here.

[Elena Galatas]

First off, I want to say thank you for posting here. I was mildly worried that no one ever would.

Anyway, I wholeheartedly agree with your comment about the series being hard to read for the sole reason that it's an entirely plausible future. The book itself is well written, though I haven't read the novels in a while myself (in still in the midst of reading the Divergent series), but the subject matter of the novels could be terrifying if we look at it in the sense that this could be our future. Especially given things that are going on in the world today, it is not hard to believe that something like this could happen in a century or so, especially if some kind of natural disaster happens like it did in the very start of the timeline, before the creation of Panem itself.

The most interesting thing to me about the novels is a subject that Suzanne Collins never actually broaches. This is also a question I'm contemplating adding to the lesson next semester.

What happened to the rest of the world? Do you think they know what's going on in Panem? How would you react if you were living in another country?

I mean, it's unrealistic to think that there is absolutely nothing remaining from the rest of the world. Coasts might have flooded, but surely entire continents (particularly Europe, Asia, and South Africa) couldn't have just disappeared. Katniss believes or is led to believe that the rest of the world had been destroyed either by wars or natural/geological disasters, but we also have to keep in mind that her entire education was provided by the Capitol. She doesn't even know much about the other districts in Panem, let alone about District 13 surviving the rebellion; this is because the Capitol has restricted knowledge to the people of Panem. The people only know what the Capitol wants them to know.

One has to assume that outside nations exist. Why would the Capitol spend so much time and effort maintaining and developing an active arsenal of nuclear weapons/capabilities if they didn't have any enemies? Before the rebellion, District 13 had been the military defense of Panem. Of the Capitol. After the rebellion and the supposed destruction of the thirteenth district, the Capitol designated District 2 as the new nuclear, military defense. I highly doubt that the government would have used nuclear weapons against the districts themselves; from a resource standpoint, they're far too important to the Capitol and Panem as a whole. The only logical conclusion to come to would be that they were using these weapons as a means of deterring outside/foreign military powers.

SO. With all that being said, what do we think that the other countries think of what's going on in Panem? Surely another country has at least voiced concerns or tried to help in the past. Right?