The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins Introduction to the Novel

The Hunger GamesBy Suzanne Collins

The Hunger GamesBy Suzanne Collins

Introduction to the Novel

Would you be willing to

sacrifice yourself for

the good of a group?

Do you think the

government should expect citizens to self-

sacrifice? If so, to what

degree?

Imagine competing in a live televised

reality show in which the winner is showered with gifts such as…

…a new home, money for life,

and a career mentoring new

opponents each year?

But if you LOSE…

You pay with your

LIFE.

You pay with your

LIFE.

Still want to play?

What if you didn’t have a choice?

Sixteen-year old Katniss Everdeen doesn’t have to

imagine.

This is her reality.

The Hunger Games trilogy is

written by Suzanne Collins. She began

writing for children’s

television shows before writing her first novel. She is also the author of

The Underland Chronicles.

She was inspired to write The Hunger Games after she had been channel surfing between watching live coverage of the Iraq war and a reality TV show .

She was also influenced by mythology, especially the story of Theseus and the Minotaur.

Roman gladiator battles as entertainment for the masses contributed, as well.

Dystopia is a fictional society characterized by

human misery, oppression, disease, and overcrowding. The government is usually

totalitarian: one that exercises control over the

freedom, will, or thought of others.

Utopia is an imaginary place that is ideally perfect:

free from poverty and suffering.

It is many years in the future, and the world is not the same world we live in today. Katniss

lives in what used to be North America, but is

now known as Panem.

Panem is made up of 12 different “districts.” Each of these districts has a particular industry and each is representative of a Dystopian society.

The Capitol is a Utopian society.

The Capitol

The land mass represents what would be left of North America if the sea levels

were to rise 100 feet.

District 12

After the last uprising, The Capitol destroyed District 13 to squash the rebellion. Now, District 12 is the farthest out from the Capitol, tucked away in the heart of the Appalachia.

The Appalachian mountain range is one of the oldest in the world and dates back more than 480 million years.

The Appalachian region is known for its natural resources and the mining industries. District 12 provides The Capitol with mined coal. Coal is crucial to the energy supply of the city, though it is considered dirty and lowly to be a miner. Without the coal, The Capitol would not be able to continue on the way it is.

Katniss’s father died in a mine

explosion when she was 11 and

her younger sister, Prim, just

eight years old.

Her mother became depressed, leaving Katniss to fend for her family.

She turned to the woods--the forbidden area outside the district 12 fence--and

began hunting and gathering in order to feed

her sister, mother, and herself.

Seventy four years ago, the thirteen districts rebelled against the Capitol…

but they lost. . .

As punishment for the

rebellion against the Capitol, the

district citizens are forced into

a life of poverty,

starvation, and hard labor…

…while the Capitol citizens enjoy a life of luxury and

ease.

To further repress the district citizens, the Capitol required all

children aged 12-18 to enter their names into a lottery or reaping to see who will compete in the annual Hunger Games competition.

Every district child aged 12 to 18 MUST

enter their name into the

reaping.

Each year in the Hunger Games,

twenty-four district children enter the

arena to fight to the death.

Only one will survive and be crowned the

victor.

The Capitol forces all citizens to watch The Hunger

Games competition on live TV. It was created by the Capitol to remind the district citizens of

their past wrongs.

Watching their children die is the district citizens’

repentance for the rebellion.

If, however, they wanted food for themselves and their

families, they could sign up for tesserae

(which provided grain and oil for one person for a year).

The catch?

Their names would be entered into the reaping multiple

times for each family member who needs food.

Therefore, the poorest and hungriest children with their names in the most are most likely to have their names

called.

But not always…

And that is where the story begins…

Read the first two chapters before

proceeding.