The Hunger Games

    The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is a young girls story of fighting for her friends, family, and country. The country of Panem, filled with heartache and evil spirits; where twelve districts are created and maintained by the capitol. While the capitol is in control, no one outside it is safe. The capitol is a corrupt city that forces each district to pick one boy and one girl to fight to the death in what is called The Hunger Games once a year. The Hunger Games is where twenty-four young teens (ages 11-18), twelve boys and twelve girls are forced into an arena with only the clothes on their backs and the will to live. While in the arena, each contestant has opportunities to find weapons and food left by the game makers (the people who create the arena) and they must fight to kill. In order to survive, you must be the last out of those twenty-four contestants to live. If a contestant is lucky enough to stay alive, they will live with riches for the rest of their lives.
    The Hunger Games is a way of the capitol keeps all the districts in line and in control. The reason for this “game” is because of the rebellion of the thirteenth district. The capitol destroyed the district and everyone in it, therefore, each year the Hunger Games are displayed for the whole country of Panem to see on large screens to remind them of what happened years and years ago to district thirteen.“Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch – this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. “Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen.”(chapter 1, paragraph 76 of The Hunger Games). As a teen stuck in one of the worst districts of Panem, district twelve, Katniss Everdeen verbalizes what many refuse to say aloud in fear of the capitol; the only reason for the Hunger Games is to show each district how much control they have on everyone and how fast they could be the next one to die.
    Each year Katniss was able to be one of the lucky ones whose name was never chosen. Unfortunately for her, Prim, her eleven year old sister was chosen as a victim in the Hunger Games. Because of Katniss’ love for her younger sister, she sacrifices herself for Prim and enters the Hunger Games.
    She is picked into the Hunger Games with a boy she has known since a young girl, Peta. Peta always secretly loved Katniss but only showed his love and kindness to her as a young boy when he sacrificed a beating from his mother to feed her hungry stomach. The two of them are forced into battle and create a story with their mentors to tell to the whole country of Panem their “love” for each other in hopes of getting sponsors for district twelve. While in the arena, they go their separate ways making alliances with other contestants. Peta, decides to go with the districts that are brutal killers (districts 1-4). Katniss on the other hand chooses an 11 year old girl named Rue from district eleven who reminds her of her young sister Prim. They become best friends until one day, Rue is caught in a fight with a boy who was much bigger than her and dies. Katniss sings to her as she passes the song that always gave her comfort as a child:
     Deep in the meadow, under the willow
     A bed of grass, a soft green pillow
     Lay down your head, and close your eyes
     And when they open, the sun will rise
     Here it’s safe, and here it’s warm
     Here the daisies guard you from every harm
     Here your dreams are sweet–
     –and tomorrow brings them true
     Here is the place where I love you.
     Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
     A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray
     Forget your woes and let your troubles lay
     And when again it’s morning, they’ll wash away
     Here it’s safe, and here it’s warm
     Here the daisies guard you from every harm
     Here your dreams are sweet–
     – and tomorrow brings them true
     Here is the place where I love you.
     Here is the place where I love you.
After Rue passes, she then picks flowers and decorates Rue’s hair in them creating a crown of flowers on her head which is an extreme insult to the capitol. Katniss however doesn’t care. She wants to beat the odds and win the Games. Not just for her family but for Rue and all the other young children who were killed while in the arena.

    Katniss continues to fight and eventually finds Peta. They continue their “love” for one another (while Peta doesn’t pretend and Katniss begins to really grow feelings) and they make it to the final three knowing one of them must die. After the last contestant besides Peta and Katniss dies, they have no choice but to decide who will die because there can only be one winner. Neither of them will let the other die, which is why they decide to poison themselves and die together, leaving the capitol with no victor and embarrassment to the President of Panem; for they bent the rules. However, before they can kill themselves, the capitol allows both to live. Leaving this thought in everyone’s heads, Love is surely much greater than death, for love is the reason many die, to save one another, just as Katniss and Peta did.