The Hunger Games By 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.

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.