The Hunger Games trilogy

The Hunger Games

Boxed set
The Hunger Games Catching Fire Mockingjay
Author	Suzanne Collins
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Adventure Science fiction Young adult
Publisher	Scholastic
Published	2008–2010
Media type	Print (hardcover)

The Hunger Games trilogy is a young-adult adventure science fiction series written by Suzanne Collins. The trilogy consists of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. The first two books were each New York Times best sellers, and the third book, Mockingjay, topped all US bestseller lists upon its release.

Background

The Hunger Games trilogy takes place in an unidentified future time period after the destruction of the current nations of North America, in a nation known as "Panem." Panem consists of a rich Capitol, located somewhere in what used to be North America, and twelve (formerly thirteen) surrounding, poorer districts which cater to the Capitol's needs. As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol wherein twelve of the districts were defeated and the thirteenth destroyed, every year one boy and one girl from each of the remaining twelve districts, between the ages of twelve and eighteen, are selected by lottery and forced to participate in the "Hunger Games." The Games are a televised event where the participants, called "tributes," must fight to the death in a dangerous outdoor arena until only one remains. The winning tribute and his/her corresponding district is then rewarded handsomely. Every citizen of Panem is required to view The Games.

Structure

Each book in The Hunger Games trilogy has 27 chapters and is further divided into 3 sections of 9 chapters each. Collins says that this format comes from her playwriting background, which taught her to write in three acts.. Her previous series, The Underland Chronicles, was written in the same way, as Collins is "very comfortable" with this structure. She sees each group of nine chapters as a separate part of the story, and comments that she still calls those divisions "act breaks".

Plot overview

The Hunger Games

Main article: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games follows 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12 who volunteers for the 74th Hunger Games in place of her younger sister Prim. Also participating from District 12 is Peeta Mellark, a boy who loved Katniss the moment he laid eyes on her. As Katniss and Peeta battle the other tributes together, they pretend to be madly in love to gain favor with the audience.

Catching Fire

Main article: Catching Fire (2009 novel)

In Catching Fire, Katniss learns that the Capitol is angry at her for her defiance in the previous novel, which started a chain reaction that inspired rebellion in the districts. For a special 75th edition of the Hunger Games, she and Peeta are forced into competing a second time with other past winners. They team up with a few other tributes and manage to destroy the arena and escape the Games. Katniss is transported to District 13, a place that is widely thought to no longer exist, but Peeta is captured by the Capitol, and District 12 is destroyed.

Mockingjay

Main article: Mockingjay

Mockingjay, the third and final book, centers around Katniss and the districts' rebellion against the Capitol. Katniss, now a refugee in District 13 and quite damaged from her experiences, is used by the rebels as a propaganda tool to unite the districts in the uprising against the Capitol and President Snow. Peeta and the others who were captured by the Capitol are rescued but Peeta's memories have been "hijacked" with the use of tracker jacker venom, a hallucinogenic poison that causes him to hate Katniss and unsuccessfully attempt to kill her. Finally, a group including Katniss, Gale, and a still somewhat unstable Peeta go renegade in the Capitol on a mission to assassinate President Snow. Before Katniss can complete her objective, Prim is killed in a bombing targeting Capitol children and rebel rescuers. Later, a captive Snow tells Katniss that Coin, the president of District 13, was behind the bombing. When asked to carry out Snow's execution, Katniss kills Coin instead to prevent a repeat of the previous regime. Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch eventually return to a ruined District 12 after Katniss is exonerated of the death of Coin, and Katniss slowly begins to recover from her many mental scars. Katniss' mother and Gale both take jobs in different districts. Katniss eventually comes to genuinely love Peeta, marries him, and after many years of misgivings they have children.

Inspirations

Collins says that she drew inspiration for the series from both classical and contemporary sources.

Classical

Collins says that the main classical source of inspiration came from the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. As a punishment for past crimes, Minos forces Athens to sacrifice seven youths and seven maidens to the Minotaur, by whom they are killed in a vast labyrinth. Collins says that even as a child the idea stunned her since "it was just so cruel", as Athens was forced to sacrifice their own kids. Collins also cites the Roman gladiator games. She feels that there are three key elements to create a good game; an all powerful and ruthless government, people forced to fight to the death, and it being a source of popular entertainment.

Contemporary

Collins says that another source of inspiration was the recent fascination with reality TV. She relates this to the Hunger Games in how they are not just entertainment, but also a reminder to the districts of their rebellion. On a tired night, Collins says that she was channel-surfing the TV where she saw people competing for some prize and then saw footage of the Iraq war. She describes how the two combined in an "unsettling way" and she got the idea for the series.

Main characters

Main article: List of characters in the Hunger Games trilogy

• Katniss Everdeen: The protagonist of the series, Katniss competes in the Hunger Games in each of the first two novels and constantly battles between her feelings for both Peeta and Gale. She becomes the face of the districts' rebellion after she unknowingly defies the Capitol in The Hunger Games.
• Peeta Mellark: The male tribute from District 12, who has secretly been in love with Katniss since they were children. His love for her is evident throughout the series. In Mockingjay, he is "hijacked", causing him to hate Katniss, but he recovers.
• Haymitch Abernathy: Katniss and Peeta's drunken friend and mentor for the Games. He won the 50th Hunger Games and was the only living victor from District 12 before Katniss and Peeta won the 74th Hunger Games.
• Primrose Everdeen: Primrose Everdeen, often called just "Prim," is Katniss's 12 year old sister (in Mockingjay, she is 13) who was chosen by lottery to be in the Hunger Games. Katniss volunteers to take her place. Prim is a sweet little child whom everyone loves, and she regularly helps their mother heal the sick.
• Gale Hawthorne: Katniss' best friend and fellow hunter. Gale is fiercely devoted to Katniss, and their relationship borders on romantic throughout the series. He is two years older than her, and lost his father in the same mine explosion that killed Katniss' father.
• President Snow: The main antagonist of the series, President Snow is the head of the Capitol and all of Panem. Provoked by the survival of two tributes in a single Hunger Games, Snow demands of Peeta and Katniss to prove the reason behind it all was just they were madly in love.
• Cinna: Katniss' stylist in both of her Hunger Games', who urges her on to become the symbol of the rebellion and designs her dresses that she wears before entering the games (and also an armor she will wear in the war) that urged the citizens of Panem to join the rebellion from the way the dresses persuaded them to think about how wrong the Games were, and also that they could overthrow the Capitol. He was beat to death for his rebellious acts

Critical reception

All three books have received positive reception. Praise has focused on the addictive quality of especially the first book, and the action. John Green of the New York Times compared The Hunger Games to Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. Catching Fire was praised for improving upon the first book. Mockingjay was praised for its portrayal of violence, world building, and romantic intrigue.

Criticism has come from the reality TV "death game" theme, which is also present in Battle Royale, The Running Man, and The Long Walk. Also, the "romantic dithering" and poor love triangle of the second installment was under criticism. The last book, Mockingjay, was criticized by fans of the book and critics for not tying up loose ends.

Film adaptation

Main article: The Hunger Games (film)

Lionsgate Entertainment acquired worldwide distribution rights to a film adaptation of The Hunger Games, which is produced by Nina Jacobson's Color Force production company. Collins adapted the novel for film herself, along with Gary Ross.The film began production in spring 2011 and ended summer 2011. It will be released March 23, 2012, with an anticipated PG-13 rating. Gary Ross directed; the cast includes Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta and Liam Hemsworth as Gale.

External links

• The U.S. Scholastic Website
• The U.K. Scholastic Website