BOOKS The Hunger Games – the book before the movie

The Hunger Games – the book before the movie


Books
Keanna Casey

NOT too long ago, in September 2008, Scholastic published ‘The Hunger Games’ a story by Suzanne Collins that would soon rise to fame, and have a movie adaptation grossing €150 million in its first weekend alone (see film review, Living, page 38). Collins had previously written the less-acknowledged ‘Underland Chronicles’ – a modern ‘Alice in Wonderland’ – in 2003, but the five-part series failed to captivate a worldwide audience. However, despite her unsuccessful attempts at making a name for herself, Collins continued to write.
Five years later, inspired by mythology, Collins found herself creating the world of Panem, which is the dystopian setting of The Hunger Games Trilogy (‘The Hunger Games, ‘Catching Fire’ and ‘Mockingjay’). Collins got the idea for ‘The Hunger Games’ from the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, where 14 youths were sent into a labyrinth to be punished for past deeds.
In the post-apocalyptic book, one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve to eighteen are chosen from each of the twelve districts surrounding the highly advanced city of  Capitol, and brought to an arena where they must fight to the death on TV. Every year, 24 ‘Tributes’ enter the arena, and only one child leaves alive, a victor. This ritual is called the Hunger Games, and is a reminder to all citizens of the districts that they are owned by the Capitol.
Many living in these districts are poverty stricken and have no choice but to enter their children’s names into the draw for the Hunger Games multiple times, in exchange for necessities such as grain and oil.  The Capitol is where the last free humans live – humans who wear ridiculous outfits, enjoy lavish banquets and have a taste for gruesome reality television. The contrast between the lives of the people in the Capitol and those who are stuck in the districts, which never fails to shock the Tributes, is a parody of the real-life difference between the fashionably rich and the poor.
Although considered quite graphic at times, The Hunger Games has become a hit for both teenagers and adults. The harsh reality of the districts and the arena acts as a catalyst, allowing the true emotions of Tributes and readers alike to surface. The Hunger Games’ is an original, awe-inspiring book which deserves its growing popularity.

Keanna Casey is a fifth-year student at Sancta Maria College in Louisburgh. She was on work experience with The Mayo News last week.