Color In The Hunger Games

In Suzanne Collins’ novel, The Hunger Games, Collins has a variety of ways to describe each of the settings, by using colors and structures to define different class levels in Panem. Panem was once known as North America, but after years of destruction, it eventually became Panem. In Panem, there are 12 separate districts that people live within, as well as the Capitol, which is another section of the country that people live in. It is fairly easy to differentiate the districts from one another and very easy to differentiate the districts from the Capitol. Those who live in the districts, live in poverty. Many districts are old, dirty, and falling apart physically and socially. Some districts are better looking and more liveable than others,

The difference in colors shows the different lifestyles that they live. Neon and bright colors in this novel represent rich and wealthy people, whereas the darker colors represent the depression and difficulties that the poor citizens have to deal with. Effie Trinket, District 12’s escort, lives in the Capitol and she wears a bright green suit with pink hair, whereas someone like Katniss wears brown, grey, and dark colors, most of which are old and ragged. “Katniss’ hunting outfit echoes Gale’s as it foregroundsa variety of masculine attributes: it offers toughness, protection, speed of movement and camouflage, as well as showcasing athletic prowess,” according to Deirdre Byrne’s “Dressed for the Part: An Analysis of Clothing in Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games Trilogy” “Despite the city’s relative affluence, physical beauty, and technological advancement, [as Katniss discovers], the people there are nearly as oppressed as those in the districts, the primary difference being those in the Capitol are either disinterested or unaware of their condition,” as stated by Tom Henthorne’s “Dystopia with a Difference: The Lessons of Panem and District 13.” (117). The people of the Capitol do not realize all of the luxuries they have compared to those who live in the districts. There is no recognition with how much they are pampered and spoiled

That setting is practically perfect for Katniss to be in because in District 12, she would constantly be leaving her district to visit the outer world, with grass, trees, and animals to hunt and kill for food. “We’re on a flat, open stretch of ground. A plain of hard-packed dirt. Behind the tributes across from me, I can see nothing, indicating either a steep downward slope or even a cliff. To my right lies a lake. To my left and back, sparse piney woods,”(Collins 148) says Katniss, as she discovers what the setting for the 74th Hunger Games is and notices the similarities to her home life. Since Katniss has hunted in areas like the Arena with a bow and arrow, she knows how she can use her bow and arrow to shoot and kill her prey cook the meat for food. The Gamemakers would have no idea that she was capable of this because there are no cameras or other visuals of the world outside of the districts. It was very coincidental that she was involved in the Hunger Games in a setting that she was so familiar