Hunger Games And Dystopian Similarities

Edythe Donham

Mrs. Ludtke

English 10

11 May 2023

The Similarities Throughout the Dystopian Genre

As dystopian novels are still on the rise in popularity, one might ask why and what are the similarities between all of these novels, that tie them together. Firstly, there is a large variety of dystopian literature put into 4 different categories as of 2023, Orwellian, Huxleyan, Kafkaesque, and Phildickian. Dystopian literature can be traced back to as early as the late 1700s but did not take a climb in popularity until the 1990s. The word dystopia is often described as a society living in a fearful and dehumanized community. Dystopian literature often shares many common traits such as a hopeless tone carried on throughout the novel, the loss of freedom, the use of violence throughout the novel, separation throughout society, and the dehumanization of those within the society.

Dystopian literature often carries a hopeless tone throughout the novel. A strong example of this statement is from the novel The Hunger Games, where Katniss Everdeen sacrifices herself to the reaping rather than having her younger sister, Prim, compete in the Hunger Games. Throughout the novel, there is a constant sense of hopelessness due to the constant deaths of Katniss’ opposing forces. Near the end of The Hunger Games, the feelings of hopelessness become stronger since

In the book Divergent, the world is separated into 5 factions, Abnegation, Candor, Erudite, Amity, and Dauntless. This separation is meant to maintain order and keep the people out of conflict. Anyone who does not fit a specific faction is called “divergent” and those a part of this group are seen as a threat to those around them. This separation leads them to have a lack of progress and an absence of individuality. In The Hunger Games separation is also seen due to the different districts that are separated by the wealth of the