The Hunger Games is a horror story. At least, it has all the ingredients to make its audience while reading its pages feel uneasy, disgusted, or even angry at the events that are horrifically portrayed. This book is meant to provoke and question the reader if they are really so disconnected from events that are so wretched to the point that they start to feel like fiction. An understanding of the context of The Hunger Games provides additional insight and allows readers to enhance their understanding of the world in which the novel is set, and the similarities between it and reality.
One of the key themes in The Hunger Games is desensitisation, and a more thorough understanding of its context will enhance our interpretation of this theme, and show us disturbing similarities between the events in the novel and the world we live in today. In the
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The Capitol, the ruling power in Panem, exercises complete control over its citizens, using the Hunger Games as a way to maintain their power and authority. The Capitol maintains its power through fear and intimidation, as the people of the districts live in poverty and constant fear of punishment for stepping out of line. The Hunger Games are a way for the Capitol to remind the districts of their powerlessness and to prevent them from rising up against the government, while also tauntingly using their suffering for the entertainment of Panem. Evidence for this is seen in the quote, “This is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving a rebellion.”. This sheds light on how the Capitol, without uttering a word, can silence and fear an entire nation, and acts as a stark reminder of what would happen if we do not protest and resist earlier against a ruthless and uncaring