Social Class and the Oppression of Adolescents in The Hunger
Games
In
Suzanne Collins novel, The Hunger Games,
characters reside in a post-apocalyptic, North American dystopia called Panem,
which is comprised of twelve unique districts. The Hunger Games is an annual
event organized by the government of Panem, known as the Capitol. Two teenagers from each district participate
in a fight to the death which is streamed nationally for viewers to enjoy. The
event began 74 years prior to the time in the novel, and its creation stemmed
from the original thirteen districts attempting to rebel against the
authoritarian government in the Capitol. However, the rebellion failed. The
Hunger Games was then created and takes place each year to remind citizens that
they are dependent on the Capitol and warn them to obey the Capitol’s strict
laws. Panem is undoubtedly divided based on social class and many districts in
Panem are impoverished, with some having more prosperity than others. The
Capitol is by far the wealthiest section of Panem, and the residents live
extremely luxurious lifestyles compared to any of the other districts. The
protagonist Katniss Everdeen resides in District 12, which is a very poor
region of Panem and its inhabitants struggle for necessities such as food and
water. The residents of the twelve districts must rely on the Capitol to
survive, however President Snow and the government only further oppresses the
residents with their tyrannical rule and failure to give the districts any way
to improve their lives. Analyzing the
concepts of social class and mobility within the dystopian society of The Hunger Games allows the reader to understand
how the social structure of Panem dictates the entire idea of the Hunger Games.
The Capitol creates its ideal society by oppressing and controlling the
citizens of Panem, and the primary mode they use is the Hunger Games event to
showcase their dominance. Through the event of the Hunger Games, the Capitol manipulates
and endangers adolescents as the primary tool in emphasizing their power. By highlighting how an authoritarian power restricts
a weak society, we can see how social class and the absence of the possibility
for social mobility within the districts plays a key role in the novel. The Capitol does not only fail to encourage a
sense of equality among the districts, but they purposely create divides and
conflict between districts in order to accentuate their own power and exhaust
the capabilities of the districts.
In
Panem, social class dictates more than possessions or wealth, but also how the
residents view the world around them, specifically the annual Hunger Games
event. For those in the poor districts, the games are a way for the Capitol to solidify
their power and force young citizens to partake in a sadistic tournament for
the Capitol’s entertainment. They look forward to the event and seem to be
indifferent to sentencing young people to death at the expense of their entertainment.
The creation of the Hunger Games is a key detail in the Capitol’s control over
the districts, because it is an event that was created solely to ensure that
the districts would not attempt to overthrow the Capitol’s power again and
remind the districts that the Capitol is in charge. On the opposite end of the
class spectrum, Katniss and her family are terrified of the reaping and
participating in the games. Those in
slightly wealthier districts may have share this viewpoint, however these
districts are able to train potential participants to fight effectively and
increase their chances of winning. After Katniss volunteers to partake in the
Hunger Games, Katniss knows that she has a slim chance of winning because of
her lack of resources. “Kids from wealthier districts, where winning is a huge
honor, who’ve been trained their whole lives for this. Boys who are two to
three times my size. Girls who know twenty different ways to kill you with a
knife” (67). The Capitol has created a society so divided and unequal that the
districts are divided as well. The class differences within the districts
further reflect the Capitol’s oppression of Panem and the tactics that the Capitol
uses to keep their power. By making the games unfair to the less wealthy adolescents,
the Capitol emphasizes that social class is key when it comes to success. Also,
the winning district is promised food prizes such as “grain and oil and even delicacies
like sugar” (43). While these prizes are considered extravagant to the poor
inhabitants of the districts, they are surely very common items for wealthy
members of the Capitol. Giving the winning district these unexceptional items as
grand rewards reflects the Capitol’s sense of superiority as well as their obsession
of holding complete dominance over the districts. The Capitol does not want to
give away any prize that would make the winning district truly rich or privileged
to their extent. This is where the concept of social mobility arises within The Hunger Games. Social mobility,
meaning the movement of individuals to a different social class, is a concept
that is nonexistent within the twelve districts because of the oppressive
nature of the Capitol. Providing the districts with any true amount of wealth
poses a threat to the Capitol because it allows for the possibility of them achieving
a higher social class, so the Capitol is careful that this do not happen. If
districts are able to increase their social status, then the possibility of
them overthrowing the Capitol increases.
The
ideas of social class, social mobility and the manipulation of adolescents to
achieve power are important concepts in the Hunger Games. Once we understand
the Capitol and its methods of oppressing the districts through the young
adults in the novel, the issues concerning social class and social mobility
become apparent.
Hi Kylie,
ReplyDeleteWhen choosing to work with The Hunger Games, your research load is going to be enormous. A search for The Hunger Games in the MLA database returns 120 scholarly articles and books. So, you have a lot of avenues to choose from. As far as the social class angle goes, you are going to want to specify it so you can add your own take to this immense discussion. Here are some things to consider: In regards to social climbing, while the whole district does not receive enough riches to change their class status if their tribute wins, the tribute does. The Victor's Row neighborhood is an example of social climbing. Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch are all technically of a separate class than the rest of the District, though there are some issues with that, obviously. Katniss feels guilty and alienated in her higher class home, and it is another way to increase division. Another thing to consider is the focus in the text on food over wealth. Katniss repeatedly emphasizes that she would rather have bread than money, so the payment of sugar and supplies does speak to her in that way. Look into Max Despain's The 'Fine Reality of Hunger Satisfied:' Food as Cultural Metaphor in Panem. Ann Childs has an interesting article that takes a more specific approach to the class structure in the novel: "The Privileged Reader as Capitol and Learning Sympathy Through Narrative." You may also want to look trough the book, Little Red Readings: Historical Materialist Perspectives on Children's Literature for context on class theory in YA literature. Also check out "In Hunger for Bread, Not Thirst for Revenge" by Sara Soncini, "Coal Dust and Ballads: Appalachia and District 12" by Tina Hanion, and The Politics of The Hunger Games by Jamey Heit.
Kylie,
ReplyDeleteAs our professor mentioned your decision to write about The Hunger Games is great because there is a wealth of information about the novel due to its popularity and movie adaptation. I am familiar with this novel and feel that your argument about social class and oppression is great. The fact that social mobility is not a possibility in this society would play into the adolescent life because it means that there is really no room for personal improvement or aspirations. In this society, you are where you live. Another topic of interest that I would mention the pseudo-romantic relationships in the novel that are fabricated in order to appeal to the audience of the competition. Teens are first exposed to love and relationships during this time, so this topic is very important and worth exploring. Here are some resrouces I found that would be helpful additions to your argument:
http://link.springer.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/book/10.1007%2F978-94-6209-806-0
http://search.proquest.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/docview/1448515841?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=10920
Hey Kylie,
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of exploring class within the Hunger Games. When I first read the novels I immediately was impressed with the idea of food as currency that the Hunger Games presents. There is no real exchange of or importance placed on any monetary system. Instead the separations of class seem to play heavily on the question of who has access to food and who does not. I think this is a large factor on how the class system appears within the novel. The idea of poverty is based on a lack of funds, and even though that may stir the reader, the Hunger Games showing poverty as a lack of food, something necessary for survival, gives urgency and a starker outlook to the novel. If access to food is what makes up Panem's social classes than we can see where there are different class standings, between not only the districts and the Capitol, but within the districts themselves. And additionally it could be argued that class mobility is possible for the winners based on their new "wealth". As you mentioned the Capitol keeps the districts dependent on them and if they were able to achieve upward class mobility, which would be denoted by access to food, then the system that the Capitol uses to subjugate the districts, the hunger games, would no longer hold any power and thus the districts could potentially rise up. Anyway that was just my take on the subject and I hope some of it might be useful. I have found a few things that could be helpful to you on the subject and will have copied them below.
http://www.northeastern.edu/nuwriting/the-hunger-games-as-dystopian-fiction/
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-1-137-49331-6_5