The Games We Play (How Exactly Do the Hunger Games Work?)
The rules of the Hunger Games are simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must provide one girl and one boy, called tributes, to participate. The twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland. Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute standing wins. (p. 27)
For 73 years, since the Dark Days of the Uprising in Panem, the Hunger Games have been a part of the fabric of life in Panem. Ugly. Ruthless. Inevitable. Ever since the people of the twelve districts dared to rebel (and lost the fight), the Gamemakers and Panem officials have used this competition to punish and control the districts. But from the start, it’s clear that the 74th Annual Games will be a very different proceeding-one that ultimately changes the entire nation.
The concept of the Games has its roots in many classic works of myth and fiction. Collins was inspired by the classic mythic tale of the labyrinth and the minotaur who lived at its heart and ate the unfortunate children who ventured into its walls. The way the tributes are chosen harkens back to Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, where a town draws names to see who will be the yearly sacrifice to appease the gods and ensure a good harvest. Koushun Takami’s Battle Royale, made into a film and a manga series, also finds children who must fight to the death as a central plotline. The Games are also reminiscent of Stephen King’s The Long Walk, in which teenage boys must outlast each other on a marathon walk that proves lethal for all contenders but the winner.
Perhaps the most fantastic and original danger awaiting the tributes are the Capitol’s mutations. There are killer wasps, which have tracking instincts and killer venom that-should you survive it-causes horrible hallucinations that can drive you mad. And in the final chapters of the book, there are terrible “muttations,” werewolf-like creatures with the eyes of the tributes that have already been killed. Are they simply creations with imitation eyes designed to make the remaining contestants go mad, or is it really the former competitors trapped in these new bodies?
So what makes the Hunger Games different and gives them a futuristic twist? Collins’ idea to crossbreed the competition with a reality TV show, positing it as a more horrific crossbreeding of Survivor and Big Brother. As on these shows, tributes can concoct strategies to team up in alliances or go it alone. Every move and sound made in the arena is captured by hidden cameras and microphones. There are jabberjays, genetic mutations created by the Capitol during the rebellion, which transmit entire conversations so there can be no secret strategizing unless you’re clever. At home, the districts watch nightly as the death tallies and highlights from the arena are shown. Like current reality TV where audience participation is encouraged, tributes can try to win favor with the home audience and receive “sponsor gifts” from appreciative viewers. Also reminiscent of reality TV shows nowadays, there is the question of whether the affection that Peeta and Katniss share during the Games is real or a showmance. It’s developed as a strategy, but Peeta has true feelings for Kat, something she questions and is not fully aware of until after the Games are over. It’s a clever strategy that appeals to the viewing public, earning them helpful sponsor gifts, and that paves the way for Katniss’ ingenious strategy to help them both survive.
While facing all of these obstacles and restrictions, Katniss uses her clever brain and quick thinking to use the Capitol’s advantages against them and help keep herself alive. She takes out several competitors by knocking a killer wasp nest into their mix. She earns favor with the viewing public when mockingjays transmit the song that she sang for Rue upon her death. And finally she contests the main rule of the Games, that there can be only one victor, by attempting a suicide pact with Peeta. She forces their hand into allowing for two winners this one time, and in so doing, changes the face of the Games and her own life forever. In book two, Catching Fire, we’ll see the repercussions of Kat’s choice on her personal life and her public life as she and Peeta commence a victory tour in preparation for the 75th Annual Hunger Games, which promise a special twist…
Discussion Questions
1) What do you think were the biggest challenge Kat, Peeta, and the other tributes faced in the arena?
2) What “kill” surprised, pleased, or touched you the most?
3) In training, all the Tributes must show off a skill to the Gamemakers to receive a score. If you were a tribute, what would your special skill be?
4) What do you think of Haymitch’s involvement as a mentor? Was he a help or a hindrance to Kat and Peeta?
5) Did any particular point(s) in the Games have you on the edge of your seat? What really threw you for a loop?