To celebrate the release of the first official The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 film trailer, we have decided to take a look back over the books that started the phenomena.
Dystopians have become quite popular nowadays. The audience like seeing the methods humanity develops while searching for the solution of global problems. And as a rule this searching leads to much more serious problems such as moral degradation and the replacement of true values by pseudo ones.
The action takes place in Panem. The elite lives in the Capitol. There, people enjoy all the niceties of life whereas the rest of the population live in poverty in 12 districts. Each district is responsible for providing the Capitol with consumer goods: food, clothes, minerals, and etc. Long ago people from the districts rebelled because of such exploitation but their rebellion was suppressed in a cruel way. Therefore, the Capitol established the Hunger Games. Every year a boy and a girl aged between 12 and 18 from each district are selected in the annual lottery to take part in the Hunger Games. All the 24 participants, or tributes, must fight to the death in the arena which is controlled by the Capitol. There can be only one victor.
Though the Games are a rather cruel and bloody source of entertainment for the Capitol, the writer avoids long descriptions of battles. So, don’t expect too much bloodshed. But! You will see what tricks and the kind of strategy the tributes can dream up. Though their can only be one victor, some of the tributes will make temporary alliances. As for Peeta, he will alter his survival strategy which will lead to some hurt and confusion for both the characters and the readers.
And finally, the Games will begin in their usual manner but how will they end? The rules have never been changed before. There is nothing and no one who can change the order set by the Capitol. No one has ever dared to defy its power. But the Capitol has never dealt with Katniss, a girl who has promised her younger sister that she would come back; a girl who cannot sacrifice someone’s life to survive. Katniss will begin playing a very dangerous game with the Capitol.
The main topics covered in the novel are social segregation and discrimination, totalitarian power of the government, loyalty and self-sacrifice. Some readers (as a rule they haven’t read the novel) consider that the Hunger Games is a love story similar to the Twilight Saga. It is not. Such misunderstanding usually happens when people see the book in a cover showing a boy and a girl embracing each other. And here the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” is highly appropriate. Don’t let the cover fool you. The problem of love between a man and a woman is one of those that the author touches upon rather slightly.
So, if you are fond of dystopians, or just want a book with an unusual plot, then The Hunger Games is waiting for you.