Critical, Close Reading Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games - Essay Example

The major strengths of this paper is the use of examples, drawn from the novel as well as real life examples on how authoritarian rule caused rebellion. However, the area I would like to improve on is the analysis section. One of the major themes identified in the novel is power. The main source of power is the authoritarian government that is situated in the Capitol. This is because the Capitol contains majority of the wealth of Panem (Egan and Suzanne, 10). The government also uses this city to control the citizens of Panem.

This is by holding the hunger games, whereby teenagers are chosen from the 12 districts and forced to fight to death. The major aim of holding these games was to thwart any form of rebellion from the people. It was also aimed at creating divisions within the districts, and infighting amongst the members of the 12 Districts in Panem (Balkind, 33). This in turn would prevent the citizens of Panem from rebelling against the government. However, these games did not succeed in preventing the citizens of Panem from rebelling.

This paper takes a stand that the authoritarian use of power is a motivating factor for rebellion. It identifies circumstances where the citizens of Panem rebelled against the authorities of the Capitol. This is through the two civil wars that occurred in Panem, and the actions of Katniss Everdeen. Originally, the country of Panem had 13 districts, but due to the authoritarian rule of the Capitol, the first civil war emerged. This was referred to as the Dark Days rebellion, and it was led by the 13th district.

However, during this war, district 13 was able to gain independence, and formed its own rule. This is because its military was advanced, and it had threatened to use nuclear weapons to destroy Capitol (Collins, 7). The Capitol and the 13th district signed a secret ceasefire deal that granted district 13 independence. During