The Power of Government in the Novel The Hunger Games - Essay Example

The Power of Government in the Novel ‘The Hunger Games’ Scholars have sought to define the power of government in Suzanne Collin’s book titled, The Hunger Games, which is centered on a television reality show that depicts teenagers fighting to death in a season that the president of Panem, the setting of the story, refers to as “reaping”. During this season, every district that the president governed from the Capitol were to produce two youths aged between 12 and 18 years to represent it in the fearful game. The teenagers selected as tributes were to indulge in a rigorous fighting and hinting game in the mountains of the Capitol and the winner would be the last teenager left alive. This only meant that 23 of the 24 tributes would die in the venture. The bloodshed defining the game was supposed to be treated as a festivity according to the instructions of the president. The game had rules controlled by the game makers as well as the president. The winner of the game would attract rewards for the home district in the form of food supplies. The game also involved voter participation from the different districts because they would vote for the favorite tribute and provide him or her with supplies and other necessities during the venture. This game was to remind the people of the ensuing enmity that defined the different districts. Many analysts have focused on interpreting the Collin’s story and offering critiques of her work. One of the themes that is evident in the story is the power of government, which is evident in the political structure of Panem, and the relationship between the Capitol and the other districts. Although there is existing research on depiction of the negative effects of the power of the government, there is a salient need for more research. Using three academic sources that discuss the themes depicted in the Collin’s work, this paper will focus on illustrating how the power of the government contributed to the development of the story and how it served to bring a dystopian feeling to the people of Panem. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in analyzing the novel titled, The Hunger Games by different authors who have highlighted the theme of poor governance exhibited by the author throughout the story. According to Vivienne Muller in her article titled, “Virtually Real: Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games Trilogy,” she makes a strong statement saying that, the novel’s setting, “is set in place called Panem, a post-apocalyptic country, totalitarian in nature, in which the ruling regime under the malevolent dictatorship of President Snow flexes its power through mediated games designed to placate” (51). The kind of totalitarian dictatorship that Muller mentions is one of the commonly applied poor governance strategies. This is because, it is based on a centrally controlled government by a single individual who may choose to abuse power. In the case of The Hungers Game, the president practices dictatorship because he is responsible for making all the decisions concerning the people. In her analysis, Muller presents evidence from the novel in a bid to support her opinion on the fact that poor governance is embedded to the atrocity of sacrificing teenagers. However, the fact that the president controls the game and the winner dictates the districts that will receive supplies only serves to place emphasis on the level of dictatorship existing in Panem. In a democratic government, all the districts would have an equal right to receive supplies and have access to resources, which is not the case in Panem. On the contrary, the people are exposed to hunger and starvation and their remedy could only come if their tribute won the game. This is the reason why Muller says that the game is, “a miniature replica of a war that only the government can possibly win, the games also remind the populace about who is in power” (53). From this statement, it is evident that the level of poor governance is so high that the president has constructed a game to place emphasis on his ever-increasing power. In the novel The Hunger Games, the government has excessive power that overrides human rights. This is a saddening reality depicted by Suzanne Collins when she says, “Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch—this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy” (18). This indicates that, the cruelty of the president does not give credit or regard to human rights in any sense. All the people from the different districts lack a chance of enjoying human rights because they evidently live “under his mercies.” Mark Thomas explains the depth of dictatorship overriding human rights in his article titled, “Survivor on Steroids Law, Law and Power in The Hunger Games.” Thomas highlights that, “The Games randomly conscript (or ‘reap’) from each District two tributes, one boy and one girl, aged between twelve and eighteen. ‘Reaping’ exposes the status of the eligible children – they are ‘produce’, a crop to be harvested. After a short period of training in survival skills, they will enter the arena, abandoned by all law, but the law of survival” (335). From this statement, it becomes evident that the children selected s tributes are not viewed as human beings, which is the appropriate status but rather as commodities. This is evidence that, the president did not give priority to law that defines human rights, but went ahead to sacrifice children in a game he had constructed for his selfish gains. The government depicted by Suzanne Collins has mastered its expertise in controlling the 12 districts without them having a say on any issue. This is evident in the way parents accepted their children to be among the tributes and how the citizens were expected to vote and watch the game that sacrificed their teenagers as a form of entertainment. In his article, Allison Layfield describes how the government abuses the meaning of reality television. In her opinion, “The Hunger Games is a dystopian novel about life under a despotic government, it is also a bildungsroman in which we follow Katniss Everdeen and her transformation from ordinary girl into Reality TV hero” (21). From this statement, it becomes obvious that the despotic government contributes to the ordeal that defines the game. In the end, both the citizens and the tributes that win experience a form of transformation because of the exposure to the reality television rules. Further, in this article, the author says, “Her anxiety metaphorises the imposition of a dominant cultural logic or hegemonic norm’54 that, despite dramatic shifts in cultural aesthetics, political structures and modes of interpretation, constantly re-enacts the same essential struggle for power, and the inevitability of oppression as an artifact of power” (24). When Layfield makes this statement, there is emphasis placed on the oppression that the people in different districts face. This oppression results from the centralized power of the government. Without doubt, the people are too oppressed to win the struggle involved in their efforts to get their freedom. Evidently, Suzanne Collin’s novel titled “The Hunger Games” is a reflection of the potential extremes of government power. Without doubt, the president depicted in the story has overstepped his leadership mandate to oppress the people and expose children to a game that turns to an atrocity. Neither do the children, nor the parents have a choice, but to participate in the inhuman venture. Analysts such as Layfield, Muller and Thomas have described the different levels of abuse of power by the president depicted by Collins as has been described above. Such outstanding illustrations of the abuse of power exhibited in the book only prove that it is one of the main themes that Collins sought to address. Work Cited  Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press, 2008. Internet resource. Layfield, Allison. "Identity Construction And The Gaze In The Hunger Games." Looking Glass: New Perspectives On Childrens Literature 17.1 (2013): 21. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 31 July 2014. Muller, V. "Virtually Real: Suzanne Collinss The Hunger Games Trilogy." International Research In Childrens Literature 5.1 (2012): 51-63. Scopus®. Web. 31 July 2014. Thomas, Mark. "Survivor on Steroids Law, Law And Power In The Hunger Games." Griffith Law Review 22.2 (2013): 361. Biography Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson). Web. 31 July 2014. Read More