It is time. Before the fade ends, I would like to say my piece about The Hunger Games. There has been a lot said about this and I figured that since I read the books and since they are so popular, it would be a good topic to write about.Honestly, I love these books. They are intense, thrilling, and even thought provoking. I found myself thinking to myself "What would I do in this situation?"It's hard to know. Honestly, I wish I could say "I would refuse to kill the other kids! That's barbaric!" But what if the government had you under their control? What if they would kill everyone you knew for refusing to obey?
This book inspires thought into the minds and I just want to point out of few take-aways I got from the book.
Obviously, this book is criticizing a big controlling government. It has similar qualities to a communist government in the control of power through fear. I wish I could sit down with the author and discuss what she had in mind when she created The Capitol. The contrast of how lowly the civilians live and how highly the government lives reminds me of the stories I've heard about government and even the government has similarities to the government system in the book Animal Farm. The people are starving and working as hard as they can, while the upper class have more than they need and do little to nothing.
To me, this book says so much about mankind. It shows how evil man can be, how people can train to kill or kill to survive. It shows the corruption of the world, and what makes the main characters so special is how they tried overcome the corruption, "fool the Capitol." Even though they had to participate, all of the main character's motives were against the Capitol.
I want to ask you this question, and I would love to hear your responses...
Why is The Hunger Games popular among the people?
Is it just the thrilling plot and dynamic characters? Or is there something deeper in the plot that gets to people?
I have read the series. The Hunger Games is about postmodern philosophy lived out consistently; where right and wrong are baseless and situational, where survival of the fittest is no longer mere scientific theory, where, in the end (if you've read the last book), there are no explanations. There are no good guys. All is chaos.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a great commentary on the emerging culture. I agree that people enjoy the story, but most people I've talked with about the books don't like the third book. It's all too disturbing the way it ends. I guess the fact that readers/viewers are disturbed by it should give us some hope. Down deep, in our God-given consciences, we know that there is truth and an Author of truth.
Here's a post I wrote last week over on our family blog:
http://sibleyweb.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/hunger-for-life/