Imagery In The Hunger Games, By Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins has, through her writings, used great imagery to expose the meaningful side of ‘The Hunger Games’, the side that is not all about what takes place in the arena. The Capitol’s rule over the districts, the reality-show part of the Hunger Games and the Mockingjay pin are all fragments of deeper meanings that create the basis of all that the story is.

Suzanne Collins has depicted the country of Panem as a place overruled by a large city, known as the Capitol. The Hunger Games is apparently a means to keep peace and a fair punishment for the rebellion of the districts, where district 13 was obliterated in the mess. However, Collins has spun this interpretation around and unveiled a different perspective – that The Hunger Games is

Made of solid gold, most likely a fair price for the humble little pin that is seems to be. However, Suzanne Collins has not included it merely as Katniss’s memento of her loved ones in district 12. The story of the mocking jay started with another of the Capitol’s mischievous plans – eavesdropping on the districts’ people. To do this, they created a ‘muttation’ – as Katniss calls them – called the Jabberjay, which could eavesdrop on any conversation. When this plan backfired on the Capitol through the lies fed to the jabberjays, the birds were left to die out, but they survived and bred with mockingbirds. This produced the mockingjay, and as Katniss states, they were ‘something of a slap in the face to the Capitol’ (The Hunger Games, pg. 43) All of the mockingjays’ appearances in the story have had great meaning or importance. They were first mentioned as a reminder of Katniss’s father; the days they would go hunting and he would sing to the mocking jays. This is an important part of Katniss’s past and has shaped who she is now. Unfortunately, they also became a reminder of Rue’s death, an awful scene embedded in Katniss’s memories. Overall, Collins has exposed the mockingjay pin as a message that the capitol is not as invincible as they seem; they accidentally shaped something beautiful out of their devious plans. The pin symbolises Katniss herself; a girl who would soon be known as the

Collins has embedded a very strong moral behind her writings, which she has made quite clear through the morals of Panem and its Capitol. The Hunger Games could be described as a massive, national television show with a little – well, big – twist. Like reality television in our day and age, it is extremely popular with plenty of drama; except, perhaps the drama is a little too dramatic, involving the brutal murder of tributes and the literal back-stabbing of fellow ‘allies’. Essentially, the Hunger Games is a large sport and source of entertainment, where the tributes must face atrocious perils such as fireballs, mutated, dogs, along with tracker-jackers – wasps genetically modified to create hallucinations and kill with merely a few painful stings. Although this is a bit too extreme for our reality television, there are still many similarities. Collins has not only included drama, but favourites – the audience picks out those that they find most appealing. It could be said that the audience ‘votes’ for a tribute; when sponsors send helpful items to the tribute, it is almost a vote to keep them in the game. To get her sponsors, Katniss has to keep the ‘love story’ act rolling for the cameras to get the vital attention needed – she provided heart-stopping drama and entertainment for the Capitol. As she said, she must “give the audience something more to care about. Star-crossed lovers