The Importance Of Family In The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins

The Hunger games

The hunger games by Suzanne Collins was published in 2008.It shows the relationship between family and how important family is. Katniss and Primrose the two sisters who live in poverty with their mother in Panem.So how does the book The Hunger Games,show the relationship between siblings and family members and the desire to protect and keep them safe?

The main way Collins depicts family in the novel shows the family as a protective unit a family protected by katniss after the passing of their father. The family is homeless after the death of their father. The only way to get food is by katniss hunting day and night. Despite the everyday risks of hunting, the most prominent act of

protection in the novel is when katniss volunteers as a tribute,replacing prim. She sacrificed herself to the game instead, believing it will be her death sentence.

The desire to protect primrose may also save her life as well.this hopeless family has no money for food. By being in the hunger games at least Katniss receives the nutrition she needs. This was the first time there has been a volunteer in her district. Katniss has been close to death and survival. Throughout the novel, Katniss and Peeta retain their humanity in contrast to other characters by their actions in and out of the arena. During the novel both Katniss and Peeta carry out actions which show their humanity. One of the ways this can be shown is at the beginning of the novel when the reader is introduced to the deteriorated poverty of District 12, where Katniss and Peeta both live. Katniss along with her younger sister Primrose and mother are living in extreme poverty after the death of her father. He was killed in a mining accident. They are left starving and desperate for any small piece of food they can acquire. After a long day of unsuccessful hunting , Katniss rests under a tree while waiting for the rain to clear. Then Peeta appears out of the bakery with two loafs of bread.”The boy took one look back at the bakery checking as if the coast was clear, then he threw two burnt lods of

bread in my direction.”-page 37-Katniss talking about Peeta. Peeta’s action shows that he is retaining his humanity as he throws Katniss the bread instead of giving it to the pigs which is what his mother had told him to do even though he could have been severely punished if found out. In District 12 it is unheard of to give another food, especially a whole loaf of bread because it is the poorest district and citizens don’t provide others with food because they need it to feed themselves or their family members. Without it they would have starved to death. Also in the novel Katniss shows humanity towards her sister when during the Reaping, Primrose is selected to compete in the 74th annual Hunger Games. Katniss knows that Prim will not survive the the Games and steps forward to take her place. “With one sweep of my arm, I push her behind me”,”I volunteer!”I gasp, “I volunteer as tribute” -page 26-Katniss.
With this action Katniss puts herself in the line of certain death,but does it without hesitation because she values Prim’s life more than her own. In doing this Katniss saved her sister's life. It is important to notify that there has never been a volunteer in district 12 before because being selected in the Hunger Games when you live there is almost a promise of certain death. But compared to other characters in the novel Katniss steps forward for her little sister. It can be argued that Katniss is losing humanity by volunteering as tribute but after all she knows that Prim will not survive the Games and would rather her younger sister have a longer chance at life than she would. In both these pieces of evidence it becomes clear that Katniss and Peeta have retained their humanity by their actions outside of the arena.