Hunger Games

Collins, S. (2008).  Hunger Games.  New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

Hunger Games has been on the New York Times bestseller list for more than two years.

Expositon:  Hunger Games is the story of a futuristic place called Panem.  The main characters Katniss Everdeen, her hunting friend Gale, and Peeta Mellark. They live in District 12 aka The Seam, where the inhabitants exist by sheer determination.  The government makes it virtually impossible for anyone in the districts to get ahead.  Those that have money are in high positions.

Conflict:  Each year two people (boy and girl) are chosen from each district to compete in the Hunger Games in a ceremony called the "Reaping".  There are 24 contestants in all.  There can only be one survivor in each game.

Rising Action:  At the onset of the games, 11 people are killed.  Kat is fortunate enough to have picked up a backpack that has things to keep her from freezing at night.  She knows how to sleep in the trees so that helps to protect her.  Being alone is good but she teams up with Rue from another district.  She and Rue destroy the food stash of the District 1 and 2 competitors but Rue is caught and killed.  Kat has to kill or be killed.  There is an announcement that two from the same district can compete together and win as a team.

Climax:  Katniss searches for Peeta, not knowing if he is even still alive.  The last time she saw him he was warning her to run away because Cato was returning to the scene of the bee attack.

Falling Action:  After finding Peeta, she has to heal him before they can go on.  They hide out in a cave and are given gifts from the sponsor to keep them alive.  They end up winning as a team but then the announcement is recinded.  Two people cannot win the games.  They go back to the lake where their backpack is waiting for them.  One must die.

Resolution:  They decide to eat poison berries to end both their lives and the officials decide to allow them both to live. 

Literary Elements:

• Cosmic Irony - Katniss and Peeta are in a situation that neither would have chosen had it not been for the unlucky draw.
• Imagery - Description of scenery, the mutated bees, the mockingjay (how Rue and Kat communicated with each other) you could almost hear it while reading.
• Point of view - third person limited omniscient - We only know what is going on with Kat through the entire story.