The book “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins is a fictional book that describes the horrendous state of the current society. The author uses metaphors to describe the class distinctions in society as well as the opulence and extravagance of the rich. Follows a young girl named Katniss Everdeen. She lives in a futuristic nation called Panem, which is run by an all-powerful government called the Capitol. Located in the center of Panem, the Capitol rules over a total of twelve districts that surround and serve the people living in the Capitol. Katniss lives in District Twelve, which is the poorest district filled with poverty. She struggles with providing for her family daily, while those living in the Capitol and other districts have an abundance of food and supplies. This division among the different groups, or the class system, can be divided into three separate parts, the upper class, the middle class, and the lower class.
The wealthiest class is the Capitol, which rules indefinitely over all of the districts. The districts must provide for the Capitol, and participate in the annual hunger games, which were created to “remind the districts how they are at their mercy”. Unlike the people of the districts, the Capitol people do not have to worry about not having enough food; they have an “endless banquet that has been set for them”. Katniss is awed by her large breakfast of eggs, hams, fried potatoes, and other delicacies during her stay in the Capitol, meaning that people there do not experience any shortage of food, while people from districts are starving. Secondly, people in the Capitol are more advanced in terms of technological developments. For example, Katniss takes a shower for the first time in her life during her visit to the Capitol. The people of the Capitol have been trained to think that “everything is about them” and are oblivious to the fact that others are suffering. The Capitol is therefore at the top of the class system.
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The middle class consists of wealthy districts. Though they, like the poor districts, are obliged to follow the orders of the capitol, they are specially treated. They have enough food and material goods. They “have been fed and trained throughout their lives” and have never had to worry about not having anything like the less favored districts. The participants from the wealthy districts are well-fed and fitter for the game than those in the poor districts. They usually train for a longer time, which makes them comfortable in handling the weapons.
The lower class consists of poor districts. Katniss herself lives in District Twelve, the poorest of all the districts. In Panem, the class inequality and power structure cause people in the poorer districts and Capitol to follow the path of least resistance. Katniss forces herself not to cry when she sees Prim being chosen as a tribute and being led to the stage. She does not want to be perceived as a weak person participant. from the poorer districts, on the other hand, usually handle the weapons for the first time during the games; they are weak as they are malnourished and underfed. They do not have any prior pieces of training before the games. For Katniss especially, it is difficult to provide food daily. Katniss must spend “days hunting and gathering for this one meal”. For the poorest people in District Twelve, “it's hard not to resent those who don't have to sign up for the tesserae”, which is a grain given to those who are starving. But when given tesserae, the person’s name is entered a second time into the Hunger Games. Unlike the people in the capitol who spend all of their time trying to look fit, “in District 12, looking old is something of an achievement since so many people die early.”
The class system in The Hunger Games is set up into three different sections, the upper class, the middle class, and the lower class. The ruling upper class, the Capitol, is the most wealthy and both governs and controls the middle class, the wealthy districts, and the lower class, the other districts. The Capitol reminds the districts of their power with the annual Hunger Games. The author has been successful in capturing the present United States culture to show where the country is currently heading if things do not change. It will be a society where the rich are unmoved by the plight of the poor. They will be wasting all their time on entertainment and opulence.
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