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Katniss and Peeta have to work even harder to overcome the bias against them and win the hearts of the sponsors and the crowd. Being as poor as they are comes with some benefits and some disadvantages. They have been underfed most of their lives which means they are skinny and weak compared to the other tributes. Living in District 12 also gives them a natural sense of survival. Katniss spends a lot of time hunting to survive which is basically what the Hunger Games are. Peeta also uses skills from his trade, like his cake decorating, to give him an upper hand in the games. Just like in their everyday lives Katniss and Peeta are spending every waking moment during the games fighting to survive. Because of the social class system set up by the Capitol people are treated very unfairly based on where they were born.
The time that Suzanne Collins lived in when she was writing this book had a heavy effect on the plot of the book. It was from watching TV that the concept of the Hunger Games came to her. She was surfing the channels and saw a reality TV show where people were competing to stay in the game and footage from the invasion of Iraq. The two concepts mixed in her mind and led her to the Hunger Games. She published the book in 2008 which was a time when reality shows, like Survivor, were very popular. If the reader approaches this book thinking of it as a reality TV show, a lot of the same themes arise. The authors give a glimpse into the character's normal life then follow their story as they go through a series of challenges. The reader or viewer is then able to relate with the characters because they are normal people and then think about themselves in the same situation.
The Hunger Games depicts a society in which traditional gender stereotypes for men and women are prevalent. In District 12, men are expected to have a job, normally in the coal mines, to provide for their families. While women fill their role at home taking care of their children. In our society, men are thought of as strong, physical workers, while women are seen as weaker more emotional beings. The book follows the story of two characters who challenge this thinking through their way of survival at home and in the Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen is a 16-year-old female who is strong, intelligent, confident, and skilled at hunting, more specifically archery. She does all that she can to take care of her younger sister. Peeta Mellark works with his father as a baker in District 12. Peeta is the male counterpart to Katniss in The Hunger Games. He is physically strong from his work, but also emotionally expressive. The society in which they live conducts an annual reaping for the Hunger Games. They select one girl and one boy from each of the 12 districts to compete against one another in a battle to the death, held in a huge arena created by the Capitol.
“It was slow-going at first, but I was determined to feed us. I stole eggs from nests, caught fish in nets, sometimes managed to shoot a squirrel or rabbit for stew, and gathered the various plants that sprung up beneath my feet. Plants are tricky. Many are edible, but one false mouthful and you’re dead. I checked and double-checked the plants I harvested with my father’s pictures. I kept us alive.” This is a quote from The Hunger Games where Katniss is describing how she provides food for her family. After her father died in a mine explosion her mother shut down. Instead of getting a job and working hard to give her family a “normal life”, Katniss’ mother just laid in bed all day feeling bad for herself. This left Katniss with huge shoes to fill. She worked hard every day to keep her family from starving. This wouldn’t necessarily be the response of every teenage girl. She risked her life daily to go outside of her district, into the wilderness to hunt.
“We were five. You had a plaid dress and your hair... was in two braids instead of one. ...’ So that day, in the music assembly, the teacher asked who knew the valley song. Your hand shot right up in the air. She put you up on a stool and had you sing it for us. And I swear every bird outside the windows fell silent. And right when your song ended, I knew - just like your mother- I was a goner.” This is a quote from Peeta describing the moment he fell in love with Katniss. His crush on Katniss develops throughout the book, starting as a secret and ending as a tool Katniss uses to win the hearts of the sponsors. Even when they were first selected at the reaping Peeta was open about his emotions. He wasn't like the other male tributes, acting tough and emotionless, he let people see his emotions and tried to be himself. He wasn’t in the games to win them or to look cool he wanted to prove a point. The night before the games he says, 'Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to …to show the Capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than just a piece in their Games.' Unlike their society, Katniss and Peeta show that males and females don’t have to fall into their stereotypes, but can both be vulnerable, strong, likable, admired, and ultimately themselves.
Depending on a person’s gender and where they were born, they live completely different lives. The over-powerful Capitol is to blame for this cruel injustice. For the most part, the people of Panem seem to have come to accept this fact and just do what they can to get by. Peeta and Katniss are different. They prove that people from District 12 aren’t worthless but can win the games. They show that their gender does not determine or constrain what they can do. Throughout the book, Peeta and Katniss teach people a lesson by continuing to challenge the status quo of Panem.
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