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The hunger games book was set after apocalyptic post-North America; it is about the

adventure of Katniss Everdeen, who is a poor teenager who emerges a hero after victory in

his life or death gladiator-style contest is highly watched with a lot of enthusiasm. The book

portrays a community in which people are unfairly treated concerning factors they could

not control. People are born within thirteen districts. The diversity of people depend on the

place of birth and exhibits a lot of differences. For instance, someone born in the Capitol is

completely different from another one born in district twelve. Those born in the Capitol are

very rich and always treated in a particular way. Contrary to those born in district twelve live

a life that is characterized by agony and hard work. They live in absolute poverty and

struggle to earn a living. The social setup in the Capitol leads to people mistreated, and

unfair treatment is projected on those who are not born there. This setup has always led to

several questions raised about the book's impact on the reader. It instigates the division of

people based on social class. The division portrayed by the Capitol and district twelve

symbolizes discrimination, which can result in a negative attitude towards the poor and the

less privileged in society.

Although The Hunger Games—with its potential interpretive connections to

historical events and literary staples—is ripe for critical analysis, classical influences seem to

be most prevalent among its pages. Numerous classical themes and allusions permeate the

book: mythological, historical, linguistic, and stylistic in nature. By drawing from sources of

classical myth and history, an original literary criticism of The Hunger Games may be

constructed.
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While direct parallels to Greek myths and the Roman gladiatorial games emerge, the

ultimate aim of this research is to prove that classical influences serve as the underpinnings

at the story's core. They inform and inspire its timeless themes and the questions it

demands of humanity. The Hunger Games uses the same fantastical elements in myths

enjoyed by ancient audiences to tell a story—entangled in a frame of socio-political criticism

—about universal experiences.

For instance, Katniss and Peeta are driven by circumstance to work hard even

beyond human ability so that they could overcome the bias that was leveled against them

only to win the confidence of those who were sponsoring them and the crowd, which was

watching. Their poverty is seen to come with both advantages and disadvantages. Due to a

lack of food and nutrition, they are thin and skinny. They are also weak compared with

other tributes who are of their age. Their living in district twelve has had more, so it forced

them to develop a natural sense of survival. The reader's perception of this does not pair

well, considering that there should be equity in all aspects of life, regardless of social class.

Readers also query the authenticity of the information relayed because, on one side, we see

a violation of fundamental human rights, such as access to basic needs such as food. The

question hence arises as to whether this book has reached the threshold of being

distributed and read by society. When read in different social classes, it may lead to the

emergence of rift and hostility, which eventually may lead to war between the haves and

the have nots.

Like most books meant for children and youth, the hunger book takes up traditional

topics, for example, bad against good, family, friendship, loyalty, and love. It also provides

stark criticism of the present society, and the treatment we subject to our fellow human
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beings, lack of humanity, compassion, and orientation of the future are some of the central

ideas. By taking dystopia as the setting, the readers can argue that they relate to Katniss as

they experience the world of Panem together with her. (Henthorne 10). The reader has to

think of what is wrong with this universe because Kartiniss is just expressing and describing

how things are, although in a neutral tone. Henthorne emphasizes that the first-person

experience after reading the book enhances the trilogy's ideological implications by relating

emotions and intellect.

Hunger games are classified as dystopia, and many arguments are available to

support this deduction. Both dystopia and Utopia are symbolic of two worlds or societies

focused either to be worse or better than that of the reader. (Hintz and Ostry 1). For this

reason, today, Panem is worse than the current western world. These disparities brought up

by the story about social classes have always hurt the readers, bearing in mind that this

book is written focusing on children and young adults. When we also turn to the Latin

phrase Panem et circenses, the writer used it to describe ancient Rome's society. The act of

placing a class of people as elites who are only concerned with bread and circuses in their

future while the rest of the people are struggling to survive through struggle is something

reckon. It might be true that Collins wants to send us a warning of the direction we are

taking regarding political ignorance and social dysfunction. It is clear that in a society

dominated by the rules that create division based on social classes, a time will come when

the groupings will turn against each other.

Peeta is also going through a tough time in preparations for the Hunger Games. Like

Katniss, he wants to remain who he is, but in another way than Katniss. Where Katniss

wants to quit playing games in the pre-Games week and start thinking about tactics for
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survival in the arena, Peeta seems to want the opposite. He has no problem with flattering

the people of the Capitol and tagging along on interviews. If he can keep himself, his values

and beliefs, in the arena and not lose track of who he is, he would succeed in keeping

command of his mind over the Capitol’s attempt to do it, who also wish to alter it, along

with everyone else’s, to its standards and thus prove its complete authority over the people

of Panem.

The writer also describes how the people of the capital are glued to watching the

arena. The reader here is left with a lot of questions lingering in mind as to how and why

such things could be left happen at these odd hours when everybody else who is not of that

class is sleeping. If a bit of concentration is put to focus on Katniss, it is dehumanizing the

rest when the pet's name is called at the reaping in district twelve. When he quickly regrets

that it could be him, she seems to distance herself and compares him with an animal she

could have gathered in his hunting. The blue eyes depict the alarm seen in prey. ( Hunger

Games 31). Also, when Galecomes to wave goodbye, he is insisting on having a bow. And

after that," it is just hunting"(Hunger Games 48). Kartini seems to be sending a warning of

war. Dehumanizing the competitors who were both citizens of the Capitol and district

twelve could easily lead to war. The image created here is preparing the youth to cause

violence whenever there is indifference between them. Many readers will always question

why the author used many scenes dominated by indifference, which eventually triggers

violence.

Forcing the most inferior civilians (and their young ones) to increase their chances of

choosing in Games served to humiliate, divide and subjugate the Districts. These methods

are demonstrated when Gale is angered by the mayor's daughter Madge, who fears
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selection though her chances are much slimmer than his own and those of other families

forced to sign up for tesserae. Katniss reflects that "Gale knows that his anger towards

Madge is not directed. Other days, deep in the woods, I have listened to him rant about

how the tesserae is just another tool to cause misery in our district. A way to plant hatred

between starving working of the Seam and those who can generally count on supper and

thereby ensure we will never trust each other. "It's to the Capitol's advantage to have us

divided among ourselves," he might say if there were no ears to hear but mine."

To “grasp what children’s texts propose about values,politics, and social practices is

to see what they envisage as desirable possibilities for the world” (6). Hintz and Ostry add to

this by pointing out that there is always some lesson to be learned in children's literature; "it

is an inherently pedagogical genre." By writing this socially commenting literature for

children and young adults, one might wonder if this is an attempt by authors to steer the

children towards specific actions in the future. And if so, is it merely an everyday attempt at

socialization, or is it instead of recognizing their own mistakes? After all, today's children

have to live with the world their parents created. By rereading the books later in life,

children and young adults reveal more and more of the layers of messages they mature into

adulthood. It is noteworthy that the initial good feeling a child has towards a book may

color the grown-up child's adoption of its message. Thus the message, whether it is right or

wrong, could be internalized without critical thinking on the reader’s side, just because

there are good memories connected to the book. Knowles and Malmkjær remind us of the

great power adults have over children in socializing them into the society in which they

grow up.
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Further, the texts that are provided to children to be read, and the language in them,

are essential tools when it comes to "promoting the acceptance by the child of [the]

customs, institutions and hierarchies” that are desired in society. All the things that adults

teach children are arguably meant to continue the traditions and values of the parents, and

therefore authors who want to make children aware of the world they are living in might

end up with a bit of dilemma. On the one hand, they want the children to conform to the

set rules of society, but on the other hand, they are writing a story with the intended

purpose of changing the world for the better. They must perform a balancing act with their

wishes for the present and their wishes for the future. If Suzanne Collins did intend to

comment on our society and give us a terrifying image of what may happen if we continue

on the course we are on, it is the intention of this thesis to prove so, and by doing so also

help bring the author's message to more people.