What Is The Hunger Games Theme Essay

“You see an elderly person, and you want to congratulate them on their longevity, ask the secret of survival.”(Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games). This line from Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games reflects on how life is in the world of Panem. The fact that people commend elders for surviving so long definitely says something about the true colors of the book. Some may tell you that this book centers on how corruptness in the government is bad, that it is a story of rebellion against those higher than you,or even that it is about the great flexibility and strength of teenage love, but this cannot be the case. Though these are all themes that can be seen in The Hunger Games, they all take a back seat to survival. Shelter conceals Peeta and Katniss from danger, water allows Katniss to survive the first day, and Katniss

“To this day, I can never shake the connection between this boy, Peeta Mellark, and the bread that gave me hope, and the dandelion that reminded me that I was not doomed” (Collins, 33) The action of Peeta giving Katniss the bread, and the fact that it made Katniss remember she is not doomed, shows how important food is. Her family was on the cusp of starvation, but because they were given food, they survived through it. “But I’m stuffing myself because I’ve never had food like this, so good and so much, and because probably the best thing I can do between now and the Games is put on a few pounds”(Collins, 45). For starters, the fact that Katniss has never had so much food says a lot about how life in Panem can be. This also supports the fact that Katniss’s family usually was on the cusp of starvation. Second, think of what the Games are called in the first place: The Hunger Games. This name means that it is very likely you will not survive if you cannot find food. Overall, the fact that food rescues Katniss from death shows that it is a core feature to survival in the Hunger