Totalitarianism In The Hunger Games

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A totalitarian regime suppresses the wants of the society and denies them the basic necessities of life. Through the portrayal of a totalitarian regime that oppresses the citizens in order to maintain wealth and power for a certain group of the population of Panem, Suzanne Collins warns against the idea of the government controlling every part of the citizens’ lives. In her book The Hunger Games, Collins appeals to the citizens of tyrannical governments such as North Korea, who have similar governments as the Capitol, and to the youth of America to be actively aware of their own political situation (Collins 18). The increasing dictatorship of the reigning Capitol played a key role in fueling the sparks of a revolution after Katniss Everdeen…show more content…
Katniss’s limited knowledge of Rue’s district strengthens the fact that a general unawareness of current happenings of a nation can cause the government to gain an advantage in controlling the citizens’ lives (Collins 282). Not only are the citizens unaware of the political situation, but they are also ill informed about their own history. Katniss narrates that the history taught in school is “mostly a lot of blather” about what the district owes to the Capitol and she thinks that “there must be more than they’re telling” them about the “actual account of what happened during the rebellion” (Collins 42). Due to the lack of information about the government and history in the districts, Collins both stresses on the role of media and interstate communications, and argues that such political tyranny is the result of the citizens’ lack of political knowledge which causes the government to easily suppress any kind of rebel against…show more content…
“Inviting Youth into Civic Action” by Jenice L. View defines civic action “as any public behavior by a group of individuals toward securing or maintaining human rights” (119). View conducted a research on middle school students that aimed to find how to get the youth involved in their civic action. The research found out that real world scenarios, parental help, and a sense of personal responsibility are essential for getting the youth involved (View 98). View’s research helps reach an understanding that in order for the youth to get actively engaged in politics, it is important for them to be able to connect themselves to the current real life political situation. The youth in The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta, only started revolting when they were personally connected to the Games: Katniss after she volunteered for Prim and saw her district’s hand gesture towards her (Collins 24), and Peeta when he becomes a tribute who does not want the Games to change him (Collin
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