1. Discuss the differences between the Games in the first
volume and the second—the training sessions, the
interviews, the set-up of the arena, the strategies that
Katniss and Peeta use. How is each of them changed
by the time they spend in the arena? How does the
experience of being in the Games prepare the tributes
for fighting in the rebellion?
2. What are the forces that contribute to the rebellion in
Catching Fire? Were they already starting to happen
in The Hunger Games? What clues can you find in the
first two books that the rebellion is underway? Did
you as a reader believe in the existence of District 13
before experiencing it in Mockingjay? Do you think
Katniss, Peeta, and Gale believed in it?
3. Why are all citizens of Panem required to watch The
Hunger Games on television? How does this affect
the people? Why haven’t they rebelled earlier against
the brutality of the Games? What is the importance
of the propos that are created for the rebellion in
Mockingjay and the way they are used? Discuss the
effect of television and reality TV in your own life.
4. Compare the society in Panem (the government, its
tight control on the population, and the forces for
the rebellion) to others that you have studied or
encountered in books or films. Consider historical and
contemporary nations as well as fictional worlds. What
does Panem have in common with these cultures, and
how does it differ? What can we learn about our own
world from studying and reading about historical and
fictional societies?
5. Research the symptoms and treatment of PTSD (Post-
Traumatic Stress Disorder). How is this condition
portrayed in The Hunger Games trilogy? Discuss the
many ways it can appear in real life. How does Katniss
counteract her symptoms? How does each of the
tributes that have been in the arena cope with these
symptoms?
6. Discuss the concept of Panem et Circenses that
Plutarch explains to Katniss. What is the effect of
easy food and entertainment on the citizens of the
Capitol? How does this society compare to that of the
Roman Empire? Why do the districts in Panem have no
concept of history before “The Dark Days”?
7. Discuss the symbolism of fire throughout the series.
How does Katniss change from the synthetic “girl on
fire” created by Cinna for the opening ceremonies to
the girl whose spirit “catches fire” for the rebellion to
the girl who nearly dies by fire in the overthrow of
the Capitol?
8. The poet Wilfred Owen wrote in the early 20th
century, “My subject is War, and the pity of War. The
Poetry is in the pity…. All a poet can do today is
warn. That is why the true Poets must be truthful.”
Discuss this quote in relation to Suzanne Collins’s
writing about the war between the Capitol and the
rebels. What warning must the people of Panem
heed if their new government is to succeed? What
warning must we heed about our own society and
government?
Comparing the Books
The Hunger Games trilogy provides many interesting
analogies to historical events and literary classics
through the ages.
Greek Legend
Suzanne Collins was inspired by the Greek legend of
King Minos of Crete who demanded that seven Athenian
boys and seven Athenian girls be sacrificed periodically
in the Labyrinth of the Minotaur—until the hero Theseus
volunteered to go in place of one of the youths and was
able to slay the monster. The story can be studied in
Edith Hamilton’s Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and
Heroes. A fictionalized version is Mary Renault’s The
King Must Die.
The Roman Empire
Study of the Roman Empire will yield many connections
to The Hunger Games trilogy—the autocratic rule of the
Capitol, the political machinations of President Snow,
training of youth for a fight to the death to amuse the
Capitol’s citizens, and the politics of the rebellion. Even
the name of the country, Panem, comes from the Roman
phrase, “panem et circenses”—the bread and circuses
which the Romans provided to control the population
by keeping them contented and entertained. Classic
novels such as Howard Fast’s Spartacus and Robert
Graves’s I, Claudius and Claudius the God will enhance
those connections.
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc is an historical figure brought to mind by
Katniss and the way she is manipulated for political and
tactical reasons. Compare Joan’s peasant upbringing,
determination, and sheer grit in the face of her enemies
in the 15th century to the role Katniss takes on for the
rebellion in Mockingjay.
Shakespeare
There are a number of themes in Shakespeare’s plays
that can be compared with The Hunger Games trilogy.
Read Julius Caesar for the Roman connection and the
theme of the downfall of the powerful. Compare Snow’s
hold on the presidency to the tragic results of ambition
and thirst for power in Macbeth. The star-crossed lover
theme can be compared to Romeo and Juliet, and the
effort involved in bringing down a despotic ruler plays
out in Richard the III. For another view of Richard III,
see Josephine Tey’s compelling mystery The Daughter of
Time (Touchstone, 1995), exploring the idea that history
is written by the victors in any conflict.
War Poetry and Music
Wilfred Owen, a young man who fought and died in the
trenches of Europe in World War I, wrote poignant poetry
about the futility of war. His poems were used as text
for Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, written for the reconsecration
of Coventry Cathedral, an historic building
destroyed in the Battle of Britain during World War II. Find
out more at
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~tan/Britten/britwar.html
Modern Literary Connections
In John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, set during the
Dust Bowl years in the United States, ordinary people
struggle to stay alive in the Great Depression. Steinbeck
vividly depicts the conflicts between poor farmers,
bankers, and property owners.
The futuristic novels Brave New World, Nineteen Eighty-
Four, and Fahrenheit 451 all reflect the rigid control
and stratified society that we see in The Hunger Games
trilogy, while Lord of the Flies explores how vicious
young people can become when forced to survive in a
wilderness setting. Research the cultures in their own
lives and times that led Aldous Huxley, George Orwell,
Ray Bradbury, and William Golding to create these bleak
novels.
“The Lottery,” a short story by Shirley Jackson, first
published in The New Yorker in 1948, is a chilling tale of
ritualistic murder committed as a fertility rite in smalltown
America (The Lottery and Other Stories, 2nd edition,
by Shirley Jackson, Farrar, Straus, Giroux,2005) Source: Scholastic