Hunger Games Essay

Mark Twain once remarked, â€Å"A classic is a book that people praise, but don’t read.† (Cowan 13). Everyone wants to say that they’ve read Shakespeare, but few people would actually choose to read it for fun. Shakespeare though is still considered a classic author. Why? The story of Romeo and Juliet has been produced and remade countless times since it was first written. The timeless love story has the â€Å"power to quicken your imagination to rouse your mind or to strike your feeling† (Pooley 76). This is what classic literature does. This â€Å"power† is what gains literature lasting recognition and the status of a â€Å"classic† When determining if a book should be considered a classic, there are several things to consider. One must take into consideration the genre of the book, the author’s career, and the qualities of the book itself. After reading the book and examining these factors, it becomes clear that certain works of literature stand out above the rest. by , for example, be considered a classic. The Hunger Games is an Adventure book. Twenty-four are forced to enter. Only the winner survives. In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Each year, the districts are forced by the Capitol to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal and terrifying fight to the death – televised for all of Panem to see. Survival is second nature for sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who struggles to feed her mother and younger sister by secretly hunting and gathering beyond the fences of District 12. When Katniss steps in to take the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, she knows it may be her death sentence. If she is to survive, she must weigh survival against humanity and life against love. Bio of Suzanne Collins Suzanne Collins is the author of the bestselling Underland Chronicles, which started with Gregor the Overlander. In The Hunger Games, she continues to explore the effects of war and violence on those coming of age. Suzanne lives with her family in Connecticut. Bestselling author Suzanne Collins first made her mark in children’s literature with the New York Times bestselling under land Chronicles series for middle grade readers. Her debut for readers aged 12 and up, The Hunger Games-September 2008, immediately became a New York Times bestseller, appealing to both teen readers and adults. It was called â€Å"addictive† by Stephen King in Entertainment Weekly and â€Å"amazing by Stephanie Meyer on her website, and was named a New York Times Notable Book of 2008 and a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. Catching Fire -September 2009, the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy, debuted at #1 on the USA Today bestseller list and simultaneously appeared at #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. It was named a Time Magazine Top Ten Fiction Book of 2009, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and a People Magazine (Top 10) Best Book of 2009. The final book in the trilogy, Mocking Jay -August 2010, debuted at No. 1 on all national bestseller lists during its first week on sale. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly said it â€Å"accomplishes a rare feat, the last installment being the best yet, a beautifully orchestrated and intelligent novel that succeeds on every level.† In April 2010, Suzanne Collins was named to the TIME 100 list of â€Å"the world’s most influential people.† The Hunger Games movie opens on March 23, 2012. Produced by Lionsgate Films and directed by Gary Ross, the movie stars Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss), Josh Hutchison (Peeta), and Liam Hemsworth (Gale). Suzanne Collins has also had a successful and prolific career writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains It All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. She received a Writers Guild of America nomination in animation for co-writing the critically acclaimed Christmas special, Santa, Baby! (http://www.scholastic.com) This paper compares and contrasts the themes, ideas, and genres of Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† and the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. The former is a short story satire while the latter is a roving epic with heroes and heroines. Both, however, look at the darker side of human nature in different ways. The Hunger Games has a dynamic heroine named Katniss, while The Lottery has no real hero or heroine. Katniss in The Hunger Games represents the kind of Christian heroic ethic of self-sacrifice that, in fact, is missing from The Lottery Katniss saves her sister by volunteering herself in her sister s place. It is an enormous act of courage and charity on her part. Such action is completely missing from Jackson s satire and for good reason. Jackson has not written a story that commends man s good deeds but rather indicts society for its hypocritical practices.