The Hunger Games Vs.

1984

Social Hierarchy

Hunger Games

• “ Taking kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch- this is the Capitols way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use

1984

• “At the apes of the pyramid comes Big Brother. Big Brother is infallible and all-powerful. Every success, ever scientific discovery, all knowledge, all wisdom, all happiness, all virtue, are held to issue directly from his leadership and inspiration.”

• “People simply disappeared, always during the night. Your name was removed from the registers, every record of everything you had done was wiped out, and your onetime existence was denied and then forgotten. You were abolished, annihilated: vaporized was the usual word.”

Total Control

Social Hierarchy

Hunger Games 1984

Separation of Groups

Social Hierarchy

Hunger Games 1984

Set Social Standards

Human rights

Hunger Games• Value of life• Freedoms

• Surveillance

1984

Fear

Hunger Games 1984Fear of LifeFear of Life

Fear

Hunger Games 1984Fear of LoveFear of Love

Fear

Hunger Games 1984Fear of Society

Isolation

Hunger Games• In classes/districts• knowledge

1984• Isolation of individuality

Isolation

Hunger Games• “I’ve never been on a train, as travel

between the districts is forbidden except for officially sanctioned duties” (Collins 41)

• In the nation of Panem, districts are isolated pieces of land responsible for themselves and themselves only. Travel between them is forbidden unless authorized by the Capitol which shows the feelings of Panem towards its districts and how they should interact. The districts themselves are isolated from the others, as a result the people of the district become isolated as well.

1984• “But even that was a memorable event,

in the locked loneliness in which one had to live”(Orwell 18)

• While Oceania is not divided into individual states itself, the people living in it live in isolation from each other. In Oceania, any interaction with another person might be regarded as thoughtcrime and if not that then the person was certainly be under the watchful eyes of the Party. While Oceania is not divided into individual isolated districts, as is the case in Hunger Games, the people are isolated from one another. They are not isolated for physical reasons;they are isolated because of the Party and the control they assert on the people

Isolation of Districts/classes

Isolation

Hunger Games• “Kids from wealthier districts, where winning

is a huge honor, who’ve trained their whole lives for this” (Collins 36)

• The kids of wealthier districts are exposed to better training methods because the knowledge is available unlike in the poorer districts like district 12. The wealthier kids have been trained with the knowledge of combat for most of their lives, thus enabling them to potentially win the hunger games and win wonderful prizes for their districts. While the districts with a limited range of knowledge are consistently dissapinting in the annual hunger games, they could gain power if they were aware of the knowledge they are being deprived of. Other districts do not need to hunt for their food every day the way Katniss does because they have the necessary advancements to live a proper life.

1984• “If there is hope, it lies in the proles. If they

could become conscious of their own strength, they would have no need to conspire. History does not matter to them.”

• Even thought the proles make up most of the population of Oceania, they are isolated from the knowledge that enables them to take a stand against the Party. If the proles were not isolated from this knowledge of their own strength, Winston believes the proles will free the people from the Party. In Hunger Games, the poorer districts are also isolated from the knowledge that could create a shift in power. In both novels, the districts or social classes that are not restricted of knowledge have more power and control over those with an isolated range of intelligence

Isolation of knowledgeIsolation of knowledge

Isolation

Hunger Games• “For the opening ceremonies, you’re supposed

to wear something that suggests your district’s principal industry” (Collins 66)

• When the sacrifices of the hunger games are prepared for their almost secured deaths, they must be dressed in clothing that represents the district’s main source of income. Last year the contestants from District 12 were stark naked and covered with coal dust. The designers took away their individuality from them even thought they think they are making the sacrifices look beautiful. The contestants are the test subjects of the designers; they cannot disapprove, but they can stand there and take everything being thrown at them.

1984• “There will be no loyalty, except loyalty

towards the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy. There will be no art, no literature, no science. When we are omnipotent there will be no need of science. There will be no distinction between beauty and ugliness. There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life”

• The Party’s aim is to eliminate all individuality from its people to facilitate its process of making Oceania one hundred percent theirs. The Party believes that if individuality is eliminated then no one will think differently or think about rebelling, nobody will question the decisions of the Party, and everything will be smooth sailing for the Party.

Isolation from individuality Isolation from individuality