In the Hunger Games, there are many class distinctions between the tributes, their districts, and, of course, the oppressive Capitol. In multiple places we can see the class distinctions made clear by Suzanne Collins. You may be wondering what “classes” there might be in the Hunger Games, or what even a “class” is. The “classes” that I am talking about are the groups or types of people there are in Panem and how this affects the plot events of the story.
In the following paragraphs there will be discussion on the class distinctions of the districts, the tributes, and certainly on how the people of the Capitol influence the story of the Hunger Games. First of all, let’s discuss the districts. The districts basically set up how well the taken tribute will do in the games, except for the tributes age. An eighteen year old probably would do better than some twelve, thirteen, fourteen year old tribute. In the Hunger Games, Katniss is from District Twelve, the lowest of the low. The only export of District Twelve is coal.
In the Capitol, coal is most definitely important, but the people of the Capitol take it for granted. This shapes the overall attitude of District Twelve towards the Games, and this attitude of disdain and contempt towards the Capitol and their annual Hunger Games most likely shapes Katniss and her thoughts of the Games. She knows that Lastly, there is the Capitol. The book provides some background of the Capitol, describing it, and the surrounding districts, as Panem, the country that “rose from the ashes of a place once known as North America”“.
Without the Capitol, this story would not come together, nor would it have any class distinctions. The Capitol is the biggest class distinction in this story because the Capitol’s citizens have life easy, they do not include themselves with the districts personally, and they do not have to send their children to the Hunger Games. The Capitol separates themselves from the districts in a few ways: they have much better clothing to wear, they are never hungry, and they do not have to participate in the Hunger Games or send their children to participate in the Game.
All they have to do is go about their daily lives, not cause any trouble, and tune into the Games annually. The Capitol has the largest effect on the major events of the story. Without the Capitol, Panem most likely would not exist, then the Games would not have taken place, and Katniss would have been born into a completely different society altogether. However, that is not the case. The Capitol, in the story, is very real. They control nearly every aspect of everyone’s lives in the districts.
The Capitol is the one who puts the tributes in the arena, forces them to fight for survival, and eventually starts to cause their own downfall. Furthermore, the Capitol most likely would not want their precious Games to be beaten by a twelve year old. Prim, Katniss’s sister, is not strong at all, but even if she was, she presumably would not win. This is also a reason for Katniss to volunteer. She did not want her sister to be taken into the Games to die. The Capitol most likely rigged the reaping so she would add some dramatic effect into the Games.
Moving on, Districts One, Two, Three, and Four produce the Capitol’s valuable goods such as gadgets and higher quality food products. Because of this, the Capitol, most years of the Games, shifts their favor towards the first four districts nearest to them. This might also have an effect on the outcome of the story. The Capitol presumably would not have let Katniss and Peeta survive the Games and would have favored Cato of all tributes to win. However, since Katniss and Peeta had the “star-crossed lovers” story, the Capitol needed to make the Games a bit more interesting for its viewers.
The Capitols oppressive nature has caused unrest in the districts, and they eventually rebel and take them down (later in the series of books). Katniss’ choice to volunteer was caused by the Capitol’s reaping. Her decisions in the arena were based on the Capitol’s decision to make her and Peeta the last ones alive in the arena. Lastly, because of the Capitol’s rules in the arena, Katniss took matters into her own hands, and in a sense, started the rebellion themselves.