The Hunger Games 1: Literary Analysis Essay

Introduction

The Hunger Games 1 is a novel written by Suzanne Collins and published in 2008. The book talks about the annual "Hunger Games" which occurs in future North America known as Panem. Panem consists of twelve districts and the Capitol where the event occurs annually. Each year, the Capitol selects a boy and a girl form every neighborhood so that they can fight in the Hunger Games. The selection is always random as long as those being selected range between twelve to eighteen years (Fitzgerald, 2015). According to the rules of the games, it has to be aired to all twelve districts and only one opponent has to survive in the end.

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In the novel, Katniss Everdeen, sixteen years old girl from the district from district 12 decides to fight in place of her young sister, twelve years old, called Primrose Everdeen. Prim had been selected to challenge other participants chosen from the other cities. She had been selected together with Peeta Mellark, a boy from district twelve. Everdeen decides to volunteer so that she can save her family and her "star-crossed" lover Peeta Mellark who is also from her tribute. While at the Capital, Katniss and Peeta are pushed into the arena and trained thoroughly before the actual fight from the counterparts (Fitzgerald, 2015). Since the fighters from other districts have undergone training for many years, everyone sees it impossible for Everdeen to win the battle.

While in the arena, Katniss and Peeta fight their best against their rivals. Katniss uses her hunting and archery skills to avoid brutal hits from the counterparts. However, the pair goes against the Capitol rule of fighting to kill. Finally, they manage to become the seventh-fourth winners of the Hunger Games even without killing their rivals.

The Concept of Poverty and Hunger in "The Hunger Games 1"

The concept of poverty and hunger is evident in the novel. According to the description of the thirteen districts in the Panem, district one and the Capitol are the wealthiest among the thirteen regions. People in the two areas live happy with all resources available such that they are not aware of the hunger and poverty affecting other districts. On the other hand, other regions such as district twelve where Katniss and Peeta come is at the helm of poverty and hunger in that when they visit the Capitol; they get surprised by the lives of people living there (Fitzgerald, 2015). Katniss was raised in poor district whereby they had lacked food most of the time, unlike other regions where people had plenty of it. They depended on hunting to get their food. The state of poverty also contributed to the poor fighting skills of the fighters during the annual hunger games.

Resilience and Attachment in Developmental Psychology and Its Relation to "The Hunger Games 1"

Resilience and attachment apply to developmental psychology. Firstly, the former refers to the ability of an individual to survive negative environmental encounters and still emerge with positive outcomes (Burman, 2016). During individual development, there are different hardships that people go through that can retard or improve their general outcomes in lives. Psychologists show that such difficulties can encourage people to work towards achieving positive results. On the other hand, attachment theory states that during early development, infants should develop an emotional and physical attachment to one of the caregivers and also the environments that they live in (Burman, 2016). The attachment theory shows that people are always attached to the environment they grew up in, and they also tend to carry on their lives relating to their backgrounds.

In "The Hunger Games 1," Katniss and Peeta prove their resilience by fighting and winning the brutal game at the Capitol arena despite living in a weak environment where they had no chances to train for the fights. Katniss wrestles with the aim of saving his family and the district from the suffering that they are undergoing. She, at last, wins the battle and attains the fame even if she is from the most impoverished region in Panem. On the other hand, the attachment is also portrayed in the play. Katniss is so attached to her district that she volunteers to go and to fight so that she can bring back victory. The spirit of attachment guides her through the battle, and she finally gains the victory. Also, she is attached to her family so much that she decides to go and fight in place of her young sister so that she can save her. Lastly, the spirit of attachment is portrayed when Katniss and Peeta refuse to fight each despite the rules of the Capitol that allow only one person to survive in the battle.

Psychologists’ Knowledge About the Discussed Concepts

According to psychologists, poverty is the lack of ownership of certain materials such as money or the resources that keep life moving, and it varies from one society to another. Another concept is resilience and resilience. Psychologists view resilience as the ability of an individual to survive a crisis and return to normal status. Lastly, the attachment is a bond that brings related people together.

Conclusion

The novel, "The Hunger Games" depicts the resilience of Katniss who volunteers to fight in place of her young sister so that she can save her family, friends, and the home district. Despite coming from the most deprived area, she manages to achieve victory. The play brings out the importance of resilience and attachment as they are applied in developmental psychology.

References

Burman, E. (2016). Deconstructing developmental psychology. Routledge.

Fitzgerald, J., & Hayward, P. (2015). Mountain airs, mockingjays and modernity: Songs and their significance in The Hunger Games. Science Fiction Film & Television, 8(1), 75-89.