i THE MAIN CHARACTER’S STRUGGLE AS THE LOWER CLASS SOCIETY REFLECTED IN SUZANNE’S NOVEL THE HUNGER GAMES
A THESIS
BY:
USWATUNNISA REG. NO. 100705107
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH FACULTY OF CULTURAL STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF SUMATERA UTARA
ii THE MAIN CHARACTER’S STRUGGLE AS THE LOWER CLASS SOCIETY REFLECTED IN SUZANNE’S NOVEL THE HUNGER GAMES
A THESIS
BY:
USWATUNNISA REG. NO. 100705107
SUPERVISOR CO-SUPEPVISOR
Dr. Siti Norma Nasution, M.Hum Dra. DyahRahayuPratama
Submitted to the Faculty of Cultural Studies University of Sumatera Utara Medan in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of SarjanaSastra from Department of English
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
iii Approved by the Department of English, Faculty of Cultural Studies University of Sumatera Utara (USU) Medan as thesis for The SarjanaSastra Examination.
Head, Secretary,
iv Accepted by the Board of Examiners in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of SarjanaSastra from Department of English, Faculty of Cultural Studies University of Sumatera Utara, Medan.
The examination is held in Department of English Faculty of Cultural Studies University of Sumatera Utara on 29th April 2015
Dean of Faculty of Cultural Studies University of Sumatera Utara
Dr. H. SyahronLubis, MA NIP.19511013 197603 1 001
Board of Examiners
Dr. H. MuhizarMuchtar, M.S
___________________
RahmadsyahRangkuti, MA. Ph.D
___________________
Drs. Parlindungan, M.Hum
___________________
Dr. Siti Norma Nasution, M.Hum
v AUTHOR’S DECLARATION
I, USWATUNNISA, DECLARE THAT I AM THE SOLE AUTHOR OF THIS THESIS EXCEPT WHERE REFERENCE IS MADE IN THE TEXT OF THIS THESIS. THIS THESIS CONTAINS NO MATERIAL PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE OR EXTRACTED IN WHOLE OR PART FROM A THESIS BY WHICH I HAVE QUALIFIED FOR OR AWARDED ANOTHER DEGREE. NO OTHER PERSON’S WORK HAS BEEN USED WITHOUT DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IN THE MAIN TEXT OF THIS THESIS. THIS THESIS HAS NOT BEEN SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF ANOTHER DEGREE IN ANY TERTIARY EDUCATION.
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vi COPYRIGHT DECLARATION
NAME : USWATUNNISA
TITLE OF THESIS : THE MAIN CHARACTER’S STRUGGLE AS LOWER CLASS SOCIETY REFLECTED IN SUZANNE’S NOVEL THE HUNGER GAMES QUALIFICATION : S-1/SARJANA SASTRA
DEPARTMENT : ENGLISH
I AM WILLING THAT MY THESIS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR REPRODUCION AT THE DESCRETION OF THE LIBRARIAN OF DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, FACULTY OF CULTURAL STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF SUMATERA UTARA ON THE UNDERSTANDING THAT USERS ARE MADE AWARE OF THEIR OBLIGATION UNDER THE LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
Signed :
vii ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
In the name of Allah SWT, all praise to HIM so my thesis can be completed
as a partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of SarjanaSastra from the
English Department, Faculty of Letters, University of Sumatera Utara.
On this occasion with great humility, I would like to express my gratitude and
appreciation to the people who have already contributed their great support so that I
can finish my study.
First of all,this thesis is dedicated for my beloved family especially my my
father Ir. Surya Abdullah, mother Dra. RahmiDewi, who have given a great support
in finishing the study and for their endless love, support and pray.
Secondly, my deepest appreciation for my supervisor Dr. Siti Norma
Nasution, M.Humwho always guides me and provides the time to assist me in writing this thesis, then to my co supervisor Dra.DyahRahayuPratama. Next, I would like to thanks kakTika for helping me in academic and administrative matters.
viii Medan
ix ABSTRAK
Kertaskaryainiberjudul “The Main Character’s Struggle as Lower Class Society Reflected in Suzanne’s Novel The Hunger Games.” Novel
iniberisitentangperjuangkaum proletariat ataukelaspekerjaterhadapkaumborjuis.Penulismenggambarkanperjuangan yang
dialamikelasbawahuntukbertahanhidup.Dalamkertaskaryainipenulismenggunakanteor iMarxisme Karl Marxuntukmenguatkananalisis.Di dalam novel inijelastergambarkanbagaimanaperjuangankelasbawahuntukbertahanhidup.Novel
tersebutdimulaidenganberceritatentangseoranganakberusia 16 tahun yang menjaditulangpunggungkeluargadanberjuanguntukhidupnyadankeluarganya.Dalampe nulisankertaskaryaini, penulismenggunakanmetodeintrinsikdanekstrinsik.Dari hasilpengumpulan data menunjukkanbahwaanaktersebutadalahsalahsatukaum proletariat yang berusahauntukbertahanhidup.
Kata kunci:MasyarakatKelasBawah, The Hunger Games, Perjuangan.
ABSTRACT
This paper is entitled “The Main Character’s Struggle as Lower Class Society Reflected in Suzanne’s Novel The Hunger Games.” The novel is about the struggles of the proletariat or the working class against the bourgeoisie. The author describes the struggles experienced by the lower classes and how they survive. In this paper, the author use karlmarx'smarxism theory to strengthen the analysis. This novel clearly illustrates the struggles of how the lower classes survive. The novel begins with the story of a 16 year old girl who is the breadwinner of the family, that strives for her life and her family. In writing this paper, the author uses intrinsic and extrinsic methods. From the data source collected, it shows that the child is one of the proletariat who is trying to survive.
x TABLE OF CONTENTS
AUTHOR’S DECLARATION ... v
COPYRIGHT DECLARATION ... vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ... vii
ABSTRAK ... viii
ABSTRACT ... ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... x
CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study………....1
1.2 Problem of the Study………..5
1.3 Objective of the Study………5
1.4 Scope of the Study………..5
1.5 Significance of the Study………...6
CHAPTER 2 : REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1 Novel ... 7
2.2 Sociology of Literature ... 11
2.3 Social Class ... 12
2.4 Social Class Struggle ... 14
2.4.1 Lower Class ... 16
CHAPTER 3 : METHOD OF THE STUDY 3.1 Research Design ... 19
3.2 Data and Source of Data ... 20
3.3 Data Collecting ... 20
xi CHAPTER 4 : ANALYSIS AND FINDING
4.1 Social Stratification of Society ... 22
4.1.1 Types of Social Class Found in the Novel ... 23
4.2 Capitol’s Power ... 27
4.3 Katniss ... 28
4.3.1 Katniss’s Struggle in Facing Her Life ... 31
4.3.2 Katniss’s Struggle in Facing the Games ... 35
CHAPTER 5 : CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 5.2 Conclusion ... 42
5.2 Suggestion... 43
REFERENCES ... 44
ix ABSTRAK
Kertaskaryainiberjudul “The Main Character’s Struggle as Lower Class Society Reflected in Suzanne’s Novel The Hunger Games.” Novel
iniberisitentangperjuangkaum proletariat ataukelaspekerjaterhadapkaumborjuis.Penulismenggambarkanperjuangan yang
dialamikelasbawahuntukbertahanhidup.Dalamkertaskaryainipenulismenggunakanteor iMarxisme Karl Marxuntukmenguatkananalisis.Di dalam novel inijelastergambarkanbagaimanaperjuangankelasbawahuntukbertahanhidup.Novel
tersebutdimulaidenganberceritatentangseoranganakberusia 16 tahun yang menjaditulangpunggungkeluargadanberjuanguntukhidupnyadankeluarganya.Dalampe nulisankertaskaryaini, penulismenggunakanmetodeintrinsikdanekstrinsik.Dari hasilpengumpulan data menunjukkanbahwaanaktersebutadalahsalahsatukaum proletariat yang berusahauntukbertahanhidup.
Kata kunci:MasyarakatKelasBawah, The Hunger Games, Perjuangan.
ABSTRACT
This paper is entitled “The Main Character’s Struggle as Lower Class Society Reflected in Suzanne’s Novel The Hunger Games.” The novel is about the struggles of the proletariat or the working class against the bourgeoisie. The author describes the struggles experienced by the lower classes and how they survive. In this paper, the author use karlmarx'smarxism theory to strengthen the analysis. This novel clearly illustrates the struggles of how the lower classes survive. The novel begins with the story of a 16 year old girl who is the breadwinner of the family, that strives for her life and her family. In writing this paper, the author uses intrinsic and extrinsic methods. From the data source collected, it shows that the child is one of the proletariat who is trying to survive.
1 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of The Study
Literature is an imaginative of the author which reflects life. This kind of life
is reflected through true experience of the main character such as sadness, happiness,
war, and even social life. Generally, literature can be divided into three genres:
poetry, prose and drama. Prose, as a genre of literature tells a story and portrays
people in the society. As a form of prose, novel can be defined as a long fictional
story in book form that express the idea of man’s life experience through the skill of
novelist. Novel can be considered as work of imagination in prevailing social
problems, such as gender, race, or class prejudice, and dramatized through its effect
on the characters of a novel.
Literary works usually talk about some problems in society. The problems are
called social problems.Social problem is a form of behavior, which is considered
from social norms. It is a conceptof the
on models of
classes.The problem is called social because it is against social norms.
The novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, deals with social class.
This novel shows us the differences between people according to their social class. In
this case, the class differences are clearly visible between the two societies, the
Capitol and Districts.Wealth is heavily concentrated in the hands of the rich,
2 between their lives and the lives of the poor. The Hunger Games is actually an
annual event which one boy and one girl aged 12 to 18 from each of the twelve
districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised
battle to the death. The games that put on by the Capitol are meant to punish the 12
districts of Panem as well as to remind them of the Dark Days. Panem is the name of
the country that under the control of the Capitol. The Hunger Gamespresent the
tributes suffering as mass entertainment, and the more the tributes suffer, ideally in
battle with one another, the more entertaining the Games become. The problem is
about the differences of social class level and the struggle of the poor through the
games. There are some similarities between the level of today’s social class and the
future as in this novel. As nowadays the class differences are clearly distinguish the
state of people’s life, by seeing where they live, the clothes they wear and other
material possessions.
The main character discussed here is a girl who starts to fight for her life and
her family through the games. The protagonist as well as the narrator of the novel,
KatnissEverdeen is a strong, resourceful sixteen years old who is far more mature
than her age would suggest. Katniss is the main provider in her family, who has
responsible for her mother, and her younger sister, Prim. Katniss is fiercely protective
of her younger sister, and she volunteers to take Prim’s place in the Hunger Games to
protect her. In fact, Katniss is more responsible than anyone else for her family’s
live.Katniss lives with her mother and sister in the poorest area of District 12,
nicknamed "The Seam". She supports her family through hunting and gathering roots
3 celebrity and begins doing television interviews. Rather, she always tries to figure out
how to get through the interviews so she can go back to her life.
In th
based on factors like
Stratification is the relative social position of people in a given social group,
category, geographical region or other
divided into three main divisions of
relationship to the
the
and the
In this novel the writer will discuss two types of class divisions, upper and
lower class. Upper class is rich. They have more money than they could possibly
spend, which leaves them with much leisure time for cultivating a variety of interests.
They live in exclusive neighborhoods, gather at expensive social clubs, and send their
children to the finest schools. As might be expected, they also exercise a great deal of
influence and power both nationally and globally. The upper class as seen in the
novel is the Capitol. The lower class is typified by poverty, homelessness, and
unemployment. People of this class, just few of them have finish high school, suffer
from lack of medical care, adequate housing and food, decent clothing, safety, and
4 (Capitol). They provide the needs of the Capitol by working in the industry in their
district.
In this research the writer uses the Hermeneutical Interpretation to analyze the
novel. The system of analysis in hermeneutics is to reveal, explain and translate. Thus
the activities of interpretation shows on three basic things: an oral recitation, a
reasonable explanation, and a translation from another language.This analysis begins
when the data is collected.This theory explainsabout how to understand structure and
pattern from the data. Also, the writer use sociology of literature, both sociology and
literature have the same object, whichis human being. However, the essenceof
sociology and literature is very different. Sociology is the objective knowledge. It
limits to what happen in recent times. But literature is evaluative, subjective
andimaginative.
In this research the writer is also using a dynamic structuralism theory.
Structuralism is an understanding of elements of the structure itself with mechanism
of interrelation, the interrelation of one element with the others, and the interrelation
of one element with the totality. Dynamic structuralism was first found by
Mukarovsky and FelikVodicka. They said that literary works are the process of
communication, fact of semiotic, consists of sign, structure, and values. Definitively,
structuralism gives attention to the analysis of elements in literary works.
In this study, the writer wants to explain that novel is one of the most
effective tools in presenting certain problems or ideas. Novels can also bring certain
messages and hidden intentions from the author or certain social situations. The
5 struggles that people face.This research means to analyze human struggle, especially
lower class struggle. This study is hoped to send a message or a picture for people
living in society, that class stratification has always divided people apart from time to
time, and is often a cruel human judgment.
1.2 Problem of The Study
In this analysis, there are questions that need to be answered:
1. What are the types social class found in the novel?
2. What is the struggle of the main character (KatnissEverdeen) from the lower
class?
1.3 Objective of The Study
Based on the problems of study above, the objectives of the study are:
1. To identify types of social class found in the novel.
2. To describe the struggle of the main character from the lower class.
1.4 Scope of The Study
In doing an analysis, it necessary to limit the focus that is going to analyze to
make sure that the study is not out of the context. Social class is divided into three
parts: upper class, middle class and lower class. In this thesis, the writer will identify
the types of social class as portrait in the novel as well as discuss about the struggle
of lower class people through the main character’s life. The study will only be
discussed around KatnissEverdeen’s life, how did she survived to make sure to win
6 social class that is affecting her life. Social class is reflected into living, health and
nutrition, and employment.
1.5 Significance of the Study
One of the significance of this study is that the writer wants toexplain the
knowledge of social class and the struggle of the lower class toward the higher class,
so that it becomes a reference for students who are learning about struggle of lower
class based on The Hunger Games’snovel. I especially discuss about the struggle of
the lower class people, because class is one of the biggest phenomena and main
problem that still exist in our lives. The novel is set in the future, yet the problem
7 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1 Novel
Novel is one of the literary works that represents an idea or a thought of the
author. The author expresses their feeling, the passion and the emotion that relates
tothe experiences of life. John Peck said in How to Study a Novel (1983:12), he
illustrates the process of analyzing a novel and also includes some very useful
example of analysis. He states that a novel tellsus about human life, butthis can be
subdivided into what it tells us about characters and what it tells us about society,
although, of course, it is mainly concerned with the way the two interrelate.However,
it is often productive to focus a discussion on eithercharacter or society.Novels are
different from stories, poems, and narratives in a number of key respects. Though
they are presented in the form of a book, they are much more than that, any bound
paper constitutes a book. All novels are books, therefore, but not all books are novels.
Most literary scholars define novels by what they contain and how they are presented.
First, a novel must be written down rather than told through an oral account.
A literary works such as novelare supported by elements of the intrinsic
approach and the extrinsic approach. The intrinsic approach was originally written by
Rene Wellek and Austin Warren in their book “Theory of Literature”. Rene Wellek
introduced his intrinsic approach, which essentially is a study of literary work based
on analyzing the internal elements that build that work. According to Wellek (1962:
332) the natural on sensible starting point for work in literary scholarship is the
8 works themselves justify all our interest in the life of an author, in his social
environment, and the whole process of literature. Wellek’s opinion is that the study
of literature naturally needs to be started from the analysis of the literary work itself
because then it would enable us to identify he many aspects that built that work.
Wellek further explained by introducing elements that from the foundation of a
literary work, plot, setting, theme, character, point of view, and style. By analyzing
these elements, a student could comprehend the work by figuring out how the story
flows, where the story is set, how the characters act and think. Although so many of
elements of novel, the writer just pick four elements. Four elements discussed are
theme, plot, setting and character. Four of element is enough to describe clear detail
about thestruggle of Katniss’s life.
Intrinsic elements as follows:
• Theme is the basis of the story, the idea of a common base of a
masterpiece. The basic idea is commonly used to develop the story.
The theme that found in the Hunger Games novel is: Power and Class society
The main source of power in The Hunger Games is clear: the
totalitarian government of the Capitol. Because the Capitol holds most of the
country of Panem’s wealth, the government there is able to control the people
in all of the districts across Panem. The Hunger Games, then, are the ultimate
display of the government’s power and were designed to warn the populace
against rebellion. In the Hunger Games, the citizens of Panem become
nothing more than pawns in an elaborate game of life or death. Since only one
teenage contestant, or "tribute," can win, the tributes are forced to kill teens
9 how the Capitol prevents the people in the districts from joining forces and
rebelling – the Games keep the people of the districts divided and fighting
among themselves. Worst of all, the government broadcasts the event live on
television, reinforcing the idea that the tributes are giving their lives for little
more than the entertainment of the Capitol.Let’s not forget, though, that this
book is also about ways to resist the kind of power that the Capitol represents.
While the people of Panem might not have the Capitol’s money, they do have
other ways of fighting back.The Hunger Games is a novel about the people
who have money and the people who don't. The Capitol is the wealthiest than
all of the districts.Some districts are more privileged than others, so they can
train their tributes to do well in the Hunger Games – a competition they see as
a way to gain glory and fame. And there is no much advantage in the poor
districts. Katniss's district is located in district 12. It is an impoverished coal
mining region that never stands a chance in the Games. They view the Games
as a punishment that must be endured, something that robs them of their
children. The novel tells you to think about how money can change things for
youand change how you see the world.
• Plot.The story development pattern is formed by causality. In general, the
plot is divided into the following sections.
a. Introduction to the story situation
b. Disclosure of events
c. Towards a conflict
d. Height of the conflict
10 • Conflict is the essence of the groove. Conflict is a disagreement. Kinds of
conflict include:
a. Human contradiction with himself (inner conflict)
b. Conflicts with other human
c. Conflicts of humans with the environment, whether the economic,
political, social, cultural
d. Conflicts of man with God or faith.
• Setting. Itmeans the story’s time and place. While setting includes simple
attributes such as climate or wall décor, it can also include complex
dimensions such as the historical moment the story occupies or its social
context. Because particular places and times have their own personality or
emotional essence, setting is also one of the primary ways that a fiction
writer establishes mood. Setting is often developed with narrative
description, but it may also be shown with action, dialogue, or a
character’s thoughts.
• Characters and characterizations. In fiction, character refers to a textual
representation of a human being (or occasionally another creature). Most
fiction writers agree that character development is the key element in a
story's creation, and in most pieces of fiction a close identification with
the characters is crucial to understanding the story. Authors achieve
characterization with a variety of techniques: by using the narrative voice
to describe the character, by showing the actions of the character and of
11 character, or by showing the thoughts and dialogue of others in relation to
the character.
• Point of view. A strategy, technique, or strategy that the author used to
express ideas and stories.
Extrinsic Elements are elements outside the literary works, but it does not
directly affect the structure or organism system literature. Extrinsic elements consist
of individual subjectivity authors state that have attitudes, beliefs, and worldviews
that all it affects the work done. In addition, the extrinsic elements related to
psychology author and author of circumstances in terms of both economics, political,
religious, cultural, and social.
2.2 Sociology of Literature
Sociology is the branchof social science. It is an effort to use systematic
methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of
knowledge about human societies and human social activity.The sociology of
literature comes from two words, they are sociology and literature. The word
“sociology”comes fromthe Latin word “socious” and “logos”. They are two studies
that are different but have a very close relation. Some relation between society and
literature are: literary work is part of society and it uses language, which is part of
social institution, and literary work is a picture of society.“Socious” means together,
unity, and friends, whereas “logos” means words andknowledge. So sociology is the
study of origins and evolution of society; the knowledgethat study about the whole
12
In Encyclopedia Americana (2004: 87), it is said that Sociology is the
scientific study of the social behavior of human beings, or put differently,the study of
human groups. Actually, both sociology and literature have the same object, whichis
human being. However, the essenceof sociology and literature is very different.
Sociology is the objective knowledge. It limits to what happen in recent times. But
literature is evaluative, subjective andimaginative.
According to Damono in his book PedomanPenelitianSosiologiSastra, he
talks about social and environmental aspects; it is called the sociology of literature.
The important factors that should be considered in analyzing the sociology of
literature are the writers, the literary works itself, and the readers. Nowadays, the
sociological approach that is most done by the researcher is paying attention to the
aspect of documentary of literature. The basic idea is that literature is a mirror of its
era. In this case, the job of sociology of literature is to connect the experience of the
imaginative characters and situation created by the writer to the real condition that
happen in one state or country.
2.3 Social Class
Karl Marx (1997: 12), regarded social classes as an essential feature of social
evolution. He believed that the class that owns the means of production is able to
keep the other classes in a subordinate position, and keep for itself any surplus that is
produced. Economics power gives people the resources to apply political control and
to form a ruling class which has a vested interest in maintaining its own superior
13 ensure that all the major social institutions, marriage, education, the political system,
religion and so on-uphold and serve its own purposes.
Marx(1997: 13)aimed to explain social change and produced a theory of
history. He believed that the answer lay in conflicts among social classes. The whole
of human history, Marx and Engels wrote in The Communist Manifesto: ‘the history
of class struggles':
“these struggles are the engines that pull societies into new forms, and the history of humansocieties is a history of one ruling class being overthrown by a new one.” (1848: 20)
Marx defined these two classes in term of their different relationship to the
means of production. The means of production are everything besides human labor
that goes into producing wealth. One class, the bourgeoisie, owns these means of
production. The other class, according to Marx, is everyone who does not own such
means and therefore must sell his or her labor to the bourgeoisie. Marx called this
class proletariat, employing the name used by the Romans to identify the poor. These
terms essentially refer to owners (or employers) and workers (or employees).
Marx believed that they would have no effect on the awaiting revolutionary
struggle. Finally,he excluded that stratification is the social conflict that result social
jealousy because it should happen for there is no standard of living for every member
of society. It is impossible to have equal domination for everyone has different
capacity to trace his or her social recognition. It is only social feeling of that class
difference that makes such class difference. So presence of gap that existbetween
high-class people, lower-class people and middle-class people and the differencesthat
14 Ever since humans first developed as a distinct species and branched off from
the rest of the animal world, we have organized ourselves in various ways in order to
produce the necessities of life. We have come together in an array of socio-economic
structures, including primitive communism, slavery, feudalism, capitalism, and a
wide variety of transitional and hybrid forms. For the majority of our existence, we
lived as communists in a classless society, albeit on a low technological level. But
ever since the rise of classes, as Marx and Engels explained in the Communist
Manifesto, “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle.”
With the rise of class society came a division into differing layers of people
(castes and classes) each with a definite relationship to each other and to the means of
production, to the means by which we produce the food we eat, the clothes we wear,
the homes we live in, and everything else we humans have extracted from nature
through our labor and creativity. Broadly speaking, there are laboring classes, and
those that live off the labor of others. It is the exploiters and the exploited. The two
main contending classes in the class struggle are those who own the key economic
levers of society, the means of production and those who have to work the means of
production of another in order to survive.
Social class as mentioned before is basically divided to three parts: upper
class, middle class and lower class. In this study, the writer particularly discusses
about the state of lower-class society through the life of KatnissEverdeen.
15 Simply defined, the class struggle is the struggle over the surplus wealth
created by the producing classes. The ruling class is that class which controls the
state and owns the means of production of society, the land and natural resources, the
workshops and factories, the banks. The actual producers of wealth are those who
own nothing but their ability to work, and own a tiny plot of land on which they
scrape out an existence while still having to work and pay debts to others, or sell their
labor power for a wage to a capitalist. That is the simplified essence of the class
struggle. In the modern era, that struggle is above all between the working class and
the capitalist class.
There are two main classes in capitalist society (owners and workers. The
owners, or capitalists, own the banks, the factories, and the corporations) in other
words, everything essential to society’s productive capabilities. Their profits derive
from work that is done by workers. Workers, on the other hand, can only survive by
selling their ability to work to the owners.
The owners have a single goal: increasing profit. Since profits are based on
the value that workers add in production above and beyond the cost of production,
including wages, owners try to keep the cost of labor as low as possible. Workers, on
the other hand, need to earn enough for food, clothing, shelter, education and other
necessities. Workers’ and owners’ are in the different interests. And that’s being a
basic for class struggle. A form of class struggle is strikes and other labor struggles.
In those fights, workers join together based on common interests as workers to win
16 But class struggle is constant, even in periods of relative labor “peace.” Even
when workers are not struggling to increase their share of the wealth they produce,
the owners are trying to increase their share. Increased productivity, decreased wages,
taking more taxes from the corporations to the working class, cutting health care
benefits, all these are ways in which the capitalist class wages class struggle against
the workers.
In this thesis, the writer analyze about the struggle of the people as a lower
class who have to work hard to fulfill their needs in their life. Struggle is related to
psychological unconscious mind. It is an effort to obtain freedom, to make great
effort under difficulties, to be content with or against act, and to be confused. Thus,
struggle may mean choices of action to do an effort, whether the way is true or
wrong. Class struggle is the tension or antagonism which exists i
competing
In this research, struggle is the main discussion, especially the struggle of the main
character through the games.
2.4.1 Lower Class
Lower class or also knownas ‘proletariat’ or ‘laboring class’ is the class of
people employed for wages, especially in manual or industrial work. In Marxist
theory and sociology of literature, lower class is often used synonymously with the
term ‘proletariat’, and includes all those who expend either mental or physical labor
to produce economic value, or wealth in non-academic terms, for those who own the
17 unemployment. People of this class, few of them have finish high school, suffer from
lack of medical care, adequate housing and food, decent clothing, safety, and
vocational training. The media often stigmatize the lower class as “the underclass,”
inaccurately characterizing poor people as welfare mothers who abuse the system by
having more and more babies, welfare fathers who are able to work but do not, drug
abusers, criminals, and societal “trash.”In this novel, Katniss who comes from the
lower class districts have to go through such physical and mental labor in order to
18 CHAPTER III
METHOD OF THE STUDY
In doing this study, the writer will go through the necessary steps for
achieving the most effective study results and these steps involves research design,
data sources, data collection and data analysis. The main source of this analysis
especially the data was taken from the novel “Hunger Games” written by Suzanne
Collins. The data are in form of quotations which are selected from the novel. The
selection is oriented on the text which has connection with social class and struggle
as expressed in the novel. This thesis used the theory of Marxism by Karl Marx, Iwill
analyze the practice of Marxism and the elements applied in the society. From the
analysis, Iwill be able to draw a conclusion for the problem formulation to reach the
goal in solving the problem.
In analyzing the data, the writer usesqualitative method,because all data are
analyzed in the form of words and sentences. Qualitative is about exploring issues,
understanding phenomena, and answering questions by analyzing the data.
Hermeneutics method is also used in this analysis. There are actually similarities
between hermeneutics and qualitative, both methods analyze the data by means of
interpretation in the form description. Hermeneutics research is a qualitative research
strategy.Hermeneutics research emphasizes subjective interpretations in the research
of meanings of texts, art, culture, social phenomena and thinking. Thus the activities
of interpretation shows on three basic things: an oral recitation, a reasonable
explanation, and a translation from another language.
This analysis begins when the data collected. This method explainsabout how
19 Conclusion
language that used by the author in a novel and then to analyze the dataand the world
that author is created in the formof wordsandlanguage. Because inthis thesis, the
writer using the novel to get and observe the data.
3.1 Research Design
Below is a flowchart of research of design:
Researcher Source of data: a novel The
Hunger Games by Suzanne
Collins
Quote or selected text related to
social problem, and struggle of
the main character
3.2 Data Sources
The data is collected from the novelentitledThe Hunger Games by Suzanne
Collins. In the aspects of data sources, thewriter divides the data into two, primary Data selected: using theories sociology
20 data and secondary data. The novel is the primary data, the words,sentences,
dialogues between charactersor somequotation that relates to lower class and struggle
will be used as evidence to support the analysis. The secondarydata was taken from
related articles, papers,films, videos and other sources that can support and relate to
this study.
3.3 Data Collection
In the step of data collection, the writer will need both primary and secondary
data sources. First of all, the writer starts with getting the novel The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins, which is the primary data of this research and read it over and
over until the writer understands the story well. The writer will also look into
secondary data such as gathering data from books, articles, webs and other supporting
material that is relevant to the topic of the study. After the collection of raw
materials, the writer starts to go through the data more thoroughly and takes down
any notes for necessary explanations. This involves underlining and highlighting
important data as well as quoting from the novel to provide concrete evidence. The
data will be selected and organized in accordance with the problem of the study so
finally the writer can carry out an analysis.
3.4 Data Analysis
When all the data and information relates to the topic are collected,
theanalysis can be done. In analysis of this study, the writer will arrange the data in
21 1. Classify the data accurately by relating it to the problems and aims of this
study within the novel.
2. Investigate and identify the types of social class that exist in the novel
thatportrays the phenomenon of social stratification.
3. Identify and describe data that suggests struggles of the main character’s life
in lower class society.
4. The writer then can make a conclusion from overall data analysis that have
22 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS AND FINDING
4.1 Social stratification of society
Social stratification is an inherent character of all societies. It is historical as
we find it in all societies, ancient and modern. It is universal as it exists in simple or
complex societies. The social differentiation on the basis of high and low is the
historical heritage of all societies. These social strata and layers, divisions and
subdivisions have over the time been accepted on the basis of sex and age, status and
role, qualification and inefficiency, life chances and economic political ascription and
monopolization, ritual and ceremony and on numerous other basis. It is varied nature.
It is no less based on the considerations of superiority and inferiority, authority and
subordination, profession and vocation.
By stratification, mean that arrangement of any social group or society by
which positions are hierarchically divided. The positions are unequal with regard to
power, property, evaluation and psychic gratification. It connected to social, because
positions consist of socially defined statuses. Stratification is a phenomenon present
in all societies that have produced a surplus. Stratification is the process by which
members of society rank themselves and one another in hierarchies with respect to
the amount of desirable goods they possess.
The whole Marxian perspective about social stratification revolves round the
concept of social classes. No theorist stressed the significance of class for society and
23 the crucial determinant of social, economic and political inequality. According to
Marx, there is always a dominant and a subordinate class, a ruling class and a subject
class. The former (ruling class) is the class which owns the means of production (land
and machinery) and the latter (subject class) sells its labor to survive. The ruling class
survives its power from the ownership and control of the forces of production.
The relationship between these classes has always been exploitative in all
phases of history with an exception of a simple primitive society. Marx believed that
primitive societies are non class societies. In such societies, there is simple equality
and as such there is no stratification based on class. In Marxian view, the ruling class
exploits and oppressed the subordinate class. As a result, there is a basic conflict of
interest between the two classes. This conflict between social classes has been
continuous since the dawn of history.
4.1.1 Types of social class found in novel
By learning about the differences of class, there are two classes found clearly
in the novel. There’s the Capitol as the upper class and the Districts as the lower
class. In Panem, Panem is the name of the country that under the control of the
Capitol, wealth is heavily concentrated in the hands of the rich, particularly those
people living in the Capitol and certain of the districts, and the result is a huge
disparity between their lives and the lives of the poor. This disparity reveals itself in
numerous ways throughout the novel, but among the notable is food. In the poor
24 starvation is common in District 12, and she has to hunt illegally in the woods beyond
the district’s borders to feed her family. The novel suggests that most of the district’s
residents are not able and don’t know how to hunt, means that Katniss’s family have
more chance to get the food than the other families. Furthermore, the most basic
foods are luxuries in the districts.Katniss later learns that Peeta’s family,who own a
bakery and have more capacity to live the life well,can not afford most of the food
they bake. In contrast, when Katniss arrives in the Capitol, she is awed by the lavish
feasts and elaborately prepared dishes. The food is abundant. Katniss tries hot
chocolate for the first time.
Perhaps the best example of the inequality between rich and poor can be seen
in the tessera system and the way the tributes are selected for the Games. In theory,
the lottery by which tributes are chosen, called the reaping, is random and anyone can
be picked. But in reality, the poor are much more likely than the rich to end up as
tributes. In exchange for extra rations of food and oil, called tesserae, those children
eligible for the Hunger Games can enter their names into the reaping additional times.
Most of children from poor families have to take tesserae to survive, so the children
of poor families have more entries in the reaping than children of wealthy families
who need no tesserae. They are more likely to be picked as a result. Moreover, the
rich who become tributes tend to have an additional advantage, because they are
often trained to take part in the Games and volunteer to do so. These trained tributes,
which Katniss refers to as Career Tributes, are generally bigger, stronger, and better
prepared for the tribulations of the Hunger Games than those poor tributes who
25 tributes, it is an honor to compete in the Games, while for the poor tributes it is
essentially a death sentence.
“The cameras haven’t lied about its grandeur. If anything, they have not quite captured the magnificence of the glistening buildings in a rainbow of hues that tower into the air, the shiny cars that roll down the wide paved streets, the oddly dressed people with bizarre hair and painted faces who have never missed a meal.”(4:59)
From quotation above, after arriving in Capitol, she believed that what she
saw through her television was real. The rich people will never feel hungry and they
have a beautiful life. She has to survive and find a meal in the wood to keep her
family alive. The visibility about the differences of class can be seen from the
quotation above. She was so fascinated by their living and all of their things.
According to Karl’s theory, People in higher income classes make sure that their
families have the best opportunity for a good life. In this case,the Capitolown the
production of the districts, that gives them a power to control the whole districts.
“What it must be like, I wonder, to live in a world where food appears at the press of a button? How would I spend the hours I now commit to combing the woods for sustenance if it were so easy to come by? What do they do all day, these people in the Capitol, besides decorating their bodies and waiting around for a new shipment of tributes to roll in and die for their entertainment?”(5:65)
Katniss is wondering why the Capitol wants to force the children of the poor
to kill each others. The conflict in her heart is about what she has to choose, fight just
for her life and survive for that or also fight for the life of the lower classes so the
Capitol can not make the children of the poor become an entertainment while
killingeach others for them.
From the beginning of the novel, Katnissis a strong, resourceful sixteen years
26 family member consists of her mother, her younger sister named Prim and herself.
Katniss is fiercely protective to her younger sister, and she volunteers to take Prim’s
place in the Hunger Games to protect her. In fact, Katniss is more responsible than
anyone else in her family’s life. Moreover, she is responsible for feeding her family.
She is hunting and foraging as her responsibly to feed her family.She got the hunting
skills from her father before his death in a mine explosion years earlier. Based on her
talented skills, she has the big opportunity to win the game against the stronger
opponent.
Upper Class: The Capitol.
Speaking of which, the Capitol is a shining city of wealth and grandeur city
located where the Rockies used to be. The people of the Capitol are shallow, speak in
a funny, affected accent and value surface appearances, plastic surgery, and
entertainment. Being one of the richest districts, they also view the Games as an
entertainment in television. Katniss really despises the place.
Lower Class: District Twelve
District 12 is a very poor coal-mining district located in the region formerly
known as Appalachia. Katniss and her family live in the poor section of District 12,
the Seam, where the coal-miners live and work. There is also the Hob, the black
market. The district is surrounded by an electrified fence from woodlands.Stephen
King calls District 12 "the Chicago Cubs of the postapocalypse world", means that
they almost never win the Hunger Games. The poverty of District 12 is often
27 4.2 Capitol’s power
In the novel, Capitol is the one who determine the life of Districts. Coriolanus
Snow is a native of
Although carrying the title of President, it is unknown if he was elected to the
position democratically. Snow possesses total power in Panem's government and has
proven to be a cruel and manipulative dictator, ruling over the Capitol and its
contained
military responsibility for oppressing the districts.
According to Karl Marx’s theory, Economic power gives people the resources
to apply political control and to form a ruling class which has a vested interest in
maintaining its own superior position. Marx believed that this is achieved by the
ability of the dominant class to ensure that all the major social institutions, marriage,
education, the political system, religion and so on uphold and serve its own purposes.
The power of a Capitol has already happened these days, it represent to what happen
to the government. Government can do whatever they want, put their children in to a
private school, have a biggest house, it shows us that capitol’s power is already
visible from a different treatment to whom the rich and the poor. In this novel, the
Capitol as the one who own the land and the production, so they can do whatever
they want. The capitol also put the Peacekeeper in every district to make sure that the
people in each District will not fight back.
28 The quotation above from the novel shows how Capitol’s act on making the
other districts know who feed them this whole time and the real message is clear.
“Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do.
If you lift your finger, we will destroy every last one of you.” Capitol shows their
power by making the game to warn people that they are the authorities who gave
people in each district a life, a home to live. In this sense, the Games are a form of
control.
“The last tribute alive receives a life of ease back home, and their district will be showered with prizes, largely consisting of food. All year, Capitol will show the winning district gifts of grain and oil and even delicacies like sugar while the rest of us battle starvation.”(3:36)
These trained tributes, which Katniss refers to as Career Tributes, are
generally bigger, stronger, and better prepared for the tribulations of the Hunger
Games than those poor tributes selected by chance. They are consequently more
likely to survive. For these rich tributes, it is an honor to compete in the Games,
while for the poor tributes it is essentially a death sentence.Let’s not forget, though,
that this book is also about ways to resist the kind of power that the Capitol
represents. While the people of Panem might not have the Capitol’s money, they do
have other ways of fighting back. When District 12 gives Katniss their salute and
when Katniss covers Rue’s dead body in flowers. These symbolic gestures called
attention to the fact that there are actual people in the Hunger Games, not just game
29 4.3 Katniss
KatnissEverdeen is a teenage girl who lives in District 12, an impoverished
coal-mining region in the country of Panem. She's a volunteer tribute in Panem's
annual Hunger Games, having taken the place of her younger sister in an act of heroic
self-sacrifice.
Ever since the death of her father in a tragic coal-mining accident, Katniss has
taken on the role of her family's head of household. While Katniss's mother was
unable to cope with the loss, falling into a deep depression, Katniss stayed focused
and took charge. Filling her father's shoes, she became the
starvation. Katniss describes the process as follows:
“It was slow-going at first, but I was determined to feed us. I stole eggs from nests, caught fish in nets, sometimes managed to shoot a squirrel or rabbit for stew, and gathered the various plants that sprung up beneath my feet. Plants are tricky. Many are edible, but one false mouthful and you're dead. I checked and double-checked the plants I harvested with my father's pictures. I kept us alive.” (4.19)
The statement above clearly shows that Katniss is the head of her family. Hunting,
foraging, and providing for her mother and sister Prim to keep them alive.
While Katniss's role as a provider originated within the context of her family,
Katniss is a strong provider in the arena as well. Her protective instincts extend to her
ally from District 11, the young girl named Rue. The two shared food, clothing, and
30 "because she's a survivor, and I trust her, and why not admit it?
She reminds me of Prim" (15.28).
While her alliance with Rue is sadly short lived, Katniss will also act as
provider and protector of another tribute: her co-tribute from District 12,
PeetaMellark. As the daughter of a coal miner, Katniss is a far more skilled hunter
and tracker than Peeta, who is the son of a baker.
He's a whiz at "decorating cakes," sure, but he's really not very good with weapons (19.25).
As the Games near their climax, Katniss will risk her life against the other
tributes in order to bring Peeta the only medicine that can bring him back from the
edge of death.
While Katniss sees herself primarily as someone who others can depend upon,
both in and out of the arena, who would Katniss be if she did not have to provide for
and protect the people around her? As there becomes a possibility that she might win
the Hunger Games, she lets herself ask this question:
For the first time, I allow myself to truly think about the possibility that I might make it home. To fame. To wealth. To my own house in the Victor's Village. My mother and Prim would live there with me. No more fear of hunger. A new kind of freedom. But then…what? What would my life be like on a daily basis? Most of it has been consumed with the acquisition of food. Take that away and I'm not really sure who I am, what my identity is. The idea scares me some. (23.62)
Whether she is in the woods of District 12 or the Gamemaker's arena, Katniss
is concerned with one thing: how to stay alive. This, of course, makes her a fierce
31 She is only focused on the day-to-day work of living, Katniss isn't terribly
sentimental, she has no great love for the family cat, Buttercup, for example. To
Katniss, Buttercup is not a cute and fuzzy playmate, but simply "another mouth to
feed" (1.3). This might explain why she tried to drown the poor thing in a bucket to
save him from the slow, sad fate of starvation.
As the girl tribute from District 12, Katniss is thrust into the spotlight when
she hits the Capitol. Cameras are on her every move at every minute; unfortunately,
though, she is not funny or charming. As Haymitch puts it, whenever she opens her
mouth, she comes across as "sullen and hostile" (9.17).
Katniss learn the importance of public image, celebrity, and creating a
persona. With the help of her stylist, Cinna, she wears a series of spectacular gowns
in which she able to entertain the crowds at the Opening Ceremonies. Likewise, by
following Haymitch's coaching and advice, she learns to manipulate the at-home
audiences of the Hunger Games by playing up the supposed romance plot with her
co-tribute Peeta. Once she's made into Peeta's object of love, she secures a powerful
place in the hearts of the audience.
Haymitch explains:
32 Katniss becomes a pro at playing the game of celebrity, and at playing the
audiences and sponsors of the Hunger Games. But she will also learn that the
distinctions between what is real and what is not can sometimes blur.
4.3.1 Katniss’s struggle in facing her life
In the novel, Katniss as the main character has become head of her family
since her father died at mine explosion years earlier. After Katniss’s father died, her
mother sank into a depression, leaving Katniss to take care of the family despite her
young age. Katniss realized that, without her hunting, her family would not have
enough to eat, a serious problem in District 12, where starvation is common. As a
result of these conditions, Katniss has grown into a tough, unsentimental, and
practical girl. Ironically, the hardships she faced as a result of her impoverished bring
up the advantage once she’s in the arena. The skills and qualities she developed to
cope with the everyday challenges of being poor, including her ability to hunt, her
toughness, and her resourcefulness, turn out to be what keep her alive through the
Games.
“At eleven years old, with Prim just seven, I took over as head of the family. There was no choice. I bought our food at the market and cooked it as best I could and tried to keep Prim and myself looking presentable. Because of it had become known that my mother could no longer care for us, the district would have taken us away from her and placed us in the community home.”(2:27)
From the quotes above, we can see the struggle of the young girl to keep her
family alive represent the struggle of the main character for her life by analyzing the
33 age. Since the death of her father in a tragic coal mining accident, Katniss has taken
the role of her family's head of household. While Katniss's mother was unable to cope
with the loss and falling into a deep depression, Katniss stays focus and takesa
charge. She becomes the
income that would save the family from starvation. Katniss describes the process as
follows:
“It was slow-going at first, but I was determined to feed us. I stole eggs from nests, caught fish in nets, sometimes managed to shoot a squirrel or rabbit for stew, and gathered the various plants that sprung up beneath my feet. Plants are tricky. Many are edible, but one false mouthful and you're dead. I checked and double-checked the plants I harvested with my father's pictures. I kept us alive.”(4.19)
Katniss is the stalwart rock of her family. Hunting, foraging, and providing
for her mother and sister Prim are at the very core of her identity.
“I reach her just as she is about to mount the steps. With one sweep of my arm, I push her behind me. “I volunteer!” I gasp. “I volunteer as a tribute!”(2:2)
At the outset of Chapter 2, just after Prim has been selected in the reaping,
Katniss volunteers to serve as the female tribute for District 12 in the Hunger Games.
This event sets the rest of the plot in motion, and for the remainder of the book we
watch Katniss struggling to survive the Games. Katniss becomes a volunteer to save
Prim, her little sister. Despite the odds being in her favor, Prim is selected by the
lottery system that decides which children become tributes. Because she is just
twelve years old, and because she is a sensitive, nurturing person who has difficulty
34 Katniss, meanwhile, is four years older and very protective of Prim, and so without
hesitation she volunteers to take her sister’s place. Moreover, she has some years of
hunting experience (and therefore killing) and is far less sensitive than her sister,
making her more likely to survive the ordeal of the Games.
Katniss’s volunteering is also notable because, as Katniss explains, volunteers
in her district are basically unheard of. Tributes from poor districts, such as Katniss’s
District 12, rarely win the Games because their poverty puts them at a different
disadvantage. They are often malnourished compared to the children from the
wealthier districts, making them weaker and less able to endure prolonged exertion
and difficult conditions. Additionally, some children in the wealthy districts actually
train their whole lives to take part in the Hunger Games. Volunteers in these districts
are common because winning the Games is a great honor for them. But because the
tributes from the poor areas are vastly more likely to be killed, it is exceedingly rare
that someone volunteers, even apparently to take the place of a sibling. Katniss’s
gesture instantly earns the respect of her district and makes her popular among the
tributes in the Hunger Games.
“Be honest. Be honest. I swallow hard. “She asked me to try really hard to win.” The audience is frozen, hanging on my every word. “and what did you say?” prompts Caesar gently. But instead of warmth, I feel an icy rigidity take over my body. My muscles tense as they do before kill. When I speak, my voice seems to have dropped an octave. “I swore I would.”(9:16)
Throughout the novel, Katniss and her team use her external appearance,
including what she says and how she behaves to control how other people perceive
her. At the reaping ceremony, for instance, she won’t allow herself to cry in front of
35 therefore become an easy target. In the novel the writer found that Katniss hides her
tears during the Games for a reason, to attract the sponsors. She does not want to look
weak and miserable so the sponsor can look at her as the tough one and valuable to
bet.
4.3.2 Katniss’s struggle in facing the games
The Hunger Games present the tributes’ suffering as mass entertainment, and
the more the tributes suffer, ideally in battle with one another, the more entertaining
the Games become. The main draw of the Games for viewers is its voyeurism, in this
case watching the tributes who are still children fighting and dying. Katniss at various
points talks about past Games and what made them successful or unsuccessful, and
the recurring motif is that the viewers want to see the tributes battling one another
and not dying too quickly (because it will end up the entertainment).
"Why don't you just be yourself? … No one can help but admire your spirit."(9:8)
The quotes are spoken by Cinna to give Katniss guidance on how to best sell
herself to the audience in her first interview with CeaserFlickerman. Cinna is her
stylist during the games. Cinna is one of the people in the Capitol that look ordinary
not like the others. He becomes Katniss’s friend over the course of the story and
counsels Katniss to be herself.The whole situation, as well as the work Haymitchhelp
Katniss shape an image, speaks to the pervasiveness of the spectacle that is the
Hunger Games. It is telling that Cinna's suggestion toKatniss for just being herself is
36 Cinna reminds Katniss that she is not only need to win the Hunger Games but also to
become a hero is already inside of her. Her victory comes not from the stoic
determination that makes her a good hunter, but morefrom her acceptance of her
emotional and empathetic side. The revolutionary she approaches becoming by the
end of the novel is someone she already is – she just has to learn to be herself and
thereby accept it. But in the beginning, Katniss did not realize that her mentor and her
partner trying to help her in the Games.
“he made me look weak!” I say.
“he made you look desirable! And let’s face it, you can use all the help you can get in that department…..now the all do. You’re all they’re talking about. The star-crossed lover from District twelve!” says Haymitch.
“but we’re not star-crossed lover!” I say.
…..”who cares? It’s all a big show.”(10:3)
Katniss discovers that by playing up the tragic "love" angle she may just be
able to win the Games. The writer also see that Katniss does not really have much of
a choice: if she wants food and supplies, she is going to have to follow the game they
made. From the quote above, perhaps the most notable part of Katniss’s strategy
involves her romance with Peeta. This romance is not entirely genuine on Katniss’s
end. She cares about Peeta and develops a romantic interest him, but her feelings do
not have nearly the same intensity as him and she always remains ambivalent about
him. For the cameras, however, Katniss plays up her feelings for Peeta and works to
convince the viewers, and especially the Capitol, that she is deeply in love with him.
The act is one Haymitch devised for strategic reasons: Katniss’s and Peeta’s love
37 even to influence the Capitol’s decision to allow two tributes to be declared winners
rather than the customary one. Consequently, the act Katniss puts on has a significant
effect on both her and Peeta’s survival. Through these events, the novel suggests that
what cameras show, on reality television for instance, is not necessarily reality and
that appearances are just as consequential as the truth.
“Tomorrow I’ll stay here, resting, camouflaging my backpack with mud, catching some of those little fish I saw as I sipped, digging up the roots of the pond lilies to make a nice mea. I snuggle down in my sleeping bag, hanging on to my water bottle for dear life, which, of course, it is.”(12:11)
Katniss struggles against the Capitol, obviously, throughout the novel. This is
the most notable of the conflicts. She is constantly fighting against the Capitol.
According to quotation above, she sneaks under fences to poach animals from the
woods in the early chapters in spite of the possible consequences of caught. She does
this because of the difficult circumstances placed of herself and her family by the
Capitol. Throughout the Hunger Games Katniss is fighting against the Capitol and
doing anything she can in the arena to make everything difficult for them. If she
survive and can feed herself and find a save place to her, that making another tributes
can’t find her also making the capitol fed up with her defenses.
Katniss also has external conflicts with the other competitors in the Hunger
Games. She must kill them before they kill her. To go along with this external
conflict is the internal conflict of her feelings regarding murdering these other
competitors. She knows that killing is wrong and under normal circumstances she
38 her own free will and has no choice. The internal conflict comes from her own
morality conflicting with her circumstances.
“There’s no way they could do otherwise after I’ve made them look so stupid. That nest may be the sole option I have left. If I can drop it down on them, I may be able to escape. But I’ll risk my life in the process.”
In quote above, she tries to defense herself from another tribute that already
had a plan to kill her. In that quote, Katniss helped by Rue, another tribute from
different district that around Prim’s age. Rue reminds Katniss very much of her sister,
Prim. Katniss acts as the primary protector of Rue once then both of them become
allies. In this sense, she continues the role that she formerly played with her sister,
Prim. Katniss and Rue share food, supplies, and stories about their lives. Katniss
learns that Rue is the oldest child in her family and she loves music. Rue becomes
human to Katniss and not simply a competitor. Their brief friendship during the
Games allows us to see Katniss as a nurturing character, even in the midst of all the
fierce competition. Rue told her to cut the nest of the Tracker-Jacker, kind of bee that
has a death venomous. Even she risk her life in the process, she still doing it for
survive, she can live then and comeback home.
“We’re strong too,” I say. “Just in a different way.” “You are. You can shoot,” she says. “What can I do?” “You can feed yourself. Can they?” I ask. “They don’t need to. They have all those supplies,” Rue says. “say they didn’t. say the supplies were gone. How long would they last?” I say. “I mean, it’s the Hunger Games, right?” “But Katniss, they’re not hungry,” says Rue. “No, they’re not. That’s the problem,” I agree. And for the first time, I have a plan. A plan that isn’t motivated by the need for flight and evasion. An offensive plan.
Katniss and Rue discover that being from a poor district gives them an
39 gather food. That is what making them have a plan to destroy all of the storage of
another tribute. After both of them make a plan and did it, Rue died in the process.
Katniss honors Rue's body by covering her with flowers. This act is that defies the
Capitol and challenges the idea that Rue's death was just entertainment for a viewing
audience at home. Rue is killed by the boy from District 1, and Katniss is there to
singing Rue a final song and decorate her body with flowers. Rue, look like Prim,
makes Katniss promise that she will win, and there are moments when it is her
promise to Rue, more so than her promise to Prim, that gives Katniss the strength she
needs to fight on. She wants to make sure that Rue's death will not go unremembered.
Ultimately, Rue's death inspires Katniss to fight all the more against the Capitol – and
win the Games any way she can.
"I want to do something, right here, right now, to shame them, to make them accountable, to show the Capitol that whatever they do or force us to do that there is a part of every tribute they can't own. That Rue was more than a piece in their Games. And so am I." (18.38)
Covering Rue with flowers is an intense act of rebellion against the Capitol.
The experience of witnessing Rue's death inspires Katniss to go on and win the
Games – and to prove to the Capitol that they can't strip the tributes of their
humanity, howe
