This chapt er deals with background of t he st udy, limit at ion of the st udy,
problem st at em ent , object ive of t he st udy benefit of t he st udy, and t hesis
organizat ion.
A. Background of the Study
Suzanne Collin's young adult novels of The Hunger Gam es t rilogy—The
Hunger Games (2008), Cat ching Fire (2009), M ockingjay (2010)—present s a
dyst opian adventure t ale t hrough the eyes of a t eenage girl. The novels lift
several t opics such as t he t ot alit arian government , class differences, and
m edia spect acle. The Hunger Games t rilogy has becom e one breakt hrough in
dyst opian fict ion since it s first book w as published in 2008. The Hunger
Games has influenced m any Am erican w rit ers i n w rit ing dyst opian fict ion.
James Dashner w it h his The M aze Runner t rilogy w hich is so much influenced
by Collin’s The Hunger Games t rilogy. Then it is followed by other young
w rit ers like Veronica Rot h in Divergent t rilogy, and M ari Lu in Legend series.
Although The Hunger Games is not the first dyst opian fiction, as several
novels have put the chart before, such as Lois Low ry’ s The Giver (1993) and
M argaret At w ood’ s The Handmaid’s Tale, The Hunger Games is able t o be t he
The special charact erist ic of The Hunger Games t rilogy t hat m akes it
different w ith other dyst opian series is t he arc of it s st ory; from gladiator
gam e, t o revolut ion, t o w ar; as w ell as its st oryline which is int erwoven by
action, advent ure, myt hology, sci-fi, romance, and philosophy.The readers,
t herefore, can vi ew the t rilogy different ly. Relat ing t o t he st udy on The
Hunger Games t rilogy, not all readers com mand t he sam e lit erary
com pet ence. Hence m any st udies on The Hunger Games t rilogy have been
conduct ed by the readers in different perspect ive.
The st udy on Suzanne Collis’ s The Hunger Games t rilogy has been
conduct ed by using different perspect ive in delving out the t rilogy. In
feminism perspect ive, Robert a (2014) and Loobek (2012) conduct t heir st udy
focused on t he main w oman charact er—Kat niss Everdeen—in The Hunger
Games t rilogy. In the core of Cultural Studies, Rebeca (2015) has put t he
chart in exam ining t he t rilogy by focusing on t he charact er of Kat niss
Everdeen. All of t hese st udies are focused on t he major charact er of t he
t rilogy. Som e ot her st udies have succeed ed in view ing t he t rilogy by focusing
on the Hunger Gam es. Chong (2013) and Nayar (2012) have conduct ed their
st udies in view ing the Gam es arena as t he survival m edia. On t he ot her side,
Johansson (2013) put s his at t ention on the Gam es as t he m edia
represent at ion; m eanwhile Pet erson (2012) views t he Hunger Gam es as t he
has been conduct ed by M c.Gunigal (2012) by focusing the them es of The
Hunger Games t rilogy.
In order t o give t he different color for the st udies on The Hunger Games
t rilogy, t he present researcher conduct s the st udy by using M arx’s theory of
class st ruggle t o delve out t he class st ruggl e elem ent s—t he opposing classes,
t he cause of class st ruggle, t he pow er relat ion, the effect s of class st ruggle,
and the t ype of class st ruggle—reflect ed in the t rilogy in order t o see how t he
problem of American dem ocracy and capit alism reflect ed in The Hunger
Games t rilogy. The analyses of class st ruggle element s in t he t rilogy are
brought in to cont rast and compare t he dyst opian societ y of Panem w it h 21st
cent ury Am erica in order t o invest igat e if t he t rilogy crit icizes t he Am erican
dem ocracy and capit alism.
B. Limitation of the Study
This st udy is focused on class st ruggle reflect ed in Collins’ s The Hunger
Games t rilogy—The Hunger Gam es (2008), Catching Fire (2009), and
M ockingjay (2010)—in M arxism perspect ive in order t o reveal t he problem of
C. Problem Statement
The major problem st at em ent of this st udy is to reveal t he problem of
Am erican democracy and capit alism reflect ed in Suzanne Collins’s The
Hunger Games t rilogy. The main focus of t he st udy is t o analyze t he following
quest ions:
1. What cont ext s underlie t he writ ing of The Hunger Games t rilogy?
2. How is t he problem of Am erican dem ocracy and capitalism reflect ed in
The Hunger Games t rilogy?
3. Why does t he aut hor t ake t he class st ruggle as vehicle t o criticize t he
Am erican dem ocracy and capit alism ?
D. Objective of the Study
This st udy is aim ed to reveal t he problem of American dem ocracy and
capit alism reflect ed in Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games t rilogy. The
object ives of this st udy are:
1. To explain the cont ext s underlie the w riting of The Hunger Games t rilogy.
2. To explain how the problem of Am erican dem ocracy and capit alism
reflect ed in The Hunger Games t rilogy.
3. To explain w hy the author takes t he class st ruggle as vehicle t o crit icize
E. Benefit of the Study
1. Theoretical Benefit
Theoret ically, this study is aim ed to give t he cont ribution to the
larger body of knowledge, especially in lit erary st udy. The st udy on
Suzanne Collins’ s The Hunger Games t rilogy is expect ed t o improve t he
library research in lit erat ure, especially in novels analysis.
2. Practical Benefit
Pract ically, t his st udy on Collins’s The Hunger Games t rilogy is
aimed to benefit the readers by t he value of her w ork in every aspect that
t he reader can afford; probably how different ly people view t he book.
The readers are defining t he book in very personal and excit ing w ays.
F. Thesis Organization
This st udy consist s of six chapt ers. Chapt er I is int roduction; it deals
w ith background of the st udy, limit at ion of the st udy, problem st at em ent s,
object ives of t he st udy, benefit s of t he st udy, and thesis organization.
Chapt er II is underlying t heory; it deals w ith underlying t heory w hich is
divided into sociology of lit erat ure t heory and M arxism class st ruggle t heory,
and t he previous st udies. Chapt er III is met hodology of t he st udy; it deals
w ith t ype of the st udy, t ype of the dat a, t he data sources w hich consist s of
primary and secondary dat a sources, t echnique of the dat a collect ion, and
w ith social aspect , econom ic aspect , political aspect , cultural aspect , science
and t echnology aspect , religious aspect , and the aut hor’s biography. Social
aspect deals w it h t he class syst em in Am erica, race and et hnic, fam ily and
children living arrangem ent , and social relat ion. Econom ic aspect deals w ith
Am erica’s Gross Domest ic Product, the U.S. Econom ic Sect ors, t axation,
unemploym ent, Am erican living st andard, and Am erican economic problems.
Political aspect deals w it h t he U.S government s, t he nat ure of Am erican
polit ics, the t wo-part y syst em, Am erican domest ic policy, and Am erican
foreign policy. Cult ural aspect deals w it h American beliefs and values, and
Am erican culture in globalizat ion era. Religious aspect deals wit h religious
beliefs, and religious practice. Chapt er V is class st ruggle analysis; it deals
w ith class st ruggle analysis of Collins’s The Hunger Games t rilogy, and
discussion. Chapt er VI is conclusion and suggest ion; it deals w it h conclusion,
