Symbolism in the Hunger Games Literary Analysis Essay Sample

Authors in Dystopian texts often use the Importance of Symbolism to develop the plot. The author, Suzanne Collins, develops two significant symbols that appear multiple times throughout the story. The Hunger Games takes place in many districts, but it mainly takes place in a village…. a village named District 12, where the protagonist; Katniss Everdeen lives. She struggles to provide for her sister Prim, and mom. After her dad died in the mines, she was forced to take the role of the mother. She hunts everyday to provide the necessary food by going beyond the fence, into the woods. Bread also comes across many times in this text. She brings this item up many times throughout the actual Hunger games when she sacrifices her life for Peeta(a boy from her district), and Peeta questions her decisions. That memory of the bread gives Katniss the hope and determination to win the games.

Collins uses the symbols throughout the text with the bread because it represents hope and determination for Katniss, which she uses as motivation to win the games. For example, in the novel throughout the games, Katniss starts talking about her flashbacks from when her and Peeta were young and how the bread Peeta threw to her gave her hope to start fighting for her family again, and gives Katniss a valid excuse to constantly sacrifice herself for Peeta. For example, when Peeta injured his leg, the Capitol spoke on the loudspeaker regarding a feast happening at the Cornucopia. Everything each member from the districts needed regarding medicine would be available to them. Peeta did not want Katniss to sacrifice herself to help Peeta but she in fact sacrificed herself for him getting the medicine. Katniss came back into the cave with Peeta and stated “ To this day, I can never shake that connection between you, Peeta, and that bread that gave me hope.”(Collins 32). This quote shows that the bread that Peeta gave Katniss years back when they were kids, is the reason why Katniss is alive, so she feels like there is no way of repaying him, but the best way is if she sacrifices herself for him during the games. Clearly as stated many times, everything Katniss does during the games for Peeta is a gift of repaying from when her family was struggling.

Another example of a major symbol that comes up many times throughout the novel is the fence in District 12 , separating the village from the woods. This fence represents life and death and home for Katniss. Coming from a small village of District 12, the fence (controlled by the Capitol/government) was Katnis’ escape from the struggles in her district, and since she adored hunting, she would go past the fence, just to hunt and provide food for her family. This is proven when she states; “Beyond the fence, the woods begin, and just outside is where the Meadow lies. Although the fence is supposed to be electrified 24 hours a day, most of the time that wasn’t the case.”(Collins 4-5). This quote summarizes that Katniss would do anything she needs, even if  it  means breaking the law that the Capitol enforced, just to provide for her sister and struggling mom. This reinforces the importance of symbolism with the fence, because it represents life and death for Katniss and provides a sense of home because beyond the fence lies her beloved place…. The woods.

When symbols occur in a text, they often represent or induce a bigger meaning from something so small. The author of the novel, Hunger Games developed two symbols that were significant in which have impacted the character substantially. As stated, the piece of bread represented hope in which Katniss would sacrifice herself for Peeta throughout the games because of this flashback when Peet threw Katniss a piece of bread when her family was struggling. The other symbol which occurred a lot was the fence, which also represented hope, and life and death because Katniss would break the Capitol’s law by trespassing over the electrified fence just to try and hunt; which was her passion, to provide for her mother and Prim, along with herself.