The Hunger Games Cornucopia Analysis Essay Example

Not everything is how it seems. We learn a prevalent saying in life “never judge a book by its cover.” This just means things are not always as they seem, and there will always be deception in life, which can also be expressed in novels. In Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins can demonstrate the evilness and brutality behind the capital, illustrated best by the Cornucopia. By making the Cornucopia look plentiful and desirable when it is truly an evil symbol of the Capital, Collins displays the power and vile truth of the capital. Collins uses this symbol of the cornucopia to demonstrate the wickedness of the Capital.   

The reader first sees the Cornucopia filled with plenty of materials signifying life in the games, which adds to the fake facade that Collins has built around the Cornucopia. At the beginning of the games, all tributes start surrounding the Cornucopia.“...spilling over with the things that will give us life here in the arena” (Collins 148). This quote is a perfect example of how the Cornucopia is illustrated to the tributes and others watching the games. Katniss waits on her metal circle surrounding the Cornucopia, thinking exactly what the capital wants her to think, “But it’s so tempting, so tempting” (Collins 149). These two quotes correspond to helping Collins set the tone for the Cornucopia, making it seem like the game-saving element when really it is just a scheme of the capital. 

The Cornucopia being indicated as such an aid for tributes leads to attention from the tributes. Collins is able to use the Cornucopia to mask the true spirit of being where the first and last deaths occur. This could seem like a coincidence, but this adds to the wicked aspect of the Cornucopia. “Already other tributes have reached the Cornucopia and are spreading out to attack (Collins 150). This exemplifies the beginning of the games, starting with violence around the prizes presented by the Cornucopia.  The last death being so significant helped bring light and attention to the Cornucopia. “When I crawl to the lip of the horn and hang over the edge…sends my arrow flying into his skull”  (Collins 340-341). So much violence around the “abundance of life.” The capital will always have control and will always be one step ahead. 

Finally, the feast at the Cornucopia is seen as an excellent aid for the players as a gift from the capital when it really is a strategy brought by the capital to cause more deaths. One last remarkable detail is the feast that happens late into the games. Luring out the tributes for their own pleasure and entertainment, always being one step ahead. “...all I can think is that he is going to die if I do not get to that feast” (Collins 276). This is where the reader sees the capital's manipulation—leaving Katniss in an awful situation. The feast is remarkable for reminding the players who are in control and whose hands the game lies in. “Tomorrow there will be faces up there. Feasts always result in fatalities” (Collins 279). We see Katniss has caught on with the tricks of the capital. The final moments in the games help bring light to the actual ways of the capital.

Overall, in the novel, we learn the hidden concepts that Collins does not so obviously demonstrate. The cornucopia is one of the many ways she shows the power and savage ways of the capital. She brings light to help form the book's mood, giving it a deeper meaning. The lesson taught that not everything is how it seems carries on throughout the novel.