Compare and Contrast:

The “Hunger Games” and “1984”

By Jared Dougall, 711

               

In the two books, “1984” by George Orwell and “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, there are two characters in dystopian societies rebelling against their governments. Although there are some important differences between the characters, what the governments do and the things the books make you think about, the books both show how fascist dictatorship governments work. The classic literature of George Orwell asks the reader harder questions, while Suzanne Collins’ writing is not as complex, but is more action packed. Both books are very interesting and both present a chilling portrayal of a dystopian society.

First, “The Hunger Games” and “1984” have similar character relationships. For example, the main characters both have loved ones or partners. Winston has Julia, and Katniss has Peeta. But Katniss and Winston have different reasons for liking their partners. Katniss likes Peeta because he is a good person, while Winston mainly likes Julia for the sexual encounters. Katniss also has a relationship with her Younger sister, Prim whereas Winston seems to have no close relationships other than Julia. Throughout both books, these secondary characters are victimized. For example, Julia is tortured, Peeta almost dies in the arena and Prim was selected for the hunger games. Katniss protects and saves Peeta and Prim, while Winston betrays Julia. When Winston betrays Julia, this challenges and asks the reader if they would have betrayed Julia, and I can say first hand I was very distraught when reading this part of the book. This part made me wonder if I would betray Julia, while the “The Hunger Games” did not cause me to ask as many questions.

Second, both governments are fascist dictatorships and both use propaganda to try to control their people. The two governments spy on their peoples, allow no criticism through freedom of speech and have a single party government controlled by a dictator. Although Big Brother is more successful at controlling its people, these two governments try to leave their populations with no power. But the propaganda is different in each book. For example, the Hunger Games are pretty much publicly televised torture of individuals, while the 2 minutes of hate is pro-party, not anti-citizen.

Third, the factors driving the protagonists themselves are very different.  Katniss is selfless while Winston is selfish.  Katniss volunteers for Prim, and saves Peeta’s life while Winston turns on Julia in the end and gives in to Big Brother. They are similar because they both try to rebel, but once again Katniss has a more valid motive to rebel.  The districts are pretty much labor camps and she had to rebel to save her family (Prim) and friend (Peeta).  Winston’s main motive was to break rules (which sexually excited him) and to get in bed with Julia.

In conclusion, the challenges that Winston faced were much more realistic than those of Katniss.  Katniss faces a much more “fantasy-like” problem that is extremely unlikely to ever occur.  While televised reality competitions certainly exist, the obstacles that Katniss has to overcome are not realistic. Also, Katniss’ character is flawless in her loyalty to Prim and Peeta.  On the other hand, Winston’s ‘naughty’ need for sex is much more common, and occurs thousands of time a day.  Also facist governments that spy and control their own people and ask people to betray each other have and continue to exist.  Because Winston is flawed and the situation he is in is more common, George Orwell challenges the reader more to try to understand Winston. Both books were fantastic, but 1984 asks better and more realistic questions.