The Hunger Games Trilogy

Discuss the differences between the Games in the first volume and the second—the training sessions, the interviews, the set-up of the arena, the strategies that Katniss and Peeta use. How is each of them changed by the time they spend in the arena? How does the experience of being in the Games prepare the tributes for fighting in the rebellion?

What are the forces that contribute to the rebellion in Catching Fire? Were they already starting to happen in The Hunger Games? What clues can you find in the first two books that the rebellion is underway? Did you as a reader believe in the existence of District 13 before experiencing it in Mockingjay? Do you think Katniss, Peeta, and Gale believed in it?

Why are all citizens of Panem required to watch The Hunger Games on television? How does this affect the people? Why haven’t they rebelled earlier against the brutality of the Games? What is the importance of the propos that are created for the rebellion in Mockingjay and the way they are used? Discuss the effect of television and reality TV in your own life.

Compare the society in Panem (the government, its tight control on the population, and the forces for the rebellion) to others that you have studied or encountered in books or films. Consider historical and contemporary nations as well as fictional worlds. What does Panem have in common with these cultures, and how does it differ? What can we learn about our own world from studying and reading about historical and fictional societies?

Research the symptoms and treatment of PTSD (PostTraumatic Stress Disorder). How is this condition portrayed in The Hunger Games trilogy? Discuss the many ways it can appear in real life. How does Katniss counteract her symptoms? How does each of the tributes that have been in the arena cope with these symptoms?

Discuss the concept of Panem et Circenses that Plutarch explains to Katniss. What is the effect of easy food and entertainment on the citizens of the Capitol? How does this society compare to that of the Roman Empire? Why do the districts in Panem have no concept of history before “The Dark Days”?

Discuss the symbolism of fire throughout the series. How does Katniss change from the synthetic “girl on fire” created by Cinna for the opening ceremonies to the girl whose spirit “catches fire” for the rebellion to the girl who nearly dies by fire in the overthrow of the Capitol?

The poet Wilfred Owen wrote in the early 20th century, “My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity…. All a poet can do today is warn. That is why the true Poets must be truthful.” Discuss this quote in relation to Suzanne Collins’s writing about the war between the Capitol and the rebels. What warning must the people of Panem heed if their new government is to succeed? What warning must we heed about our own society and government?