The Hunger Games - A Review from a Christian Perspective

From time to time I am asked to read and make comments on a book that I normally would not be enticed to read on my own. Recently I received such a request concerning the book written by Suzanne Collins and titled, "Hunger Games." This is the first in a series of three books and has become the theme of a blockbuster motion picture. So I decided that I would accept the challenge.

Without telling the entire story, let me give you just a synopsis. The story is set in a country known as Panem, a nation that encompasses most of North America after a major disaster has destroyed the nations presently there today. So, it is futuristic in its setting. Panem is divided into twelve districts along with a Capitol. Each of the twelve districts is focused upon one particular aspect of economic life: some agricultural, some industrial, and some - like District 12, where the two main characters live, focused upon coal mining. Some districts are affluent, while others, like District 12, are very impoverished.

Once a year, each of the twelve districts selects one young girl and one young man to act as their tributes in a contest known as the Hunger Games. This contest is set in a large arena that encompasses forests, lakes, rivers, deserts, hills and caves; yet is an arena that can be electronically controlled by the managers of the games. For instance, if the contestants become too distant from one another, a few buttons can be pushed that will create a wildfire that drive the contestants back into a more centralized location. All of the actions within this arena are televised around the country of Panem.

The two major characters in the book are a young girl by the name of Katniss and a young man by the name of Peeta, both from District 12. Katniss' father died in a mining accident, and she has been given the responsibility of providing for her widowed mother and younger sister. She has become an expert with her hunting skills, including trapping and archery. Peeta's father is the local baker and has not had much skill in the outside world. Katniss has become a very independent thinking young girl but with a heart to help her mother and sister. Peeta has a heart to help others. These are thrust together as District 12's tributes to the Hunger Games.

You are asking me, "Max, what is the purpose of these games?" And here is where I found the book to be troubling. These 24 young people are selected then sent to the Capitol where they are primped, trained, and then paraded before the people of the Capitol and the country. The purpose of the Hunger Games is to turn these 24 young people loose into the arena and watch as they systematically kill one another until only one survives - who is then accorded with great acclamation and wealth. Some fight with spears, others with knives, and still others with bare hands. Some are killed almost as soon as they enter the arena, while others will survive for days and even weeks as they first escape and then begin stalking one another. And all the while the country of Panem is glued to television monitors watching the killing occur. Bets are placed on who will survive. The descriptions of the killings of the young people at times is very graphic. Violence is certainly a theme of this first book.

To be frankly honest, as I read this book my thoughts turned to the ancient gladiatorial contests held in the coliseums of Rome. In those arenas, before an audience that desired violence, men and women would fight to the death amidst the cheers of the crowds. Those who survived such contests were often awarded with their freedom and acclamation, but such survivors were rare. Much blood darkened the sands of the arenas' floors.

A further picture that came to my mind as I read was that recorded in Revelation 11 concerning the reaction of the world when the two witnesses are finally assassinated. For three and a half years, the world has been watching these two men testify boldly and diligently with the message of Jesus Christ outside the newly constructed temple in Jerusalem. Now they are dead. We read: "Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth" (Revelation 11:8-10). The celebration of violence.

I was troubled as I read this book knowing that it was written for those in the "tween years." Why the glorification of violence and death? Why would communities sacrifice the future by offering up as a sacrifice two of their own young people? The images conveyed in the book troubled my adult mind - I wonder what impact they would have upon a young adolescent mind? I have heard others say that there was some redemptive value in the story as some of the contestants reached out to others - Katniss, for example, reaches out to one of the youngest tributes, a girl named Rue. Yet, each knew that as the Hunger Games continued, one would be called upon to kill the other. What redemptive value is that?

To Ms. Collins' credit, she writes an incredible story with believable characters and drama that caused one to keep turning the pages. Yet, the premise of the story was difficult for me as a Christian to accept; in fact, I found it to be very troubling. It certainly would not be a book that I would recommend my "tween aged" grandchildren read. If you want your "tween aged" children and/or grandchildren to read about teens their own age, I would encourage them to read "A Diary of Anne Frank" or even "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."

If you have read this book, I would certainly welcome your comments and observations.