What if we had to kill just because we were ordered to? Of course that feels like a job of an assassin, doesn’t it? This was the reality for the tributes of Panem in The Hunger games. If the tributes survived through the experience, they got a surplus of food. Was it worth it? Panem, the remains of USA, takes an extreme approach to most of America’s practices. Panem’s government and our society today are very different but we still show many similarities in our lifestyles and physical appearances.

Government is a crucial part in any society. Panem had a government as well. They ran their government a little different than Americans do today. They created their own rules that were cruel to people living in separate areas, called districts (similar to ours). The citizens of the districts could not own their shops or stores. The profit they made went to the government. People usually collected a skunk or squirrel carcass to pay for a loaf of daily bread. Today, our government is different. We pay taxes, however, keep the gains and losses of our business. Although our government monitors the business, it does not claim it. In Panem, the people were tracked by surveillance cameras and spies such as Jabber Jays. These Jabber Jays returned to their citadel, the Capitol. If abuse was reported, the violators were punished cruelly and maimed. As we all are aware, the present day government is criticized, praised, and commented on daily. We do not get punished for doing so.

Speaking of punishment, violence was a major part in Panem. Panem had many ways of showing violence through punishment, disapproval, and abusive speech, but one of the main themes of violence in Panem was the title itself The Hunger Games. The reason the Hunger Games was created was to remind people about the story of District 13. The citizens in District 13 were very rude and churlish to the Capitol. So, the Capitol launched a fire bomb on District 13. The Capitol then built an arena on the rubble of District 13 and settled something called the Hunger Games. Two Tributes from each chosen District (boy and girl) were to go into an arena and kill the other tributes. We have violence in today’s world as well. Violence issues today are fighting in alleys, houses, and even amongst nations. Every night, at least one case in the news is dedicated to a murder or an unsolved case. We also feature violence in movies, video games and TV shows.

Life in Panem was not just violent. It was also nice and cozy with rugs made of real rabbit fur and couches made of real ox hide. Not all the furniture was like this though. The people also had old black and white TV’s for watching the Hunger Games. To sleep, they had beds made of miscellaneous animal pelts, pillows of real cotton and squirrel fur. The houses were only one level with a bed room, kitchen, and living room. This isn’t a lot different from what we have today. We have beds and pillows as well. We, however, do not make ours (we buy ours). In addition to the kitchens, we have flat screen TV filled living rooms with leather couches, and ceiling fans in our air conditioned houses, unlike Panem. People in Panem also altered their looks in many ways. It was as little as painting their nails, to drastic measures like plastic surgery. This is not very dissimilar to our society today.
Do we want to end up like Panem? What if government, physical appearance and violence in your community had progressed to an extreme? We don’t want to lose our independence, or be under constant vigil by the government. If we cannot curb the violence, and build a stronger society, then we might have a detrimental effect on the future. Building a loving and caring nation does not seem impossible with some care for our others, so we can hold a better future.