Candelario 1

Ariana Candelario
Professor Lawson
English 114B
7 May 2014
Project Text Final Draft
Word Count: 1719
Socioeconomic Inequality in Panem and America
Whether its in the fictional dystopian society of Panem or our present capitalistic society
in America; the odds will never be in everyones favor. The Hunger Games trilogy, written by
Suzanne Collins, subtly brings forth the issue of socioeconomic inequality in the fictional society
that correlates with our own. The nation is currently struggling with an economic issue between
two distinct sides where one egregiously outweighs the other in wealth.
The most prominent and alarming issue is the protest by the Occupy movement that
Americas wealth is unequally divided: the 99 percent versus the one percent. The idea, in terms
of wealth, is that the top one percent of Americans are currently controlling 43 percent of
financial wealth in this country (Dunn). To better understand this idea Dunn broke down the
figures for us, the average annual income of the top 1 percent of the population is $717,000,
compared to the average income of the rest of the population, which is around $51,000. Now if
those numbers arent daunting enough to give you a better understanding of what the one
percents wealth actually is Dunn writes that, the real disparity between the classes isnt in
income, however, but in net value: the 1 percent are worth about $8.4 million, or 70 times the
worth of the lower classes. To see an even bigger wealth gap Dunn presents us with an even
smaller subset of the .01 percent, the top people have a recorded income of over $27 million that
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is said to be about 540 times the national average income. The Hunger Games trilogy displays
this same idea through our protagonists eyes through the settings of the districts and how
differently they are from the Capitol. Collins doesnt explicitly state that the Capitol is the one
percent and the districts amount to the 99 percent, even so; it is clear that there is a tremendous
amount of economic inequality as well as social inequality throughout Panem. Collins novels
are fiction, however; they continue to leave an essence of inequality in the minds of her readers
who can ultimately see this imbalance in their own society.
The Capitol citizens are exempt from having their children sent off to the hunger games,
they do not have to work for their resources, nor do they have a care about the poverty and
starvation in the districts: the good life. The Capitol is a place of wealth and luxury where no one
is starving to death like in other districts instead they are, vomiting for the pleasure of filling
their bellies again and again (Catching Fire, Collins 80). The citizens of the Capitol are
basically glamorized bulimics with their dyed skin, colored wigs, and costumes. In The Hunger
Games Katniss tells us that, starvation is not an uncommon fate in District 12 and these
victims of starvation range from the elderly and injured miners who can no longer work to the
children from big families that dont have enough food (Collins 28). These two examples show
just how different the lives are of the inhabitants of Panem from one extreme to another this is
how the 99 percent differs from the one percent.
Anyone can agree that lifestyles are changed once money is added to the equation those
of the upper classes are able to afford better things as opposed to those of the lower class.
Travelling is seen as a bit of luxury in America when its not work related of course and in the
districts it was forbidden to travel unless it was officially sanctioned duties (The Hunger
Games, Collins 41). The citizens of the Capitol could easily travel throughout the districts, but
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why would they want to leave their lavish homes. Citizens from the districts are not allowed to
travel mostly out of government oppression, although; it could be that someone from District 12
couldnt afford to live in District 1. Collins numbered the districts from 1-13; one being the
district that makes luxury goods for the Capitol, would be seen as an upper class area and District
12 were mining is done is seen as the lowest of the lowest classes in their society. This
separation of classes became especially important when it came to the Games, the kids from
wealthier districts such as one, two, and four became known as Career tributes and they have had
extensive training prior to the Games, which meant they had a higher chance of winning. Not
only are the wealthier children properly trained they are also heavily supported throughout the
Games since they are from the more economically comfortable districts (Clemente 24). The
difference between classes isnt only described between the Capitol and the districts but also
from within the districts themselves. In The Hunger Games, the tesserae is described as a one
year supply of grain and oil and it is offered to the children whos names will enter the reaping
multiple times each lottery in order to receive more grain and oil for their families (Collins 13).
Our protagonists friend Madge the mayors daughter from District 12 has not needed to enter her
name more than once each year because her family is better off than the rest of the people in the
district; which leaves Madge with a slim chance of having her name drawn from the lottery as
opposed to the children from the Seam. District 12 is divided into two parts the people of the
lower class like Katniss live in the Seam and the better off class, but not to be confused with
the upper class like the Capitol, live in the merchant area. As Clemente mentions, the system
disadvantages the poorest citizens, who must improve their chances of getting harvested by
cashing in their odds for meager foodstuff. The division of classes is explicitly shown
through differences between the lifestyles of the citizens of the Capitol compared to those of the
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districts, however; the inequality doesnt just stop there it is also shown within the districts like
12 and the divide between the people from the Seam and the merchant area.
In The Hunger Games according to Kagan, the working class encounters problems such
as lack of food, shelter and clothing the bare necessities that we are accustomed to. These
truly are basic needs that we are accustomed to, unfortunately even in 2014 many people are still
struggling to obtain these bare necessities. According to Feeding America, 1 in 6 people in the
U.S. are going hungry. The working classes in todays society still cannot make ends meet and
are forced to go hungry. The government has made budget cuts to programs like SNAP
(Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) as of November 2013, the total cut is estimated
to be $5 billion dollars in just one fiscal year (Dean, Rosenbaum). Now what if the Capitol was
to make cuts to the tesserae how many more people do you think youd come across on the
streets lying motionless in District 12. The cuts to SNAP are not the only reason people are going
hungry in America, but it can definitely be one of the primary factors. Poverty only continues to
rise, which leads to homelessness. On a given night in January 2013 610,042 people were
homeless; 23 percent of those were children under the age of 18 (Henry et al. 1). One may not be
starving and they may not be homeless, however; that doesnt necessarily mean they are of the
one percent they just may be a bit better off than the last person.
In America we have been led to believe that if you work hard you will be successful and
could possibly be of that one percent, unfortunately this is always easier said than done. The
average American worker of any company brings home a substantially lower income compared
to their supervisors and executives (Dunn). Dunn notes that, corporate executives make 62
times more money than an average worker in bonuses alone, not counting the executives actual
salary. These executives are more likely to send their children to private schools and an Ivy
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League school unlike one of their workers children who will attend public school all their life
and hopefully attend a community college. Just because youre not of the one percent does not
mean your child cant attend an Ivy League, having said that; it wont be as easy. Lower-income
families need to rely on their childs academics and hope they receive scholarships to attend
these elite schools if not theyll just find themselves in debt unlike the higher-income family who
can afford $40,000+ tuitions every year. The rich just keep getting richer; it will always be easier
for the people at the top to stay there as opposed to those of the bottom who need to work hard to
just get somewhere in between like the middle class. In The Hunger Games education is not a big
factor of these childrens lives they are mostly taught about their trade; according to Katniss
[everything] comes back to coal at school (Collins 41). The children from the districts are
limited on their education to only learning about the trade they are forced to learn and to do for
the rest of their lives. How is one ever to become successful in life when they cant get a decent
education? It would seem that they just werent meant to thrive.
Inequality is ubiquitous and the fact that we ignore it means it will only prosper; the
division between wealth and social classes will only worsen if we do not control the situation.
One day America could replicate Panem if the unfair distribution of wealth doesnt end, this
inequality will eventually become detrimental to our lives; the lives of the 99 percent. These
books are directed to young adults and they are meant to be warning for what the future holds for
us. As readers we are constantly frustrated by the inequality we see going on in this fictional
nation; it just may be a call to action for us to prevent such extreme atrocities in our own society.
Recall that the odds are never in everyones favor it is ultimately up to us to change that and go
against them.