As you can tell from all the atrocious puns in the title, this
essay will be studying the elements in the Hunger Games trilogy
that inspire its tremendous popularity. It’s fascinating to analyze
the mixture of elements that has caught readers’ imaginations
around the world. What is so alluring about the Hunger Games’
particular mixture of adventure, romance, and philosophy? Many
of the elements present in the series are familiar, so how does
Suzanne Collins make it all seem fresh and compelling?

For a long time I avoided the Hunger Games because, well,
I’d seen Battle Royale, thank you very much. (Battle Royale is a
Japanese movie, based on the book of the same name by Koushun
Takami, about high school students who are chosen by lottery to
kill each other under new legislation introduced by a futuristic
government.) I finally buckled under the weight of hearing
everybody’s enthusiastic recommendations for six months, and
then I read the Hunger Games voraciously and was extremely
annoyed when interrupted by such inconsequential things as
“Christmas dinner.” (God, Mom, did you not understand Katniss
was being pursued by the mutts? You have several children,
why does it always have to be about collecting the whole set all
the time?)

So my assumption made an ass out of me, and I missed out on
the Hunger Games for six months! My reason  …