INTRODUCTION Criticism Toward American Democracy And Capitalism Reflected In Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games Trilogy (2008-2010).

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapt er deals with background of t he st udy, limit at ion of the st udy,
problem st at em ent , object ive of t he st udy benefit of t he st udy, and t hesis
organizat ion.

A. Background of the Study

Suzanne Collin's young adult novels of The Hunger Gam es t rilogy— The
Hunger Games (2008), Cat ching Fire (2009), M ockingjay (2010)—present s a

dyst opian adventure t ale t hrough the eyes of a t eenage girl. The novels lift
several t opics such as t he t ot alit arian government , class differences, and
m edia spect acle. The Hunger Games t rilogy has becom e one breakt hrough in
dyst opian fict ion since it s first book w as published in 2008. The Hunger
Games has influenced m any Am erican w rit ers in w rit ing dyst opian fict ion.

James Dashner w it h his The M aze Runner t rilogy w hich is so much influenced
by Collin’s The Hunger Games t rilogy. Then it is followed by other young

w rit ers like Veronica Rot h in Divergent t rilogy, and M ari Lu in Legend series.
Although The Hunger Games is not the first dyst opian fiction, as several
novels have put the chart before, such as Lois Low ry’s The Giver (1993) and
M argaret At w ood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, The Hunger Games is able t o be t he
t urning point of t he boom ing dyst opian novels in 2000s. And Am erican
lit erat ure m arket becomes dominat ed by this genre.

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The special charact erist ic of The Hunger Games t rilogy t hat m akes it
different w ith other dyst opian series is t he arc of it s st ory; from gladiator
gam e, t o revolut ion, t o w ar; as w ell as its st oryline which is int erwoven by
action, advent ure, myt hology, sci-fi, romance, and philosophy. The readers,
t herefore, can view the t rilogy different ly. Relat ing t o t he st udy on The
Hunger Games t rilogy, not

all readers com mand t he sam e lit erary

com pet ence. Hence m any st udies on The Hunger Games t rilogy have been
conduct ed by the readers in different perspect ive.

The st udy on Suzanne Collis’s The Hunger Games t rilogy has been
conduct ed by using different perspect ive in delving out the t rilogy. In
feminism perspect ive, Robert a (2014) and Loobek (2012) conduct t heir st udy
focused on t he main w oman charact er—Kat niss Everdeen—in The Hunger
Games t rilogy. In the core of Cultural Studies, Rebeca (2015) has put t he

chart in exam ining t he t rilogy by focusing on t he charact er of Kat niss
Everdeen. All of t hese st udies are focused on t he major charact er of t he
t rilogy. Som e ot her st udies have succeed ed in view ing t he t rilogy by focusing
on the Hunger Gam es. Chong (2013) and Nayar (2012) have conduct ed their
st udies in view ing the Gam es arena as t he survival m edia. On t he ot her side,
Johansson (2013) put s his at t ention on the Gam es as t he m edia
represent at ion; m eanwhile Pet erson (2012) views t he Hunger Gam es as t he
social crit icism. Furthermore in lit erary crit icism , st udy on The Hunger Games

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has been conduct ed by M c.Gunigal (2012) by focusing the them es of The
Hunger Games t rilogy.

In order t o give t he different color for the st udies on The Hunger Games
t rilogy, t he present researcher conduct s the st udy by using M arx’s theory of
class st ruggle t o delve out t he class st ruggle elem ent s—t he opposing classes,
t he cause of class st ruggle, t he pow er relat ion, the effect s of class st ruggle,
and the t ype of class st ruggle—reflect ed in the t rilogy in order t o see how t he
problem of American dem ocracy and capit alism reflect ed in The Hunger
Games t rilogy. The analyses of class st ruggle element s in t he t rilogy are

brought in to cont rast and compare t he dyst opian societ y of Panem w it h 21

st

cent ury Am erica in order t o invest igat e if t he t rilogy crit icizes t he Am erican
dem ocracy and capit alism.

B. Limitation of the Study

This st udy is focused on class st ruggle reflect ed in Collins’s The Hunger
Games t rilogy— The Hunger Gam es (2008), Catching Fire (2009), and
M ockingjay (2010)—in M arxism perspect ive in order t o reveal t he problem of

Am erican democracy and capit alism reflect ed in the t rilogy.

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C. Problem Statement

The major problem st at em ent of this st udy is to reveal t he problem of
Am erican democracy and capit alism reflect ed in Suzanne Collins’s The
Hunger Games t rilogy. The main focus of t he st udy is t o analyze t he following

quest ions:
1. What cont ext s underlie t he writ ing of The Hunger Games t rilogy?
2. How is t he problem of Am erican dem ocracy and capitalism reflect ed in
The Hunger Games t rilogy?

3. Why does t he aut hor t ake t he class st ruggle as vehicle t o criticize t he

Am erican dem ocracy and capit alism ?
D. Objective of the Study

This st udy is aim ed to reveal t he problem of American dem ocracy and
capit alism reflect ed in Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games t rilogy. The
object ives of this st udy are:
1. To explain the cont ext s underlie the w riting of The Hunger Games t rilogy.
2. To explain how the problem of Am erican dem ocracy and capit alism
reflect ed in The Hunger Games t rilogy.
3. To explain w hy the author takes t he class st ruggle as vehicle t o crit icize
t he Am erican democracy and capit alism .

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E. Benefit of the Study
1. Theoretical Benefit

Theoret ically, this study is aim ed to give t he cont ribution to the
larger body of knowledge, especially in lit erary st udy. The st udy on
Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games t rilogy is expect ed t o improve t he

library research in lit erat ure, especially in novels analysis.

2. Practical Benefit

Pract ically, t his st udy on Collins’s The Hunger Games t rilogy is
aimed to benefit the readers by t he value of her w ork in every aspect that
t he reader can afford; probably how different ly people view t he book.
The readers are defining t he book in very personal and excit ing w ays.
F. Thesis Organization

This st udy consist s of six chapt ers. Chapt er I is int roduction; it deals
w ith background of the st udy, limit at ion of the st udy, problem st at em ent s,
object ives of t he st udy, benefit s of t he st udy, and thesis organization.
Chapt er II is underlying t heory; it deals w ith underlying t heory w hich is
divided into sociology of lit erat ure t heory and M arxism class st ruggle t heory,
and t he previous st udies. Chapt er III is met hodology of t he st udy; it deals
w ith t ype of the st udy, t ype of the dat a, t he data sources w hich consist s of
primary and secondary dat a sources, t echnique of the dat a collect ion, and
t echnique of the dat a analysis. Chapt er IV is hist orical background; it deals

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w ith social aspect , econom ic aspect , political aspect , cultural aspect , science
and t echnology aspect , religious aspect , and the aut hor’s biography. Social
aspect deals w it h t he class syst em in Am erica, race and et hnic, fam ily and
children living arrangem ent , and social relat ion. Econom ic aspect deals w ith
Am erica’s Gross Domest ic Product, the U.S. Econom ic Sect ors, t axation,
unemploym ent, Am erican living st andard, and Am erican economic problems.
Political aspect deals w it h t he U.S government s, t he nat ure of Am erican
polit ics, the t wo-part y syst em, Am erican domest ic policy, and Am erican
foreign policy. Cult ural aspect deals w it h American beliefs and values, and
Am erican culture in globalizat ion era. Religious aspect deals wit h religious
beliefs, and religious practice. Chapt er V is class st ruggle analysis; it deals
w ith class st ruggle analysis of Collins’s The Hunger Games t rilogy, and
discussion. Chapt er VI is conclusion and suggest ion; it deals w it h conclusion,
pedagogical implication, and suggest ion.