Jem Kamran- The hunger Games

            I just finished The Hunger Games. And I realized that the premise of the “utopian” society that is created by the antagonists of the book is achieved through isolation of wilderness. In the book the government has divided the country into twelve; each district specializes in a part of industry like coal, agriculture, lumber, fishing etc. By limiting people to one landscape or aspect of the natural world the government of the novel obtained the power to oppress, and control any dissidents. They have manufactured and have been able to control aspects of the natural world in order to further subdue the people for example the mockingjay birds that they have genetically modified to imitate the words that have been spoken. The governement manipulates the natural for their own devise.

           When the main character learns to escape to the wilderness to hunt and provide for her family- which is illegal to do- she realizes that there is more to life then to going along with what the Capitol says. Her entrance into the wilderness was the beginning of her revolt against the established government. So it is by no surprise that most of the characters in the book hope to one day escape to the wilderness. The wilderness becomes a symbol of hope and most importantly a symbol of freedom for them. 

            This book is first of the series and I hope to read on to find out how this theme of wilderness as a symbol of freedom  further develops through out the story.