Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography
The Hunger Games, a book written by Suzanne Collins, takes place in a dystopian world
far in the far future. The main characters in The Hunger Games are Katniss and Peeta. In
the dystopian setting of The Hunger Games, after many natural disasters and the effects
of climate change, the world is separated into 12 districts - each with a specific job and
status. For example, district one, home of the capitol is the highest status, while District
12 is the lowest status with the citizens of this district being coal miners. Other districts
are fisherman, lumber, transportation, and more. Every year, the annual hunger games
take place, an event where two kids under the age of 18 are chosen to compete for their
lives in a specialized arena created by scientists until only one is left standing. This being
event taken place for the pleasure and entertainment of the capitol. Katniss Everdeen is a
girl from District 12, who volunteers for her little sister to compete in the hunger games.
Peeta, a baker's son is also chosen. After a few weeks of training, interviews, and ratings
by the capital, all competitors - known as tributes are placed in an arena. An artificially
produced natural environment with harsh conditions and dangerous animals, plants, and
more. After the countdown, the competitors take off getting supplies, and forming
groups/alliances - many being killed in the process. Peeta joins a group with tributes from
Districts One and Two, while Katniss chooses to work alone. Katniss' priority was to
explore the arena - at one point she gets too close to the edge and the capitol chases her
away with fire. Toward the climax of the book, drawing in the reader, a love story is
formed between Peeta and Katniss, after Peeta is injured and they start working together.
Though, their love is simply a play to get more funding and supporters from the capital.
Coleman 2
Soon, only them, a boy from District One, Cato, and a boy from District 11, Thresh.
Thresh gets killed by mutated wolf-like dogs and Katniss shoots Cato during an intense
fight. Only Katniss and Peeta are left and threaten to kill themselves with poisonous
berries unless both can win. It works and the capitol declares them both winners, freeing
them from the Arena and awarding them with a prize. Katniss and Peeta return to District
12 estranged after their false love was revealed. Although the first games were now over,
Katniss and Peeta were now being targeted by the capitol for their act of defiance with
the berries. This caused their journey fighting the capitol and escaping the grip of the
The Maze Runner, like The Hunger Games, takes place in a futuristic dystopian society.
Thomas is the main character in The Maze Runner, joined by other characters that live in
the Glade. The Glade is the courtyard - surrounded by a huge labyrinth of mazes. Dazed
and without knowing his whereabouts, Thomas is dropped in the Glade. Thomas soon
finds out where he is when he is informed by a friend. He is told the Maze leads to a way
out of the courtyard that are trapped in, but maze runners - those who try and find the
exit - can only go out in the day because at night, they are all trapped in the courtyard and
maze entrances are closed. Or if one is unlucky and doesn't make it out in time, a maze
runner can get stuck in the maze with spider-like creatures called grievers who contain
deadly venom and roam the maze. Early on Thomas joins a group, maze runners,
although he is not one quite yet. he also makes enemies, as many in the Glade do not get
along. Many are suspicious of Thomas, especially after ben, a maze runner, bitten by the
Coleman 3
spider, hallucinates. Those include images of the "real world" and revealing who Thomas
is. After trying to kill Thomas, Ben is sent into the maze to die as punishment. To add to
the tension and suspicions of Thomas, a girl is then dropped into the maze. The only girl.
One day, after the leader Alby and Minho get stuck in the maze after Alby is stung,
Thomas runs into the maze to help them. They successfully make it out alive through the
night and save Alby. This makes Thomas become a maze runner, but tensions soon rise
when Alby hallucinates about Thomas and the girl, Theresa, revealing who they really
are. It is revealed that after the "real world" was destructed by natural disasters, wars, and
a deadly virus, scientists created mazes, placing orphans in them to test who could
survive the maze and retrieve the cure for the disease. Thomas and Theresa worked with
the scientists to build the mazes and chose to be dropped in. They were also lovers.
Towards the end of the book, after the Gladers are forced the leave the glade due to
threats of being killed by the spiders at night, Thomas leads the group through the maze.
They make it through after many sacrifices, including Alby's, and reach a lab. Most are
dead but the lead scientist, who Thomas kills. Rescuers then come save them - only to
find out they are not rescuing the group, but they are a part of the experiment, bringing
Puri Saputro, Yosia. “The Psychological Development of The Main Character of Becoming A
Gang Leader through Frustration; Reflections on Dashner’s ‘The Maze Runner.’” DOAJ,
https://doaj.org/article/3e146166e986487da2afb31f28bc4efd.
Coleman 4
In this article, the authors analyze and explain the psychological development of Thomas,
the main character in The Maze Runner. This article reflects and explains a study that was
done to analyze Thomas, his emotions, and his actions throughout the book. this study
states, Thomas grew to become a good leader through frustration. This qualitative study
using a psychoanalytic approach was created and completed by Sigmund Freud. They
found supporting data relating to psychological development using The Maze Runner and
data from secondary sources, such as books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and articles
related to this research. The authors and Freud collected data by reading, identifying,
psychoanalysis included Thomas' id, ego, and superego. This was used to show and
analyze how strong emotions of frustration, fear, and anger affected Thomas and if they
affected him in a positive or negative way. They found that, although frustration, fear,
and anger would normally overpower and diminish one’s ability to perform and provide
good leadership, Thomas used it as determination, making him a more efficient leader.
The psychoanalysis of Thomas' development also showed that since Thomas already did
not have a big ego, it was easier for him to control his emotions. Then, he does not only
focus on his frustration, but he can also develop from frustration to be a good leader.
This article, An Analysis of Aggression in Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games, aims to
analyze the aggression that is shown by the tributes of the hunger games. The main
Coleman 5
tributes focused on in the article are Katniss, Peeta, Cato, Clove, Glimmer, and Thresh.
The writer focuses on pointing out two ideas. First, the author describes the depiction of
aggression in Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games. Then, the author describes the
reasoning behind the tribute's aggression that was depicted in the book. In this article, the
author describes the concept of aggression and backs up their point using the studies of
several experts to depict the aggression that is done by the tributes in the hunger games. It
also speaks on how the psychological approach of death causes people to instinctively
show aggression - especially when it's a violent situation. Defense. To back up the
article's point, Naning uses studies done by Sigmund Freud and the concept of aggression
by Anderson & Bushman to find out the situational factors that cause violent aggression.
Many of the factors behind the acts of aggression are followed by an instinct for
destruction and the aggression shown by the tributes was also caused due to the
completeness of the games and that they were placed in an unescapable life or death
situation.
Cettl, Fani. “Revisiting Dystopia: The Reality Show Biopolitics of ‘The Hunger Games’ |
http://journals.cultcenter.net/index.php/culture/article/view/190.
This paper explores and describes the dystopian imaginaries and setting of The Hunger
Games by Suzanne Collins. It also mentions and shines some light on the movies and
how a dystopian setting is represented in film - how it can be compared to reality TV and
real life. Fani begins with a summary of the book, explaining the main points of The
Coleman 6
Hunger Games. Those being that the hunger games are a ceremony and competition held
by the capitol where two tributes from each district (1-12) compete to the death. Until
only one person is standing. Fani believes, "...Hunger Games reality show is framed
within the dystopian imaginaries of the totalitarian nation-state in order to critique the
logic of the global liberal capitalist marketing which such shows operate today." (sec. 2).
Fani then compares the Hunger Games to the reality show Survivor, stating "the game
arena as a bounded piece of geography (water surfaces, woods), which recalls the reality
show Survivor..." (sec. 2). Fani also compares the Hunger Games to Big Brother since
tributes are dressed by stylists and attend interviews in front of a live audience before
entering the arena. The book is also compared to Giorgio Agamben's theorization of the
spectacle as part of his theory of biopolitics due to the settings of "career districts", focus
on celebrities, and the fact that the districts, especially the capital, watch the games like a
show - purely for entertainment. Fani then proceeds to compare the dystopian hunger
games settings to other political theories, events, capitalist movements, and more. The
article ends with Fani claiming The Hunger Games is an accurate portrayal of Agamben's
theory. That the book and movie critique the modern world and reality TV - how reality
Gianoulis, Tina. “The Hunger Games.” Gale Literature Resource Center, Gale, 2013,
https//:com.ezproxy.spl.org/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T001&resultListType=RESULT_L
&searchResult
In this critical essay, Tina describes how the novel, The Hunger Games explores and
represents the issues of war, morality, and economic justice. She also compares the show
Coleman 7
to a TV reality show - how the games are televised and watched as entertainment by the
capital. Tina briefly summarizes the setting and plot of the novel as well. The book is set
in a futuristic place in North America called Panem. Every year to battle district
rebellion, two members from each district, called tributes, are chosen to fight to the death
in a tech-controlled arena. Tina provides a historical and literary context in her essay -
comparing the novel to the Afgan and Iraq wars the U.S. was involved in and the attacks
that took place in New York. The claim is that The Hunger Games was in part a response
to the continuing warfare. The novel is also compared to the reality show Survivor, a
show where competitors must live in the forest/jungle and do challenges and
competitions to win - some being kicked out if they lose - a million dollars being given to
the winner. Tina then goes on to explain how during the turn of the twenty-first century
there were many science fiction, dystopian, and fantasy books written aimed at younger
audiences. Themes in The Hunger Games are compared to phenomena when people's
rights are stripped away from them, isolated citizens, and government control. And many
praise the book due to its ability to show a wide range of politics.