*Aurthur Notes- I wrote this essay about the way all different novels, all with the same theme: government control. The three novels "The Giver," "The Hunger Games," and "City of Ember" all deal with the same problem, but different situations.
Dominating the weak and killing the strong, they regret nothing; they just enjoy the suffering of those around them as they live in luxury. The government of Panem causes life or death situations for the citizens of its twelve districts in the novel The Hunger Games. Meanwhile, another government keeps the people of Ember in the dark about a dangerous secret in the book City of Ember. A third government in the classic The Giver runs everything about the citizens' lives and it’s complete normalcy for them. Having a government with too much control never ends well.
The government in the three novels has gained so much authority that no one is safe from their ascendancy. In “The Giver” the citizens in the Utopia have no clear thought about their government controlling their whole lives. In the citizen’s and Elders eyes, their community is perfect, no death, no pain, and not many differences. Not one person really knows the pain and suffering that the world around them is dealing with because the Giver hides the truth from the Elders and citizens. Unlike “The Giver” in the novel “The Hunger Games” the government causes all the pain and suffering by creating an arena where two children from each of the twelve fight to the deaths, with only one survivor. While the government creates the death and poverty, the governor of the classic “City of Ember” hides in luxury, while his citizens are slowly starving and rushing to conserve their resources to remain living. But not only are they in the dark about the room of desirable and “rare” foods that the governor has been living off of for years, but that they are living in a hole that no one can find a way to escape.All three governments are causing the downfalls of their communities.
No matter how much a person hates their government rebelling against their government will always have its consequences. Such as the event The Hunger Games, the 13 districts rebelled against the Capital for their hatred of their control. Only to lose the war and cause the Capital to gain more control than what they already had. Creating The Hunger Games was a symbol that no matter how much you hate us, we will always win and kill along the way. Even though The Giver has punishments, they aren’t as severe as killing one another or wiping their backs until they pass out; but more subtle, gentle punishments, such as slight public humiliation or getting slapped in the leg is a thin, plastic device that corrects mistakes by children. From all the novels, City of Ember has no intense punishment what-so-ever. Aside from the soon living their lives in darkness until they all die from accidents and no light. Until the main characters Lina and Doon are caught finding the truth about living in a hole, they are chased and in hiding from the government holding their lives close and the secrets closer.
Once the control has affected the lives of everyone, a revolution is needed. Once Jonas, the main character from The Giver, has figured that his new little brother was going to be Released, Jonas knew he had to do something. Escaping with Gabriel was his only option, causing the government to panic about another two children being lost and never to be found, proving they can’t always control and protect the citizens of the community. Escaping from the Capital isn’t an option for any of the district people because the Capital will always find them. But when Katniss pulled the out the fatal Night Lock berries, she became the Mockingjay that was meant to defy the Capital. The Giver and The Hunger Games all have life or death mission, City of Ember holds the current lives of their city in their hands. But defeating the governor and getting all the citizens out into the light and real world, isn’t an easy task and if the governor keeps getting in the way they will never make it out alive.
All three novels display a knowing stand point of an overpowering government that has taken too large of a step into controlling. The people of any novel with a over ruling government know that they must take a stand to show they aren’t afraid and won’t let them kill the people they know and love. Although there are different types of a controlling government, there will always be suffering and the one person who will take charge and crash them down!
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