Hope and equilibrium in the dystopian world of The Hunger Games

Bibliographic Data

ID21180343
AuthorsMaría Sandra Peña Cervel (0000-0002-4507-958X, Universidad de La Rioja), María Sandra Peña-Cervel, Andreea Rosca (0000-0001-6112-0063, Universitat de València)
Year2021
Volume85
Pages227-244
Publication date2021-01-11
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCírculo de lingüística aplicada a la comunicación (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1576-4737 • E-ISSN: 1576-4737
PublisherUniversidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.5209/clac.73549
OpenAlexW3164230060
LanguageEN
References cited25

This paper provides evidence of the fruitfulness of combining analytical categories from Cognitive Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis for the analysis of complex literary characterizations. It does so through a detailed study of the “tributes”, i.e. the randomly selected children who have to fight to death in a nationally televised show, in The Hunger Games. The study proves the effectiveness of such categories to provide an analytically accurate picture of the dystopian world depicted in the novel, which is revealed to include a paradoxical element of hope. The type of dehumanization that characterizes the dystopian society of Panem is portrayed through an internally consistent set of ontological metaphors which project negative aspects of lower forms of existence onto people. This selection of metaphors promotes a biased perspective on the poor inhabitants of Panem, while legitimizing the social inequalities the wealthy Capitol works hard to immortalize. However, Katniss undergoes a metamorphosis through her discovery of her own identity, which hints at an emerging female empowerment. This transformation, together with her identification with the Mockingjay, a supernatural being that voices her beliefs and emotions, contributes to disrupting the status quo imposed by the almighty Gamemakers and to purveying a message of optimism

Aesthetics · Apprehension · Dehumanization · Dystopia · Epistemology · Optimism · Political science · Sociology · Status quo · Humor Studies and Applications · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Law · Narrative Theory and Analysis · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology

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