SAMPLE PAPER
The Hunger Games is a book full of adventure, murder, betrayal, and triumph. It tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, a tomboy with a trust issues, expert archery skills, and will to survive. She has been sent to the Hunger Games, a treacherous gladiator competition where teenagers fight to the death on national television. Her struggle is full of archetypes seen in classical literature such as Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey and Ray Bradbury’s A Sound of Thunder, but not everyone thinks it measures up. Although some people believe that The Hunger Games should not be taught in the English classroom, it is a valuable literary tool because it contains imagery, conflict, and theme.
The Hunger Games contains a wealth of imagery, used to help the author see, feel, hear, taste, or touch the action. Author Suzanne Collins’ descriptions make the reader feel like he/she is right next to Katniss for her entire journey. For example, on page 3, Katniss describes her sister Prim’s cat and the reader can almost see it staring back at them. Katniss describes it as having a “mashed-in nose, half of one ear missing, eyes the color of rotting squash.”Another example is when Katniss explains her condition after only three days of the games. The reader can sense the fragility of her body when she says, “I feel like an old piece of leather, drying and cracking in the heat” (169). Katniss’ description of the Capitol exhibits Collins talent for transportingreaders to different places with her illustrative words. Collins writes, “the glistening buildings in a rainbow of hues that tower in the air, the shiny cars that roll down the wide paved streets, the oddly dressed people with bizarre hair and painted faces who have never missed a meal. All the colors seem artificial, the pinks too deep, the greens too bright, the yellows painful to the eyes, like the flat round disks of hard candy we can never afford to buy at the tiny sweet shop in District 12” (59). In addition to imagery, The Hunger Games also contains complex conflicts.
The Hunger Games is a valuable tool for students of literature because it gives them examples of important literary elements, and does it with a writing that is relatable to young readers. This book can open students’ eyes to the brutality of reality television shows like Survivor, and the courage involved in standing up for what you believe in. Students will benefit not only from the lessons learned, but also be armed with the confidence that they can understand complex elements of writing.
REMINDER:
This is only a SAMPLE paper, Your paper MUST BE 5 PARAGRAPHS and DOUBLE-SPACED.