Does some type of struggling dominate current society? People first think of children or families dying of starvation. Digging deeper illustrates that people are struggling on many levels, including both the people of Panem and the ones living in America. Panem is closer than thought. Panem and the contemporary society have many similarities. There are many parallels and differences involving survival, physical appearance, punishment, and control in Panem and today's current world.
First of all, struggle is one important part of Panem and the world today. In District 12 the struggle for food is unbearable. On the globe today families in many countries are also working very hard to fight hunger. Lots of the children with no food are dying. According to the World Food Programme, one out of every six people in the world today is hungry. Panem also has many hungry people. Panem and the world as we know it are split into wealthy districts and poor districts. But the people of Panem struggle to stay alive from the violence around them and not to be chosen for the Hunger Games. The struggling in Panem and the world is worse than it seems to appear.
The next topic is about the people in Panem’s capitol, the United States, and even the world and their obsession with their physical appearance. Tattooing, makeup, and plastic surgery are just a few of the changes they all do to transform their body into something that makes them look better. Panem’s people in the capitol go above and beyond with this body enhancement. They dye their skin a color, such as a pale green or hot pink, just like people in the United States dye their hair. One thing that people in the United States and the Capitol look down upon are wrinkles. They will do anything to get rid of them. In the District 12 it is different. Wrinkles show that a person has survived through tough winters and can support their family on their own. People learn to help that person and show them full respect.

In addition to struggle and physical appearance there is also punishment in both Panem and the United States. Watching criminals punished, might seem horrible to people in America. But compared to Panem’s punishment, the United States is not as cruel. In Panem one might be electrocuted, or whipped to death just for stealing a loaf of bread. There are many more punishments the Capitol stores for people who defy the rules. In the United States if someone kidnaps a child, they will be put in jail. In Panem if someone breaks a small regulation, they become an Avox as punishment. Being an Avox, people of Panem will get their tongue cut out (never to talk again), and work the worst jobs in the Capitol. The United States wouldn’t do such a punishment. They only have prisoners in jail. People in both Panem and the United States are punished for stealing and hurting others, but Panem pushes it too far.

The final category is control. It is everywhere, such as in government, boundaries and police. Not only does Panem decree that people obey numerous laws, more than that they say people must stay within the physical boundaries of their districts. Of course there are no physical boundaries in the United States except jails and places that are strictly forbidden. There are mostly just political and socioeconomic boundaries. Peacekeepers are Panem’s version of the United States police force. But again Panem has taken it to new heights. Peacekeepers patrol the streets twenty-four hours a day, forcing one to follow every rule all of the time. The police of the United States have the same idea, but they are only out looking for crimes. All of this control comes from the government of Panem and the United States. No one knows how the leader, President Snow, became president. America’s president is voted and goes through a whole process just to become a candidate. Like the voting for president, Americans vote for many laws. The people from Panem aren’t as lucky. President Snow makes most of their decisions for them. Just as Panem wants power, so too does the United States. Although America works hard to obtain power, they are careful not to harm anyone in the process. But Panem will do anything, and kill anyone it get it.

The world might be evolving. The current society’s struggle, physical appearance, punishment, and control are very similar to Panem’s world. There are, in a way, big differences. Now, the United States is straining to top other countries and its image is low in other region’s eyes. Is the United States going to end up like Panem? No one knows. But we will, in the future, if Americans are laggard and don’t help the country now.