Hunger Games vs Wizard of Oz

I think the most striking resemblance between the Hunger Games and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is that both books present a society where people are led blindly by a ruler.

While in The Hunger Games, most of the people are oppressed and have tried to rebel before, in the Wizard of Oz, the people still look to the Wizard for guidance even after he himself admits that he really doesn't have any authority over them. In The Hunger Games, the people in the Capitol don't question the morality of pitting children against each other in a battle to the death. They accept that this is the only way that the districts can pay for their rebellion from generations ago.

I think it is interesting that in the Hunger Games, Katniss doesn't have any sort of turning point. She is virtuous when she takes her sister's place in The Hunger Games, and she is compassionate and moral throughout the entire competition. She didn't have anything to repent for by the end of the book.

In the film, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is not a particularly deep character. For the most part, she makes it through her adventure in Oz just by being kind and lucky. Dorothy lands herself in Oz by chance. Unlike Katniss, she isn't making some kind of sacrifice.

In both stories, we start of in the home of the main characters. Kansas is incredibly bleak and dull. District 12 is poverty stricken, gray, and solemn. Dorothy and Katniss both make a journey and find them selves in Oz and the Capitol respectively. These worlds are bright and exciting and alive, though both are tinged by something less innocent. Oz has wicked witches and an out-of-touch ruler. The Capitol is supported by the sweat, labor, and oppression of the surrounding districts.


Assumptions

We are as innocent as Dorothy is when she first arrives in Oz. Since we are removed from Oz, we don't wonder why an entire race of people, the Munchkins, is segregated into an area of their own. It could be a sort of reservation, for all we know. Why aren't the munchkins living all over Oz? Are they? How do they feel about being ruled over by "The Wizard" who they know nothing about?

My Point of View
As a reader I'm situated as a young adult, a woman. I'm someone who reads a lot. I love fantasy and sci-fi literature. As a kid I loved to read because I was always allowed to read without limits, even after my bedtime. Since I never fell asleep early, I could read for hours every night.