“They cut her tongue so she can’t speak. She’s probably a traitor of some sort.” – Suzanne Collins
As bizarre as it sounds, this happens many times in the Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins they have cruel punishments for crime. Although there are many ways the governments in the Hunger Games and in the world are alike when handing out punishments, there are also many differences.
In the Hunger Games there are many ways to punish people while in the world there are just as many. Just as people in the U.S. are not big fans of the punishments they receive, so too the people of Panem dislike them. If someone insults the government in the Hunger Games the person becomes an Avox. This is a person who works for the government and serves food to the Hunger Game tributes. Avoxs can’t talk because their tongue has been removed. Once a person becomes an Avox they are an Avox for life. Most of the criminals in the U.S. are criminals for life. After a criminal is locked up and let go they will normally revert another crime. Many jails in the U.S. are congested with criminals.
When one insults the government in the USA nothing happens to the person. Nothing happens because the USA has the freedom of speech. However when one insults the government in other parts of the world instead of becoming an Avox, one could go to jail or gets killed.

When a person commits a grand theft crime in the USA he/she is put in jail for 5 years. In the Hunger Games a simple crime could lead to a public whipping; where as in the USA it would be a trip to jail for a day or do community service. If there was a significant crime in the Hunger Games the punishment sometimes is the same as in the USA. In 2009 52 people were executed in the USA. In the Hunger Games you can be killed if you escape or if you protest. The US government tries not to execute people instead they try to just send them to jail for life.

There are many different punishments that lead to certain punishments. In the Hunger Games if you try to escape through the gate you will get punished. The people are punished by the gate because it is usually to be electrocuted. The electricity in District 12 is rarely turned on so it is not likely that a person will be electrocuted. If a person is caught outside the gate they will be punished. In the USA if a person leaves the state/country they will not be punished at all. All they need to leave the country is a valid passport.

In the Hunger Games if you protest against anything the Capitol can come shooting at your district. If there is a lot of protesting the hovercraft can come drop a bomb on your district. In the USA if you protest nothing would happen to you. You can protest against anything and everything you want to but in the Hunger Games you are not allowed to protest against anything.

The Hunger Games may make a criminal an avox while in the USA it would be a long process that may lead to court. In the USA court is a very long process but in the Hunger Games they make it short and simple; they kill you, whip you, or alter your body.

The people of the Hunger Games are devastated when they or a friend gets punished by the Capitol. Today punishments are just the beginning of what there is to come in the future. Not only are the punishments in the U.S. progressing as the years go by, more than that it is not helping the crime rate. Can you imagine yourself being punished by the Capitol?