First off I really enjoyed this book, a good quick read that left me wanting more. As far as a cultural assumptions go the biggest that this book deals with would have to be the inviolability of children. In our culture at least children are sacred, in war you do not shoot children, getting off of a sinking boat it's women and children first. But this book has society pick two random children by lottery from each district and sends them to parade about in the main city and then murder each other. Scenes of children tearing each other apart and especially the one of the 12 year old getting speared hit very strongly. Also death games, not so much acceptable in our society, we consider ourselves above such barbarities.
I suppose that this book really goes for the idea that people are animals at heart, we love to kill each other and we love to watch people kill each other.
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