The
Hunger Games are a yearly event in which 24 tributes from the 12 districts, one
boy and one girl, are released into an arena to fight to the death until only
one remains. It is established very early in the novel why the games take place
every year. In explaining the origin, it says, “Then came the Dark Days, the
uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve [districts] were
defeated, the thirteenth obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave us the new
laws to guarantee peace and, as our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must
never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games” (Collins 18). In this way we
know that they were created from the ashes of rebellion. A reminder of a failed
attempt to remove the Capitol from power. The games become the ultimate tool
for the Capitol to keep the districts in line, and to keep their grip on power.
The set up of the games, and more generally the set up of the districts, incites
a perfect storm of obedience and forced ignorance. This is illustrated most obviously
in how Katniss interacts with tributes from the other districts, specifically,
Rue.
Within
the first day of aligning with each other in the arena the two girls start
talking about what life in their respective districts is like. Rue describes a difficult
life in District 11, with strict rules and intensive work hours. Katniss has
always thought that the other districts had it better than her district, District
12. However, in hearing how Rue had grown up, Katniss’s mind opens a bit. She
tells Rue, “I’d have thought, in District Eleven, you’d have a bit more to eat
than us” (Collins 202). Without any knowledge to base it on, Katniss has always
assumed that the districts with lower than numbers than hers had an easier
life. This is a way that the Capitol works to keep the districts submissive.
They have no way of contacting each other, no way of sharing their experiences.
In fact, when Rue and Katniss are talking, Katniss wonders “if the Gamemakers
are blocking out [their] conversation, because even though it seems harmless,
they don’t want people in different districts to know about one another”
(Collins 203). The districts who believe their lives to be worse off will soon
become envious of those districts they think have it easier. It keeps the
districts isolated, holding at least a decent amount of animosity towards each
other.
There
is one time in which the people within the districts get to see a little from
the other districts, during the Hunger Games themselves. The only time people
within one district can see a person from another district is when they are
slaughtering each other. It would be hard, impossible even, to not hold hostility
towards the other districts when year after year you must sit and watch members
from them murder members from yours. It’s an extremely effective way to keep
the Districts at odds with each other. Even though they all know it is the
Capitol forcing them to perform these actions, they can’t help but see the
district behind the murderers. Katniss can understand the full depth of this anti-rebellion
tactic when the boy from District 1 murders her ally Rue. She thinks, “To hate
the boy from District 1, who also appears vulnerable in death, seems
inadequate. It’s the Capitol I hate, for doing this to all of us” (Collins
236). She doesn’t hate the district 1 boy for murdering Rue, she hates the
Capitol for putting him in a position where he had to. However, this is not a connection
we can expect most people to make. It’s far easier to hate the people doing the
actual murdering, rather than hate the system that forced them to.
The isolation
of the districts combined with the Hunger Games creates an environment of
ignorance and hostility between the districts. In this way it is hard for the
districts to work together against the force that keeps them in their impoverished
states. How can they create an effective rebellion when they know nothing about
each other and are forced to murder each other year after year? It isn’t until
Katniss and Rue breach that gap and show the districts that they are more
similar than they are different, that the rebellion becomes possible.
I wholeheartedly agree with your stance that Rue and Katniss’s connection during the Games acted as one of the very first sparks of the rebellion. Many see Katniss’s stunt with the nightlock as the first symbol of the rebellion, and while it certainly is the most iconic, I agree with you that Rue and Katniss represent the quiet start. Keeping the districts apart and making them resent each other is a powerful tactic to keep them from uniting to rebel against the Capitol, and Rue and Katniss represent the first step in overcoming those barriers. District 11 had “broken all the rules to thank [Katniss]” by sending her the loaf of bread, and Thresh takes it one step farther when he saves Katniss’s life and tells her to “run now, Fire Girl” (Collins 288). The Games are a ruthless environment, with children murdering children to stay alive, but Thresh saving Katniss’s life and Katniss “decorat[ing] [Rue’s] body in the flowers” communicates to the audience and to the other tributes that there is a way to act in unity even in the face of death. These actions undermine the entire purpose of the games: to keep the Districts separate, preventing the rebellion by stifling the possibility. Katniss and Rue are the first step in overcoming the barriers between districts, presenting that first spark of hope for rebellion.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to keeping the districts isolated, the Capitol prevents rebellion through how they frame the Hunger Games. If they just wanted to show off their power, the Capitol could easily execute a random group of twenty-four individuals. Instead they have chosen to force people to send of their children to an arena where they must fight to the death on live television.
ReplyDeleteThe competition itself is enough to cause animosity among the districts. People will naturally root for others in their own circles over those from other districts due to personal ties as well as the uneven odds. During the public training session, Katniss explains “The exceptions are the kids from the wealthier districts, the volunteers, the ones who have been fed and trained throughout their lives for this moment. The tributes from 1, 2, and 4 traditionally have this look about them. It's technically against the rules to train tributes before they reach the Capitol but it happens every year… And like as not, the winner will be one of them” (Collins 94).
The reason why they frame the Hunger Games as a competition is so that there is a winner and therefore hope. That sliver of hope gives people the feeling that they are not entirely helpless in this situation. If there were no hope whatsoever, the people would surely rebel against the Capitol sooner than if the people had something, no matter how small, to hold onto.
The Gamemakers’ censorship of Katniss and Rue’s conversation is a prime example of the Capitol’s totalitarian control over Panem. Censorship and forced silence have a great impact on the citizens of Panem. This is evident very early in the novel, when Katniss narrates, “When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol…I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts” (Collins 6). While the Capitol’s suppression of free speech is intended to instill fear and prevent political dissent, Katniss’s stony disposition is just a way of protecting herself. If she were to speak her mind and betray her true feelings, she could be executed. But this silence can also be a powerful symbol of rebellion, such as at the reaping when District 12 demonstrates “the boldest form of dissent they can manage. Silence…every member of the crowd touches the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and holds it out to me…It means thanks, it means admiration, it means good-bye to someone you love” (Collins 24). This wordless recognition of bravery and gratitude shows solidarity among the members of District 12. Like a spark that ignites a flame, Katniss and Rue’s alliance eventually encourages all twelve districts to unite in rebellion against the Capitol.
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