In Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games, survival is of the utmost importance, and this is
portrayed through both her description of daily life in the districts and in
the games. Katniss’s character reveals how quickly children are forced to grow up
in Panem, and especially in districts like District Twelve. There
is no one to provide for Katniss and her family,
so she takes that responsibility on herself. She becomes a fighter, going out
and hunting so that she can ensure that her mother and Prim have food on the
table (Collins 5). Collin provides further commentary on the state of the district when Peeta’s
mother hits him and calls him a “stupid creature” for burning loaves of bread
he kindly gives to Katniss (30). This shows the severity of the wealth
distribution and hunger problems within the district, which the Capitol has
done little to improve and instead uses to its benefit.
Fighting
for survival is stressed even more when teenagers are chosen for the games,
knowing that being selected is almost certainly a death sentence. Survival is
the games, however rare, is the goal that each tribute hopes and strives for. Collins
portrays this through her emphasis on violence and the tributes’ willingness to
betray others to come out on top. When Gale is encouraging Katniss before she leaves for training, he compares killing the other tributes to killing animals –
something that should be easy for her (40). Collins does this to comment on the extreme measures needed for
survival under oppression. As we discussed in class, the wealthier districts have
Careers who “have been fed and trained throughout their lives for this moment,”
as they believe training is the only thing that gives them a chance at survival
(94). The tributes give up their sense of compassion when they must choose
between brutality or death. Humanity becomes less of a priority when one is put
under circumstances where they are forced to fight for their life.
An interesting choice Collins makes in her portrayal of the characters and their will to survive is choosing to subvert typical gender roles. Katniss is the fighter, and Peeta’s mother refers to her over her own son in believing “maybe District Twelve will finally have a winner” (90). Peeta, on the other hand, comes off as a kinder, less threatening individual, but has very little chance at survival. Usually, a male lead would be the one to take charge and fight for survival, but Collins’s choice highlights Katniss as the hero and the person that can find a balance between survival and humanity to challenge the oppressive forces of the Capitol.
An interesting choice Collins makes in her portrayal of the characters and their will to survive is choosing to subvert typical gender roles. Katniss is the fighter, and Peeta’s mother refers to her over her own son in believing “maybe District Twelve will finally have a winner” (90). Peeta, on the other hand, comes off as a kinder, less threatening individual, but has very little chance at survival. Usually, a male lead would be the one to take charge and fight for survival, but Collins’s choice highlights Katniss as the hero and the person that can find a balance between survival and humanity to challenge the oppressive forces of the Capitol.
I totally agree about the tributes having to decide between their humanity and survival. They have a natural, primal instinct to do whatever it takes to survive, but living with the aftermath of their decisions is much harder. Even in the wealthier districts, children have to fight to survive in different ways. There is an emphasis on self preservation and doing what it takes to keep yourself and your family safe.
ReplyDeleteThe Capitol does not invest much of anything in the welfare of the districts, as we can see from the fact that people starve to death on a regular basis in 12. They do not distribute medicine, and any food that is given, like tesserae, comes at an incredibly high cost. The children, even if they are not tributes, have to learn how to fight for themselves. The tributes just have to translate those skills into violence.
The aftermath of their decisions, though, are a much harder thing to deal with. In the heat of the moment they are capable of killing without thought, but after that their actions weigh heavily on them. The book discusses how the current mentors (past tributes) all have different problems like substance abuse disorders and PTSD because they receive no support in dealing with what they had to do in order to survive. There's certainly no mental health care in the districts, so after killing for the entertainment of the wealthy, literal children are left to deal with demons that they may never get rid of.