The Hunger Games is a trilogy that takes place in Panem, which is a country with 12 districts that are controlled by the Capitol. Panem used to have a 13th district, but the Capitol destroyed it after the people in the 13th district rebelled. As a result, every year one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are chosen to compete in the Hunger Games. These participants are known as tributes, and they must kill one another in an outdoor arena until only one winner is left standing.
Before taking this class, I wouldn’t have paid attention to the fact that these tributes are basically each district’s sacrifice in order to maintain “peace” for Panem. But now, that’s the first thing that comes to mind. Some tributes, known as Careers, will voluntarily offer themselves for the games because they were trained for them from an early age. But do they consider themselves as some sort of martyrs? Or is this some sort of twisted suicide? I know there is a lot of fame and benefits that come from winning the games, but these children are basically offering themselves up as a sort of sacrifice. But for what? Panem doesn’t need to use children to keep peace, but the president thought that it would be the most effective way. This is even shown in reality because we are more outraged or sympathetic or empathetic when children are killed, sacrificed, hurt, or abused than adults. If our children’s lives were at stake, I can see people either causing an uprising or complying to the whoever is in power. Children evoke stronger emotions and opinions than any other age group. I would assume it’s because they are seen as powerless and naive, but there’s nothing powerless or naive about the tributes.
The tributes make me wonder why some of them are excited about the games while others fear them. I understand the fear more than being excited. I don’t think I could ever be excited about sacrificing my own life for a competition that falsely promotes peace and forces me to kill others if I want to stay alive. I really enjoyed the trilogy (both the books, and so far the movies!), but I definitely see them in a different perspective now.
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