The Hunger Games Series

Once I finished The Hunger Games, I needed to read the series, and I was not disappointed. The second and third books complicated the fascism and resistance occurring in the first by indicating that individual moments of resistance are good but not enough; the disaster of fascism will not end until the structure is eliminated and replaced not by another kind of fascism but by a political system that respects human rights.

The second novel, Catching Fire, challenges Katniss and Peeta’s victory in the Hunger Games by revealing the ongoing manipulation victors experience at the hands of the Capitol. So, it isn’t enough for Katniss and Peeta to outwit the Gamemakers; they can’t just go home and live a comfortable life in Victor’s Village. They have captured the attention of Panem in an act of resistance against the games and must therefore be used to garner support for the government or be destroyed.

Catching Fire follows Katniss and Peeta on their victory tour as they attempt to meet the Capitol’s expectations for their fictional romance. Once home, Katniss tries to return to her hunting life but faces the imposition of more violent “Peacekeepers” on District 12. This repression combines with evidence of rebellion in the other districts, encouraging Katniss to think of fleeing and of fighting. As the tension escalates throughout Panem, President Snow announces that the Quarter Quell, a celebration of the 75^th anniversary of the Hunger Games, will draw tributes only from prior victors, which throws Katniss and Peeta again into the arena.

When I realized the storyline mirrored that of the previous book, I was worried that Catching Fire would be a pale shadow of the first story, like Return of the Jedi was of the 1977 Star Wars, with the goal of both being the destruction of the Death Star, but the differences in context between the Hunger Games and the Quarter Quell made the storylines in the Hunger Game series different enough for the second to be interesting.

In this version of the games, there’s no question that Katniss and Peeta will work together, and they build alliances with other victors in self-preservation. The need for mutuality in the face of oppression is a given. In addition, the context of growing rebellion in the districts makes rebellion in the Quarter Quell more meaningful, as any act could become a symbol contributing to resistance. And the rebellion even penetrates the Quarter Quell when other victors secretly act to ensure Katniss, the symbol of rebellion, survives and can be rescued. These additional complexities expand upon the issues of social justice from the first novel by making collaboration in rebellion necessary. A government that so little values the lives of its citizens must be brought down.

The third volume in the series, Mockingjay, further complicates the issue of fascism and resistance by making the resistance potentially fascist in its own right. At the end of Catching Fire, we discover that District 13 has been destroyed only at the surface. The Capitol has allowed its citizens to dwell underground in a kind of nuclear détente, and since that agreement, District 13 has been preparing to challenge the Capitol in conventional warfare. To survive, District 13 citizens have had to live an exceptionally regimented life. This regimentation and the undoubted necessity of overthrowing the Capitol combine to make it possible for District 13 leadership to excuse violation of human rights, namely Katniss’s rights, in the name of the rebellion. The leadership plans to use Katniss as a rallying symbol of the rebellion, just as the Capitol had planned to use Katniss to encourage loyalty. As in the Hunger Games, Katniss takes things into her own hands, mounting an unapproved expedition to assassinate President Snow.

During and after this expedition, three events occur that determine Katniss’s ultimate decision to assassinate President Coin, the leader of District 13, instead of President Snow. First, District 13 stages the death of children imprisoned in front of President Snow’s mansion, in an effort to frame him for the children’s deaths. Second, Katniss encounters the captive President Snow who comments, “I’m afraid we have both been played for fools” (Mockingjay 357). Third, President Coin proposes holding another Hunger Games using children of the Capitol’s citizens as a means of reparation. These three events, grounded in Katniss’s experience of death for entertainment in the Hunger Games, lead her to see that any power structure risks fascism, even one ostensibly intending to do good. To consolidate her own power, President Coin has engaged in the same oppressive strategies as President Snow has used. To stand on the side of human rights, one must be always aware of the complexity of power dynamics and always alert to such abuses of power.

Works Cited

Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. New York: Scholastic, 2009. Print.

---. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic, 2008. Print.

---. Mockingjay. New York: Scholastic, 2010. Print.

Image Source:

Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Book Cover Images. Amazon.com. 8 April 2012. <http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Hunger+Games>