The Unofficial Hunger Games Companion

by Lois H. Gresh

  Unfortunately, the use of killer kids isn’t confined to fictional worlds. What brings it close and up front in the world of The Hunger Games is that we feel the atrocities in a very personal way—from the viewpoint of Katniss. We may be shocked by the real-world statistics, but the impact hits home when we read Katniss’s story.

  Let’s look at a few real-world examples of child soldiers. First, there’s the war in Iraq, where children are regularly recruited into military service. Saddam Hussein’s government enlisted and trained thousands of children as young as ten years old. According to Singer:

  A common means for totalitarian regimes to maintain control is to set their country on a constant war footing and militarize society. This justifies heavy hierarchic control and helps divert internal tensions towards external foes. The recruitment, training, and indoctrination of children also offers the regime the opportunity to deepen its reach into Iraqi society.9

  Remind you of anything, say, the Capitol and its leaders in The Hunger Games? It’s common practice for totalitarian regimes to keep civilians under control by maintaining an environment of constant threat of war. Sure, the Dark Days were seventy-five years ago and well into the past, but to maintain its grip on the population, the government saturates its propaganda with the idea that war could erupt again at any time. In addition, they prohibit districts from communicating with each other. They pit children against each other in the Hunger Games to maintain even tighter control over the people.

  But Iraq is just one of hundreds of examples of child soldiers. Another obvious example is the Darfur civil war in Sudan.

  According to The Guardian in 2008, “Thousands of child refugees from Darfur, some as young as nine, are being abducted and sold to warring militias as child soldiers.”10 Further, the report says that “the UN estimated last year that between 7,000 and 10,000 child soldiers had been forcibly recruited in Chad, where more than 250,000 refugees from Darfur are in camps.”11 As of February 2010, 2.7 million people were homeless due to the war,12 which began in 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement attacked the Sudanese government for oppressing black Africans in favor of Arabs.

  And there’s Rwanda, where unspeakable acts of mass murder were inflicted on the Tutsis by the Hutus. Estimates place the number of murdered civilians—during a one-hundred-day period of attempted genocide—at 800,000. When Hutu Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana was killed after his airplane was shot down, violence spread and escalated throughout Rwanda. Within hours, the Hutus sent killers all over the country to slaughter all Tutsis and any Hutu who didn’t conform to the military mindset.

  Were child soldiers involved? Of course. A United Nations study concluded that “Rwanda’s army and government helped recruit fighters, including children, to support the Democratic Republic of Congo’s rebel leader Laurent Nkunda . . .”13

  In Sierra Leone, 10,000 children fought during a civil war that lasted ten years. In this case, the Revolutionary United Front was determined to decimate the civilian population so they created havoc and then took over the diamond fields. The government attacked its own people. Most of the civilians were murdered with machetes and knives.

  But as mentioned above, despite the grim reality of the situation, children aren’t always forced into battle. Quite often, they volunteer for service out of duty to their families, communities, and governments. They believe in the cause.

  Consider the Basij, a volunteer army founded by the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1975. People, including children and women, join the Basij for benefits and out of loyalty. The Student Basij is comprised of children who are in middle school and high school. They feel that they are holy martyrs, and during the Iran–Iraq War, tens of thousands of the Basij sacrificed their lives on the battlefield for the cause. Children and teenagers formed a battlefront line that moved constantly toward the enemy forces. As bullets, canons, and land mines mowed them down, more children and teenagers moved forward in additional suicidal lines. According to some reports, the Ayatollah Khomeini once said that “a country with twenty million youths must have twenty million riflemen or a military with twenty million soldiers; such a country will never be destroyed.”14 And after the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005, the government used the Basij to suppress possible rebellion. The same thing was done during the elections in 2009. In December 2009, thousands of middle and high school children fought to suppress student demonstrations—yes, thousands of child soldiers battled other children on the streets of their own cities.15

  How different are the Career Tributes, really, from the Basij and other children dedicated to fighting to the death for spiritual and political reasons? The Careers are volunteers in the Hunger Games, and train “throughout their lives” for the event. According to Katniss, they “project arrogance and brutality” and “head straight for the deadliest-looking weapons” (The Hunger Games, 94–95). Just as the Basij fight together, the Careers fight in packs against other tributes in the Games.

  Katniss, of course, is not a Career Tribute. She’s forced into the Hunger Games like the Darfur children were forced into battle. She has no choice.

  But later, as she hardens to acts of violence and murder, she becomes more of a volunteer. When she accepts the mantle of Mockingjay and leads the rebellion against the evil Capitol, her mindset is more in the mode of the Basij than that of the naïve Katniss we saw in both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. By the time she’s in charge of Squad 451, she wants to be on the front lines.

  Earlier, during her first Games, she is almost killed by Thresh, but gets out of it by explaining how she sang to Rue as the little girl died (The Hunger Games, 288). Poor Thresh is stricken, as most kids would be, with grief over the loss of Rue and also by gratitude to the girl who loved her as a sister. In a tragic error of judgment (for Thresh, certainly not for Katniss), he lets Katniss go out of respect for what she did for Rue. This seems highly unlikely, to be honest, but we can only assume that Thresh holds little value in his own life, that he’s traumatized, and possibly, that he’s not too sharp.

  Later, Katniss is relieved to learn that Thresh has been killed by another tribute. Now, she won’t be burdened by the dilemma of what to do should the two of them be forced to fight for their lives (The Hunger Games, 307). Had she faced the identical dilemma in Mockingjay, after she’d hardened more to the thought of killing people, she might not have reacted in the same way. Instead, she might have had no qualms whatsoever about killing Thresh. But we’ll never know because he dies in The Hunger Games.

  Even Peeta sees how Katniss is changing over time. (Obviously, he changes quite a bit, as well, but in other ways—for details, see chapter 12, “Medicines and Poisons,” and chapter 13, “Muttations and Other Hybrids.”) Sometimes, they work together, as in killing Cato during their first Games (The Hunger Games, 340). Here, she’s working with him, not against him, and she’s killing with great regret and only because she has no choice if she’s to survive. He’s doing the same thing.

  Sometimes, she thinks he’s out to kill her (The Hunger Games, 143), but then he begs her to kill him so she may live (The Hunger Games, 343), which totally confuses her. She swings back and forth about Peeta, whether she trusts him, and whether she loves or fears him. It’s common for people to swing back and forth, wondering about their boyfriends, girlfriends, and spouses. Love? Hate? The most passionate teenage lovers often end up breaking up for reasons they don’t even understand. And it’s not limited to teenagers. Adults who have been married for a long time and have children together break up far too frequently, as well, and they rarely understand the true reasons, either. Luckily, most of us don’t have to thrust our romances into the horrors of a killing arena, where we have to wonder whether our potential mates are out to kill us or save us.

  By the end of Catching Fire, Katniss kills other tributes, hoping their deaths will save Peeta (Catching Fire, 377). No wonder poor Peeta’s confused. It’s tough to understand why h
e is so kind to her in face of her often brutal treatment of him. How many guys hang in there, trying to win a girl’s heart, when she keeps stringing him along, wondering if she’s in love with somebody else? How many guys would put up with it—making their intentions to marry and love forever clear, making their utter devotion clear, while the girl isn’t sure how she feels about some other guy? Toss the entire killing concept into the mix, and it’s explosive. Does she want to kill him? This goes far beyond the question, Will she ever love him? But on the other hand, Peeta subjects Katniss to far more complex emotions: after all, he ends up thinking she’s a nonhuman mutt who should be killed (Mockingjay, 190)! No wonder poor Katniss is confused. He sums things up well when he tells her, “These last couple of years must have been exhausting for you. Trying to decide whether to kill me or not” (Mockingjay, 270).

  Eventually, Boggs wants Katniss to kill Peeta (Mockingjay, 280). Luckily, she still has enough self-control and remains Katniss of The Hunger Games at heart. She remains moral and decent.

  Nonetheless, one of her conditions for taking on the role of Mockingjay is that she gets to kill President Snow (Mockingjay, 38). At this point, the reader figures she’s now a killing machine as contrasted to the earlier Katniss we saw in The Hunger Games.

  When in charge of Squad 451, not only does she want to be on the front lines, she’s determined to kill Snow (Mockingjay, 256). Much to the shock of the reader, she votes “yes” for the symbolic Hunger Games that will pit Capitol children against each other. As mentioned earlier in this book, Katniss probably votes “yes” as a ploy to push President Coin into thinking that she is on her side. This way, Coin will be easier for Katniss to assassinate. Katniss may be a killing machine at this point, but she retains her core personality: She does not really advocate another Hunger Games. Rather, she wants to get rid of Coin, who is as deplorable as Snow.

  Given the same circumstances, many of us might do the same thing.

  War and battle do crazy things to people. We’ve all heard about post-traumatic stress syndrome, for example, in which battle-weary soldiers become depressed, can’t sleep, can’t function, and don’t think normally anymore. They are transformed by war into people who barely resemble the soldiers who left home before the battle.

  Clearly, Katniss’s suicidal tendencies and drug addiction as Mockingjay winds down are evidence of something akin to post-traumatic stress syndrome. She’s lost the will to live. She’s lost the ability to view herself as anything more than a terrible person. She takes drugs to zone herself out so she doesn’t have to remember who she’s killed and what she’s done. Contrasted to her innate bravery and determination—she is a very strong person—she cannot live through war without breaking down in the end. She’s traumatized to the point of total numbness.

  Her behavior is very common for child soldiers, as described by the United Nations:

  Child soldiers are among the saddest victims of conflict: they rarely emerge from military service with a sense of their own worth and identity. Worse, they often experience violence that leaves them physically or psychologically scarred. Facing a difficult adolescence, many turn to drugs, alcohol and anti-social behaviour.16

  Consider Haymitch, who becomes an alcoholic after winning his Games. He can’t live with himself and he’s lost everyone close to him, so he drowns his memories, guilt, and misery in liquor.

  Consider Peeta, who is psychologically scarred, not only due to the horrors of the Games, but also because he’s been poisoned to become mentally ill. The Capitol steals his memories and replaces them with his worst fears along with outright falsehoods.

  AD 1525–1600

  AD 1525, Thomas Müntzer preached all over Germany and Switzerland that the end of the world was imminent, so the peasants should revolt and kill everyone who was rich, powerful, or otherwise in control. Along with some 8,000 peasants, Müntzer went up against swords, cannonballs, and burly military men. It was indeed the end of the world for Müntzer. He was tortured and beheaded.

  AD 1528, Hans Hut and tens of thousands of followers predicted that the end of the world would occur on May 27, 1528. He died in prison.

  AD 1532, Viennese bishop Frederic Nausea (yes, that was his real name, I’m not making it up) proclaimed that the world would end in 1532. His reason? People kept telling him about the strangest things—bloody crosses alongside comets streaming across the sky, multiple suns, bread falling from heaven—and he believed it all.

  AD 1533, Michael Stifel, a math geek, went wild with his calculations and determined that the world would end in October.

  AD 1534, Jan Matthys, who took control of the town of Munster, claimed that the world would end on Easter and only Munster would survive. When the apocalypse didn’t come, all the Catholics and Lutherans he had tormented came back to town and killed him.

  AD 1555, Pierre d’Ailly wrote in AD 1400 that 6,845 years had passed since creation, and the end of the world would come in the 7,000th year.

  AD 1583, astrologer Richard Harvey calculated that the apocalypse would occur at noon on April 28, 1583. He wasn’t alone with this prediction. As with all other precise doomsday calculations, it only goes to show that you should always check your math.

  AD 1584, astrologer Cyprian Leowitz calculated that the apocalypse would occur this year.

  AD 1600, Martin Luther claimed that the world would end by the year 1600.

  Peeta doesn’t know what’s real versus what’s just in his head. He’s been shot up with tracker jacker poison. But quite often, throughout The Hunger Games series as well as in real life, the line between real and not real blurs and blends to the point where people don’t know the truth. Modern public relations departments wouldn’t exist if the truth were mandatory. Advertising companies would fold. The government would simply collapse. Let’s face it, the world runs on hype. And for many of us, we can’t tell the difference between most hype and real substance.

  How many people watch reality television programs? Is the “reality” true to life, or is it fictionalized? Let’s look at a few news reports and viewing numbers:

  “During the [Keeping Up with the Kardashians] season 4 premiere, the reality TV show’s often exaggerated drama managed to drag 4.1 million people in front of their television sets.”1

  “Kourtney & Kim Take New York pulled in 3 million viewers on Sunday night, beating Kourtney & Khloe’s old record from last season, which premiered to 2.6 million viewers.”2

  PRESS PAUSE. These reality television viewing numbers come from spin artists, people who write about celebrities. So how real are the numbers? Do we know for sure?

  “The [Jersey Shore] series returned Thursday night to 8.4 million viewers.”3

  “[Jersey Shore] delivered 8.6 million viewers . . . last night.”4

  PRESS PAUSE. These reality television viewing numbers come from Entertainment Weekly, widely known for reporting accurate viewing numbers. But again, these guys are spin artists, too, the ultimate in entertainment publicity and news. The Jersey Shore numbers, by the way, have been reported at 8.9 million viewers and more.

  NEXT UP ARE The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (a TV press release reports 3.7+ million viewers,5 January 14, 2011) who follow in the footsteps of the insanely successful The Real Housewives of New York City (2.64 million viewers, as reported on June 5, 2010).6 Perhaps viewers are more interested in cat fights among celebrity wives more than they’re interested in squabbling among wealthy Manhattanites. And yes, there are The Real Housewives of New Jersey (3.2 million viewers, as reported on July 15, 2010)7 and Atlanta (3.5 million viewers, as reported on February 2, 2011),8 as well; and they’re not in Beverly Hills with film celebrity wives, so why are they so popular? Lest we forget them, we also watch The Real Housewives of Orange County (2+ million viewers, as reported on January 27, 2011),9 and even The Real Housewives of D.C. (1.6 million viewers, as reported on August 9, 2010).10

  And don’t forget about The Millionaire Matchmaker with its 1.3 million viewer
s.11 Plus Project Runway, Rock of Love, A Shot of Love with Tila Tequila, America’s Next Top Model, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Celebrity Rehab, The Girls Next Door, The Hills, Laguna Beach, Hogan Knows Best, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, The Fifth Wheel, Shear Genius, The Surreal Life, and those old favorites, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, The Osbournes, The Simple Life, and Flavor of Love.

  If we dig even farther back, we can list a slew of original reality shows in The Real World series: These programs took place everywhere from New Orleans to Las Vegas to Key West to Hollywood to . . . well, name a city and there probably was a Real World show there.

  What fascinates us, why are we glued to reality TV shows? And what do they have in common with The Hunger Games? (Astute readers are now thinking, “What? No mention of Survivor?” Trust me, we’re going to talk about Survivor in this chapter.) Here’s a sampling:

  Reality Television Program

  Squabbling and In-fighting

  Romantic Intrigue

  The Hunger Games

  Careers versus everyone else.

  Groups of tributes battling other groups, then splintering into individual fights because only one tribute can survive the Games.

  Katniss and Peeta.

  Katniss and Gale.

  Katniss’s wedding gown. The supposed enduring love that supposedly makes Katniss and Peeta decide to die together.