At its heart, Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games exposes a world in which control is brutally enforced into all parts of society. The government uses harsh, unfair policies to change people’s view of them and maintain power. Her novel discusses these ideas through inhumane punishments, division and surveillance, and the fear and deceptions people are led to believe.
The people of Panem are controlled through cruel punishments inflicted on them by the power of President Snow. Katniss’s statement that “Attendance in mandatory… you’ll be imprisoned.” (pg. 19) indicates that punishment is taken to extreme measures. This concept is made clear by the game itself and the retribution brought onto any upstanders. During dinner at the training centre, Katniss recognized an Avox. She remembered her from hunting in the forest, however she was captured for being “Someone who committed a crime.” (pg. 95). As vengeance for any wrong or criminal act, a perpetrators tongue is cut out and they are made a Capitol slave. The government punished her as an extreme way of preventing others from doing the same. Using punishment, control can be maintained by the Capitol.
Collins emphasises the power of Panem’s government through them maintaining division and surveillance across the districts. Gale’s belief that “It’s to the Capitol’s advantage to have us divided among ourselves.” (pg. 16) reveals to us that the Capitol has people turning on each other. Gale believes this because he thinks that the tesserae is not a favour, but instead the governments way of planting hatred between the starving workers of the Seam and those who can count on supper. This distrust between the people has outlawed any possibility of the districts converging again to overpower the government. Furthermore, the governments scheme of peacekeepers and cameras keeps everyone portraying themselves as indifferent. From a young age, Katniss learnt to control what she said, “Eventually I understood this would only lead us to more trouble. So I learned to hold my tongue and turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts.” (pg. 7). To keep her sister safe, Katniss avoids discussing things that would inflict punishment if overheard by the peacekeepers. Through upholding division and surveillance, President Snow can maintain authority.
The government controls the belief of people by sustaining their fear and leading them to believe deceptions. The quote 'Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch.... If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District 13.' (pg. 22) uncovers that Panem’s government uses dread and propaganda to enforce regulations into society. Throughout The Hunger Games, the idea that district 13 was destroyed continually reminds everyone of the consequences of another rebellion. This fear, alongside the repetition of the story of the Dark Days, brings people to be too frightened of ever upstanding the government. Although it brings hatred towards authorities, fear and deception allows the government maintain power.
From the start, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins exposes how the government uses the dangerous nature of control to power over the people. These strategies are highlighted through harsh punishments, division and surveillance, and the fear and deceptions people are led to believe.
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Essay on Peacemakers in ‘The Hunger Games’.
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