Desperate times call for desperate measures is a famous line that depicts that the need for a human becomes the source of important invention. The Hunger Games, written by author Suzanne Collins, tells the story of Katniss Everdeen in a dystopian setting. The story begins on the day of the reaping where Katniss volunteers instead of her sister, Prim. The story details Katniss's desperate measures during the Hunger Games to survive with her partner Peeta Mallark. In 'Hunger' by Knut Pedersen, we get a first-hand account of the narrator's mental state during his hunger. 'Hunger' portrays the narrator's mental state while in a state of total desperation. While Katniss Everdeen can fend for herself in the forest, winning the competition, in the end, the protagonist in 'Hunger,' decides to try his luck elsewhere.
Hunger is a strong motivator for humans, falling on the lowest hierarchy of needs devised by Maslow; it indicates the essential elements required by humans to survive. Surviving was the driving force behind Katniss and the unnamed narrator from 'Hunger,' like any other human facing extreme hunger, their actions were dictated in response to their body feeling hunger, and discussion on their response will be evaluated. Their similar response to hunger gives the readers a picture of an individual's mental state forced to fend for themselves in a hostile and unstable environment where they are genuinely hopeless and without connections. Furthermore, the mental state of the individuals is essential; it displays their need to fight to save themselves.
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Katniss Everdeen lives in a dystopian society partitioned by the wealthy and deprived sections of the society. Living in District 12, Katniss faced hardships in every form from a young age, making her more mature than those in their teenage years. With her father's death in a mining accident, Katniss had to assume the role of being the head of her family, a family of three including her. Katniss's mother, shocked after her husband's death, turned into a quiet person with no passion for earning for her daughters and helping to keep them safe. Out of fear of being put in a community home, Katniss assumed the role of her father. The accident that led to Katniss's father's death resulted in a small amount of money offered to them as compensation for their loss from the district. However, it did not last long. Before long, Katniss had to find an alternative to feed her family. The desperation begins after the money and food run out, Katniss states, 'But the money ran out, and we were slowly starving to death' (Collins). The line indicates that Katniss is aware that their fate is in trouble, money being the only source of buying food as none of the family members are working. Katniss did consider the idea of signing up for tesserae, but her age acted as a barrier. With still several weeks left before Katniss turned twelve, Katniss had to scrape the idea, 'We could well be dead by then' (Collins).
Katniss had to resort to using other means to earn. Katniss decides to sell Prim's baby clothes one afternoon, 'trying to trade some threadbare old baby clothes of Prim's in the public market, but there were no takers,' (Collins), she was unsuccessful in selling the clothes, shivering from the cold rain. Her desperation and hunger come to light with the following sentences, 'When I passed the baker's, the smell of fresh bread was so overwhelming I felt dizzy' (Collins). Katniss's desperation makes her scavenge through the baker's trash bin, scared to go back empty-handed. Katniss' desperation makes her emotionally drained as she realizes that she is unsuccessful in finding food, stating 'The realization that I'd have nothing to take home had finally sunk in,' (Collins). In that mental state, she decides she does not have the strength to continue her food search, concluding that she instead be taken to a community home or rather die. Her luck changes as Peeta, the baker boy, throws her two loaves of bread that he was supposed to feed the pigs. Such an act of kindness has Katniss stunned, 'I stared at the loaves in disbelief,' (Collins) she goes on to view this as a sign of hope as she continues on the next day stating, 'the bread that gave me hope' (Collins), she continues to fight for her life and the life her sister and her mother. In a state of complete and utter exhaustion, Katniss thinks about giving up her fight to survive the hardships.
In ‘Hunger,’ the protagonist describes his situation where he is penniless with the fear of being evicted due to rent overdue. From the beginning, a sense of hopelessness sets in as soon the narrator is homeless and in extreme hunger. The story gives us more insight into the mental state of the narrator, where he believes that his situation can be blamed only on the higher power of God. Unlike Katniss, the narrator has only to fend for himself. However, his worldly possessions are scarcer. His mental state indicates his nature of acceptance of his fate, “I suffered no pain, my hunger had taken the edge off; instead I felt pleasantly empty, untouched by everything around me and happy to be unseen by all,”(Hamsun) such thoughts express a sense of complete abandonment of hope. With events that look like there can be no turn in the narrator’s fate, he desires to give up trying to change. With no connections, in terms of family, friends, or acquaintances, the narrator is lonely. “And the great spirit of darkness spread a shroud over me...everything was silent-everything,” (Hamsun), his alienation from the members of the society leads the narrator to the very edge of self-destructing. However, it is essential to consider that his situation was beyond his direct control. He is saved by using inspiration to write a story that gets sold for ten kroner. The few corners are not enough to save him from the rising need to satisfy daily wants. The narrator has to resort to selling the scanty objects left in his possession to the broker to make it one day at a time until he is ultimately left with nothing.
Like Katniss, the narrator suffers from depression from being subjected to the unfair rules set by society. The society does not consider the sufferings it imposes on those who are less fortunate and less privileged in their lives. Blatant differences in opportunities indicate the bleak chances both the protagonists have in changing their fates. Despite the hope that Katniss got from the loaf of bread, her life continues to be a battle against depression, hunger, and unemployment. The narrator in ‘Hunger’ also suffers from a similar fate after selling his story to the newspaper; he fails to sell more stories, growing desperate. Katniss is overwhelmed by the continuous trials she faces and decides to give up and welcome her fate in terms of the community home or death, the narrator in ‘Hunger’ does the same as he believes that he finds peace in complete abandonment. Despite the harsh and hostile environment, the protagonists continue to fight even after thinking of giving up, Katniss finds luck on her side, and the narrator signs up on a ship to leave his native country behind. Katniss and the narrator both view hunger as a typical situation in society, even though the storylines and themes are entirely different, it is remarked that hunger is prevalent and familiar among young people.
Katniss chooses to sell Prim’s baby clothes to try to earn some money, even though she is unsuccessful in doing so, it indicates that Katniss believes that survival is more crucial than holding onto possessions, the same is true with the narrator, who sells his meager possessions to the pawn. They try to sell what is left with them to try to make money to go through the day.
Katniss and the narrator still have the strength to try to turn around their lives, Katniss in the beginning of the story is a teenager of sixteen, which indicates four years of hardship that she has faced as the sole earner for the family, the narrator also tries to turn around his life as he signs up to go to another country. These two events are remarkable because if the protagonists truly wanted to give up, then they would not pick options that they believed would not yield second chances.
The narrator almost self-destructs as he falls into total despair; this can be credited to the fact that he has no connections in the world. However, Katniss has to think about her sister and her mother, who depend on her. This allows Katniss to make decisions that will impact not only her but also those around her. Only at the tipping point does she consider giving up; this is different in the case of the narrator, who believes that he is helpless and hopeless from the beginning of the story. His mental state is also unstable as he has no one to fall back on or think about in the world.
Reference
- Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. Scholastic, 2011.
- Hamsun, Knut. Hunger. Dover Publications Inc., 2003.
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