If you were forced to participate in a battle to the death, would you use your physical strength or your mental and social strength? The Hunger Games is a novel by Suzanne Collins about twelve districts that are ruled by The Capitol of Panem. Each year they draw out two names from each district, one female and one male, who will be fighting in the Games. Katniss is the female Tribute of District 12 which is the poorest district and volunteered when her sister Prim got chosen at The Reaping. She is then taken to The Capitol with the male Tribute Peeta to prepare for the Games and that's when they meet their mentor Haymitch. During the Games, a rule is announced that two Tributes from the same district can win, but when Katniss and Peeta are the last ones standing the rule is withdrawn. That is when they decide to take poison berries instead of killing each other and then The Capitol lets them both win. Mental and social strength is more useful in The Hunger Games because you need sponsors, strategy skills, and the ability to come up with effective plans.
First and foremost, mental and social strength is more important to have in the Hunger Games because you need to be able to attract sponsors. In The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, it says, “If I want to keep Peeta alive, I’ve got to give the audience something to care about, star-crossed lovers desperate to get home together” (261). In the novel, the Mentors are in charge of getting sponsors for their tributes. To get sponsors, the audience and the people of The Capitol have to like you. This quote is important because it shows how Katniss and Peeta are using their social strength to come up with a plan that tricks the audience into thinking that they are in love with each other and the end, will attract more sponsors. All of the gifts that they have gotten were very useful and some saved their lives. Some of those gifts include medicine, food, and sleep syrup.
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Another reason why social and mental strength is more useful is that to survive in the Games, you need to be able to strategize and think ahead. In The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, it says, “The final word in camouflage. Forget chucking weights around, Peeta should have gone into his private session with the Gamemakers and painted himself as a tree” (252). When Peeta was severely injured by another Tribute named Cato, he used camouflage to conceal himself. Peeta had an advantage because he decorated cakes in the bakery back in District 12 and that’s why he knew how to conceal himself. This skill saved his life because if he hadn’t thought about camouflaging himself then he would have been easily found and therefore killed.
Some people might say that physical strength is more important because it can be very helpful for one-on-one combat. In The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, it says, “Thresh brings the rock down hard against Clove’s temple. It’s not bleeding, but I can see the dent in her skull and I know that she’s a goner” (287). However, this argument is wrong because if they had used their mental strength to come up with a plan then they wouldn’t have had to physically fight with another Tribute in the first place. In The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, it says that “the table had just clicked into place when a figure darts out of the Cornucopia, snags the green backpack and speeds off” (283). During the Games, the Gamemakers organized a feast where they gave everyone a chance to get something that they desperately needed. A Tribute named Foxface came up with a plan of hiding in the Cornucopia so that she could get her backpack first. This proves the other side wrong because by coming up with that plan, she completely avoided facing another Tribute and fighting physically unlike Katniss and Clove.
In conclusion, mental and social strength is more important in The Hunger Games because to survive you need sponsors, think ahead, and have the ability to make a good plan. This is important because it shows that not everyone needs to be physically strong to survive. It also shows that everyone is strong in their way. Mental strength is important to have in real life because it helps you make good choices and develop better judgment. The Tributes could prepare better for the Games by strengthening their mental and social skills.
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