Everdeen. Mellark. Abernathy. Three names. Three victims. Heroes. Traumatized. Their names forever ingrained within the Capitol’s games, suffering a form of a twisted existence. What does it mean to ask for that suffering? To volunteer. To protect. To lead. Everdeen, Mellark, and Abernathy – three individuals who have survived more than most can imagine, and, yet, they will work together to find hope, to send one person home – victorious of The Hunger Games.
What Does Hope Matter in the Face of Devastating Odds?
Life can feel bleak. People look to inflict harm. The Capitol looking to remind those of its power. And what chance do those three have but just a kiss and a wave to the air? In the midst of devastating violence, suffering, and starvation, the lives our heroes must endure before they even enter the punishing games.
Everdeen, daughter and sister, helps her family survive. Now that she’s been taken by the Capitol – thrown into their games – what will happen to them when she’s gone? After her father died, death was almost a reality when they weren’t able to find a way to feed themselves. How does one survive when hope seems all but gone? Caught in the freezing rain, unable to move, sensing the end is near with hope all but gone, a young baker suffers at the hands of his mother – all to feed a stranger in the street.
Mellark, seeing Everdeen nearly lifeless in the streets, burns loaves of bread and is beaten for his “mistake.” Told to feed it to the pigs, he glances but an instant before tossing them in her direction. Despite being classmates, these two had never officially met. Acquaintances, if that, she doesn’t understand why he does this incredible thing for her – and how could she ever repay his generous act of kindness? It’s a debt, but one she takes home to her family to help them survive.
Abernathy, survivor of the games, suffers the bottle. “Winning” the games left him in a desperate state of intoxication to make it through each and every day. With each passing year, watching as new prisoners, er, competitors, of the games look to him for guidance, look to him to survive. Despite District 12’s struggles to provide much of anything resembling strength to survive in the games, these “tributes” never return. But, the coming spark from Everdeen and Mellark earning their lottery tickets, he soon finds something he hasn’t found in decades. Is there a chance this time?
Surviving the Capital’s Games Does Not Mean Everyone Wins
The “reaping” is each of the 12 district’s day of torturous wonder: Who will have their names drawn from the bowls? One female. One male. Two from each district. Meaning: 23 dead and 1 survivor – every single year. Plus, the countless others who die from starvation, accidents in the mines, or capitol punishment. At what point does ultimate power corrupt those who are in a position of power to stand up and speak up for the lesser?
Granted, there was a war ages ago where the Capitol defeated the districts that rose up against it, leading to the annual Hunger Games. What moment led to the Capitol’s power-hungry ways that led to this initial uprising? Either way, Everdeen and Mellark find themselves waiting amongst others at the reaping, waiting for names to be chosen. When her 12-year-old sister is picked, the shock is unbearable. There’s nothing but torture for the 16-year-old, realizing her sister has been picked for certain death, so what can one do? To volunteer.
Volunteering might save her this year, but there’s nothing to know what the future holds. How will they survive without her weekly hunts in the forest? Everdeen has earned enough trade prowess to negotiate for goods to help her family survive. Yes, she’s saved her sister this year, but volunteering now leads Everdeen in the “certain death” position. Mellark is chosen next. They stand on stage together, shocked and shaking hands.
Their handshakes don’t bring any promises or comfort, but perhaps recognition of what fate they’ve landed upon. 23 dead and 1 survivor.
Hunger Games: Surviving with Demonstrated Fortitude of Goodwill
Everdeen and Mellark are sent to the Capitol to train with Abernathy as their mentor. Drunken early and often, mentoring does not inspire Abernathy until he realizes there’s more to life than settling into the bottom of a bottle. There’s a spark, a hidden admiration worth exploring. Mellark states their district’s chance of finally having a winner, which his family vocalized, but they weren’t talking about their own child. Realizing Everdeen’s strengths to hunt, to adapt in the wild, the Capitol’s games seem possible to navigate.
Part of that navigation includes telling a story for the cameras, as the Hunger Games is the worst televised reality TV show in the history of the world. Being liked, even adored, brings helpful gifts from sponsors while in the game’s arena. Mellark crafts words like he frosts cakes – beautifully. Despite Everdeen’s rightfully indignant outlook on those who celebrate her pending suffering, it’s clear Mellark’s “silver tongue” counterbalances any inadequacies she might feel. He presents a dream to the Capitol’s audience, one of hope and love.
Yes, both are capable at various skills. Everdeen can hunt with an arrow, use snares, and recognizes a bevy of edible or poisonous plants in the wilderness. Mellark has strength and can adapt to camouflage himself into his surroundings, even if that means appearing to hunt Everdeen to stay close to those most dangerous to her survival. What does it mean if someone doesn’t “survive at all costs,” if it means changing who they are? Something good still remains. Mellark sees that in Everdeen. Their mentor sees it, too.
Trapped in Hell: The Capitol’s Games Against the Will of the People
The Hunger Games are just that: Taking its population and forcing them to starve two of their constituents each year. No free will. Obligation of death. Suffering not optional. In a world where life seems impossibly overwhelming, those fighting to survive still must find a way. Push forward. Adapt. Hope for help from others to lift each other up. In the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark end up discovering that crucial element of survival: hope.
Haymitch Abernathy helps them in that cause, to vie for their survival to those who can pay for necessary foods and medicines. Despite the odds, knowing only having a chance of one survivor, Haymitch has to pick one to help more. Yet, when all seems lost, the idea of finding young love in the arena of death presents an opportunity for both of them to survive. Does desperation push them together? Can those feelings be real? Or not real?
Needless to say, suffering in such a brutally violent landscape is one thing, but adding the youthful inexperience of children and teenagers to the mix must make discovering such recounted love confusing at best. Trusting others in a place controlled by the corrupt Capitol doesn’t seem like a pliable solution, but trust has to start somewhere. Everdeen comes to realize the extent in which Mellark has gone to keep her safe. He’s willing to die to keep her safe. Selflessness seems almost impossible within the districts, let alone the Capitol where people pine for the annual suffering made for TV.
Devastating Truths in The Hunger Games
Read the pages written by Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games, and you will truly understand what it feels like to have hopelessness – and, yet, have a sense of “just maybe.” The Hunger Games is a story that constantly evolves from one act to the next, ultimately leading to a trilogy that examines what it means to find hope, fight for those who suffer, and stand up to the oppressor who would do anything to maintain power.
This story presents a stark reality to how people in power behave, what they think of those “inferior” to them, and what the Hunger Games mean in the long run. Could they move on from their cruelty and still have power? Maybe. However, the Capitol’s belief of bending the will of the people is ingrained in their infrastructure. Those who dare question their tyranny must live to suffer and be reminded of the penalties that come with asking such things.
Obey. Do not think of anything else that contradicts this submission. Willingness to starvation. Willingness to the reaping. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, because the Capitol has barricaded both ends. Its citizens are trapped within and trying to find a way out is unacceptable to even ask. But, surviving in the Hunger Games is the only viable option to pushing back against that authoritarian view. Now, 22 dead and 2 survivors, briefly.
Even when that’s taken away, back to 23 dead and 1 survivor, life sometimes means standing up to those who would rather them fight to the death. Fighting back against the Capitol means meeting death on their own terms, even if it means having no survivor. In the face of the evil Capitol, with all of the districts watching, Everdeen and Mellark question authority by putting poisoning berries into their mouths. Terror of not having a “winner,” they’re both announced as the victors of the 74th Hunger Games.
Three-Finger Salute to Everyone
This gesture of bringing three fingers to one’s mouth and then lifting it into the air is a custom in District 12. It represents hope and sorrow, recognition to those who deserve respect for their actions. In the face of a dastardly “government,” the districts raised their arms in support of Everdeen at the reaping when she volunteered for her sister. Such a simple act of devotion and love proves that hope does not have to disappear in a vacuum.
Despite the power suck of a malicious entity, Everdeen, Mellark, and Abernathy aim to show those that support them another way. Showing love for each other. Showing love for others in the arena. Everdeen’s allegiance to Rue from District 11 highlights potential bonds, while revealing the devastating reality of how everyone can feel the pains of loss and suffering, especially when Everdeen watches her die. Instead of instantly abandoning her, she sings her to “sleep” and then covers her in beautiful flowers to honor her.
Such a small act can have monumental ramifications. Compassion, love, and a willingness to stand side by side with another, a stranger, means that hope can never be lost. Hope must always be at the forefront, even when the most repulsive things bombard their daily lives, in and out of the Capitol’s games. Together, Everdeen, Mellark, and Abernathy found a way. They’re the proof. They’re the hope.
Three-finger salute, my friends.
