Reaping In The Hunger Games

The book and movie series known as the Hunger Games is about the battle between Districts one through twelve in the nation of Panem. Each year, one male and female tribute from each district, with twenty-four tributes in total, is chosen to fight to the death until one lone victor remains. The Capitol, the government and major city of the realm, rules the nation of Panem. Moreover, President Snow serves as the lone ruler of the Capitol. Any sign of rebellion against the Capitol will result in severe punishment inflicted by “Peacekeepers”, the internal security force controlled by the Capitol trained to maintain the order of the districts in Panem. In the eyes of Henry David Thoreau, the government of the Hunger Games is an unacceptable

The camera falls on a sign attached to a non-electrified electric fence that reads, “District Boundary No Access Beyond This Point”. The Capitol sets this boundary in order to keep the districts isolated from one another, keep predators away and prevent any inhabitant from District Twelve to escape to another District or completely out of Panem. If anyone attempts to escape, they are subject to severe punishment inflicted by the Capitol or Peacekeepers. For example, as Katniss and Gale discuss the possibility of running away before the Reaping in The Hunger Games, Katniss tells Gale, “They’d catch us. Cut out our tongues…or worse. We wouldn’t make it five miles”. Avoxes are people that are arrested for committing a crime, such as speaking out against the Capitol. As a result, these people have their tongues cut out, making them mute. As punishment, they serve as domestic servants and waiters upon tributes and citizens of the Capitol for the rest of their lives. In The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, a female Avox stands in the background, wearing a white sleeveless gown, dark eye makeup and with a cage around her face. The

Henry David Thoreau asks, “Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator?” (256), and believes the answer should be “No”. To this question, the Capitol would disagree and say “Yes”. Since the people of the Capitol view the Hunger Games as entertainment, they are oblivious to the pure terror of the Games. In The Hunger Games, Haymitch watches a child unwrap a toy sword and chase his sister with the sword clutched in his hand and pretends to stab his mother, while the boy’s father is smiling and laughing. This goes to show that the people of the Capitol consider the Games as a mere joke, and that they are blind followers to the government of Panem. Their “conscience is wounded” (262) because they believe that everything the government does and says is morally sound. However, there are also people who share that same belief in Panem. Districts One, Two and Four are Career Districts. Tributes from these Districts train for the Games throughout the course of their lives and volunteer to participate when they reach the age of eighteen. They long to please the people of the Capitol. In The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the tributes from District One tell the audience, full of Capitol citizens, during an interview, “We didn’t go by choice.