What Are The Similarities Between A Long Way Gone And The Hunger Games

Children who are poor are often at a disadvantage and have limited access to the basic necessities or luxuries that others have. Thus, they become victims to violence on a physical, emotional and political level, especially because the government has the power, wealth, resources and authority to implicate and enforce change. But sometimes the very system that is put in place to protect is the very cause of the destruction of the people it governs. Essentially governments acknowledge that life is a basic right but survival is a privilege. This is shown within Ishmael Beah’s “A Long Way Gone” and Susanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games”, in that both books display the many aspects of violence which children are subjected to, causing the main characters to become children soldiers, combatting everyday struggles of poverty, hunger and brutality. Fiction and Nonfiction

collide as both authors use a distinctive creative language to shed light on the global issue of children soldiers, an issue very real but often overlooked.
Collins’ novel is the story of a 16 year old girl – Katniss Everdeen who becomes a child soldier in an arena, at the mercy of the Capitol, who uses the “hunger games” as a cruel punishment for the children of Panem. The “Hunger Games” are a series of games that were created as a form of population control through the abuse of power by the capitol after citizens began an uprising in reaction to political violence. The title of ‘hunger’ exemplifies the plight of the children and their families as it is used as a literary technique which develops the text whereas ‘games’ signifies the capitol’s power revealing their puppeteer-like nature. The purpose of the games are to reinforce the idea that the districts are powerless and that their lives are of little value as they are used as a means of entertainment for the capitol and those from wealthier districts. “…Taking kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch – this is the capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy” (Collins,22). The Capitol is ruthless in that they take impoverished children and make them fight to the death by playing off of their vulnerability; as the ‘winner’ receives wealth. The capitol is fundamentally a place of abundant wealth. Yet, there are many poor people in Panem and because of their status, they are considered second class citizens. Their everyday lives are a milder form of the ‘games’, only outside of the arena, making every moment of their lives revolve merely around survival.
“Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death” (Collins, 18). The children are labeled simply as “competitors” because they have been dehumanized by the capitol. This sort of inhumane treatment of the children has many impacts but specifically on a societal level, the dehumanization of the children adds to the preexisting stigmas about the lower class and the games portrays them in a savagely manner. Thus, lower class citizens are still disregarded, creating further tensions between the poor and the rich and desensitizes those that are subjected to such harsh treatment. “So I’m careful to continue to hide my emotions” (Collins, 165). Katniss is exceptionally conscious about the many injustices and their ubiquitous effects throughout Panem but is cautious and displays a high degree of self-control in order to defy popular belief as well as to avoid punishment.
Beah’s memoir, “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” is a collection of memories from when he himself was a child soldier. Beah was a young child just 12 years of age when he was recruited to become a child soldier. This was a disadvantage to him because he was a child living in poverty and that made him more susceptible to violence and being recruited to become a child soldier because the very village that was his home became a combat zone after being infiltrated by RUF (rebels). “This gun is your source of power in these times. It will protect you and provide you all you need, if you know how to use it well” (Beah, 124). He was essentially being oppressed by the lieutenant and his feelings were manipulated through the justification that the gun was his protector. It will empower him to defeat those who stole from him by avenging the deaths of his family. “I had heard from adults that this was a revolutionary war, a liberation of the people from corrupt government. But what kind of liberation movement shoots innocent civilians, children, that little girl?” (Beah, 14). The civil war in Sierra Leone was a form of societal violence that stemmed from political violence that lead to physical violence. It made children that were recruited conform to the pressures and the violence that surrounded them. They had no rights, “…I used the only freedom that I had then, my thought” (Beah, 33). Thoughts - that would never escape his mouth, Beah didn’t believe that there was an actual cause behind the chaos. He just knew that it was “kill or be killed” and he lived by that.
War inflicts emotional violence (harm) on those affected by it.

“I became frustrated with living in fear. I felt as if I was always waiting for death to come to me” (Beah, 46). He began questioning if he was actually alive or he was just living. He lacked enthusiasm and his spirit began to diminish. “If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person he or she will die” (Beah, 54). Beah remembers those words of his father and changes his mind to not show emotion but hide emotion and basically become stoic and disconnect himself from the world.

Both “The Hunger Games” and “A Long Way Gone” are intertwined in that they both tell stories that shed light on the horrors of children soldiers as well as the effects of violence on children. Collins use of the “hunger games” is a literary technique and it actually means war. Thus, the main characters are both children soldiers who fight in a civil war in order to survive. They became distant and detached themselves in order to remain unaffected by the violence that took place and only when it was over could they truly absorb the realities that they’ve

faced.
In Conclusion, political violence is the underlying cause of societal violence, which leads to physical violence. The main type of political violence that is illustrated throughout both books is the issue of poverty. “Poverty is the worst form of violence”, (Gandhi) because it results from the “system”. Poverty was the reason behind why both Katniss and Beah were victims of not only political violence but of physical and emotional violence because of war. Because of their status of wealth they were deemed invaluable and their attributes were overlooked. They had to suffer from injustices and never really had a chance in life, nothing came easy and with war was the loss of their innocence. “I believe children have the ability to outlive their sufferings, if given a chance” (Beah, 169). Only, they weren’t given a chance – it was through resilience that both Katniss and Beah were able to overcome their sufferings. With that, the authors were able to capture every moment of the lives of the characters and gracefully illuminate the issue of children soldiers using language that appealed to the readers emotions in a manner that beautifully captured the ugliness of their lives.