The Hunger Games

The other day in class we talked about how advertisements use and exploit children to get certain results from the viewer. Prior to this, however, we talked a lot about civil liberties and human rights. I recently read a book called The Hunger Games that relates and parallels to both of these units. This book takes place in a future society that has evolved from America, and a society in which the government has ultimate control over the country (the majority of the people in this society have lost all simple liberties and are extremely unhappy). This is one view of how repression of civil liberties could be taken to the extreme in the future, to the point where citizens are at complete mercy of governmental control. It directly addresses the government's ability to repress civil liberties during times of peril, but also how this repression can continue beyond the perilous time. Here is a passage:

"Just as the town clock strikes two, the mayor steps up to the podium and begins to read. It's the same story every year. He tells of the history of Panem, the country that rose up out of the ashes of a place that was once called North America. He lists the disasters, the droughts, the storms, the fires, the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land, the brutal war for what little sustenance remained. The result was Panem, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace and prosperity to its citizens. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the thirteenth obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave us the new laws to guarantee peace and, as our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games.

The rules of the Hunger Games are simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must provide one girl and one boy, called tributes, to participate. The twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland. Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to death. The last tribute standing wins.

Taking the 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. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. 'Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there's nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen'" (19-20).

In this situation, the government exploits children in order to maintain power over the people and ensure that another uprising does not occur. Based on what we have discussed in class, why do you think The Capitol has chosen to use children? Also, at what point do the people of a country become at the mercy of their government? When does the government's focus shift from protecting the people to protecting the government's power?