Within the novel The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins allows the reader to see Katniss’s thought process as she makes decisions, both inside the arena and outside, as a way to depict the trauma that Katniss has as a result of neglect from years of living in the poorest district. Throughout the novel, Katniss is skeptical of any help she receives, and because of this the reader can see her thought process as she works through why she could be receiving help and what motives the other person might be. A clear example of this occurs early in the novel, when Peeta offers to take care of Haymitch after he passes out in his own vomit. Katniss quickly thinks “Possibly Peeta is trying to make a good impression on him, to be [Haymitch’s] favorite once the Games begin” (48), but this confuses her as Haymitch won’t have any memory of this until she realizes “it’s because [Peeta]’s being kind” (49). The distrust that Katniss feels when Peeta is kind on the train is Collins’s way of showing the reader that Katniss has grown to be distrustful of anyone after years of never being shown any kindness in District 12. The Capitol abandoned the districts and restricted their food to demonstrate the power they hold over the districts, and it is because of this that Katniss cannot trust anyone.
Katniss, in the arena especially, goes beyond simply doubting kindness from Peeta. She struggles to understand why Peeta has formed an alliance with the Career tributes, thinking “Obviously, the noble boy on the rooftop was playing just one more game with me” (162), but Katniss continues to overhear the Careers as they talk about her training score. Katniss realizes that Peeta hasn’t told them about her skill with a bow and arrow “which Peeta knows better than anyone… Is he saving that information because he knows it’s all that keeps him alive? Is he still pretending to love me for the audience? What is going on his head?” (163). These thoughts reveal to the reader that Katniss actively works to figure out what other people are thinking, what their motives might be. Katniss’s thoughts are a direct result of the neglect she felt from the Capitol, and even while fighting to survive in the arena, her thoughts are constantly surrounding what the audience in the Capitol might think if she does this or what Gale “makes of all this kissing” (280). Collins narrates an unfiltered stream of thoughts and feelings to help the reader understand just how deep the neglect and trauma from the Capitol go.
This blog definitely provides a likely explanation for why Katniss Everdeen acts the way she does especially with consideration to the favors that others do for her. It kept striking me as I was reading this book how Katniss continued to view acts a kindness done for her as transactions. She continually had the expectation that she owed people favors for favors they do for her. This is evident after Peeta paints Katniss as an object of love during his interview and she thinks to herself afterwards, “He has done me a favor and I have answered with an injury. Will I ever stop owing him?” (137). This transactional view of human interactions is very likely to be an artifact of her traumatic childhood, especially since it was her who had to grow up and provide for her family. When Katniss was providing for her family, every little thing counted and so it is fair to think that her keeping tabs on what others owe her during the Hunger Games is based on her previous survivalist instinct. The only catch in this case is that for her to owe favors to other people during a game where she is supposed to kill others can be a fatal affair. This logic does follow through the end of the novel because Katniss never killed a tribute that owed her, and when it came down to Peeta and her she was willing to die rather than kill the one she owed the most to.
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