Catching Fire

Throughout The Hunger Games trilogy, Collins demonstrates the necessity of civil disobedience in an unfair or unjust society. The first novel set the stage by exploring the long-standing injustices of the past 75 years in Panem, and Catching Fire documents the shift among the people that leads to them finally taking action.

Katniss and Gale already broke the law countless times in the first novel by hunting in the woods around their district, which “violates at least a dozen laws and is punishable by death” (9). However, these hunting trips were never meant to spark a rebellion or challenge the Capitol: they were just a means to feed their families and survive. Similarly, Katniss claims that by offering Peeta the poisonous berries in the arena and forcing the Gamemakers to let them both live, “All [she] was doing was trying to keep Peeta and [her]self alive. Any act of rebellion was purely coincidental” (18). Unlike Gale, Katniss doesn’t have a spirit for rebellion, but is only worried about surviving and protecting the people she loves. Still, she is “both chilled and somewhat elated by the possibility” (21) of an uprising in Panem, and knowing that her behavior could potentially fan the flames of such a rebellion makes Katniss nervous in the early chapters of the book. Rebellion might sound noble, but Katniss, ever practical, knows that it could also seriously endanger her friends and family. As a result, she shies away from any ideas of rebellion in order to try to maintain some semblance of peace in her life. Through her ambivalence, Collins explores the material threats of resisting oppressive regimes. Even though Katniss morally and philosophically supports the resistance, her survival instinct and desire to heal is at odds with the requirements of open rebellion.

When Katniss asks President Snow why he doesn’t just kill her in the beginning of the novel, he claims that killing her “would only add fuel to the flames” (23) and cause the rebellion to spread faster. Collins explores the idea of martyrdom here, and the modern-day implications of this idea are still alive and well. Many social justice movements have been sparked and spread by the death of notable figures, and rather than snuffing out the flame of discontent, murdering a leader often leads to a renewed dedication to the cause. President Snow understands the importance of controlling Katniss and being very careful about how and when he decides to end her life. Through Snow, Collins questions what rebellion looks like in a world where oppressive regimes are familiar with the tactics of resistance and can deliberately maneuver against them. While many science fiction novels feature reductive portrayals of absolute good or absolute evil, Collins creates a more morally nuanced world, emphasizing the complexity of her teenage protagonist’s navigation of the transition to adulthood and agency over her life.

Katniss is rescued from the arena at the end of the novel to demonstrate the importance of hope in fueling a rebellion. Katniss is young and powerful, and although the rebellion would likely continue if she were killed, Haymitch and Plutarch understand the importance of having her front and center to give people hope in the future of Panem. Although Katniss is not particularly willing to be the center of the rebellion at the end of the novel, she is fueled by rage, passion, and a righteous understanding that things in Panem have to change. Through Katniss, Collins explores how anyone can rise to the occasion to bring about real change if they are driven by noble reasons like Katniss, but also proposes that the tactics used by oppressive regimes and those who resist them may have uncomfortable similarities.

In The Hunger Games, Collins establishes the Capitol as the source of all that is evil in Panem. The Capitol addresses the collective culture of the ruling class in Panem, and in Catching Fire, the gap between this ruling class and the districts is explored to highlight how different life is between the district and Capitol citizens, and how this creates social inequality and foments revolution.

Since winning the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss has been treated like a Capitol citizen living in District 12. She feels the “heavy pocket of coins against [her] hip” (10) when she enters the Hob, and she now lives in a huge home in Victor’s Village, which is set apart from the rest of the District. Even so, when President Snow visits her at the beginning of the novel, he behaves as if Katniss’s new house is “his home and I’m the uninvited party” (19). It is a stark reminder that the Capitol gave Katniss this new life, and they can take it away just as easily. Collins addresses the idea that wealth comes with a price, and that price ranges from moral bankruptcy to a complete loss of autonomy over one’s life. This is reflected in Snow’s command for Katniss to play the part of lovesick schoolgirl in public and even his fixation on having her wear her wedding dress at the interviews before the Quarter Quell. She is now seen as the Capitol’s property for them to manipulate and control, and for Katniss, the endless riches she has acquired are not worth the loss of control over her life. Gale refuses Katniss’s gifts from the Capitol, saying that he “[doesn’t] want anything they made in the Capitol” (100), and Katniss wonders if that includes her: “Does he think I am now just another product of the Capitol and therefore something untouchable?” (101).

Katniss may be rich like a member of the Capitol elite, but Collins stresses that Katniss has not adopted the culture of the Capitol. She often complains about her prep team talking about their “incomprehensibly silly lives” (37) and their fixation on her appearance. Katniss observes that her prep team is “not used to want, so any little disruption in supply makes an impact on them” (165), whereas the citizens of the districts go without food, medicine, and basic supplies to carry out everyday life.

However, Katniss recognizes that her prep team also has the capacity for kindness, which surprises her. She notices that “all three are so readily respectful and nice to my mother that I feel bad about how I go around feeling so superior to them” (38), and she wonders how her life might have turned out differently if she had grown up in the Capitol without want or need of anything. She is also surprised to see how her prep team seems genuinely upset when she has to go back into the arena. In fact, Katniss finds herself having to console them, because “The idea of being strong for someone else [...] never entered their heads” (204). Through the drastically different relationships of the districts and the Capitol to wealth, Collins speaks to the idea that those who have never endured hardships are ill-equipped to handle difficult situations when they arise. No one in the Capitol is used to loss, death, or the idea of resisting the government. Even in the arena, tributes from wealthier districts are seen as more likely to accept Capitol control and participate willingly in the Games. Collins uses this gap between the two ways of life to demonstrate the role that social norms can have on the development of a person, and to remind those who come from a world of privilege to stop and assess how their experiences might differ from others.