Intelligence In The Hunger Games

Although it is disturbing, try to envision what it would be like to live in a country in which the government took children and televised them while they were fighting to their death. The author of The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins, writes about living in this future dystopian country, called Panem, which consists of twelve districts and the capital. To maintain order and for cruel entertainment, the capital hosts the Hunger Games each year by placing two tributes, boy and girl, from each district into an arena to fight for their lives until just one is left standing. The story’s narrator, Katniss Everdeen, volunteers as a tribute to replace her little sister, Prim, in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games. In that moment, Katniss was only worried …show more content…
Throughout the book, her intelligence is exemplified with her awareness of surveillance. First, Katniss was conscious of the cameras as soon as she volunteered to take Prim’s place. Kelley Wezner says, “… Katniss equates the cameras with self-control as she struggles to contain her tears so that she will not look weak to competitors during the evening of replays of her district’s reaping” (154). I believe Katniss was smart to hold back her emotions because if she didn’t she would have looked like an easy target to the other tributes and I also believe her ability to control her emotions at such a problematic time showed her mental strength and possibly helped her gain sponsors. The second example is during the first night in the games when Katniss is hiding out in a tree and she finds out Peeta is working with the careers. The careers are “… the kids from the wealthier districts, the volunteers, the ones who have been fed and trained throughout their whole lives for this moment” (Collins 94). Katniss understands as soon as she is down from the tree the cameras will be eager to show her reaction to Peeta’s “betrayal”. When Katniss hits the ground, she is aware of the cameras on her and what she does is surprising. “Then I [Katniss] cock my head slightly to the side and give a knowing smile. There! Let them figure that out” (Collins 164). Although I found it …show more content…
The capital feels humiliated by Katniss’ rebelliousness on live television. Katniss says, “… The Hunger Games are their [the capital’s] weapon and you are not supposed to be able to defeat it” (Collins 358). But Katniss did and she is now the hope and the face of rebellion for the districts. Athletic, clever, compassionate, modest, and rebellious are all words that explain what makes Katniss Panem’s heroine. The all around qualities is what makes her such a unique and powerful character. Even though it is very difficult, if I absolutely had to pick her strongest heroine quality, it would be her intelligence. Her intelligence separates her from the rest of the characters and truly without it her other qualities would be nothing. In my opinion, because of these character traits Katniss is no doubt a heroine and “‘the most important female character in recent pop culture history’”(Lem and Hassel