The Desensitiation Of Katniss In The Hunger Games, By Susan Collins

I’m in my kitchen and watching the news when, without warning, I’m transported to the Capitol. Buildings are burning, structures are collapsing, the Capitol is falling. Thousands are dead, many more are injured, and everyone is famished. Who will survive? The Hunger Games, by Susan Collins, is about a girl named Katniss Everdeen. Katniss was selected to fight to the death along with 24 other tributes. This fight is an annual event created for entertainment of the Capital, within the country of Panem. The Capitol uses the games to demonstrate their control over the districts and to prove that the uprising will have severe consequences. Katniss has to face barbaric acts, young romance, and homicide. An overarching and recurring theme

The entire country of Panem is watching from their districts and cheering on their tributes. The Hunger Games is a national event similar to watching a large sporting event. Katniss is participating in the games while pondering what the people of District 12 are doing because they almost always have people die immediately. “Spirits must be running high in District 12. We so rarely have anyone to root for at this point in the Games. Surely, people are excited about Peeta and me, especially now that we’re together. If I close my eyes, I can imagine their shouts at the screens, urging us on.” (Page 280). This quote proves that people are being desensitized. They are cheering, rooting, and betting for various tributes to win. In actuality, all but one person will ultimately die. When murder, violence, fighting, and bloodshed become a “sport” worth cheering for, society has become fully desensitized. The tributes are being ruthlessly murdered, but people in the Districts are still watching others die brutally and actually relishing the games as a spectator sport. District 12 is especially impacted by this phenomenom. District 12 has so rarely had “a victor” in the games that they allow the prospect of winning to enthuse the even further. The Capitol has even mind control of District 12 at this point. The Capitol is playing with theiir