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EmilyTharp
StaceyDearing
ENGL106
23March2015

TheCapitolsTotalitarianismReflectedintheAmericanGovernment
Thestoryof
TheHungerGames
canbeeasilycomparedtoreallifesituations.Thereare
manydifferentthemesthatthisnovel,butatopicthatseemedveryrelatabletoreallife,was
governmentcontrol.Inthestoryof
TheHungerGames,
SuzanneCollinsportraystheCapitolas
atotalitarianismgovernmentandconstructstheCapitolastheenemytoall.Iagreewiththis
claimandbelievethattheAmericanGovernmentcanreflectthistypeofcontroltoo,especially
throughGovernmentSurveillance.
Thestorybeginsinadystopiansocietywithacompleteseparationbetweenthegoverning
bodyandthecommonpeople.Thepeoplearedividedintotwelvedistricts,whichareawaiting
theannouncementsoftheirtributesfortheannualHungerGames.
TheHungerGamesserveas
entertainmentfortheCapitoltonegativelyremindtheotherdistrictsthattheyaresubordinate
anddonthavepower.Asthedistrictspreparethemselvesforthedrawingofthetributes,
anticipationandfearfillstheirbodies.Thefocusismostlyindistrict12,thelowestandleast
wealthylevelinsociety.KatnissEverdeen,themaincharacterofthisnovel,preparesher
youngersister,Prim,fortheGames.Shegrantsheramockingjaypintoprotectherfromhaving
hernamedrawnastribute.Unfortunately,Primsnamewasdrawn,eventhoughonlybeing
placedinthejaronce,tofightfordistrict12.Katniss,a16yearold,astronghunter,andabrave
youngwomanvolunteerstoreplacehersisterinthegames.Shewasthefirsttoevervolunteeras

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tributefortheGames.NexttoherstandsPeeta,whowasselectedasthemaletributeofDistrict
12.Together,theymaketheirwaytotheCapitolwheretheywillfightagainsttwentytwoother
tributes.TheywerepresentedwelltothepeopleoftheCapitol,astheyportrayedthemselvesas
strong,competitive,andworthyofwinningtheyseemedpowerful.Allofthetributesareputin
mysteriousandunrecognizablearenawheretheywillfightfortheirlives.Theymustovercome
starvation,dehydration,sleepdeprivation,andusetheirfightingskillstotheiradvantageinorder
tostayalive.Itiseverymanforthemselvessurvivalofthefittest.Thecompetitionwasstrong,it
isinKatnisshandstocomeoutalive.ForthefirsttimeinthehistoryoftheHungerGames,two
winnerswerecrownedKatnissandPeeta,bothfromDistrict12.
Thereisalotofevidenceinthisnovelaboutgovernmentcontrolandthethingsthe
Capitoldidtothe12districts.OneeventthatrelatestoAmericanGovernmentsurveillanceis
howtheCapitolputpeopleincharge,suchastrackerjackers,ofwatchingtheDistrictsandtheir
everymove.Afterthewar,theCapitoldestroyedallthenestssurroundingthecity,buttheones
nearthedistrictswereleftuntouched.Anotherreminderofourweakness,Isuppose,justlikethe
HungerGames.AnotherreasontokeepinsidethefenceofDistrict12.(Collins,page).This
eventisgivinganimagetothereaderthattheCapitolsetuptrackerjackersaroundeachofthe
twelvedistrictsasaformofgovernmentcontrol.Theywereplacedtheretoensurethatthe
peopleineachdistrictstayedintheirregionanddidnotpassanyborderstheywerenotsupposed
to.Katnisshadtosecretlypassherborderstomakeittothewoodswhereshehuntedand
gatheredtoprovideforherfamily.IfKatnisswasnotintelligentandgutsy,herandherfamily
wouldhavenochanceofsurvivalthatisthekindofpowertheCapitolhadonitspeople.

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ThelivesofthepeopleareintheCapitolshands,especiallyastributes.Itis
entertainmentforthemtohosttheHungerGamesandwatchsomanytributesdiebecauseof
themthisshowstheirpowerandcontrol.SoIstillhaveachance,though.Funny,inthearena,
whenIpouredoutthoseberries,IwasonlythinkingofoutsmartingtheGamemakers,nothow
myactionswouldreflectontheCapitol.ButtheHungerGamesaretheirweaponandyouarenot
supposedtobeabletodefeatit.SonowtheCapitolwillactasifthey'vebeenincontrolthe
wholetime.Asiftheyorchestratedthewholeevent,rightdowntothedoublesuicide.Butthat
willonlyworkifIplayalongwiththem.(Collins,156).Inthissituation,KatnissandPeeta
standuptotheCapitol.Whenitwasjustthemtwoleftinthearena,theydidntwanttokilleach
otherbecausetheywereinthesameDistrict.TounderminetheCapitolsauthority,theywere
goingtofeedeachotherdeadly,poisonousberriessimultaneouslysonoonewouldwin,
therefore,provingtheCapitolwrong.TheCapitolstoppedthismatterimmediatelyandcrowned
bothofthemwinners.Foronce,thepoorestandleastpowerfulDistrictofallhadtheupperhand.
ThecritiquethatSuzanneCollinsmakesoftheCapitolinherstorythe
HungerGames
raisessomeimportantissuessurroundingGovernmentcontrolandsurveillanceissuesthatare
increasinglyimportantintherealworld.Lastyear,awidelypublicreleaseofmillionsof
governmentdocumentswerereleasedbyaformergovernmentworker,EdwardSnowden.This
filesrevealedthevastnessofthegovernmentsurveillanceoverthepeople.Wehavelearned
fromSnowdenthattheNationalSecurityAgencyengagesinvirtuallyuncheckedmonitoringof
allsortsofcommunicationsthatwerethoughttobeprivatebutthatwenowknowaremaintained
insecretgovernmentdatabases.(Dershowitz,2).Thepublichadnoknowledgeofanysortof
governmentsurveillanceondailycommunications.Thisraisedmanydoubtsaboutthetrustof

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thegovernmentanditspeople.Butweknowenoughtobeconcernedthatourphonecalls,
emails,andevenoralconversationsmaybesubjecttogovernmentalmonitoringandcollecting.
Thegovernmentdeniesthatitislisteningtoorreadingthecontentofprivatecommunications
betweenordinarycitizens.(Dershowitz,2).Itseemsasthoughthegovernmenthasnotrustin
itspeopleandfeelstheneedtomonitorinformationisdistributedinpublic.Thefactthatthe
governmentdeniessomeoftheaccusationsthatareactuallytrueisveryunsettlingtothecitizens.
Whenthegovernmentwascreated,legitimacywasveryimportanttotheelectedofficialsandthe
voters.Legitimacyiswherethetrustofthegovernmentisfoundinthepeople.Government
surveillancetakesawaythelegitimacybecausethecitizensareleftinthedarkandthe
governmenthasallthecontrol.

Inordertospyonaphoneline,theNSA,alongwiththeFBI,CIAandotherintelligence
agencies,mustfileawarrantwiththeForeignIntelligenceSurveillanceCourt,whichreviewsthe
lawfulnessoftheprogram.Then,accordingtoPeteWilliamsofNBCNews,theNSA,goesto
thephonecompaniesandsays:Everyday,pumpyourdataaboutphonecallsintoourbig
governmenttankonlyphonenumbers(notnames),alongwithotherdataaboutthecalls,such
aswheretheycamefrom,howlongtheylasted,whatnumbersweredialed,andsoon.(PBS,1).
Eventhisinformationprovidedaboutwhatandhowmuchisactuallycollectedbythe
governmentisnotspecificandnooneisstillclearonwhatexactlythegovernmentissurveilling.
Again,thistakesawayfromthelegitimacyofthegovernmentcreatingevendeeperdoubtand
distrustintheirpower.Althoughwedontknowthespecificsofwhattheywerecollecting,we
doknowthattheywerenthackingintoourpersonaldailyconversations.Advocatesofthe

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surveillancesystempromotethattheyarelookingoutforthesafetyofthepublic,nottryingto
becomeinvolvedinthecitizenspersonallife.
Thegovernmentusestheterrorisminforeigncountriestoinfiltrateinformationfrom
phonecalls,textmessages,andemailsofnonviolentandnonthreateningpeople.Thefearof
terrorismhasledtoaneweraofoverzealouspoliceintelligenceactivitydirected,assooftenin
the
past
,againstpoliticalactivists,racialandreligiousminorities,andimmigrants.Thisnew
surveillanceactivityisnotdirectedsolelyatsuspectedterroristsandcriminals.It'sdirectedatall
ofus.(ACLU,1).Becausetensionsarerisinginthreateningnations,thegovernmenthas
steppedupitssurveillanceonitspeople.Thegovernmentthinksthattheyneedmoreoversight
andknowledgeonwhatpeoplearedoingandsayingintheireverydaylives.

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