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Emmanuel Badillo
Professor Rebecca Lawson
English 114B
17 April 2014
Word Count: 1,309
Government Control: Power
Government control can make living in society more organized but it also has its
disadvantages in which government can become too powerful. In The Hunger Games trilogy,
the capitol is the prime example of a totalitarian government that has complete authority over the
people of Panam. Since they have access to the countrys wealth they can dictate what takes
place within the districts. The trilogy isnt the only place where we see government control
existent in society. It is easily seen through regimes like in Nazi Germany and the situation in
North Korea that still exists today. In those respective countries the state had the power to make
decisions for its citizens and that limited its people from ruling themselves. Government control
in The Hunger Games trilogy is similar to those of other repressive regimes in which they have
full authority over everything and everyone.
The Capitol demonstrated its acts of control over the people through the hunger games.
The participants of the Hunger games are chosen at a very young age. According to the rule once
a child turns 12; their name is put in the reaping until they are 18. The more times they have their
name in the bowl it can be used in exchange for extra food. Once a year, the reaping selects one
boy and one girl from the drawing. When the child turns 18, their name is removed from the
drawing. The following quote by Katniss will explain the capitols authority thorough rules,
Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch this is the
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Capitols way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would
stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. Look
how we take your children and sacrifice them and theres nothing you can do. If you lift a finger,
we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen. (Hunger Games ch.1)
According to Katinss she goes to say that the leaders of the capitol use the hunger games as an
excuse to show their repressive rule over the nation. This goes to show that the districts have no
say against the central government and people being killed is a form of televised entertainment.
The hunger games are a type of systematic rule similar to regimes of the past that made living
life harder. Sometimes government can have a lot of power but people within the state can start
taking control into their own hands.
District 12 experienced the authority of the capitol but there was a power shift from the
capitol to the people within the district. The next quote is an example of how Katniss becomes a
leader that the citizens that district 12 look up to, The something unexpected happens. At least, I
dont expect it because I dont think of District 12 as a place that cares about me. But a shift has
occurred since I stepped up to take Prims place, and now it seems I have become someone
precious. At first one, then another, then almost every member of the crowd touches the three
middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and holds it out to me. It is an old and rarely used
gesture of our district, occasionally seen at funerals. It means thanks, it means admiration, it
means good-bye to someone you love. (Hunger Games ch.17) Its clear that the government has
brute force on their side, but the people of District 12 show that they have their own kind of
power. Their three-finger gesture makes Katniss feel special, loved and human. This just proves
that repressive rule can force people into a mentality where power is shifted into their favor and
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away from their processors. Sometimes there are instances that you have to keep states or
provinces from banding together to rebel against the central administration in command.
The capitol made sure that the districts hated each other and kept the mentality of
complete separation. They enforced that through limited interactions among each state and used
threats so that no one would break the rules. Max Despain, a critical essay writer describes the
way the capitol uses isolation to prevent districts from becoming unified into one. In his essays
he says, The capitol government has written the perfect recipe for revolution by producing an
us vs them mentality between itself and the districts. Although the capitol practices important
forms of isolation (including fencing put for-bidden areas) to prevent the districts from
developing group solidarity and joining forces, the people realize that the capitol lives in luxury
and leisure denied to the outsiders. (Despain) According to Max Despain the capitol is more of
a selfish corporation that cares more about its profit more than its workers. Complete isolation is
definitely a form of government control because these higher institutions fear of revolutions and
losing their power. Throughout human history there are always been real life examples of
authoritarian governments with complete rule over its population.
Nazi Germany was a period that government controlled everything in Germany. It was a
dictatorship run by Adolf Hitler who laid down the foundations of the Nazi State. His ruled his
people with authoritarian principles and imposed racism among everyone in Germany. To
enforce his rules of the Third Reich, Hitler used the Schutzstaffel (SS guard) that were in charge
to punish those who opposed the Nazi regime. There was a certain point where the Nazi party
was the only political party left in Germany since it became outlawed by the government.
German life was based on the Fhrer principle that dictated the party, economy, and family had
to be obeyed by no question. This enlisted fear in the population because the consequences of not
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following this philosophy could mean life or death. The Nazi Regime ruled with fear as means of
power and made satisfying the regime a priority to its people. The Hunger Games trilogy, ruled
similarly with the capitol forcing nominating young kids at a very young age to fight each other.
Most couldnt resist because people could get sanctioned through food shortages, not enough
water and overall made life much more difficult to live. North Korea is a modern example of a
socialist society where the central administration has tremendous power and control.
North Korea has a highly centralized communist state government. Their way of rule
included brainwashing the inhabitants to praise Kim Jong-II. He is the current president of North
Korea and is the head of the Korean Workers Party. Globally North Korea is considered to be
the most secretive society due to its lack of relations with the rest of the world and only has big
global power like Russia and China. The way of life in this society is often described as
unbearable and short lived. Many people have been tortured, mal nourished, forced into labor
camps, and even publically executed. A side of that media like television, radio and cellular
networks were strictly monitored by the North Korean government. District 13 is a similar case
where the capitol was controlling and basically treated them like prisoner. The capitol and North
Korea rule the same way with control and power.
Government control can sometimes be seen as a powerful cooperation that rules its
workers who have no way of standing up to them as they might risk losing their job or in reality
their lives. The capitol ruled like in Nazi Germany and North Korea where the central
government had the complete authority. Unfortunately for the population they had no choice but
to follow the rules because their human rights, freedoms have been stripped away. Government
control should if there is a balance where power is equally distributed and run like a democracy.
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Annotated Biography
Suzanne, Collins. The Hunger Games. New York, New York: Scholastic, 2008. Print.
Of Bread, Blood, and the Hunger Games: Critical Essays on the Suzanne Collins Trilogy.
Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2012.
This critical essay written by Max Despain discusses how the capitol keeps the districts
separate and preventing them from becoming unified to rebel against the government.
Control over the districts included limiting food, and punishing those who rebel by
making them fight each other. I found this source using the CSUN library webpage and
looked for an essay in the Of Bread, blood, and the Hunger Games book. It is written by
many writers that shared what they thought on the book. I plan to use this article by
comparing mentioning how isolation among the districts is a way of government control.
Museum. German: Establishment of the Nazi Dictatorship. Holocaust Encyclopedia. June 10,
2013. Web.
The online article talks about how the Nazi Regime ruled Germany under the principle of
Adolf Hitler. He imposed that government be the center of everything and had the SS
guard to enforce the rules. I found this article by typing in the Google search box the
government control in Nazi Germany. This information is coming from a Encyclopedia
and its backed by real facts. This online source will help me compare government
control in The Hunger Games trilogy to those of modern history. I can also mention how
Hitler brainwashed his people into thinking that being white meant that you were inferior
to all other races and use that as a form of government control.


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Not available. North Korea: Government. Global Edge. January 31, 2014. Web.
North Korea was communist government that controlled everyone and everything. From
to media, labor camps, public executions, life was hard in that country. I found this article
by using Google and typing in how the government of North Korea operates. The website
it was found on has information on all countries of the world and at the bottom you can
see sources to back up where those facts are coming from. This article can further help
my point my pointing out that the government can become too powerful and is similar to
the lives of those who live in district 13.