The Hunger Games

As Peeta and Katniss prepare for the next stage of their story, they are painfully aware that they are coming to the climax of the Hunger Games: “leaving the cave has a sense of finality about it. I don’t think there will be another night in the arena somehow. One way or another, dead or alive, I have the feeling I’ll escape it today” (326). Katniss’s premonition proves true, though their escape from the arena is not without difficulty.

The “resurrection” or climax of the story is represented by Katniss’s decision to commit suicide rather than kill Peeta. Their attempted double suicide works, saving both their lives, but it also makes an enemy of the Capitol. This particular strategy of self-preservation by suicide also serves as the pinnacle of irony within the book.

The “return with the elixir” portion of the story is comprised of the victors’ journey to return to District 12. While they are returning home to a life of plenty, the lingering danger hangs over their heads as they know that the Capitol and President Snow still have plans for them.

In the climax Peeta and Katniss face the wolf muttations. While these creatures are dangerous, the true horror is in learning that the Capitol has found another way to destroy them—by mutilating the corpses of the children they have murdered and transforming them into monsters. This new development highlights the Capitol’s depravity as well as the identity motif. This latest development is the literal embodiment of Peeta’s fear, which demonstrates that Peeta’s identity-related fears are entirely justified and indicate that the Capitol is both willing and able to destroy the identities of those it controls.

Katniss’s own identity issues also come to a head in the final chapters. Throughout the novel Katniss has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of self-awareness when it comes to her own feelings. She has also resisted comparisons between herself and Haymitch, no matter how valid they might be. However, the games force Katniss to adapt and acknowledge the darker aspects of her psyche, and to consider who she is and who she will eventually become. After all the duplicity and deception, both for the “fake dating” strategy and elsewhere, Katniss has little confidence in her conceptions of identity—whether hers or Peeta’s. Given Peeta’s acting talent, she is not certain she has ever truly known who he is—even when it becomes clear that he was not acting at all.

Furthermore, Katniss struggles with the potential changes to her own identity. While she wonders who she will be when her defining role—the struggling provider—is rendered unnecessary, the most direct example of her identity issues comes when she literally cannot recognize herself after the games are over: “wild eyes, hollow cheeks, my hair in a tangled mat. Rabid. Feral. Mad. No wonder everyone is keeping a safe distance from me” (348). Katniss only feels like herself when she replaces the clothing from the Capitol with simpler, more familiar garb. Still, the clothes do not transform her into her pre-games identity: “I stare into the mirror as I try to remember who I am and who I am not” (371). Ultimately, the identity motif has been explored but not resolved, leaving it open to further development in the following book.

During the last chapters, the issues with the “fake dating” trope, duality, and deception come to a head. While Katniss is unsure how much of her feelings for Peeta are fake, she knows that a portion is. Peeta, on the other hand, has been honestly professing his love. He is shocked and hurt to discover that her affections are decidedly less sincere than his own. This development presents a divide between the two victors, who must then continue to present a united, loving front to stay alive. While their freedom from the arena enables them to have more candid discussions, the “fake dating” trope and the deception and duality that come with it are not entirely resolved.

The rebellion theme is not left unsatisfied by the final chapters. Katniss’s largest act of rebellion is dramatic. Her cunning exploitation of the Capitol’s agenda forces it to capitulate to her demands, resulting in survival for both of District 12’s tributes. While Katniss takes pride in the success of her maneuver, she soon learns that it has unexpected consequences. By making the Capitol look foolish, she has earned its ire. The price of her rebellion is capitulation—complicity:

but the Hunger Games are their weapon and you are not supposed to be able to defeat it. So now the Capitol will act as if they’ve been in control the whole time. As if they orchestrated the whole event right down to the double suicide. But that will only work if I play along with them (358).

Ultimately, Katniss has instigated a feud with the Capitol, putting her and everyone she loves at risk:

It’s so much worse than being hunted in the arena. There, I could only die. End of story. But out here, Prim, my mother, Gale, the people of District 12, everyone I care about back home could be punished if I can’t pull of the girl-driven-crazy-by-love scenario Haymitch has suggested (358).

This resolution ties the themes of rebellion and complicity together, while leaving room for them to be expanded upon in the next book.