The Freud Games

There’s no doubt Suzanne Collin’s “Hunger Games” has become a cultural phenomenon. As the release of the second movie draws near, more and more people are reading the books and buying merchandise. What is it about this story that makes the public go insane? What draws us to a story of a sadistic future, a “girl on fire”, and more violence than should be allowed in teen fiction? The Hunger Games draws on many major Freudian themes, but one in particular drew my attention: trauma.

Trauma is a major theme of the Hunger Games. From the impulse of volunteering for the deadly Hunger Games to save her sister, to the death of her father that lead to the emotional dismembering of her mother, and the death of one or two small children (Whoops, spoilers!), Katniss has been through enough trauma for one teenage girl to handle. Freud believes trauma shapes a person’s character. Any amount of trauma can turn an innocent little girl into a cold-blooded killer. Freud didn’t just look at a traumatic event, he tried to discover the meaning hidden in each traumatic episode. The death of a loved one is indeed tragic and can alter the mood of any person, however, there often lies hidden meanings that Freud lived for. He wanted to open up these old wounds and eradicate the source of the unhappiness instead of covering it up. For Katniss, her traumatic wounds first opened when her sister was picked to participate in the Hunger Games. Then, when she volunteered as tribute herself, the wound was picked open as she watched people die in front of her. Eventually, watching people die was no big deal and her wound enveloped her, turning her into a completely new person. Is this a result of her previous experiences, or was she always a closet sociopath? Could it be this “wound” unleashed Katniss’ alter ego, something she would not have released if she had not gone into the Hunger Games?

While Katniss Everdeen is a fictional character, the central themes surrounding the series do exist. The idea of tyrannical overkill is not too far-fetched. You may have heard of an evil dictator named Hitler, for example, who killed many people for years and nobody really seemed to care. He instilled fear in the people he ruled over, just as President Snow instilled fear in the people of Panem. But why did it take a girl to catch on fire for the people of Panem to revolt against this obviously bogus leader? Because they were under the impression that he was going to protect them, just as the Nazis made Europe believe they were doing good by killing innocent people.

Perhaps we don’t really have an alter ego waiting for the perfect set of circumstances to reveal itself, but we all know that our specific experiences have shaped our character in a way that will make us completely different from where we began. No matter what the future may hold, I certainly hope that the odds will be ever in your favor.