PTSD

Has it ever occured to you after you read a book how much research its author put into it? Suzanne Collins not only thoroughly understands the topic of a dystopian world, but also several psychological disorders born from the issues that such a home would cause. I wasn't aware of just how much time that she put into this series however, until after I read 'Bent, Shattered, and Mended.'

Things we take for granted now wouldn't apply in a world like the arena, or even the regular life of District 12. There's hardly ever happiness, and even then, there is always the knowledge that the Capitol can take that away whenver it wants to. Maybe that is why that I didn't really connect to Katniss as a character at first, until I realized that she would do anything for her extended family.

I wonder if we would be just the same as Katniss, Peeta, Gale, and others are if we were forced to be part of a dictatorship. Would we feel that giving someone your trust is handing them a gun that's pointed directly at you? Would we think that owing someone is an edge that they have over you? Little things like a handshake could have dozens of hidden strings, and it's too risky to ignore any small detail. As 'Bent, Shattered, and Mended' said, the brain goes into hyperdrive.

That must be the reason why Katniss communicates so well with Haymitch. He recognizes himself in her in the way that she looks at every small detail in the world and doubts that it's genuine. This is also why he knows that she will pick up on the strings attached to a bucket of soup.

So despite all of the pyschological torture that the Capitol puts the Districts through to control them (The Hunger Games), bonds can happen too, even in the arena. So is it all worth it? If it hadn't been for the miserable circumstances in the world of the President Snow's dictatorship, Katniss would have noticed Peeta only in passing, and never have spoken to Haymitch. Prim might not mean as much to Katniss, because she would no longer be the one constant in Katniss's life. Her father would still be alive, and she might be just like any other normal teenage girl. Once again, is it worth it? In the end of 'Mockingjay', Katniss marries Peeta, and all of her mental trauma finally heals enough to let her have a family with Peeta.

I think the Capitol never took into account that the Hunger Games was also a spark that started the rebellion, or more specifically, started Katniss. Even though the tributes loose their individuality as a person in the interviews ('...erase my face with a layer of pale makeup'), showing that they are only an ornament, they still understand each other in the sense that most of them would never willingly take another human life. In some degree, all of the tributes feel resentment for being thrown into the world of the arena.

That is something that the Capitol will never understand, having never faced poverty, hunger, or lack of anything.