"Gale's voice is in my head. His ravings against the Capitol no longer pointless, no longer to be ignored. Rue's death has forced me to confront my own fury against the cruelty, the injustice they inflict upon us. But here, even more strongly than at home, I feel my imptotence. There's no way to take revenge on the Capitol. Is there?
Then I remember Peeta's words on the roof. 'Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to... to show the Capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than just a piece in their Games.' And for the first time, I understand what he means.
I want to do something, right here, right now, to shame them, to make them accountable, to show the Capitol that whatever they do or force us to do is a part of every tribute they can't own. That Rue is more than a piece in their games. And so am I" (Collins 236-237)
In this powerful passage, Katniss begins to harden her mold of being a rebellious character in the Hunger Games. Before, she seemed like she was reluctant, and that she was still conforming because she had no idea what to do with herself, if she were to begin to rebel against the government. But in this passage, she seems to have a change of heart by showing her conviction and determination to show the government officials of Panem that she is not a force to be reckoned with, and that she is no puppet. Katniss recalls on the quotes and ideas of Gale and Peeta who feel the same way as she does. It does in addition, touch upon the censorship idea in the government, because if three of these characters in the book feel this way, perhaps all other citizens especially in District 12 feel this way as well.
All along, Katniss had been talking to Gale and Peeta about life in general in District 12. Both Gale and Peeta expressed their discerning outrage on the fact that the government owns the people. Yet Katniss never understood the full meaning of their words until this point where she finally realizes and agrees with their outlooks on the subject. The passage is to show that all along, Katniss's doubt is finally turning into realization, even though it took her until she was in the Hunger Games to realize that she had all along been a puppet to the government, and that she finally wants revenge just like Gale and Peeta. She even says that for the first time, she understands what Peeta means when he talks about how he wants the Capitol to know that they don't own him.
In the end, the passage touches upon the question of what it is to be human. Being human is much more than what they experience in The Hunger Games and District 12. To them, life has been all about conformity and staying alive without any freedom. But to us, as humans, we believe that we have rights, and that they should not be taken away from us. Though we don't have relentless regulations reminding us that we could be killed for any reason, to be human to us first and foremost means that we retain our rights and individuality. We are encouraged to explore and find out what else is out there in the world. Being human is also about finding one's self, and it seems that the characters in The Hunger Games spend so much time worrying about their lives and government, that they never find the time to find self-realization.
This passage reminds me of the picture of the rich man walking away with money as other working class people are left on a plank to fall over a cliff. It tips the balance of society, and to me, the rich man walking away is the government in The Hunger Games and Katniss is just one of the people hanging over the cliff in the picture. It connects to the idea of inequality of government control in the Capitol and Panem. No government should have absolute control of their citizens. Actually there should be no absolute control in general.
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