Phase 2: Who's Eyes Are On You?

"One way or the other, I have a very valuable piece of information. And if they know I have it, they might do something to alter the force field so I can't see the aberration anymore. So I lie" (Collins 284).


          As this quote relates to the future and dystopias, I find that this reminds me of one of the characteristics of a dystopia. This characteristic is the one where citizens are perceived as under constant surveillance, which is exactly how Katniss feels while she is in the Quarter Quell. The Quarter Quell occurs every 25 years (quarter) and always features a special twist to remind the citizens of Panem why the Hunger Games are played every year. I find that the Hunger Games is not only a huge physical game, but the biggest mind game. It is all about making allies, and being able to keep important information to yourself and your team. This is the exact case in this quote. Katniss has found out about the barrier force field that has been put up around the Quell. The people who designed the game could easily change the force field, but the secret that she knows is that it is not static. But instead, Katniss acts like she doesn't know a thing so she indeed has the upper hand against the other competitors and on the government officials and game makers watching her.
          The purpose of this quote from the Quarter Quell is to show that Katniss must continue to play the game in a clever and smart way. Without doing so, she might as well kill herself. But the fact that Katniss already has so much experience in the Hunger Games that she survived a year before, gives her a bit of an upper hand. She purposefully lies to keep the information that she has to herself. The aberration means a potential loop hole that Katniss can use in the course. Collins uses this information to inform the readers of her findings, and to show that Katniss is still in the game to win it. She achieves this purpose by keeping the valuable information to herself and the readers so that they know that she is still clever when it comes to the Hunger Games. This also connects back to the fact that the government has so much control over the players of the game that they can control the environment and the severity of the conditions inside the Quell.
          In this case, it connects back to the essential question of how we use language and images to manipulate people's minds. The game makers are under the impression that Katniss has no idea what is going on, but in fact she does. She uses her words to be cunning in hiding the information that she knows inside. Though, the impression she makes with her words and expression show no indication that she knows otherwise. In this way, she is manipulating the other players and the game makers into thinking that she doesn't have an upper hand.
          This passage reminds me of my previous post on Eureka simply for the fact that in Eureka, the house is in constant surveillance of what the inhabitants are doing, what they need, and what they want. Though, the game makers and the government officials have no intention of helping Katniss, the constant surveillance of the players in the Quell reminds me of the same condition.