Kailey Simpson Intl 3111- Final Paper

In 1984 and The Hunger Games, both governmental forces enforce their power through the use of various controls to eliminate the possibility of a rebellion. These controls are evident in every aspect of citizens social, political, and economic lives. The governments place controls on the masses psychologically, socially, and physically. The majority of the power extends to the citizens from the elite through the use of fear and manipulation. Thus, I argue that although both works use similar controls, the government in 1984 is more effective in their implementation and intensity of the controls. The Party is able to control emotions as well as thought which are major factors that allow for a rebellion to occur. The Capitol fails to eliminate emotions and individuality which inevitably leads to its downfall. Both governmental forces have different goals for the role that the government should play in the lives of its citizens. This proves to be the inevitable result of its success or failure. In The Hunger Games, the Capitol seeks to maintain absolute power for the purpose of securing its own wealth and prosperity. They are not concerned with using their power to squelch individuality from their citizens. This choice inevitably leads to the Capitols downfall. In contrast, The Party in 1984 seeks absolute power, not only over humans, but the laws of the universe as well. The Party is strictly after power and views power as an end, its ultimate goal. It is not enough to have power over ones actions; The Party must also have power over the mind. In both works, the governments strictly enforce a notion of dehumanization and they attempt to eliminate relationships among the citizens. When citizens have bonds and relationships with each other, they are more likely to band together in an attempt to free themselves from the power of the government. There is power in numbers and the governmental forces strive to eliminate relationships. What may begin as a small spark of rebellion, may

become a fire that cannot be controlled when others join the cause. In The Hunger Games, the government places pressures on its citizens that make it nearly impossible to establish healthy family relationships. Katniss presents this notion when she discusses that she has no desire to marry and have a family of her own because she knows that her childrens names will be placed in the lottery for The Hunger Games as soon as they turn twelve. Under this form of governmental control, the residents of District Twelve will eventually have no desire to have a family or children, thus District Twelve will one day become extinct. When the government has the ability to eliminate human relationships, the fear of a rebellion is extinguished. Although the Capitol is able to eliminate a desire for a future family in District twelve, they are not completely successful in eliminating human relationships because emotions such as love still exist. In the face of death, Katniss does not lose sight of the value of human life or her emotions. This is evident in her quote, I killed a boy whose name I dont even know. Somewhere his family is weeping for him. Although Katniss did not know this boy personally, she still feels as though she has an emotional tie to him. By allowing Katniss to display such emotions in the arena produces a spark for rebellion. Citizens within the districts were able to feel a sense of empathy for the pain she was feeling. Emotions are powerful and if not dealt with, they have the potential to bring down the governmental force through rebellion. In 1984 the Party also has a desire to create a sense of dehumanization among its citizens. Unlike The Hunger Games, The Party was successful in its elimination of emotions tied to human relationships. The Party establishes a sense of fear and mistrust among its citizens. They turn children against their parents, and husbands against wives. This form of control is seen through the implementation of the Junior Spies League. Parsons inevitably is turned in for thought crimes by his son. There is no parent- child relationship; they are simply people that

have been placed in homes to live together. All relationships in 1984 are prearranged and must serve the Party in some way or be eliminated. In todays world, parents usually raise their children in a way that is similar to the way in which their parents raised them, but in 1984 parents are expected to raise their children in accordance to Big Brothers command. In a sense, the traditional family unit is eliminated and is replaced with the government as ones family. The family is a strong unit that has control over children until late in adolescence, and has the ability to produce strong emotional ties. Without the elimination of the family, The Party would constantly be competing with its control. By eliminating such relationships, The Party has the ability to place Big Brother and The Party in sole control of individuals lives. Emotions are well controlled by The Party through the use of fear. Although Winston believes he loves Julia, in the face of fear, he is willing to sacrifice the woman he loves. By eliminating such emotions and relationships The Party ultimately eliminates Winstons individuality and his identity. Winstons loss of identity is evident when he says, But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother. When one no longer has emotions or control over their own thoughts, the possibility of a rebellion is squelched. In both works, the governmental forces also use propaganda to achieve their aims. In The Hunger Games, residents of District Twelve, particularly Katniss and Gale, constantly question the existence of District Thirteen. If the Capitol were to allow citizens knowledge of the existence of District Thirteen, then citizens would realize that a successful rebellion was possible. Information about population numbers in other districts and the location of the districts was also hidden from citizens. Without this information, it becomes difficult for districts to communicate with one another in an attempt to plan a rebellion. The Capitol also restricts the

knowledge and the ability of residents to gain information. This is seen through the tailoring of education in each district to correspond to the resource of that district. This is evident when Katniss discusses how her education somehow all comes back to coal and the history of Panem. This sort of manipulation allows the Capitol to remind citizens of what they have done for them and to enforce the idea that citizens owe the Capitol for the forgiveness they bestowed on them after the incident with District Thirteen. The Capitols power is presented as ineffective when it chooses to use live television to broadcast the games. The live telecast of the games proves detrimental to the elimination of a rebellion. When Katniss pretends to eat the poisonous berries, she displays to the world that a teenager can outsmart the government, thus implying that anyone can. Without the ability to edit the games due to their live stream, President Snow must eliminate the hope that was brought through Katniss in order to sustain his power. Initially President Snow welcomes the use of hope within the games, thus presented through the quote Happy Hunger Games, May the odds be ever in your favor. The games are anything but happy and with only one sole victor, the odds of survival are slim to none. The Capitol integrates this message into the Games because they desire to give citizens a sliver of hope for the future and hope of survival. President Snow says, Hope, the only thing stronger than fear. Giving citizens hope allows them to feel as though things will improve and there is no reason to rebel because improvements are around the corner. A little hope is effective because it gives districts enough motivation to work hard and to obey the Capitol until things improve. A lot of hope is dangerous because people begin to feel empowered and believe that they no longer need the Capitol to live. In order for this form of control to be successful, hope must be contained to the ideal amount.

In contrast, The Party gives citizens no hope for the future because they recognize the dangers that hope can bring. In a sense, Winston has false hope for the future because he knows that his relationship will not last with Julia, but enjoys the relationship while it exists. He constantly reminds himself that The Party will inevitably arrest him for his thought crimes and that he will one day pledge his allegiance to Big Brother. By giving citizens no hope for the future they become brainwashed into believing that life under The Party is the only life possible, and that there is nothing better. Much like The Hunger Games, 1984 also uses propaganda to control citizens. The Party is more effective in its use of propaganda than the Capitol, due to its choice to use paper mediums rather than technological ones. Paper propaganda has the ability to be edited and redone anytime The Party desires. Big Brother serves as the main source of propaganda for the Party and its power. Throughout Oceania, the citizens are constantly presented with posters and images of Big Brother, but they are unable to determine whether he exists or not. Winston wrestles with the reality of the existence of Big Brother. It is much easier for a person to pledge allegiance and obey the power of one person, rather than an elite group. By portraying Big Brothers face throughout the town, the citizens are able to associate their devotion and love with an image. The manipulation of information is also present in the formation of the Ministry of Truth. The Party has the ability to control the past, present, and future, thus presenting themselves as an almighty force. The citizens are then willing to believe whatever the Party tells them because they no longer have proof of the past and the party has constantly instilled in them the idea that their minds are unreliable. Through the Capitols choice to use live media, they in turn have difficulty controlling the present, making it nearly impossible to control the past or future.

Both governments use similar forms of control through acts of dehumanization and the use of propaganda to achieve the aim of the elimination of a possible rebellion. The Party is successful in its elimination of a potential rebellion through its use of mind control. The Capitol fails to eliminate a rebellion because the implementations of governmental controls are ineffective. The controls are ineffective because the Capitol fails to control the minds and the emotions of its citizens. The Capitol also allows citizens to feel a sense of hope for the future. While a little bit of hope can be effective, too much hope is dangerous. Determining the proper amount of hope proves to be difficult. When the government is able to get into the minds of citizens and alter their thoughts like The Party, they have the ability to manipulate the people to serve the government as they wish and will be successful in gaining complete power over their citizens. In order for a governmental force to be effective in gaining sole power and control, they must harness citizens emotions and thoughts.

Bibliography

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