Still Victims to the Whims of Men

Suzanne Collins’ popular Hunger Games series tells the tale of a future dystopian country in which a tyrannical government annually forces a boy and girl from each of its districts to fight to the death in a televised reality competition. The first and eponymous novel of the series follows protagonist Katniss Everdeen as she volunteers for the games in place of her younger sister. Katniss is a brave and intelligent teenager who is able to hold her own, demonstrated by this self-sacrifice as well as her ability to hunt for herself in order to support her family. Unfortunately, despite her independence and courageousness, Katniss is at the whim of her mentor, a male winner of a previous game. She depends upon him for advice and supplies while in the arena. So, even though Katniss is an independent girl who is able to survive on her own, she is still at the mercy of a man. Also in the novel, Katniss ends up in a love triangle, succumbing to her hormones. While the games are a focus of the novel, this love triangle does play a role as well. The fact that the author felt the need to include it demonstrates that either women cannot be perceived except in relation to a man, or that the people who read this book have come to expect such a scenario in relation to a female surrounded by male counterparts. Either way, this does not reflect well upon modern society since women still seem to be irreversibly tied to men.