Erin Lupardus

BACHELOR THESIS Real or Not Real: The Creation of Trust in a Dystopian Environment on the Example of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games Trilogy submitted by Christina Theresa Pucher in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) for the seminar PS: Seminar in English Studies (LIT) Dr. Melissa Kennedy Linz, WS19/20 Matrikelnummer:- Studienkennzahl: 407 Studienrichtung: Bachelorstudium Lehramt Sekundarstufe Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 2 Declaration of Authenticity I hereby declare that I have read and acknowledged the information about plagiarism provided by the Department of English/Secondary Education. Furthermore, I declare that I have written this paper myself and without any other than the cited sources and aids. Concepts, sentences, or parts of sentences that are not mine are all referenced. I declare that this paper, in the same or similar form, has not been submitted previously and has not been published. It has not yet been, even in part, used in another examination or as a course requirement. place, date: Linz, February XX, 2020 ……………………………………………………………………………. signature: ……………………………………………………………………………. Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 3 Abstract Dystopian novels often depict untrustworthy environments and mistrusting characters. This Bachelor thesis analyzes the aspect of how both trust and distrust are stimulated in the reader in such an unreliable genre on the example of the The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. This study was conducted with the help of the reader response approach and considered the three novels The Hunger Games (2008), Catching Fire (2009), and Mockingjay (2010), as well as the four movies that are based on the novels. Various factors such as first-person narrative or the ethical matters of selflessness and resourcefulness influence the reader into trusting the main protagonist whereas opposing character traits (I don’t know what you mean) lead them into mistrusting characters. The creation of trust in the movies transpires mainly through evoking empathy in the audience by focusing on certain sympathetic characters. This study concludes that the reader has no other option but to trust the protagonist Katniss in order to not get lost in her dystopian world and that the interplay of trust and distrust make the novels feel truly real. Keywords: trust, distrust, The Hunger Games trilogy, dystopian fiction, reader response Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 4 Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 3 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Approach, Scope, and Limitations ......................................................................................... 6 1.2 Issue ....................................................................................................................................... 7 2. Never Trust a Book Title (“Never Judge a Book by its Cover” is obviously a well-known saying, but “Never Trust a Book Title” ’s wording fits your topic of trust vs distrust better. So it’s up to you!) ................................................................................................................................. 8 3. Analysis and Interpretation .................................................................................................... 10 3.1 Why Does the Reader Trust Katniss? – The First Chapter.................................................. 11 3.2 Through Katniss’s Eyes – The Capitol ................................................................................ 16 3.3 To Trust a Character – Effie Trinket ................................................................................... 20 3.4 Can Katniss Trust Herself? – The Epilogue ........................................................................ 22 3.5 Trust - Real or Not Real? ..................................................................................................... 24 4. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 27 References .................................................................................................................................... 30 Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 5 Real or Not Real: The Creation of Trust in a Dystopian Environment on the Example of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games Trilogy 1. Introduction Dystopian fiction for young adults primarily depicts uncanny environments, questionable regimes, the oppression of the masses, and the constant feeling of wariness, as it is the case in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Despite all the unpleasant features of such dystopian and horrid scenarios, people still delightfully engage in reading them, which is why the genre of dystopian fiction is still relevant today. This paper, on the example of The Hunger Games trilogy, visualizes possible ways the readership immerses themselves in the unreliable atmosphere of the narrative without getting lost in distrusting everything and everyone. Much like how the characters of the YA novels have to ask themselves constantly who they can trust in a society that obstructs togetherness and in an environment where everything and everyone tries to kill them, the reader must also navigate the murky waters of the narrative. The series includes a variety of signals guiding its audience—as well as its characters—into trusting the narrative and the characters. This paper, on the one hand, investigates the possible causes for why the readers of dystopian novels such as The Hunger Games trust and empathize with the protagonists of the series against all odds, and, on the other hand, analyzes the characters’ behavior and aims to uncover the reasons why Katniss trusts others and the situations she is in. A major focus of this paper is how the feeling of trust is created in the reader and what ethics the novels therefore promotes through this. Along with research that was carried out in the field of fiction connected to psychology, Weik von Mossner (2017) proposes that, while reading, readers’ emotions are comparable to their real-life feelings (p. 554-555). This is why this paper argues that the feeling of trust is simultaneously (?) real and unreal. Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 6 The Hunger Games trilogy was chosen because it is a well-known and appropriate (What do you mean by appropriate? As in the content is not sexual/too violent, etc? Or that it’s a good example of dystopian fiction?) example of dystopian YA fiction which meets all the characteristic requirements of such a genre. The range of emotions that readers experienced as a result of the series is a possible driving force for its success, which is often the case with fiction (Keen, 2007, x) (I have no idea what you were trying to say with this sentence, so maybe the way I changed it isn’t actually what you meant). The three books were written by American author Suzanne Collins and published consecutively in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The first book, which is eponymous for the whole series, is called The Hunger Games, which was then followed by Catching Fire and the trilogy’s final installment, Mockingjay. In addition, the trilogy was made into four blockbuster movies—the last novel was split in half and made into two films—that share the same titles as the books and were released every year from 2012 to 2015. The movies contributed to the global popularity of the already successful series. Alongside the three novels, the analytical section of this paper, therefore, also partially analyzes the motion pictures by comparing corresponding scenes from the films and novels and identifying significant differences or similarities in their respective ways of establishing trust. 1.1 Approach, Scope, and Limitations The approach that is used for the analysis is reader response, which is why it must be mentioned that this paper is limited in the way that it primarily shows the subjective views and opinions of the author. Furthermore, as the scope of this paper is limited by a word limit, it cannot inspect every aspect of trust throughout every novel and motion picture as the range would be too extensive. Moreover, this study only focuses on The Hunger Games novels and movies and, therefore, cannot be seen as a generalization of the entire genre of dystopian fiction. However, Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 7 the thesis offers a starting point for becoming acquainted with and gaining a basic knowledge of the topic of trust in The Hunger Games trilogy. 1.2 Issue This paper focuses on the issues or concepts of trust and empathy. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, to have trust is described, amongst other definitions, as “to have confidence in something, or to believe in someone”, and further, “to believe that someone is good and honest and will not harm you, or that something is safe and reliable” (2020). In The Hunger Games trilogy, the main character is often confronted with an unsafe environment, unreliable supporting characters, and can only be confident about something or believe in someone with difficulty, which furthermore adds to the question of how trust is created. Gambetta (2000) describes that being trustworthy always comes with benefits for the trusting person, which is why people engage and cooperate with each other (p. 216). The audience often empathizes or sympathizes with a certain character or fictional world, which can not only lead to strong character identification but also the other way around (Keen, 2007, xii). Whereas, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, empathy describes “the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation” (2020), sympathy is more about “a feeling or expression of understanding and caring for someone else who is suffering or has problems that have caused unhappiness” (2020). When someone trusts a person, they are more likely to show empathy, which suggests that trust and empathy are somewhat interrelated. Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 8 2. Never Trust a Book Title/Never judge a book by its cover (see commentary from Table of Contents) The titles of the books already make room for speculative and ambiguous interpretation of what each of them might represent, and the readers cannot easily trust their first instincts as to what to make of the titles. The following paragraphs give an overview of what each book title could refer to and concurrently touch upon the main plot. The first novel, The Hunger Games (Collins, 2008), introduces the audience to the fictitious country of Panem, which is the product of an environmental and social apocalypse. It is situated in what was once known as North America. The Capitol, the capital city of Panem and the wealthiest part of it, once was surrounded by thirteen districts, each of them supplying the Capitol with the goods they produce, e.g., coal, textiles, electricity, or grain. After an uprising of the oppressed districts, which is known as the Dark Days, District 13 was obliterated by the Capitol, and as a reminder to the remaining districts, the Hunger Games were introduced. Each year, one girl and one boy, aged 12-18, from each district are chosen by a lottery system. The 24 participants, known as tributes, must fight to the death in specially manufactured arenas, all for the amusement of the rich and powerful as the games are broadcasted live. The last person standing is crowned victor. At first, it might seem that the novel is named after the dreadful game itself, but upon closer inspection, one finds out that the main protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, is fighting a far more realistic hunger game. She lives in a poor neighborhood in District 12, which also is one of the less favored. After the death of her father and her mother’s resulting depression, 11-year-old Katniss has to take care of herself and her younger sister Prim in order to prevent them from starving to death. Even before entering the real Hunger Games years later, she is literally taking part in a game of life and death, with District 12 being the arena. The only difference between an actual Hunger Games arena and District 12 is, as Katniss mentions, that the latter is “[w]here you can starve to death in safety” (Collins, 2008, p. 6). Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 9 This is followed by the second novel, Catching Fire (Collins, 2009). The first book ends with Katniss as well as the male tribute from District 12, Peeta, winning the Hunger Games by pretending to be madly in love and, at the same time, igniting the spark for another rebellion against the Capitol. The leader of Panem, President Snow, is not happy with the outcome of the games and does not believe the star-crossed lovers’ story, whereupon he urges Katniss to do everything possible to strangle the rebellious thoughts of Panem’s citizens that she unintentionally instigated. Over the course of the novel, the idea of an uprising against the Capitol grows stronger and spreads all over Panem—as if to say it is catching fire. Though this seems to be an obvious reason for why the book is called Catching Fire, there is room for interpretation. Katniss is forced to convince the people that what she has done in the games was not an act of rebellion, and therefore, there is no reason for the districts to engage in another uprising. Like fire, which is hard to catch, an idea is impossible to stop from spreading, and Katniss is unable to fulfill Snow’s orders. The title might refer to Katniss trying to catch the fire she ignited yet ultimately failing to do so. The title of the last novel of the series, Mockingjay (Collins, 2010), can also have multiple meanings. Firstly, a mockingjay is a bird species which is a descendant of the jabberjay. Those were genetically-altered birds bred by the Capitol and used during the Dark Days to spy on the rebels as they could memorize and repeat whole conversations. Soon, the jabberjays were used against the Capitol to feed them lies, and as they were no longer needed they were left to die. However, they mated with mockingbirds and created the eponymous mockingjays. Similar to the Hunger Games themselves, which were created by the Capitol to keep Panem under control, the jabberjays too were once a mechanism to rule over the rebels and maintain a higher position of power. However, just (in formal papers, don’t start sentences with “but”) like how the birds got their own way, the Hunger Games were used by the rebels to outsmart the Capitol and plot against it. Furthermore, Katniss is associated with the mockingjay because she has worn Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 10 one in the form of a brooch since her first Hunger Games. Much like the bird itself, which is a symbol for resistance and rebellion, Katniss acts in a similar way by breaking free of the control of the Capitol. As it is stated in The Hunger Games (Collins, 2008) that “Some thought the pin could be used as a weapon” (p. 169-170), it turns out that the symbol indeed has the ability to cause the collapse of the existing government and power structures. Katniss, who was at first perceived as harmless and inconspicuous, is much like the jabberjay and the latter mockingjay, which were also underestimated in their capabilities yet through their insipidness were able to overturn the current regime. The underlying meaning of the titles cannot be explained with absolute certainty, and the readers have to make up their own minds about whether or not to trust their gut feeling. Like the novels themselves, the titles already suggest that the readers cannot be certain in trusting something light-mindedly because nothing is as it seems upon first glance. 3. Analysis and Interpretation Some people can identify very easily with a character from a book and are able to empathize with them very quickly. Others need some time before they can fully dive into the narrative of a new book and are somewhat hesitant when it comes to trusting new characters or their environment. All readers, though, have to make up their minds and decide for themselves how far they want to get involved in the story or, sometimes, are just carried away with the plot without willfully choosing to do so. The subsequent sections are divided into scenes or chapters from the novels and movies and feature a close analysis of how trust is created either on the characters’ or the readers’ side. To begin with, the first chapter gives an explanation for possible reasons why the reader trusts the main protagonist Katniss Everdeen on the example of the first chapter of the first book. This is followed by a detailed example why Katniss distrusts a situation, which in turn makes the Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 11 reader distrust it. The next chapter offers reasons for why Katniss distrusts the character of Effie whereas the reader trusts her, which is succeeded by a section questioning if Katniss can at all trust herself and what happens to the reader when left with no trust. The last chapter deals with the matter if the feeling of trust is real or not real in The Hunger Games trilogy. 3.1 Why Does the Reader Trust Katniss? – The First Chapter Immediately from the first sentence in The Hunger Games (Collins, 2008, p.3), the reader is confronted with a first-person narrative and starts to wonder what the protagonist of this story is like. Besides getting to know that the main character lives with her mother and a sister named Prim, there is also the first literal mention of trust, or more precisely, distrust. When talking about her sister’s cat, Katniss explains that “He hates me. Or at least distrusts me. Even though it was years ago, I think he still remembers how I tried to drown him in a bucket when Prim brought him home.” (Collins, 2008, p. 4). Before learning about the character’s name, gender, age, or physical appearance, the reader has to deal with the fact that the main character wanted to kill a helpless creature, which does not really support the creation of trust between the reader and the main protagonist. But it is soon revealed that Katniss only considered killing the animal out of extreme hunger and abandoned her plans out of love for her sister. Therefore, the reader discovers that she cares a lot about her sister and would do anything for her, which makes Katniss Everdeen a sensible and selfless character. Later, when the reader finds out more about her, it is evident that Katniss is naturally convincing in gaining others’—especially the reader’s—unconditional trust. This is mainly achieved through the aforementioned first-person narrative of the novel, as mentioned in Keen (2007, x), which, for the reader, promotes taking on the narrator, Katniss’s, values and views by seeing everything through her perspective and, therefore, creating a strong bond between the reader and the character. Forming this bond Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 12 between the reader and Katniss might be especially easy because Katniss is one of few authentic voices in an uncertain world (Lodge 2002 as cited in Keen 2007, p. 97). Furthermore, Katniss is depicted forthwith from chapter one as a strong, independent teenager who, despite being only a 16-year-old girl, knows how to hunt and takes care of her family and friends. For the reader, this makes it very easy to like her by showing the character’s self-sufficient side and pro-social behavior, e.g., selling her illegally hunted game, (e.g., “Most of the Peacekeepers turn a blind eye to the few of us who hunt because they’re as hungry for fresh meat as anybody is. In fact, they’re among our best customers.” [Collins, 2008, p. 6]) and exchanging gathered greens and fruits with people who are even less fortunate than her, or simply because she wants to maintain a good relationship with them as can be seen in the following sentences: “When we finish our business at the market, we go to the back door of the mayor’s house to sell half the strawberries, knowing he has a particular fondness for them” (Collins, 2008, p. 13) and “We might do a tad better elsewhere, but we make an effort to keep on good terms with Greasy Sae.” (Collins, 2008, p. 13). It is laid out that Katniss’s primary driving force is hunger and that she does everything, illegal or not, to fight hunger. The fact that she breaks the law because she hunts outside of her district’s border is forgotten as soon as the reader gets to know that she also helps the people of her district in doing so and supplying them with food. Possibly associating her with a dystopian Robin Hood, the readership forgives her and does not see her crimes as such. Her selfsufficiency sways the reader all the more into liking and trusting her as it is easier to trust an independent underdog who can look out for themselves than a dependent one who does not know what to do in an uncertain situation. Katniss’s state of poverty yet willingness to care for other peoples’ lives is another aspect which might influence the reader’s opinion of her, insofar that they sympathize with her and her way of life. Most readers are probably young adult members of the middle class and can very Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 13 much imagine how hard would be to live an altruistic lifestyle while at the same time owning close to nothing as is the case with Katniss. (By making the sentence conjunctive, I’ve solved your problem ). The fact that Katniss lives in an already poor district adds to the reader’s fondness of her because the reader learns that she is very resourceful and values everything that she is given or gathers for herself. This is particularly true when it comes to food, which she always describes in the most sensual and delightful way, e.g., when talking about bread she mentions, “It’s real bakery bread, not the flat, dense loaves we make from our grain rations. I take it in my hands, pull out the arrow, and hold the puncture in the crust to my nose, inhaling the fragrance that makes my mouth flood with saliva.” (Collins, 2008, p.8). Furthermore, when eating blackberries, she says “I catch it in my mouth and break the delicate skin with my teeth. The sweet tartness explodes across my tongue.” (Collins, 2008, p.9). The voracious way in which she behaves around food lets the reader realize that it is most precious to her, and her behavior grows on the audience, who most likely support such appreciative and humble actions. Katniss’s sense of gratitude extends to everything in her life, even to things she is skeptical about, such as everything concerning her mother, whom she had lost trust in after the death of her father when she was 11 years old. Having only one parent in District 12 is extraordinary tough, but having one dead parent while the other suffers from clinical depression is even harder. Katniss will never fully forgive her mother for neglecting her children and almost causing their ruin. She questions everything her mother is doing and does not trust her, which is illustrated in the following example, when Katniss is given a dress that belongs to her mother: To my surprise, my mother has laid out one of her own lovely dresses for me. A soft blue thing with matching shoes. “Are you sure?” I ask. I’m trying to get past rejecting offers of help from her. For a while, I was so angry, I wouldn’t allow her to do anything for me. (Collins, 2008, p.17) Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 14 Her mother’s illness puts Katniss in the position of being the head of the family and makes her act like a grown-up from the early age of 11. Most readers most likely cannot even imagine what it is like to take care of a family at such a young age and therefore pity Katniss’s fate and sympathize with her for acting so brave. In general, it can be said that the audience is more eager to trust or sympathize with a character when he or she has lived through hard times or experienced some form of trauma, which is exactly the case with Katniss. She lost her father in a tragic accident, her family had to suffer from malnutrition, and she had to ‘grow up’ fast and take care for her younger sister and mother. She kept them alive by being smart, discreet, taking nothing for granted, and trusting only a few people. The fact that Katniss struggles to survive but at the same time, as mentioned in Kennon (2005), shows “courage, creativity and ‘heroic’ attributes” (p. 40) makes the reader want to support her and praise her for her behavior, which contributes to the audience trusting her. Concerning selflessness, Katniss is, on the one hand, a perfect example of a selfless character, but on the other hand, at the end of chapter one of The Hunger Games she behaves unusually selfishly. When it is time for Effie Trinket, who functions as escort and advisor to the District 12 tributes, to draw the names of the boy and girl tributes for the annual Hunger Games, Katniss’s thoughts concern only herself: “The crowd draws in a collective breath and then you can hear a pin drop, and I’m feeling nauseous and so desperately hoping that it’s not me, that it’s not me, that it’s not me.” (Collins, 2008, p. 23). Before this scene, Katniss was portrayed as so selfless and caring for others that this narrative almost feels wrong, and the subsequent course of events almost feels like a punishment for her selfish thoughts; the line continues with “Effie Trinket crosses back to the podium, smoothes the slip of paper, and reads out the name in a clear voice. And it’s not me. It’s Primrose Everdeen.” (Collins, 2008, p. 23). While only thinking about the odds not being in her favor and her chances being very high to get picked, she completely forgets about her sister, who consequently is chosen as a tribute, which comes as a Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 15 horrendous shock to Katniss. In her paper, Weik von Mossner (2017) states that in the face of great risk, people tend to act against their empathetic behavior for egoistic reasons (p. 558). This is not the case, though, with Katniss Everdeen. When her only sister’s name is drawn at the reaping, she does not stand by in vain, even though she is clearly in shock: It was as if the impact [of falling from a tree] had knocked every wisp of air from my lungs, and I lay there struggling to inhale, to exhale, to do anything. That’s how I feel now, trying to remember how to breathe, unable to speak, totally stunned as the name bounces around the inside of my skull. Someone is gripping my arm, a boy from the Seam, and I think maybe I started to fall and he caught me. (Collins, 2008, p. 24) Katniss is completely overwhelmed by her feelings and loses track of what is going on around her until the moment she spots her sister in the crowd, looking even more afraid than she is. This is when her instincts to do everything possible to save her sister kick in and she volunteers as a tribute. At the same time, she is fully aware that this means sacrificing her own life instead of her sister’s and thus sets herself up as the hero of the story. The following major scene lays the foundation for the reader to trust Katniss because she is sacrificing her own life to save someone else’s: And then I see her, the blood drained from her face, hands clenched in fists at her sides, walking with stiff, small steps up towards the stage, passing me, and I see the back of her blouse has become untucked and hangs out over her skirt. It’s this detail, the untucked blouse forming a duck’s tail, that brings me back to myself. “Prim!” The strangled cry comes out of my throat, and my muscles begin to move again. “Prim!” I don’t need to shove through the crowd. The other kids make way immediately, allowing me a straight path to the stage. I reach her just as she is about to mount the steps. With one sweep of my arm, I push her behind me. Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 16 “I volunteer!” I gasp. “I volunteer as tribute!” (Collins, 2008, p. 25) In the above-mentioned lines, Katniss is not once thinking about what would happen to her if she volunteered; she acts out of sheer compassion and fierce determination to save what is dear to her at all costs. The innocent and frightened look on her sister triggers her body to move independently and make her step forward without hesitation. There is nothing more selfless than giving one’s own life for another, and by doing so, it becomes clear to the reader that Katniss Everdeen is a good person who can be trusted. When summarizing all the character traits and ethics which Katniss supports or embodies, e.g. teamwork, self-sufficiency, selflessness, altruism, resourcefulness, independence, civility, and empathy, or having a sense of responsibility and natural cautiousness regarding everything, it becomes clear to the reader that every one of them has a positive connotation. Therefore, it is safe for the audience to trust the main protagonist. However, this is only true if the reader shares and believes in the same moral and religious values (Gambetta, 2000, p. 224-225). Other characters in the novels trust Katniss for the same reasons that the reader trusts her. The people who do not trust her are primarily the ones who see her as a threat, e.g. President Snow or her rival tributes. All attributes which are mentioned in the previous paragraphs can be identified in the first chapter of The Hunger Games. By providing a trustworthy narrator, it is possible for the reader to immerse themselves in the storyline rapidly. Furthermore, Katniss somewhat functions as a guide who leads the reader through the disturbing dystopian world in which they never have to ask themselves who or what they can trust because Katniss decides for them. 3.2 Through Katniss’s Eyes – The Capitol While the previous chapter laid out all the reasons why the reader trusts Katniss, this chapter focuses on situations which occur in the series and explains why the protagonist distrusts them. Because of the abovementioned first-person narrative as well as the ethics which are promoted Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 17 by Katniss, the reader is already on the main character’s side. Keen states that first-person narrators induce a more intimate relationship with the reader through sharing observations and opinions (2007, p. 97). Katniss’s natural distrust of everybody and everything she does not know nudges the reader to be mistrustful of others too. This is especially the case for situations involving the Capitol. Because of Katniss’s mistrust of the people who live there, their behavior, and especially the government, the reader shares her attitude and also has a hard time trusting them. The Capitol’s residents are the very opposite of everything for which Katniss stands. They are wasteful, extravagant, rich, and manipulative; they only care about themselves, style, and fashion, and do not show genuine empathy towards others, especially the tributes of the Hunger Games. One scene in Catching Fire, which takes place in the capital city, shows the unimaginative wastefulness of its citizens, which Katniss detests and opposes greatly: “'Why aren’t you eating?' asks Octavia. 'I have been, but I can`t hold another bite,' I say. They all laugh as if that’s the silliest thing they’ve ever heard.” (Collins, 2009, p. 90). Katniss’s acquaintances from the Capitol show her to a table with filled glasses and ask her to drink one, as it will make her eat again: “'You mean this will make me puke?' My prep team laughs hysterically. 'Of course, so you can keep eating,' says Octavia. 'I’ve been in there [the bathroom] twice already. Everyone does it, or else how would you have any fun at a feast?'” (Collins, 2009, p. 91). At first there is no verbal reaction from Katniss, only complete bewilderment, but soon after she describes what she is feeling for the reader and makes it clear why she cannot support, and therefore trust, such behavior in the following interior monologue: All I can think of is the emaciated bodies of the children on our kitchen table as my mother prescribes what the parents can’t give. More food. Now that we’re rich, she’ll send some home with them. But often in the old days, there was nothing to give and the child was past saving, anyway. And here in the Capitol they’re vomiting for the pleasure Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 18 of filling their bellies again and again. Not from some illness of body or mind, not from spoiled food. It’s what everyone does at a party. Expected. Part of the fun. (Collins, 2009, p. 92) Because of her own upbringing, which was completely different compared to the citizens in the Capitol who never had to suffer even one day from being hungry, Katniss is disgusted by their actions of spoiling good food. In all three books, there is a focus on food whenever Katniss is confronted with it, and it is made very clear that it is something very special for her. The short, staccato sentences at the end of the quotation make it seem as though she is having a hard time breathing and are a clear sign of her getting angrier by thinking about the Capitol’s wastefulness. As food is something that keeps humans alive, most of the readers probably share the same idea of valuing it, and only few would be on the Capitol’s side, which is why it is especially easy for the reader to trust Katniss’s instincts of morality in this situation. Even though her life is never in actual danger during the scenes from the second novel which take place in the Capitol prior to the Hunger Games, Katniss is still cautious and mistrustful of the unknown territory. In general, it can be said that Katniss rarely trusts something she is not familiar with. According to Gambetta (2000), “uncertainty about other people’s behavior is central to the notion of trust” (p. 216). The reader is confronted with Katniss’s almost fearful mistrust from an early moment in the novel when, even though she is physically miles away from the Capitol, she wanders through the woods, expresses something critical, and is scared of what might happen: “Then I glance quickly over my shoulder. Even here, even in the middle of nowhere, you worry someone might overhear you.” (Collins, 2008, p. 6). This paints a very dark picture of the capital city, as the freedom of thought and speech seems greatly limited and the reader can very much understand why Katniss does not trust the Capitol. By showing everything from Katniss’s perspective the reader is influenced by her feelings toward a given situation and will most likely take her side without questioning. Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 19 When compared with the movies, this persuasion of the audience is somewhat more difficult as they do not follow the events through Katniss’s perspective. In the movies, for example, the audience gets to see a lot more about President Snow and his perspective on things although he is portrayed as the undoubted antagonist in the novels. Newgard (2011) points out that if there is no trust beyond the bonds of family there is no way for a community to thrive, and it more or less leads to its downfall and social division (p. 8-9). This is exactly what Snow wants from the districts to make it easier for him to control them. Even though the audience understands his actions and reasoning for it, they still know that he is an oppressor and therefore the villain. Therefore, even without Katniss guiding the audience through the movies, they independently make up their own minds about Snow’s intentions. In the first novel, Katniss further expands on why the people are having a hard time trusting each other when talking with her friend Gale. They see the Hunger Games as a “way to plant hatred between the starving workers of the Seam and those who can generally count on supper; and thereby ensure we will never trust one another. ‘It’s to the Capitol’s advantage to have us divided among ourselves,’ he might say if there were no ears to hear but mine.” (Collins, 2008, p. 16). When everyone distrusts one another, it is hard to form a union and rebel for a common cause. The hierarchical system of the Capitol has changed the way of living for the districts’ citizens; they live in constant fear and mistrust. Hope, on the other side, promotes trust, and vice versa. Both are needed by the citizens of the districts in order to come together as one community to overcome the regime, but both are prevented by Snow. The will on the districts’ side to cooperate and Snow’s contempt thereof is the reason that whatever perspective the audience sees the narrative through, they will most likely always be on Katniss’s side. Still, the reader blindly trusts Katniss’s instincts in unfamiliar situations, as she clearly mistrusts things or people who differ from her and her moral concepts, which the reader Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 20 discovered in the previous chapter are primarily good and trustworthy. There is no reason why Katniss should not be trusted; hence, the readers do not have to question their loyalty to her. 3.3 To Trust a Character – Effie Trinket This chapter examines, on the example of the character of Effie Trinket, why firstly, Katniss, and secondly, the reader, trusts or distrusts her. Obviously, not every citizen of the Capitol matches the above-mentioned characteristics, but most of their residents are somewhat shallow and selfcentered. This is the case for the very posh character of Effie Trinket who, year after year, is responsible for drawing the names of and accompanying the District 12 tributes. In the first novel she is portrayed as “maniacally upbeat” (Collins, 2008, p. 8), stiff, law-abiding, and punctual, and her upper-class Capitol accent is often mocked by the districts’ residents—it is mentioned by Katniss that “the Capitol accent is so affected, almost anything sounds funny in it.” (Collins, 2008, p. 9) and later on she notices, “Odd vowels, clipped words, and always a hiss on the letter s ... no wonder it’s impossible not to mimic them.” (Collins, 2008, p. 70). Whenever Effie talks, Katniss is either mentally making fun of her way of speaking or ignoring her completely, primarily because she recites propaganda speeches that were created by the Capitol. For Katniss, there is too big of a difference between Effie and herself, not just concerning looks (“her scary white grin, pinkish hair and spring green suit” [Collins, 2008, p. 20]), but also moral concepts, and this is why Katniss does not trust Effie. Katniss barely accepts her presence and only does so because she has no other option. Effie herself does not show any empathy towards the tributes she annually draws at the lottery and watches them die in a horrible way at the Games. Her only goal in life is to end up with a victor: “She goes on a bit about what an honour it is to be here, although everyone knows she’s just aching to get bumped up to a better district where they have proper victors” (Collins, 2008, p. 22-23). Her dearest wish comes true at the end of the first novel. Before that it could be argued that she is simply not able to show any sympathy Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 21 anymore for the endless tributes she has to prepare for the Games with great effort only to see them dying and failing in bringing her any success. She has given up hope in being a part of the winning team, and it might be easier to just recite the same phrases every year and not get too attached to her protégés. The more Effie seemingly starts to care for her victors, the less Katniss ignores her and starts caring for her as well. This emotional development is portrayed somewhat differently in the novel and the movie. In both versions, it becomes clear to the audience that Effie’s behavior has changed up to the point when she has to draw the tributes again in Catching Fire. Whereas in the book the procedure of the lottery happens in only half a page and the reader does not get a lot of information on Effie in the scene, her behavior is considerably more significant in the same sequence of the movie, even though it only lasts about two minutes (Collins, 2009, p. 211 & Jacobson, Kilik & Lawrence, 2013, 1:18:10). In the movie, Effie’s reaction and behavior makes her more likeable and humane as she shows signs of empathy on top of her otherwise distant and proper attitude by exchanging sad glances of compassion with Katniss. The reader begins to trust Effie because she starts showing real emotions for the main protagonist, who the reader already trusts, and not because Katniss starts trusting Effie. In a follow-up scene, which is present in both the novel and the movie, the audience witnesses her honest compassion when effortfully seeking the others’ friendship by having matching tokens: “'I had it especially done to match Katniss’s pin. I was thinking we might get you a golden ankle band and maybe find Haymitch a gold bracelet or something so we could all look like a team'” (Collins, 2009, p. 214). When looking closely at the names of the small group consisting of the advisor Effie Trinket, the mentor Haymitch Abernathy, and the two tributes of District 12 Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, their last names even spell out the word T-E-A-M. This might just be a coincidence, especially because Effie’s character is completely absent from the third novel although she is featured in all of the movies, but this small detail strengthens the bond between the characters, which also has a Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 22 positive influence on the reader. Effie’s effort of getting more involved and hopeful creates a certain trust in the reader and also sparks some trust and sympathetic feelings in Katniss, too. This example is the first in which the readers’ reaction differs from Katniss’s, as the reader starts trusting the character of Effie without either Katniss trusting her nor Katniss “telling” the reader to trust her. It is an independent decision from the reader which developed over the course of two installments in the series. 3.4 Can Katniss Trust Herself? – The Epilogue The following section will elaborate on the question if Katniss can trust herself and what happens to the reader when left with no direction of what to think anymore. After all the horrible events in the series, but especially in the last part Mockingjay (Collins, 2010), one would expect that there has been a shift in trust on Katniss’s side, but in the epilogue of the novel, it seems that she is even more distrustful than she ever was before. She has two children, whom she initially never wanted because she did not want them to be part of the Hunger Games. When thinking about them, Katniss describes that “one day I’ll have to explain about my nightmares. Why they came. Why they won’t ever really go away. I’ll tell them how I survive it. I’ll tell them that on bad mornings, it feels impossible to take pleasure in anything because I’m afraid it could be taken away.” (Collins, 2010, p. 438). Even though the war is won, there are no Hunger Games anymore, and she is back in District 12 surrounded by people who love her, Katniss cannot trust her environment, living in constant fear that things will get worse again, somebody will try to kill her or her children, and that she will not not able to protect them anymore. In the end, she cannot trust anything she is surrounded by out of constant fear that her past will repeat itself. Throughout most of the novels, Katniss asks herself if she really loves Peeta, the boy from District 12 with whom she was in the Hunger Games and the father of her children. After he is brainwashed by the Capitol during the rebellion, it is her duty to tell him what is true and Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 23 what is not, as he fully relies on her opinion. The fact that Katniss, toward the end of the series, cannot even fully trust herself makes it even harder to imagine that she is deciding over what other people can trust. Furthermore, there is the question if he trusts her in telling him the truth about everything, he is not sure anymore (I don’t know what you’re trying to say with this sentence). At the end, it is not clearly mentioned, if his health is restored or if he will forever rely on other people’s memories. The reader most likely feels sorry for Peeta, who once trusted Katniss without doubt and now cannot be sure of what he is thinking anymore. Moreover, it is not sure if Katniss tells him the truth every time because, on the one hand, she wants to protect him by sparing him the details of their gruesome past, but, on the other hand, she might not trust him either because he once even tried to kill her after the Capitol clouded his memories. As there are no definite signs from Katniss as to whether she trusts Peeta or not, the reader is confused about what to believe, which does not support a happy ending. As a consequence, most readers will not perceive the ending as a “happily ever after” and feel terrified after finishing the series. In her article, Weik von Mossner (2017) mentions that many authors of YA dystopian fiction end their novels on a hopeful note as it is important not to demoralize young readers or even frighten them (p. 562). Suzanne Collins, seemingly, does not shy away of writing an untypical ending for Mockingjay, one in which even though it looks superficially like a happy ending, the main protagonist and the reader are left somewhat in the dark. The mental shift that one would have expected to have taken place within Katniss and the resulting outcome that she could now live happily and peacefully without worry or distrust for everything and everyone failed to arrive. Instead, there is a shift in the perception of Katniss and also other characters by the reader. The reader cannot be sure what to expect from Katniss after suffering so much physical and mental trauma in the final battle. She lost her sister, who was the reason for everything that happened in the first place after her name was chosen at the Hunger Games and Katniss volunteered for her in order to not lose her. The person whom Katniss herself Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 24 said is the only one she can trust, Gale, is partly responsible for Prim’s death, which gives rise to the suspicion that she will never be able to trust him ever again. Everything that existed before the Games, e.g. relationships, homes, families, or morals, ceases to exist after the obliteration of the Games and the end of the President’s reign of terror. The cost for freedom is inconceivable. Even though Katniss is seemingly in love with Peeta and started a family with him, the novel does not end on a positive note. The reader is more lost than ever before because they no longer have Katniss to tell them what is good or bad or who they can trust due to the fact that she does not know herself anymore. During the last battle, the reader loses all hope as unexpected plot twists cause general confusion. Because of everything happening exponentially fast, e.g. the leader of the rebellion, President Coin, turning out to be the true antagonist of the series, the deaths of many major characters, or Katniss surprisingly killing another key figure, the reader cannot focus anymore on what Katniss is thinking. In fact, Katniss is going through the exact same emotional state and does not offer any guidance for the reader. She loses all trust—and so does the reader without consciously knowing. 3.5 Trust - Real or Not Real? The previous chapters give reasons for why the reader or the main protagonist trusts or distrusts a character or situation, but is this network of trust even real, or does it for the most part only happen because the narrator forces the reader into this feeling? There are several aspects mentioned as to how trust is realized in the novels, but it is important to know that the acquisition of trust in the movies and the novels differ to some extent. In the novels, through the first-person narrative, the readers have Katniss to guide them through the story, and they can rely on her assessment of a situation or person most of the time, but in the movies, this crucial link is missing. The audience does not get to hear her interior monologue, what she is thinking in every Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 25 situation, or how she feels when she is hurt, hungry, or happy, which makes it harder to empathize with her character. This bond between the reader and the main protagonist is a vital key element as to why the feeling of trust is so strong from the reader’s perspective and therefore can be considered real in the novels. In the first book, for example, the readers do not learn anything about what is going on outside of the arena while Katniss is in the Games, which is why they do not know what her family, friends, or the people in the Capitol, like President Snow or the Gamemakers—the people who plan and control the arena during the Hunger Games—are doing or thinking about her actions. In the movies, it is possible to show these things that are missing in the books as there is no first-person narrative. Therefore, the audience learns more about the people outside of the arena, and they are able to make up their minds about them more clearly. Whereas in the books Katniss determines more or less through stories and her own feelings toward these characters if the reader likes or trusts them as well, the movies let the audience decide for themselves. One of characters, Gale, suffers from similar strokes of fate as Katniss does, such as losing his father and having to take care of his mother and three siblings. Katniss describes the bond she has with him at various times in Catching Fire and talks about, e.g., his “[h]ands I trust.” (Collins, 2009, p. 109) or that “the idea of losing him for ever, my best friend, the only person I’d ever trust with secrets, was so painful I couldn’t stand it” (Collins, 2009, p. 29). The reason she probably trusts him so much is because they are very much alike, share the same values, and have similar goals in life, which is why they make a good team. This, and the fact that Katniss mentions throughout the book the importance of their friendship also makes the reader trust him. In the movies, while Katniss is in the Games, the audience sometimes gets to see his caring and worried reactions while watching her in the broadcast, which makes it possible to visualize a stronger connection between the two. Furthermore, the audience cares more about Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 26 him the more they find out more about him. The same is true for other characters, which in the movies get more screen time in order to emphasize their importance and relationship to Katniss. As a result, the acquisition of trust is very much real for the movies, as it is in the novels. One interesting aspect about Mockingjay (Jacobson, Kilik & Lawrence, 2014 & 2015), which is realized in two movies, is that it differs from the other two installments in that the feeling of trust is stirred only slightly in the audience. These two movies feel like they do everything to prevent the development of trust. Whereas The Hunger Games (Jacobson, Kilik & Ross, 2012) is filmed somewhat from the perspective of the Gamemakers and actively shows whom the reader can trust or not, Mockingjay barely shows the Capitol at all, and when the film does, it is often shown on a screen, which establishes confusion in the audience. In the previous films, the two sides of good and bad—the people who can be trusted and those who cannot—are shown equally, and it is easy for the audience to determine whom to support, whereas in Mockingjay, the focus lies clearly on the rebels, which creates somewhat of an uncertainty in the audience as they do not know what to expect. During the time that Katniss is a tribute in the Hunger Games in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, she is under constant surveillance by the cameras in the arena to the entertainment of the Capitol, which the audience distrusts as they perceive it as clearly wrong. In Mockingjay, Katniss and her friends are also surrounded by cameras, but they are part of the rebellion propaganda team to fuel the rebels with hopeful messages. On the one hand, the viewer accepts and trusts this behavior because the videos serve the cause of Katniss overthrowing the Capitol, but on the other hand, a similar kind of filming was used during the Hunger Games and was seen as categorically wrong. This makes the viewer unsure of their feelings and begs the question if they can trust either of the situations. In The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, the signs of whom to trust are easy to detect, either through the help of Katniss's first-person narrative or the movies’ way of portraying Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 27 Katniss as a heroic victim. Primarily, everyone must be distrusted in the beginning because all characters are unfamiliar, but as Katniss trusts people who are similar to her, so does the audience; however, they are wrong for believing they can continue with this tactic. During the events of Mockingjay, the audience wants to believe that the rebels, whom Katniss supports, can be trusted because they are all similar to her and have the same values and goals. Here, the audience is misunderstood for thinking it is this easy as in fact, they can never know who they can trust because they are so similar to Katniss. Even if they want to trust a character, in the next scene, they might turn out to be an enemy or even the other way around, in which the audience has mistrusted a character since the beginning, but then they turn out to be not as bad as someone else. Due to the fact that Mockingjay features many more characters than the previous installments, it becomes more difficult to determine who can be trusted, as everyone has secrets that are a mystery to the audience. In each novel and movie, it is more and more challenging to find trustworthy characters, and the reader feels much like Katniss herself, who in the end, too, is unsure of whom she can trust, as several things turned out differently from how she expected them to. 4. Conclusion In conclusion, it is true that The Hunger Games series is constituted of aspects of trust as well as distrust, if not to say it entertains its audience for the exact reason of constantly having to question themselves as to with whom to place their trust. As is mentioned above in the interpretation of the book titles, it is not always easy to determine the course the story or the characters might take. This paper uncovered several explanations as to what makes the reader trust the main protagonist in The Hunger Games trilogy. The feeling of trust persuades the reader to believe everything Katniss says and prevents them from questioning situations themselves. As a result, they feel comfortable and safe while reading, but their trust is later exploited by the Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 28 author, insofar that in the last novel, Suzanne Collins turns everything that the reader believes to know about the dystopian world on its head. This creates a similar feeling in the reader to what Katniss has to endure several times, when constantly questioning whom she can really trust. The last novel keeps the readership on edge, as they do not know anymore for sure whom to trust or what to believe is real or not due to the fact that there are so many different plot twists and secrets transpiring in the background. Therefore, even though the book series fails to create a constant condition of trust, it successfully depicts how trust is realized in the reader's world. In order to trust someone, people most likely look for similarities and advantages in the other party just as Katniss does. As it is in real life, the villains are not always the ones hiding behind a screen—sometimes they are right in front of us. Similarly, as people are prone to change, there is a chance that friendships turn into something else without any prior warning, as is the case with Katniss and Gale. Typically, the more people who are involved in a relationship, the harder it becomes to establish the feeling of trust as it is hard to determine everyone's moral concepts. When there are only a few options, it becomes easier to trust, as for instance in The Hunger Games where there was only Katniss, equipped with all the positive characteristics a true hero needs; the reader is clearly on her side as they do not exactly know anybody at this point. During the events of Catching Fire, the reader has already developed feelings for other characters next to Katniss, as they were depicted more often and the reader learned more about them. Although it is still clear who the villain is and therefore who the reader can trust, this feeling starts to crumble towards the end of the second novel as situations take unexpected turns. In the third novel, Mockingjay, the reader is absolutely clueless by the end as to whom to trust due to all the secrets and unknown facts and shares this feeling with Katniss as her sense of trust, too, falls apart. Gambetta (2000) summarizes this phenomenon as follows: "We may have to trust blindly, not because we do not or do not want to know how untrustwothy others are, but simply because the alternatives are worse" (yes—it means you might as well trust people even if you don’t know Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 29 for sure yet if they’re trustworthy because the alternatives are worse) (p. 219). Perhaps the readers trust Katniss in the novels because it is their only option to avoid getting completely lost in her dystopian world of murderous Hunger Games and untrustworthy situations and characters. Possibly, they need something to hold on to in order not to get lost in the darkness; as Weik von Mossner (2017) mentions, when writing, young readers should always be given a piece of hope to which they can cling (p. 562). Maybe trust itself is treated like a game in the series, as it is always about winning and losing. Be that as it may, as Katniss notices in her final remark in the novel and movie, "there are much worse games to play." (Collins, 2010, p. 438). Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 30 References Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. London: Scholastic Press. — — —. (2009). Catching Fire. London: Scholastic Press. — — —. (2010). Mockingjay. London: Scholastic Press. Empathy (2020). In Cambridge online dictionary. Retrieved February 2020 from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/empathy Gambetta, D. (1988). Can we Trust Trust? In D. Gambetta (Ed.), Trust: Making and Breaking Cooperative Relations (pp. 213-237). Oxford, UK: Blackwell’s. Jacobson, N. & Kilik, J. (Producers), & Lawrence, F. (Director). (2013). The Hunger Games: Catching Fire [Motion picture]. United States: Lionsgate Films. — — —. (2014). The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I [Motion picture]. United States: Lionsgate Films. — — —. (2015). The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II [Motion picture]. United States: Lionsgate Films. Jacobson, N. & Kilik, J. (Producers), & Ross, G. (Director). (2012). The Hunger Games [Motion picture]. United States: Lionsgate Films. Keen, S. (2007). Empathy and the Novel. New York: Oxford University Press. Kennon, P. (2005). ‘Belonging’ in Young Adult Dystopian Fiction: New Communities Created by Children. Papers: Explorations into children’s literature, 15 (2), 40-49. Retrieved from http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/8625/ Newgard, L. (2011). Life of chaos, life of hope: Dystopian literature for young adults [Graduate Research Papers]. University of Northern Iowa. Retrieved February 2020 from https://scholarworks.uni.edu/grp/15 Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 31 Sympathy (2020). In Cambridge online dictionary. Retrieved February 2020 from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/sympathy Trust (2020). In Cambridge online dictionary. Retrieved February 2020 from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/trust Weik von Mossner, A. (2017). Vulnerable lives: the affective dimensions of risk in young adult cli-fi. Textual Practice, 31 (3), 553-566. doi: 10.1080/-X- Running head: THE CREATION OF TRUST 32 SEMINAR SELF-EVALUATION and FEEDBACK SHEET WS 2019-20 Literature Name: Christina Pucher Essay title: Real or Not Real: The Creation of Trust in a Dystopian Environment on the Example of Suzanne Collins‘ The Hunger Games Trilogy BA 1. Feedback request: What will you be using this material or essay style for in future work? In how much detail should I give feedback (other than my grading sheet)? Anything in particular I should comment on? I can use it in school, to show students how to analyze a novel or write an essay. Maybe you could have a look at how I could have organized it differently/things I should have paid more attention to/left out completely 2. What are you satisfied with or even proud of? Finishing it 3. Looking at my grading sheet, what do you think you did well/not so well? Not so well: paragraphing, structure, and I also do not like that my chapters vary in length Well: language and originality 4. What would you do differently? Or, what advice would you give students taking this seminar? I would start earlier actually writing my paper, while still having class so I would be able to ask questions personally. 5. Comment on the process of choosing a topic, researching, writing At first I had a hard time finding a topic, although I liked basically all the class themes. Sometimes when I am given a broad field to choose from, it is especially hard for me to decide for one topic. I like that we can choose our bachelor topics on our own, but I find it hard narrowing it down, as I am not completely aware what is actually possible. When I finally had my topic, I really liked it. Also the writing process was fine. I had a hard time structuring my topic, as I did not know where my emphasis should be. 6. How well did the course topic, structure, assessment items (expert reader, plan, model analysis, and presentation) set you up to write this? Any advice for improvement of future courses? The course helped me find my topic and get a basic understanding of the course topics, which I could use in my paper (at least some of the course texts), I also got good and helpful feedback on my model analysis and presentation which further helped me structure my paper. For future courses I would recommend to let the students choose themselves how they want to structure their papers, similar to other courses, where it is possible to include a theory part, which is then followed by an analysis part.