Available on Amazon.com[/caption]Samantha Torrence - “The Hunger Games” took the box office by storm this weekend after a wonderfully orchestrated marketing campaign. Everyone waited in anticipation for theatres to open its doors to show the instant hit that is sure to inspire a following. With two more movies to go people are in for quite a ride and maybe they will not be able to wait to see what happens next to main character Katniss Everdeen. If that is the case they can go pick up all three books of the trilogy that are full of suspense, thrill, and a surprising undercurrent that addresses a new popular social issue in a way that will help people understand.
Death, violence, rebellion, political unrest, and love are just some of the main topics in the books, but that is not all. The author, Suzanne Collins, touches on the mental, physical, and emotional effects of violence and war in a way that makes people unconsciously understand and identify with a real and glaring problem in the United States today, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD has been a problem as long as there has been violence and war. It has gone under different names from time to time including shell shock to cowardice. Unfortunately some of the stigma of PTSD is still clung to by a skeptical public and military leadership that wants to push the problem aside.
In “The Hunger Games” the country of Panem is split up between a capitol city, and the districts that house indentured servants. These districts must give a tribute to be sacrificed in a Romanesque game with mere children from the ages of 12-18 as the gladiators and their arena built to be entertaining and dangerous. All of the surviving tributes suffer from some type of PTSD. Katniss Everdeen displays the violence, hyper vigilance, lack of sleep due to nightmares, and a detachment to the world. Her partner Peeta, and their mentor Haymitch all display varying levels as well. Through the eyes of Katniss people are plunged into the mind of a person forced to kill for survival, manipulated as a pawn in war, and made to watch cruelty beyond belief.
The trilogy is dark and may be a bit mature for younger children, but the writing style is easy for many age groups to understand. Reading these books can go beyond providing entertainment and help people understand the world through the eyes of someone with PTSD. So if you see some behavior of a returning soldier and wonder, “How can they think that?” or “How can they do that?” then picking up this trilogy may give you the knowledge to help you react in a productive manner rather than issuing a confused response.
“The Hunger Games” are a great read and are very educational.