Through careful analysis I have found the true meaning of sacrifice, how it is related to other themes like rebellion and love, and what the author is trying to tell us.
The book The Hunger Games written by Suzanne Collins revolves around many different themes, importance, main messages, and values. But, today one of the themes I will be discussing is sacrifice. Without this important element, sacrifice, The Hunger Games would not have the same effect and outcome as it does now.
What is Sacrifice?
According to Merriam-Webster, sacrifice is defined as the “destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else”. In the book, there are many examples of sacrifice given. Some out of love, and some out of rebellion.
In part one, chapter one. Sacrifice is very evident in this part. Because of her absent father and her mother's mental state of being, Katniss had to grow up quickly. She sacrificed her childhood in order to help her family and sacrifices her likeliness of being a part of the Games by taking the tesserae annually to survive. The first act of sacrifice is when Primrose, Katniss’ sister is announced at the reaping. Without hesitation, she takes no time in taking her spot in the 74th Annual Hunger Games. In doing this, the main character, Katniss has sacrificed many things. In being a part of this yearly bloodbath, she has sacrificed her life, mental health, and physical well-being in order to keep her little sister safe. She also sacrifices her life by hunting illegally in order to provide for her family. Since she is the main source of food in her household and is now gone, this has put her family at risk of starvation.
Sacrifice can be both tragic and beneficial. In part one where Gale talks about running away, living in the woods, and having children. Katniss strictly declines because she is sacrificing her entire bloodline in order to prevent the possibility of her children being a part of the Hunger Games. Another example is where if Katniss did not choose to sacrifice Primrose, she would not have built a long-lasting and promising relationship with Peeta but also would have not faced the repercussions of rebellion against the Capitol by eating the berries, becoming The Mockingjay in the last part of the trilogy, losing her district, and everyone she loves. One last example in part one is Peeta slipping Katniss a piece of bread when she was starving and in need. After giving bread to an absolute stranger he was scolded by his mother.
In part 2 the Games have begun and sacrifice plays an important role here. In order to maintain sponsors and a good image for the Capitol viewers. Katniss sacrifices her self-identity, character, physical image, and inner thoughts to survive with advanced materials and win the games. By doing this, she would have lost who she really was for that moment in time which could affect other choices she would make. The next example is where The Careers and Peeta find Katniss and plan to kill her. In the tree, she spots Rue and is given the idea to cut the tracker jacker nest off the branch so it would plummet onto the Careers. After being successful, Katniss runs to her escape just to find Cato attempting to kill her. Peeta now sacrifices himself in order for Katniss to get away. In doing so, Peeta receives a deadly slash to his upper left leg from Cato. Which now gives him blood poisoning, an infection, the inability to walk, and a deadly fever.
In order to rebel, you would need to sacrifice the rules and in some cases in order to love you would need to sacrifice. In part three both situations are in effect. Out of love, sacrifice, and rebellion Peeta and Katniss threaten to eat the hazardous berries that got “Foxface” killed, since the rules are back in effect and there is only ONE winner of the annual Hunger Games. Because of the irreplaceable bond they had formed, they both refuse to kill each other. So the only possibility left is for them to kill themselves. This counts as a sacrifice because if the Gamemakers had not stopped them a second later they would have died. Making the Capitol viewers angry as well as the sponsors for their money and time were wasted on a possible victor. This showed the Capitol that human life means something.
Some more examples include Katniss going out of her way to find Peeta after the new rule came into effect. Even though she had absolutely no idea where Peeta was, she made herself prone to attacks and ambushes and used her knowledge and wit to locate Peeta before it was too late. Second, Katniss sacrifices her friendship with Peeta by drugging him and sacrificing her life over someone who is infected and sick to a severe point and is eventually going to die, in order to get a bag of supplies from the Cornucopia. Katniss also sacrificed her security and relationship with the Capitol to place flowers on Rue’s dead body and show them that she is not just a piece of their games. This made the Capitol mad to the point where this scene was omitted from the highlight reel about all 24 distr
To conclude, the book tells us that sacrifice is the ultimate form of love, survival, and friendship. To develop character and personal growth one must learn to sacrifice. Katniss’s display of sacrifice is a story of courage and strength. The great love that felt for her sister immediately led her to sacrifice herself in the place of her sister. The friendships that Katniss had built had become some of great value. So great to the point where she was willing to risk her life for them. There is no greater form of love than that of someone who is willing to give their life for a friend. In every obstacle that was placed before her surviving and returning back to District 12 was her ultimate goal. The strength and fearlessness she displayed were those of true sacrifice. Through every obstacle and difficulty, Katniss was in triumph. Through Katniss’ story in the book, it is now possible to understand the true meaning of sacrifice. “Great achievement is usually born of the greatest sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.” -Napoleon Hill.