Reading Peace Beyond Trauma, Resistance, and Hope in The Hunger Games

Abstract

This chapter examines the politics of peace in Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy. Readers encounter both violence as entertainment and a critique of such ‘militainment’ (Stahl) and find insights into the motivations of (child) soldiers. A vision of local, relational, and low-tech peace is provided by Collins that dismantles a system of gender binaries and hinges on hope of rebirth through memory of the losses of war, love, and education. After a close reading of the peace and conflict themes in the series, the chapter closes with an analysis, drawing on Freud, Lacan, and Caruth, of ‘the dream of the burning child.’ Empathetic awakenings related to youth and conflict may be possible in the ethico-political reflection space provided by the series in the post-9/11 US context.