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in the Capitol, and all of the tributes from the Career Districts
appear to be white. Personally, I think there is a deeper
level to having District 11 as a primarily black District, as the
presence of Rue, Thresh, Seeder, Chaff, and their families indicate.
District 11 is:
1. A large, agricultural District (orchards, grains, cotton);
2. Probably in the Deep South;
3. Where residents do backbreaking work night and day;
4. Where residents sing as they work;
5. Where poverty and hunger are prevalent;
6. Heavily patrolled by Peacekeepers;
7. one of the most unhappy and rebellious, even among the
poor Districts.
Does this sound familiar to anyone? Plantation life, slavery,
and the antebellum South, perhaps? or post-Reconstruction
sharecropping? I don't think this is a coincidence. District
11 has clear and intentional parallels to the historical treatment
of black people in the United States, which only further
serves to highlight the dystopic reality of Panem. Does race
matter in Panem? Maybe not, but I think that this parallel
is an important comment on institutional racism of the past
and present in our United States. A reader could easily miss
or dismiss the reference, but I think it's there for a reason.
(Aside: Likewise, District 12 reflects the history of mining
conditions, poverty, and labor relations in Appalachia, which
have also been, and continue to be, appalling at times. I think
it's pretty cool that Katniss, as an Appalachian character, will
be portrayed by an actor from that general region of the country
— Jennifer Lawrence is from Louisville, Kentucky.)
Moving beyond District 11, the Capitol rules over all of
Panem from a distance, with enforcers ("Peacekeepers") in
every region. Due to geography and industry, some Districts
are more closely watched than others. The Capitol citizens
live in luxury from the industries of the Districts, with cosmetic
surgery, bingeing and purging, etc. This whole setup
has, from my point of view, colonial undertones that parallel
historical imperialism, which usually had racial implications
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