9

So, there is a particular district which has some unknown motives in the last book of the Hunger Game Series. I'm trying to better understand those motives.

District 13 pretty much takes control of everything. But I can't really tell what their motives are. Are they doing this just to help out people, or do they have more sinister motives? I'm having trouble deciphering what Katniss thinks of them from reality, so...

Improve this question
1
  • 5
    I don't think we really have enough objective info to answer this, sadly. I know that from Katniss' perspective, it's Coin's motives that are relevant... but Katniss is at least, to some degree, an un-reliable narrator, so it's questionable how much is her perception v.s. reality. Assuming she IS correct, it looks like Coin wants to simply supplant the Capital, having District 13 as the dominant political entity... Or at least Coin. But this may just be Kat's perspective. This is all being written years later, and after at least one major breakdown.
    – K-H-W
    Commented Feb 8, 2012 at 22:32

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
10

District 13, as a general whole, is motivated by a combination of survival and resentment against the Capital.

It is safe to assume that there is some amount of sympathy for those subject to the Capital's cruel and oppressive treatment, as well, but there is little direct evidence of that in the books. The fact that District 13 was part of the original rebellion against the Capital gives some pretty good indirect evidence to support that, though.

After the rebellion, when District 13 was able to isolate themselves, the isolation coupled with outbreak of disease pushed them to the edge of extinction. While they recovered from the threat and managed to re-establish their safety, their gene pool was dangerously thinned.

They also felt confined, forced to live almost exclusively in underground bunkers, with only short periods allocated for surface exercise.

These are the primary factors for the motivation of the District as a whole. They wanted freedom from having to hide underground. They wanted revenge on the Capital for putting them there, and for creating the conditions that led them to rebel in the first place. They want an influx of new people to stabilize and reverse their population decline. They also (probably) want to help the other victims of the Capital.

President Coin has her own personal agenda. She wants power, and demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice whoever was in her way. This made her not significantly different than President Snow, both in motivation and in methodology. However, I do not believe it fair to assume that her motivation is reflective of the whole District.

Improve this answer
2
  • I like that you de-coupled Coin from the entire district...
    – Möoz
    Commented Aug 8, 2014 at 3:15
  • It is heavily implied that the district was heavily militarized, with the cannon fodder not really being informed - or encouraged to desire to be informed - of high level policies.
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Commented Jul 14, 2015 at 16:34
1

District 13 was destroyed by the Capitol for rebelling. While we don't have enough information to know for sure, it appears they want a new world order that's different from the greed, corruption and general inequality that exists in Panem.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.