Comparison of Evil Governments
The government in The Hunger Games is fits an obvious mold of evil. It abuses the majority of its population in an obtuse way to raise up the upper class. It forces violence on innocent people and beats them into submission. There is no denial that such acts are morally despicable. But the government in The Giver is, in many ways, far more insidious and twisted. It has twisted society to the point where people don’t even realize what’s going on. Those in Panem feel a desire to resist. Those in the Community are broken. The Community functions without pain, without hunger, and without adversity. H.L. Mencken said that “Adversity introduces a man to himself.” This quote defines how important hardship in life is. It shapes character, breeds innovation, and incites progress. The Community stifles these things, likely in the name of peace and prosperity. Ultimately, this is far more insidious than the openly oppressive nation of Panem, whether intentional or not. But this disconnect goes deeper than mere complacency.
The Community ‘releases’ individuals that cannot benefit it. Those who are elderly, infantile, or incompetent are ‘released’. Unbeknownst to those of the Community, these people are killed. In many cases the Community celebrates these ‘releasings’, thinking them to be positive acts with those involved going on to something good. The people of Panem are not lied to as such. They know what the circumstances of the Hunger Games are, and they face them with a full understanding. This isn’t the only example of the Community’s subversive corruption however. Perhaps the most twisted evil of the Community is the lack of free thought and feeling. The people in the districts of Panem may not be allowed to do many things, but their thoughts are not regulated. Their feelings are not controlled. The people in the Community have had their most basic of humanity stolen from them. They are not even aware of their situation. This is the single worst example of evil, a power that has completely broken the people and made them unaware of anything else. It is the total finalization of oppression, with even the government losing sight of what it has done.
In conclusion, the government in charge of the Community is far more twisted and evil than the government of Panem. Panem’s government is openly oppressive, staging Hunger Games to frighten and control its populace. The government of the Community is far more subversive. It has taken away basic free thought from its people, molding them into the perfectly oppressed society. There is no free thought. People are killed in secret in the Community, whereas in Panem those who perish are being killed as an example. Finally, the Community denies its society hardship, breaking the cycle of human progress. Panem, for all its faults, still unintentionally allows human innovation. As such, the Community from The Giver is far more evil than the government of Panem from The Hunger Games.
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