Hungry



David Coleman | dreamstime.com

I just finished the Hunger Games series. I wasn’t surprised that the ending was similar to J.K. Rowling’s wrap up of the Harry Potter series. What is left after fighting the horror of evil but to hunker down in the reflection of the family firelight?

It called to mind the comment our Hungarian tour guide Peter made on how his country survived war and oppression. “Politics and people are not the same thing,” he reminded us. “People will find a way to be happy.” Katniss finds snatches of happiness in her children and in Peeta’s love.

[Spoiler alert] I anticipated that Katniss would not be allowed to indulge her raging desire for personal revenge.  She came close but chose the higher ground—unseating the new regime’s power play that would institutionalize the status quo. What if she had aimed even higher? The God who says “vengeance is mine; I will repay” could write an ending that truly satisfies.

The spiritual layer in the series is weak, but it’s there and worth commenting on. While many authors deny hell and God, Mockingjay portrays a very real hell but no God who condemns or saves and no heaven to give context or meaning to the struggle. The olive branch is one of brief respite; people tire of the carnage and powers require time to regroup.  Beyond those realities, there is no offer of redemption, renewal or eternal hope.

Was the ending satisfying? We are left with the knowledge that in all likelihood, it will happen again. Did we learn something? Nothing new; the battle for the Capitol is being played out in countries like Syria today, where it’s difficult to tell the good guys from the bad guys and the population gets pummeled to death in the process.