One of the primary components to any society is the following of unspoken rules by its members. While this can lead to unity within the communities, some groups can be persecuted and oppressed by these rules. In these situations, the only way one can gain freedom is to reject society completely and return to nature. The themes of breaking away from society are often explored in literature like Mark Twain’s Huck Finn and The Hunger Games series. A break from society becomes necessary when it becomes toxic to its members so they can regain freedoms and understand what makes it broken.
One of the main reasons for breaking a society is that it becomes unbearable to continue to live in. In the fictional universe of The Hunger Games series, the Districts of Panem are placed in subservient positions to the richer Capitol and have many freedoms and rights taken away from them. The brutal treatment from the Capitol government, which includes forcing children to fight to the death in a televised arena, makes it nearly impossible for the residents of the districts to thrive. Many characters, at risk of death or torture, elect to rebel or flee into the internet and away from the regime of the Capitol.
Likewise, in Huck Finn, Jim, who is a slave living in the pre-Civil War south, chooses to flee his life if being in a subservient position after the learning of the threat of being sold. He returns to a more natural setting with Huck and journeys to what he hopes to be a safer location.
In the Hunger Games series, main characters Katniss and Peeta are randomly selected and forced to compete in the Hunger Games, where children are forced to fight each other in a giant outdoor arena. The game’s rules dictates the competitors kill each other in order to produce a single victor, so when they are the only two left, they are told to fight to the death. Instead of obeying what is expected of them by the game, they decide to escape by attempting suicide at the same time.
Although they are both declared winners before they have a chance to kill themselves, this act of removing themselves from the situation entirely is the only way to escape both the “society” of the game and the greater society of their world that it reflects.
Another reason a break from society is needed is that it allows members to identify what is wrong with a system and ultimately correct it. After winning the games, Katniss and Peeta go on a “victory tour” of the various districts and are given a view of their world from an outsiders’ perspective. From that position, they are allowed to view the societal issues of their country from a more objective view. A similar outsiders perspective is given in Huck Finn, where Huck narrates what he observes in what is, to him, an alien culture. His social isolation as a result of him growing up with his father in a cabin removed from society allows him to experience many social norms for the first time and critique it in ways that no societal member is able to.
The difference between the two situations is that Katniss is later given a situation to apply what she has learned to better a society. She is able to recognize the flaws of what she observed in Panem, and sees the same ones emerging in the rebellion’s government, District 13. Katniss kills its leader, President Coin, in an attempt to stop history from repeating itself. Although it doesn’t entirely fix the cultural issues within District 13, she is able to use her knowledge from her retreat from society to better both herself and others.
When society is oppressive to those within it, removing one’s self from society is often the only way to live a better life. An outsiders perspective is needed to correct the destructive elements of society and restore it to a more natural state. Sometimes, this results in the destruction of a society, but when a society is diseased, its death can be the only cure.
