Haymitch controls the involvement of the sponsors in the game, so Katniss and Haymitch figure out a way to communicate without being able to talk. The two use language and signs to keep the two players in the arena alive. Katniss uses the timing of gifts to realize what Haymitch wants her to do in order to survive in the games. They are using an anti-language, since even Peeta can't understand what is happening, to communicate and keep the tributes alive. Because of this mutual understanding of language and the skills the two have to find a way to work with eachother, Peeta and Katniss are able to survive far longer than they would have without the help of the sponsors or the advice of Haymitch. Language was a big part of their games and their eventual success in the first book.
I found this post really interesting. Sending cues through actions, whether it is sending sponsor packages, or doing things to bring more of them, give the Hunger Games a new dimension. Non-verbal anti-language is definitely a big part of the story, and the use of anti-language was essential to survival. Creating an understanding without making contact or seeing eye to eye is an extremely advanced form of non-verbal language. Their ability to do so was impressive, and showed what is needed to be a part of such a form of anti-language. They both did not only think about what was happening at the current time, but they contemplated what could happen, and what the other could be thinking.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was one of the most interesting aspects of the Hunger Games. When the characters were starving or dying and it seemed like the end of someone, a little note would come flying down and save the day. However, I never knew until Katniss figured it out what the notes actually meant. It was an anti-language that I was not a part of and therefore I could not figure it out. Without Peeta understanding the notes, his genuine love for Katniss was able to shine through and they were able to survive. Haymitch also communicated without any use of words. When Katniss was thirsty and asking for water, she took his silence as a que that she was close to the stream. The author's use of the notes and the anti-language helped to make it more realistic. Without communication allowed between the mentor and the people participating, the symbolic gifts and confusing notes make the survival aspect more realistic.
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