Bread In The Hunger Games

The function of the bread in The Hunger Games

Panem, the fictional world of which The Hunger Games is based, has received its name from the Latin expression, ‘Panem et circenses’. This translates to ‘bread and circuses’, and is used to describe how the Roman emperors kept their people content by providing food and entertainment. This is in many ways similar to the Capitol’s ruling of the districts, as they are in charge of how to distribute the harvest and entertain the inhabitants of Panem with the annual Hunger Games. There is an imbalance of power in Panem, and this can be seen in what the nation’s name suggests; the bread. Katniss describes the bread of her home district as ‘flat, dense loaves we make from our grain rations’ while she

District 4 has a ‘fish-shaped loaf tinted green with seaweed’ while District 11 has a ‘crescent-moon roll dotted with seeds’ (p. 119). Each bread type reflects each district because, as historian Massimo Montanari put it, food is one of ‘the most effective means of expressing and communicating’ culture. The Gamemakers use this to communicate a message to the tributes while in the Training Centre. At lunch, Peeta ‘points out how they have been careful to include [bread] types from the districts along with the refined bread of the Capitol’ (p. 119). Most tributes have only ever seen their district’s bread type, as they are made of resources from their own principal industry, or the supplies the Capitol distributes to them. For what may be the first time, the tributes can compare the differences between their food. Katniss regards the other districts’ bread with envy, and notes: ‘although it’s made from the same stuff, it looks a lot more appetizing than the ugly drop biscuits that are the standard fare at home’ (p. 119). Albeit it may not be surprising that Katniss, who comes from the poorest district, is envious of the resources the other districts seem to have, there is a likely possibility she is not the only tribute to feel this way. The tributes from the lower districts may all be envious of the bread from the higher districts. For this reason, it is not difficult to imagine the Gamemakers included the different bread types, not to make the tributes feel at home, but to create resentment and tension between them. It is also a way for the Capitol to show power and intimidate the tributes. As Montanari points out, ‘bread does not exist in nature and only man knows how to make it’. So while most tributes may only know their own bread type because it is a result of the specific resources of their district, the Gamemakers