TASK 3C — Identity in The Hunger Games: Peeta Mellark

📋 Exam Question

In the course of your studies, you may have worked with literary texts, films or television series about characters struggling with their own identity.

Read the excerpt from The Hunger Games (2008) by Suzanne Collins below.

Write a text in which you reflect on Peeta's struggle to preserve his personal identity. Compare this to how another character in a text, film or television series of your choice struggles to preserve their personal identity.

• Background

The Hunger Games is set in a dystopian future in a totalitarian country, Panem, which consists of the wealthy Capitol and twelve impoverished districts. As punishment for a past rebellion, each year, the Capitol hosts the Hunger Games, a televised event where one boy and one girl, known as 'tributes', from each district are selected to fight to the death in a vast arena until only one victor remains.

For the tributes, the Games are a horrible struggle where they move through dangerous areas, avoid deadly traps and face other tributes in fights, all while trying to stay alive. Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place as District 12's female tribute. Peeta Mellark is the male tribute from District 12.

The excerpt below takes place the night before the Games are to begin. The following day, the tributes are to enter the arena where they must rely on their wits, skills and alliances to survive.

• Excerpt from The Hunger Games

The roof is not lit at night, but as soon as my bare feet reach its tiled surface I see his silhouette, black against the lights that shine endlessly in the Capitol. There’s quite a commotion going down in the streets, music and singing and car horns, none of which I could hear through the thick glass window panels in my room. I could slip away now, without him noticing me; he wouldn’t hear me over the din. But the night air’s so sweet, I can’t bear returning to that stuffy cage of a room. And what difference does it make? Whether we speak or not?

• My feet move soundlessly across the tiles. I’m only a yard behind him when I say, “You should be getting some sleep.”

He starts but doesn’t turn. I can see him give his head a slight shake. “I didn’t want to miss the party. It’s for us, after all.”

I come up beside him and lean over the edge of the rail. The wide streets are full of dancing people. I squint to make out their tiny figures in more detail. “Are they in costumes?”

• “Who could tell?” Peeta answers. “With all the crazy clothes they wear here. Couldn’t sleep, either?”
• “Couldn’t turn my mind off,” I say.
• “Thinking about your family?” he asks.

“No,” I admit a bit guiltily. “All I can do is wonder about tomorrow. Which is pointless, of course.” In the light from below, I can see his face now, the awkward way he holds his bandaged hands. “I really am sorry about your hands.”

• “It doesn’t matter, Katniss,” he says. “I’ve never been a contender in these Games anyway.”
• “That’s no way to be thinking,” I say.
• “Why not? It’s true. My best hope is to not disgrace myself and. . .” He hesitates.
• “And what?” I say.

“I don’t know how to say it exactly. Only . . . I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?” he asks. I shake my head. How could he die as anyone but himself? “I don’t want them to change me in there. Turn me into some kind of monster that I’m not.”

I bite my lip, feeling inferior. While I’ve been ruminating on the availability of trees, Peeta has been struggling with how to maintain his identity. His purity of self. “Do you mean you won’t kill anyone?” I ask.

“No, when the time comes, I’m sure I’ll kill just like everybody else. I can’t go down without a fight. Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to . . . to show the Capitol they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their Games,” says Peeta.

• “But you’re not,” I say. “None of us are. That’s how the Games work.”
• “OK, but within that framework, there’s still you, there’s still me,” he insists. “Don’t you see?”
• “A little. Only . . . no offence, but who cares, Peeta?” I say.

“I do. I mean, what else am I allowed to care about at this point?” he asks angrily. He’s locked those blue eyes on mine now, demanding an answer.

I take a step back.

References:

• Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. eyeshigh.co.uk/downloads/literacy/world_book_day/the_hunger_games_-_trilogy.pdf

✏️ Model Answer

In The Hunger Games, Peeta Mellark's struggle to preserve his personal identity is a poignant reflection of his internal battle against a system that seeks to manipulate and dehumanize him. Peeta's desire to "die as myself" is a powerful declaration of his wish to retain his humanity in the face of overwhelming external pressures. In the dystopian world of Panem, where the Capitol controls every aspect of the tributes' lives, Peeta's struggle is not just about surviving the Games but about maintaining his personal integrity. His fear of being transformed into a "monster" by the Capitol shows his deep concern that his identity could be erased or altered by the spectacle of the Games. Despite the brutal environment, Peeta yearns to demonstrate to the Capitol that he is "more than just a piece in their Games."

Peeta’s inner conflict reflects the broader theme of identity in The Hunger Games, where the Capitol not only seeks to control the lives of its citizens but also to strip them of their individuality and agency. For Peeta, preserving his sense of self is a form of resistance—a way to assert his autonomy even in the face of certain death. His struggle is not just physical but psychological, as he grapples with the idea of being forced into roles and behaviors dictated by the Capitol, yet he refuses to lose himself in the process.

This theme of identity preservation is not unique to Peeta. Another character who faces a similar challenge is Walter White from Breaking Bad. At the beginning of the series, Walter is a mild-mannered chemistry teacher who, after being diagnosed with cancer, turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine to secure his family’s future. As Walter becomes more deeply involved in the criminal underworld, his struggle to preserve his identity becomes increasingly complex. Unlike Peeta, who resists the external pressures of the Capitol, Walter embraces the transformation, adopting the persona of "Heisenberg" as he becomes more ruthless and morally corrupt. Yet, Walter’s struggle is still rooted in his desire to maintain control over his life, even if that means redefining who he is.

Walter, like Peeta, is confronted with the idea of losing his selfhood. For Peeta, it is about not becoming a "monster" in the Games, while for Walter, it is about not being seen as weak or a failure. Both characters are caught between their pre-existing identities and the roles imposed upon them by their circumstances, but whereas Peeta resists transformation, Walter embraces it. In both cases, the pressure to conform to external expectations—whether from the Capitol or from the criminal world—forces them to confront the core of who they are.

Ultimately, both Peeta and Walter's struggles highlight the complexity of identity in extreme circumstances. Peeta’s desire to remain true to himself in a world that forces him into a life-or-death game is a powerful commentary on the importance of personal agency and the preservation of one’s values. On the other hand, Walter’s journey shows how the external pressures of survival can lead to a complete reinvention of self, raising important questions about what happens to a person when they lose sight of who they once were. Both characters’ journeys provide insight into the delicate balance between external influence and internal identity, and the consequences of losing that balance.