Playing the Long Game: Plutarch’s Lesson for Haymitch and Humanity

Guest Post by Helena Kazenski, Butler University

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW for Sunrise on the Reaping

As strongly hinted in Collins’ Epigraphs for both prequels, she has taken inspiration from various Enlightenment-era philosophers. In Ballad, many of us were (re)introduced to the likes of Locke, Rousseau, and Hobbes. She has in one sense brought them back to life, promoting some of their important and sometimes contradictory thoughts about life, the universe, and everything. Her focus in the first prequel featured a young Coriolanus Snow, the main theme being the time-honored question of “nature versus nurture.” Now for Sunrise on the Reaping, she turns our attention to the roles of propaganda and David Hume’s notion of implicit submission. As Hume wrote himself,

Nothing appears more surprising to those, who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few; and the implicit submission, with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers. When we enquire by what means this wonder is effected, we shall find, that, as Force is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and most popular.

Cited at the beginning of Sunrise, this quote calls to question why the governed willingly submit to their governors when they easily outnumber them. He notes that governments are only as strong as their citizens’ approval.

This very question comes to light when Plutarch Heavensbee — current cameraman and future Gamemaker — asks why the tributes submit to Capitol rule when the districts already overpower the Capitol in numbers. He says, “I see the hangings and the shootings and the starvation and the Hunger Games. I do, and yet, I still don’t think the fear they inspire justifies this arrangement we’ve all entered into. Do you?” (SOTR 104)

Collins provides more detail on her inspiration for Plutarch’s character in an interview with David Levithan in the Barnes & Noble exclusive edition. Upon asking Collins about Plutarch’s overarching role in the story, she responded:

Plutarch’s the master of the long game. In Sunrise, we see him as a young man who’s convinced the government needs overthrowing, but he’s just taking his first baby steps. By the time we get to the trilogy, he’s masterminding the rebellion. He’s built a network in both the districts and the Capitol. He’s found an army in District 13 and allied with Coin. When Katniss shows up, he’s got a Mockingjay for his propaganda. He orchestrates the Airtime Assault that brings down the Capitol. And he manages to do all this while convincingly playing a Gamemaker.
            He doesn’t glorify humanity. At the end of the war, he tells Katniss, “We’re fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction. Although who knows? Maybe this will be it, Katniss” And when she asks what, he answers, “The time it sticks. Maybe we are witnessing the evolution of the human race.” So, at heart, he’s an optimist. He doesn’t accept that war and self-destruction are inevitable.
            Plutarch believes that we’re all on a continuum. We’re all ultimately playing the long game. You may fight your whole life for a greater good and never see the fruits of your labor. Plenty of people have done that historically. And so he tells Haymitch, “You were capable of imagining a different future. And maybe it won’t be realized today, maybe not in our lifetime. Maybe it will take generations. We’re all part of a continuum. Does that make it pointless?” I think that’s a question we all have to ask ourselves.

In this interview, Collins gives us a direct look into her thought process while creating the character of Plutarch Heavensbee. Plutarch is a master of the long game. He has amassed major influence in the Capitol, building his way up into the position of head Gamemaker by the 75^th Games. This has allowed him to slowly and subtly swing the narrative to be sympathetic to the districts over the years. He is aware that rebellions often need proper time before they successfully achieve their goals, and he somehow has the patience to wait for the outcome he desires. He believes that we are all part of a continuum. Even if it is highly unlikely to see the fruits of our labor in our lifetime, we should still work to make the world a better place for future generations — or, at least to set up a foundation for change so that they can continue. This is the “continuum” that Plutarch (through Collins) refers to.

With her notion of the continuum and the long game, it is likely that Collins is encouraging us to continue working towards a better future, even if current circumstances are unbearable. Even though Haymitch loses the battle and barely endures absolute torment, he eventually wins the overall war. He is able to be a part of the rebellion that finally allows him to keep his promises to Lenore Dove and Maysilee Donner. Haymitch embodies the continuum, as he realizes that his efforts to rebel were not in vain. He is able to use his past experiences to guide Katniss toward becoming an important figure in the rebellion.

For his part, Plutarch is an optimist at heart, but he refuses to glorify humanity at the same time. He believes that, while the atrocities committed by the Capitol (and especially Snow) have indeed occurred and should not be forgotten, war and self-destruction are not inherently inevitable to humanity. Basically, he believes in nurture over nature — a throwback to one of the main themes of Songbirds and Snakes. Lenore Dove then picks up this argument quite blatantly in the latest book, trying to convince Haymitch that the sun does not inevitably need to rise on the reaping. Despite her best efforts to convince him of this, it takes some hard knocks from Plutarch and more serious events in the Capitol and Games to move Haymitch away from his own implicit submission.

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