Crossing the Tracks: Picture of the Day

Picture Courtesy of Sandman 

You have got to be wondering what a picture of a deserted train track is doing on my blog about dystopias. Well, I'm thinking the same thing, so I'll see if I can ramble to a point of coherence.

First off all, I see the surroundings. It's deserted. I'm a huge fan of The Hunger Games novels, if my last post didn't let you know that. If you've read the novels, this might make sense. If not, I'll try to not give away too many spoilers.

Imagine Katniss. She is pretty is pretty much, by definition a loner, and most definitely not a people person. She spends her days hunting in the woods. Her only friend is Gale. The scene where Haymitch tries to turn her into something, anything, that the people in the capitol can relate to does not go over well. It takes Cinna for her to even pull it off. Even in books two and three as she becomes the symbol of the rebellion, she still has to overcome her natural persona to become who they need her to be.

And if I'm going to be talking about The Hunger Games, might as well bring up Divergent. As much as I hate comparing the two, they are kind of synonymous with each other. 

Tris is also a loner, although not by choice. She's forced to be one because of where she comes from, which is the faction of Abnegation. Even after she chooses Dauntless, and makes friends, she is still isolated by those who think she isn't worthy. Even after she proves herself time and time again, she remains isolated. Although, that may have more to do with the fact that she's divergent and can't let anyone find out.

Then there's the tracks themselves. I see them as a symbol of crossing a line and never going back. Throughout The Hunger Games, and especially into Catching Fire and Mockingjay, Katniss makes countless choices. She becomes a tribute for her sister, and probably the biggest of them all at the end of book one where she and Peeta would rather swallow the berries and both be killed, instead of killing each other.

Then there's Tris. She takes the saying "Faction before blood" seriously enough to leave her family knowing she'd never see them again. After that, there was no going back and she knew that and she still chose to go. She knew what she wanted.

The tracks  can also be a not so subtle pointer to the fact that trains are very important to both The Hunger Games and Divergent. In The Hunger Games, the train is used as a death knoll for those heading to the arena. While Effie tries to make it sound like a good thing, an honor even, it's not. For Divergent, the trains are used as the Dauntless way of transportation. It's what attracts Tris to dauntless in the first place. It's what gives Tris her first glimpse of how daunting the dauntless will be. Then throughout the series the trains are used as a sign of something important happening.

There you have it, according to me. Is it a bit of a stretch? You bet. Feel free to disagree and let me know what you think.

Oh! and thanks for sticking through this looonnng somewhat rambling post.