Suzanne Collins’ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, set in the dystopian society of Panem, follows Coriolanus Snow as he transforms from a young man with moral integrity to someone who must abandon his values in order to survive. Snow, a mentor in the 10th annual Hunger Games, finds himself under the extreme pressure to survive many times throughout his story. Snow’s journey reflects human nature, demonstrating how, when human beings are put under extremely stressful and life-threatening conditions, the instinct to survive takes precedence over morals and values. This survival instinct can lead people to act in the most violent ways possible, even including murder. Snow’s inclination to resort to violence under the harsh conditions of life in Panem is demonstrated repeatedly. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a prequel to The Hunger Games series, where Snow is the main antagonist. By looking closely at Snow’s transformation into the villain that he becomes, the reader sees that, under extraordinary pressure, any human being, no matter how ethical they may be, can be driven to do the unthinkable. Therefore, Suzanne Collins challenges the reader to reflect, wondering how far they may go to survive. Like Snow, we all can become villains under extreme pressure. 

By naming her main character Coriolanus, Collins hints at his fate. Caius Marcius Coriolanus was a Roman soldier and the protagonist of Shakespeare’s play, Coriolanus. In Shakespeare’s story, Coriolanus is a war hero who, through a series of escalating events, turns into a public enemy and tragically dies (Macdonald and Macdonald). Coriolanus Snow follows a similar path in Collins’ story, devolving into a villain through a violent journey. To understand the origins of his violent behavior, one must understand Snow’s story. In Panem, the citizens of twelve districts live in starvation and poverty while the capital, the Capitol, prospers. Each year, the Capitol’s cruel government forces its district citizens to pay penance for inciting a civil war by drafting children, or “tributes” for a battle to the death, the “Hunger Games.” The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place on the tenth anniversary of these games and follows Snow’s journey as a mentor to Lucy Gray, a tribute from one of the districts. While Snow’s Capitol General father’s fame provides the Snows with social status, his wartime death left the family penniless. Therefore, because winning the Hunger Games would secure Snow a free ride to University, changing his life forever, he is extremely motivated to succeed. Not only does Snow help Lucy compete, he also falls for her. Throughout the games, Snow does whatever it takes to help Lucy Gray survive, bending the rules to protect her life. Although he falls for Lucy Gray, Snow is Capitol-born, and so does not empathize with the tributes. Snow’s district-born friend Sejanus, however, campaigns for the tributes’ rights, even entering the games at a point in hopes of dying in protest. Ultimately, Snow is caught trying to help Lucy win the games and is forced to enlist in Panem’s “peacekeeping” police force. He is sent to serve in District 12, Lucy’s district. 

One of the ways that Collins demonstrates the impact of the extreme pressures that Snow faces is through describing his loss of self control when his survival instincts kick in. Specifically, Collins describes the two murders he physically commits: he kills a tribute, Bobbin, in the Hunger Games, who attacks him, and a district girl, Mayfair, who he fears may report him for rebel activities. During both of these threats to his survival, Snow’s body and mind automatically act to defend him. When Snow is pushed to the ground by Bobbin, “he land[s] in a pile of debris, old boards, and plaster [and] his hand search[es] for some kind of defense” (Collins, 237). Collins highlights that it is Snow’s hand that searches for defense, not Snow himself, displaying how, when under the threat of death, his instinctual response is to jump into defense. In the case of Bobbin’s attack, Snow’s mind also seems to enter ‘survival mode’. In fact, when killing Bobbin, Snow “us[es] the board like a club, bringing it down again and again without being sure where it made contact”(Collins, 237). Snow’s repeated actions demonstrate how his mind is almost on auto-pilot, operating until the task is surely done. Furthermore, the description of Snow’s weapon as a club likens him to a caveman. This comparison paints Snow as a primal being, stripped down to a violent creature wielding a weapon. As a well educated Capitol citizen, Snow should be expected to reason with Bobbin before attacking. Nevertheless, killing is his first instinct; his mind doesn’t allow him to think through the circumstances of this attack rationally.

Later on, when Mayfair discovers Snow with a group of rebels and threatens to expose them, Snow shoots her despite the fact that he is not even involved in the rebels’ plot and therefore is not in any danger. Collins’ description of Snow shooting Mayfair reinforces the point that he loses control of his body under duress, as he “reflexively reache[s] for the Peacekeeper rifle and fire[s] toward Mayfair’s voice” (Collins, 460). Here, the word “reflexively” serves to indicate the fact that Snow has no control over his actions while killing Mayfair. Collins is asserting that, when placed under circumstances where his life is at risk, Snow’s body is instinctively inclined to defend. In the case of Mayfair’s death, Snow’s survival instinct clouds his judgment even more so, especially considering the fact that he isn’t even a part of the rebel plot she discovers. 

Through exhibiting two events where Snow’s mind and body act on impulse in potentially fatal situations, Collins asserts that survival instincts take over decision making and physical control in circumstances like these, effectively rendering the person at risk akin to a robot. Acting mechanically, humans are inclined to fight blindly to protect themselves. This phenomenon is well researched, known in literature as ‘fight-or-flight’. The ‘fight-or-flight’ response occurs when a person is placed in a situation that “evokes fear, pain, or anger” and is triggered to fight or flee from whatever has caused the initial emotion. (Colman) This response comes from the adrenaline rush that a person receives in these circumstances. The fight-or-flight response can be further applied to Berkowitz’s Cognitive Neoassociation Theory. This theory says that aggressive behavior is “the result of a multi-stage process that begins with an event that generates [a] negative affect … [that] automatically triggers a fight-or-flight response” (Groves and Anderson). In other words, violent behavior stems from activating fight-or-flight. This flight-or-flight phenomenon seems to be what happens to Snow. Under life-threatening pressures, he fights. 

Another way that Collins explores the detriment of being under life-threatening pressures on Snow is that even his relationships with those he loves cannot overpower his inherent survival instinct. This idea is shown through Snow’s relationships with his love interest, Lucy Gray, and his friend, Sejanus. Throughout the story, Snow puts himself at risk by manipulating the games in various ways to help Lucy Gray. Snow’s willingness to “br[eak] a rule or two” within the Hunger Games, despite knowing the potential consequences, demonstrates how he truly loves Lucy Gray (Collins, 193). Nonetheless, when Snow realizes that Lucy Gray would be the last loose end to his murder of Mayfair, he decides to follow her into the woods and kill her, hoping to dispose of the last loose end who could connect him to Mayfair’s death. Here, Snow’s survival instincts take over again; his love for Lucy Gray cannot win out against the fact that she is the last thing threatening his survival. Collins’ narration of Snow’s psyche during this hunt is particularly impactful, “Put down the gun, he [tells] himself, but his hands refuse to cooperate” (Collins, 500). Collins characterizing Snow’s hands as having their own mind, motivated to kill Lucy Gray, demonstrates how even Snow’s deep emotions for her are not enough to overpower his primal, bodily, instincts. 

Likewise, Snow takes personal risks looking out for Sejanus when he gets into trouble. When Snow discovers that Sejanus is gathering intel on the peacekeeper base for the rebels, he attempts to get Sejanus to stop rather than report him immediately, potentially subjecting himself to punishment as a rebel collaborator. “I think things will improve, really, but not like this”, Snow tells Sejanus, displaying how much Snow cares about him (Collins, 398). Although Snow does care about Sejanus, his feelings aren’t able to trump Snow’s need to survive. Once Snow realizes that he cannot talk Sejanus out of rebelling, he decides to turn him in by recording Sejanus’ confession to rebel involvement. This decision eventually leads to his friend’s incarceration and execution by hanging. Collins once again describes Snow’s “ hands act[ing] on their own”, presenting his survival instinct as automatic (Collins, 447). Here, Snow isn’t driven by the need to destroy Sejanus, or their friendship. Rather, he’s controlled by his survival instincts. 

By including Snow’s relationships with Lucy Gray and Sejanus in the story, Collins argues that, while people will go to great lengths trying to protect their loved ones, when push comes to shove, and they must choose between love and friendship and their need to self-preserve and survive, they will choose survival. In our world, some people react similarly when given the choice to put their survival over their loved ones. During the holocaust, many Jewish people were faced with a choice: collaborate with the Nazis or face the cruelty, and eventual death, at concentration camps. When faced with a choice between those they loved and their yearning to survive, many Jewish men chose to be Kapos. This meant that they surrendered many of their neighbors, friends, and even family members to the Nazis (Porat, 2). The choice made by many of these Kapos is similar to the choice Snow makes with Lucy Gray and Sejanus. It’s likely that, like Snow, many of these Kapos’ primal need to survive simply overpowered their loyalty for their friends and families. 

The complete breakdown of Snow’s moral compass in the face of life-threatening circumstances raises the question: How does he cope with the aftermath of his actions once he “comes back to his senses”? Collins explores this aftermath through the coping thoughts that Snow has about those he harms. After killing Bobbin, Snow attempts to reconcile the murder with his values by rationalizing it as “an open-and-shut case of self-defense” (Collins, 243). Through this example, Collins demonstrates how Snow, faced with the consequences of the actions taken while his life is at risk, looks to rationalize his actions in the context of his morals. Another way Snow attempts to reconcile the murder of Bobbin with his conscience is by blaming it on the harsh circumstances he is subjected to: “[he] think[s] [he] wouldn’t have beaten anyone to death if [he] hadn’t [been] stuck in that arena” (Collins, 243).This statement suggests that Snow blames killing Bobbin on the external factors that he was subjected to, not his own thoughts and motivations. Collins highlighting Snow ‘thinking’ underscores the fact that Snow is only considering his actions in their aftermath. In order to escape these life-threatening conditions, Snow acts, then thinks.  Later, while considering how he incriminated Sejanus, Snow grapples with his decision by stating that, “it was only a matter of time before Sejanus came up with another scheme” (Collins, 451). Here, Snow justifies his decision by claiming that if he hadn’t turned Sejanus in, someone else would have. This rationalization helps Snow to shift the blame away from himself because it alludes to the inevitability of Sejanus’ arrest, thereby helping Snow cope with the pain he may have felt due to being solely responsible for the ultimate execution of his friend. As Snow’s tragic transformation continues along with the murder of Mayfair, Collins demonstrates how his value system has not only become skewed but has radically changed; he no longer even feels the need to rationalize the murders he commits. Reflecting on Mayfair’s death, “he knew that he’d shoot her again if he had it all to do over, and somehow that supported the rightness of his actions” (Collins, 464). The usage of the words “knew” and “rightness” in this quotation are particularly impactful; Snow doesn’t “believe” or “think” that he would shoot Mayfair again, but “knew” he would. Similarly, he doesn’t say that his actions were “justified” or “understandable,” he says that they’re right. By asserting the “rightness” of his actions, Collins displays that Snow is convinced that he is on the “correct” end of the moral spectrum. This demonstrates just how far Snow’s moral system has deteriorated; he went from trying to rationalize Bobbin’s murder as self-defense to deciding that killing was the morally justified action under the pressure to survive. Snow’s morals are now on one side of the extreme, and he has undergone a complete transformation into the infamous villain of The Hunger Games series. 

Clearly, Collins is suggesting that the greater a person’s exposure to extreme circumstances is, the more likely it is that their internal moral compass and value system would break down and change completely to help them cope with the atrocities they commit. This theory has actually been tested by Stanley Milgram in his ‘obedience to authority’ experiment. In this experiment, Milgram set up a scenario where forty men were instructed by his staff to administer electrical shocks at alarmingly high voltage onto other participants. In actuality, these other participants were actors, and this experiment was set up to examine how willing people were to obey clearly violent and immoral orders from an authority figure. This study demonstrates the extreme willingness of individuals to obey legitimate authority, even when the orders conflict with one’s moral principles … [and] the causal power of the situation override stable, personal beliefs and values” (Blass). What was proved true in this experiment is reflected in Snow’s story. As a soldier, not only is Snow obligated to obey his commanders, he also understands the dire consequences that await him if he chooses to dissent. As the reader sees, Snow bows to the Capitol’s authority and his moral compass rapidly crumbles under this extreme pressure. 

Overall, Suzanne Collins uses the story of Coriolanus Snow to display that any human being, no matter how strong their moral compass, can be pushed to do the unthinkable under extreme pressures, even murder. Collins proves this argument by demonstrating how, when in a critical situation, Snow’s body and mind automatically jump into “survival mode”, escaping danger by any means possible. Furthermore, Collins explores how not even dedication to one’s loved ones can overcome primal survival instincts through Snow’s betrayal of Lucy Gray and Sejanus. Finally, Collins urges the reader to consider how quickly people change their own core set of beliefs and values in order to rationalize actions that don’t align with their original morals. In other words, Collins argues that people’s moral compasses are fluid, fragile, and can easily be swayed under pressure because they’re fickle. The reader is left wondering how Collins’ messaging translates to our world. How strong is the deep-rooted urge to survive in us all? Can one justify crimes against humanity, for example, as self defense? Is humanity able to agree to a universal set of values and norms, and abide by these, if such systems are so weak and subjective? Moreover, how can we as human beings translate the lessons taught by Collins in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes into how communities and nations function under pressure and crisis? 

Works Cited

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Groves, Christopher, and Craig A. Anderson. "Human Aggression." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology, Oxford UP, 2019. Oxford Research Encyclopedias, oxfordre-com.horacemann.idm.oclc.org/psychology/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.001.0001/acrefore-9780190236557-e-270?rskey=ECUQNe&result=1.

Macdonald, Gina, and Andrew Macdonald. "Coriolanus by William Shakespeare." Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature, Salem Press, 2022. Research Starters, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=e781ce60-54ca-3764-8908-5abda98c7fe2.