#wyatt callow

[ladiemars]

when your circle small but y’all doomed by the narrative

[fluorescentbalaclava]

Long shots

[paperlit]

Thinking about how Wyatt Callow is proof that Dr. Gaul’s and Snow’s assertion that humanity’s essential nature is violent (which is part of their argument for the Capitol’s control being necessary) is false. That “What happened in the arena? That’s humanity undressed… A boy with a club who beats another boy to death. That’s mankind in its natural state.” is false.

I’m sure he had it all calculated. He knew exactly what choices would give him the best odds of survival. He knew that the faster he got out of the initial bloodshed the better his chances would be. He knew that letting other kids die would benefit his odds of survival. He knew exactly what he should’ve done to preserve himself.

And yet, he threw all those statistics and odds, all that reason and logic out the window in the name of protecting Lou Lou, a girl that wasn’t even from his district. He threw it all out the window in the name of helping another human being that was in an unfair situation and had worse odds than him. He knew who the real enemy was; he knew it wasn’t the other kids being taken advantage of by the Capitol just like him.

That is humanity.

[nefarious-vex]

can’t believe Suzanne Collins had Wyatt Callow, who knew the odds of all the tributes’ deaths better than his own name, die protecting Lou Lou, who he statistically knew wouldn’t make it anyway. had Louella McCoy, who was immediately ready to try and stick it to the capital any way she could in the games, die before she even reached the arena. had Maysilee Donner, who constantly talked back, who wanted to die with her head up, who didn’t want to be treated like an animal by the capital, die mangled on the ground after having her vocal chords ripped out by a capital-manufactured bird. had Haymitch Abernathy, who from the moment he learned of Beetee’s plan, knew he was ready and willing to give up his life so that his friends and family could live, be forced to live without them, knowing all he did in the arena was for nothing. that everyone died anyway. sick and twisted.

[softestaries]

oh wyatt callow, the boy who weighed everyones odds in the arena and still threw himself in front of a blade for lou lou, knowing hers too.

[tryingssss]

haymitch didn't have to eat so hard after every character he cares about died... like what do you mean "who will sing your songs now?" "wyatt callow who's luck just ran out. i can't believe how hard it hits me" "whoever lou lou was she's gone now" "buddy? somewhere beetee's heart breaks into fragments so small it can never be repaired" "goodbye maysilee donner, who i loathed, then grudgingly respected, then loved. not as a sweetheart or even a friend. a sister, i'd said." like alright

[hanneliza]

the district 12 tributes for the second quarter quell

[tiredandoptimistic]

Something that I think is important about Wyatt as a character is how he highlights the stupidity of the district system. I know that the human love of sorting ourselves into categories meant that every YA series for a while had a bunch of different groups with associated traits that tweens could take uquizzes about, but The Hunger Games isn't like Divergent or Harry Potter where young adults get grouped based on their personalities. Sure, the districts all have industries they're known for and the tributes are clearly shaped by wherever they grew up, but being born into District Four doesn't actually mean that you'll like fish. Wyatt is brilliant when it comes to numbers, but in District Twelve he can only channel that into gambling. Imagine if he'd been born into District Three with a father like Beetee, what he could have done with his mathematical talents. There's mention of it with Maysilee too, how she doesn't want to run the candy store but her options are that or the mines.

I guess what I'm saying is that the district system is great for keeping people oppressed because they see their fellows as "other," which is why it is a tool of fascism and not a practical way to run a society. It doesn't matter who is in what group, it matters that they internalize their group identity to the point that they ignore the similarities between them.