Machiavelli's view on President Snow

President Snow 

Seneca Presented the Poison Berries 

Machiavelli said that it is safer to be feared than to be loved. In the Hunger Games, President Snow is feared by the people and the districts. Machiavelli would say that Snow is more feared than he is loved. This is demonstrated by the actions of Snow and how people react to him. One instance is when Snow says to Seneca “I like you , be careful” regarding the Katniss situation. Seneca is now fearful that if he messes up Snow will do something bad to him. This fear leads to the announcement that there can only be one victor even though he already changed the rules that two victors from the same district were allowed. With this announcement we can see that Snow is using fear to control his nation and the action of the people. Another example on how Snow is more feared than loved is because at the end of the movie, there were two victors, Katniss and Peeta, which is not the end result that Snow hoped for. There is a scene in the movie that shows that poison berries Katniss and Peeta were about to eat and Seneca looking at the bowl presented to him. This foreshadows the event that since Seneca messed up, Snow gave him the berries, and since Seneca fears him, he ate the berries and died.  A third example of how is he feared is by creating the Hunger Games when the revolution erupted. Every year he presents these games to each district and they do not have a choice but to participate. They fear that if they don’t, Snow will kill off the district and not provide for them. They fear him so much that they have to watch each district kill each other until there is one victor left. Machiavelli would say that President Snow is more feared than he is loved by the people and by each district.