when in discussion about the hunger games/tbosas, i have had a couple of my friends ask me, “why, if coriolanus knows the horrors of poverty and the effects of war, does he still condemn the districts to the same fate?”
the answer is quite simple. for coriolanus, its not a matter of “poverty shouldn’t happen to a person”. rather, its “poverty shouldn’t happen to me.”
coryo, growing up in an environment where his fathers success was deified, saw the glorification of stepping on others to secure one’s own success. coryo believes that some people are deserving of the horrors of poverty and the effects of war, as they were not born to success nor can they find their way to it. it’s why he harbours such a hatred for sejanus. sejanus is the polar opposite to him; someone who (in coryo’s worldview) owed the poverty but living in luxury - whereas coryo is owed luxury but living in the poverty.
in coryo’s mindset, there is a power ‘balance’ between the rich and the poor. and the way to keep that balance is to never lift up those who are in poverty. to him, instead of it being “right” that a person should be liberated and free, it’s “right” that everyone stays in the place that is predetermined for them.
