Mariam Mukhammad

Professor Intawiwat

English 111-181

07 December 2017

Prompt 3 of Research Essay

Conditioned Behavior of Peeta Mellark

The Hunger Games is a well known dystopian series where the main character, Katniss

Everdeen, becomes a symbol of hope and strength for the 12 districts in the fight against the

oppressive Capitol of Panem. The secondary character and a love interest of Katniss is Peeta

Mellark, a bakers son, who is selected to be in the games to represent District 12 alongside

Katniss. As Peeta begins to fall in love with Katniss, she is not sure how to deal with those

feelings but eventually grows very close to him. The two are inseparable throughout the series

until Katniss is rescued by the allies of the secret District 13 while Peeta is accidentally left

behind. From that point on, Peeta Mellark is captured by the people of the Capitol and tortured

with tracker jacker sting to get him to do what they want.

The infamous Tracker Jackers from the Hunger Games series were genetically

engineered wasps that were created and used by the Capitol to manipulate and scare the people

of the districts. When their nest is disturbed, the wasps chase after their victims. The stings of

these insects leave large swells on the body and the venom that they possess causes

hallucinations and is strong enough to kill a person after only a few stings (Collins). When they

found Peeta, the Capital decided to utilize these wasps and make Peeta associate the pain they

cause with the what he thinks about Katniss Everdeen.

Conditioning Peeta Mellark to hate Katniss Everdeen with the strings from is similar to the

conditioning being used on all kinds of animals to this day.

It has been proven as a psychological factor in our habits and the decisions we make.
 Works Cited

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. Scholastic Inc., 2014.