#i did copy some aspects on o'brien's idea of rebellion to

[caesarflickermans]

Hello, CEO of Plutarch Heavensbee! I have a question for you.

How do you think Plutarch knew about Latin/Rome?

To me, this quote has so many layers to it that NEED to be looked into: (still mad we arent getting a plutarch book) "It's a saying from thousands of years ago, written in a language called Latin about a place called Rome."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think any other character ever says anything about other languages/countries. We only get a brief rudimentary dump about 12/Appalachia and the history of how Panem was formed, but that's literally it. At no point in any time does anyone else really reference the old world -- and Latin comes from the old world even to people from today!

How do you think he managed to dig up history texts? Do you think he shared his knowledge with a lot of his allies (or enemies)? He was just explaining the quote to Katniss, he wasn't sitting down and giving her a lecture. Do you think he just knew about Rome specifically, or do you think he knew about other nations?

I tried looking up theories or even interviews with SC but I couldn't find much. (I also, very stupidly, googled "How did Plutarch know about Rome" at first without realizing that I would need many actual THG terms in the search to get things that are not about the actual Plutarch philosopher lmao. But now I have a crack answer: Plutarch Heavensbee is the reincarnation of Πλούταρχος.)

I received this ask before Sunrise, and am happy to report that my initial thoughts perfectly align with the new material:

The Heavensbee family maintains a monopoly on historical texts.

The prequel gives us room to speculate, particularly in relation to Trajan Heavensbee, whom Plutarch references as the sole ancestor "who has been of any use" (SOTR, 9).

It is no likely no coincidence that Trajan's portrait depicts him holding a book, that he presides as the owner of the Heavensbee library, and that his statue is featured within the Academy. The family's influence extends so deeply that they have a hall named in their honour within the Academy.

While arguments have been made that Trajan's title as "Father of Panem" suggests a founding father myth, I propose a different theory. To me, he might have been the architect of Panem's education and indoctrination system during the formative years of totalitarian rule.

Ballad introduced us to some characters who make occasional references to the past—Snow references ancient US cities, while Gaul directly names political thinkers. However, Snow references the burning of books to keep warm during the war, thus implying that Heavensbee's possession of a library is extraordinary. Additionally, I believe that historical revisionism—similar to the one revising the events of the 50th Hunger Games—necessitates eliminating historical texts to maintain the illusion of Panem's superiority.

Hence, I assume that the Heavensbee library is quite unique within the Capitol, as Trajan likely played a vital role in maintaining (and being allowed to maintain) the library, many families burned their books, and I take it that alike Fahrenheit 451 and historic parallels, controlling the past (Orwell) was a vital factor far before the 50th Games.

Collins' reference to George Orwell in particular have made me giddy for the sole fact that I've viewed the Capitol through that very lens for years, thus meaning that Plutarch's in-depth knowledge is a rarity, and that the Heavensbee family's access to historical texts were what allowed them to escape parts of the indoctrination.