Avox

A red-uniformed Avox in The Hunger Games film

An Avox in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

An Avox in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2.

An Avox was a person who had their tongue cut out in lieu of execution as a punishment for being a rebel, traitor, deserter or criminal. They spent their lives as the lowest class in Panem, permanently serving the Capitol as slaves.

Quick Answers

What is the role of Avoxes in the Hunger Games?

In the Hunger Games, Avoxes are people who have been punished for rebellion or criminal activities by having their tongues removed, rendering them mute. Captured by Peacekeepers, they serve as slaves in the Capitol, occupying the lowest social class in Panem. Their roles include lower-level waste management jobs, such as working in the sewer network and driving garbage trucks. They face numerous abuses, including grotesque experiments and torture.

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How does Katniss Everdeen recognize an Avox?

During a meal in the Capitol, Katniss Everdeen identifies an Avox, Lavinia, from a past encounter with Gale. To prevent arousing suspicion after discovering Avoxes were deemed traitors, Peeta Mellark steps in, implying Lavinia only looked like a familiar face from District 12.

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What is the punishment that leads to someone becoming an Avox?

In the Hunger Games, an Avox is a person punished for crimes such as rebellion, treason, desertion, or other criminal acts. The punishment is the removal of their tongue, rendering them mute. They are then relegated to the lowest social class in Panem, serving as slaves to the Capitol. Avoxes, who can originate from any district or even the Capitol, are usually apprehended by Peacekeepers.

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How are Avoxes treated in the society of Panem?

Avoxes in Panem are the lowest class, serving as slaves for the Capitol. They are domestic servants for the government and private citizens, often seen serving tributes in the Training Center. They also maintain the Capitol, working in the sewer network and waste management. Avoxes endure many abuses, including grotesque experiments and torture. They are not allowed to speak unless given an order and are synonymous with muteness.

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What is the significance of having one's tongue cut out in the Hunger Games?

In the Hunger Games, the term 'Avox' refers to individuals who have been punished for rebellion, treason, desertion, or criminal activities by having their tongues removed. This punishment renders them mute, reducing them to the lowest social class in Panem where they serve as slaves to the Capitol. This severe punishment is a tool for quelling dissent and maintaining control.

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Work

Most Avoxes would have been hunted down and caught by Peacekeepers. They were then tasked to occupations seen as undesirable to the Capitol citizens.

There were Avoxes enslaved as domestic servants by the government of Panem, as well as by private Capitol citizens. Most Avoxes in the trilogy were seen waiting on tributes in the Training Center.

Other Avoxes were enslaved as civil servants, charged with the day-to-day maintenance of the Capitol. They worked shifts in the sewer network and the Transfer under the city. They also operated in other lower level positions within waste management, such as driving garbage trucks.

Abuses

As an enslaved class of people stripped of all their human rights, Avoxes were subjected to many abuses.

• They were subject to later being killed in any manner for any reason and at any time, as being made an Avox is tantamount to capital punishment.
• At the time of the 10th Hunger Games, Coriolanus Snow witnessed Avoxes in the Citadel having had animal parts grafted onto their bodies in some grotesque experiment, as well as being tortured with jabberjays that echoed their screams.
• According to Peeta Mellark, the two Avoxes who served District 12's tributes during the 75th Hunger Games were imprisoned with him in the Capitol; Lavinia was killed by an electric shock, while Darius was badly beaten, tortured and mutilated for days until he succumbed to blood-loss and shock from his wounds.
• The Avoxes that worked underground never saw sunlight, and had to navigate dangerous pods everyday just to do their jobs. When lizard mutts were unleashed in the tunnels during the Battle of the Capitol, Squad 451 could hear the guttural screams of the Avoxes as they were being killed.

Culture

Avoxes constitute the lowest social class of all of Panem. They serve a punishment tantamount to execution, and are a stark reminder that even Capitol citizens can lose all social standing for committing any offense. They are the ultimate victims of the Capitol's cruelty, subject to a life of silence, servitude, and dehumanization. Unlike the impoverished citizens of the districts, Avoxes are treated as less than human—erased from society and forever punished. Their suffering represents the most extreme form of oppression in Panem, making them the true bottom rung of the social ladder.

Citizens were not permitted to speak to Avoxes unless giving them an order. The term Avox was also nearly synonymous with muteness or mutism. Despite this, Avoxes were able to communicate through gestures such as nodding, pointing, or writing. In the films, the Avox Pollux and his brother Castor could occasionally be seen conversing in American Sign Language (ASL).

The fate of the Avoxes is grave, as they may be subject to death via any means, such as what happened to both Lavinia and Darius. They were also among the first targets during the Second Rebellion. Only one known Avox escaped from Capitol rule and regained social standing.

Physical description

A close-up of the red-uniformed Avox, matching Lavinia's description

The Avoxes' physical appearances were not markedly different from those of their lives as free Capitol citizen, with the exception of their tongues, which were removed so they could no longer speak. However, they could be recognized by their distinctive way of swallowing, and those enslaved at the Training Center wore white uniform tunics.

In the first film, the Avoxes serving the tributes wore crimson robes, gold flats, and had their hair tightly pulled back. In the second film, these Avoxes wore sleeveless white tunics, haunting dark eye makeup, and cages around their faces. In the last film, Avoxes standing in the background in the President's mansion wore a red uniform, along with a mask covering their mouths.

Known Avoxes

• Lavinia - the redheaded girl whose capture Katniss witnessed in the woods outside District 12. She served District 12's tributes during the 74th and 75th Hunger Games, during which time Katniss considered her sort of a friend.
• Darius - a former District 12 Peacekeeper, known to be flirty, boyish, and fun. He and Katniss were friends in 12 before his enslavement.
• Pollux - a rebel cameraman with District 13. He worked for five years in the Capitol's underground tunnels, making him a tactical asset to Squad 451.

Etymology

The term "Avox" is derived from the Ancient Greek prefix ἀ- ‎(a-, “not, without” - e.g. "amoral") and the Latin word vox ("voice"). In other words, "avox" means "voiceless."

Trivia

• Pollux is the only known Avox that survived the Second Rebellion and regained social standing.
• A brief written piece for Capitol Couture misidentified the District 7 stylist as a random Avox servant, romanticizing their state of forced servility.
• According to Mrs. Plinth, the Avoxes enslaved in her household liked foods that were easy to swallow, such as custards.