Intro to Ethics
Olson
09-21-2015
The Hunger Games
“Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch, this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy” (Collins 18). This is just one example of the dark dystopian future we are to become familiar with when reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The book tells a story of young girl, who chose to take the place of her younger sister, and represent her district in a grueling game of death designed not only to entertain the citizens of the wealthy Capitol, but to remind those in the districts, of the Capitol’s power.

“I volunteer!” I gasp. “I volunteer as tribute!” (Collins 22) Those are the words that Katniss Everdeen screams out in the hope of taking her sister’s place among those selected to take part in the games. Katniss, like everyone else in her district, is afraid to participate in the games. She is aware that there is a very strong chance that she, along with her chosen partner, will not survive the ordeal. The games were established years before the events of the first Hunger Games book. At that time, 13 districts attempted to rebel against the tyrannical rule of the Capitol. The Capitol won, destroyed District 13, and as a punishment, created the annual televised death match called The Hunger Games. One male and one female between the ages of 12-18 are chosen at random each year to participate. The district who’s members win the event go on to receive food, and other basic items that they desperately need, while the team members receive fame and wealth for their families.

Katniss comes from the poorest of the 12 districts, District 12. It is here where she would come to make perhaps the important decision of her life. To allow her sister to take part in the games, and as a result, all but guarantee her death, or to volunteer to take her place, and in doing so, essentially, sacrifice her own life. The choice to fight in her sister’s place is not just about Katniss possibly sacrificing her life for a loved one, it is also about how she must deal with the moral ramifications of those decisions. Katniss is not someone who is accustomed to violence and murder. Yet, in The Hunger Games, she must be willing to do both. However immoral she feels the games to be, she must now try to cast those feelings aside to take part in the Games. She could chose not to fight, and simply die upon the start of the Games, however, Katniss is aware that she now fights not just for her sister, but for her family, her district, and even her partner who was randomly chosen as well.

This creates a lot of tension and brings about many questions of what is right and what is wrong. Do you go against your personal beliefs and fight for your family and home? Do you stand firm in your convictions against violence and murder, and allow yourself to be killed? How do you fight against others whom you know were also chosen against their will? Why is your struggle any more important than theirs? Katniss would eventually go on to embrace her decision and fight in the Games. After witnessing many injustices, she feels a moral obligation to act out against her depressors and stand against their tyrannical rule. She would even grow to become to become resentful of the population that refuses to fight against the nature of the Games. “I’m ashamed I never tried to help her in the woods. That I let the Capitol kill the boy and mutilate her without lifting a finger. Just like I was watching the Games” (Collins 85). These are the thoughts that Katniss has when reflecting on her own inaction referring to the treatment of her servant in the Capitol. Although Katniss is aware that by not doing anything she was protecting herself, she feels guilty that she witnessed an injustice and failed to act. The guilt that she feels in this moment is one of the first steps towards Katniss establishing her role as the revolutionary that would one day free the remaining 12 districts from the tyranny of the Capitol.

I like to think the decision to take her sisters place in The Hunger Games is the same decision I myself would have made. Although I would not like to participate in the Games, and I would be fearful of my own death, the thought of a family member, whom I know to be less capable, going off to fight would consume me for the rest of my days. I feel anyone who is protective of their loved ones, be it a spouse, child, or sibling, would feel morally obligated to step in.

On a much smaller scale I went through a somewhat similar situation growing up. My mother was very physical when it came to punishments. She believed the best way to get your point across was to use violence. This type of behavior continued on well into my high school years. Having two younger sisters, it became apparent early on that they were not capable of handling the emotional or physical stress that my mother put upon us growing up. When I became more aware of this fact, I began accepting blame for many of their actions in order to take the burden of my mother’s punishment unto myself. I knew they would not be able to handle the situation as well as I have adapted myself to, so I chose to handle it for them. Although this is not the same as fighting in a game to the death, the basic principle of wanting to protect something you love despite what effect it may have on you personally, is something I can understand.