Death Games

I am currently reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The book creates a strict nation known as Panem, in which one boy and one girl are chosen annually to participate in the annual hunger games. The hunger games, however, are not games at all, unless one considers a life or death struggle to be a playful joke. The main character, Katniss replaces her sister in the hunger games and is forced with an opportunity for fame and fortune, or a certain death. There is no gray area in the decision of the winner, and no gray area in the decision of what the cost of a loss is. The loser will be guaranteed death, while the winner will be guaranteed a new, more luxurious life. Ultimately, the two prizes are polar opposites.

The catch in the story that I noticed from the beginning is that an ultimate sacrifice must be made whether one wins or loses. If one wins, they have to take the life away from another, stealing a child from a loving father, mother, or both. Even after the victory, the winner would be forced to live for their own survival, becoming less worried about the lives and well-being of others. If they do not win, they pay the ultimate price, which, as stated before, is their own demise. Essentially, Katniss must make a choice to take the life of another away from his or her family and friends, in order to survive and better her own life. Either that, or she must find a way to escape the binds of her strict and violent society in order to escape the pressure of critical decision-making. Katniss has an infinite amount of decisions to make, and her decision has the capability to affect fellow Panem citizens.