Ethical Dilemmas in The Hunger Games - Research Paper Example

Some Ethical Dilemmas in The Hunger Games It has been a very long debate as to what is moral and what is not, what is ethical and what is unethical, what is right or what is wrong. However, the idea of what is good or not has its roots in the situations as well as the psychological and social state of the groups of people involved in creating the ideology of goodness and evil (Furrow 159). Due to the necessities of life, the notion of what is just, among other things is basically formed as such in order to prevent the collapse of a society as well as to maintain peace and order. That which seems to be immoral in the eyes of a society that does not share anything in common with another society will always be blind as to how that particular society sees something as moral. It is somewhat illogical to say that there is such a thing as a universal set of morals and values, since no two groups of people or countries have exact similarities in terms of their experiences as well as the places where they live. Also, there is a self-autonomy required especially for moral agents to be able to portray and model the proper actions to people concerned, in order for them to show what is right and wrong (Furrow 8). Therefore, the mores and the values of a particular group of people may not always show the generalized morals of an onlooker, but this does not prove that certain actions are indeed moral, or immoral. Everything would be dependent on a person’s personal experiences, values, interpretations and ideas to be able to assess whether something is moral or not. Some of the concepts commonly associated with the moral conduct of a particular group or groups of people are the concept of right and wrong, the concept of ethics, the concept of values, and the concept of morality itself. These concepts are all dependent on a culture’s established rules and etiquette, most often found with an established religion accepted by most, if not all of the members of the group (Walton 2). Socialization of people with others also helps establish the virtues and values as well as the character of a person. Under such, principles become the self’s obligations to others, while virtues become the person’s ideals (Houser 13). Also, the interactions, connections, relations and networks of these concepts provide a pattern most desirable upon which generations of people are raised to identify with and to live their lives by (Kallen 19). Based on the ideas of ethical thinking by Greek philosophers, several standards of actions and motivations as well as desirable end-results are the key in defining what ethics and values are (Houser 11). However, living just by the present and available rules of conduct would not be enough. At times, people adjust their actions based on the consequences, the circumstances as well as to what matters to them the most. By retaining ideas that come up with resemblance to previous experiences, people are able to decide what is right and what is wrong, based on their own personal perception (Russell 75). Decision-making with regards to certain situations involve various thought-processes, available principles, examination of actions as well as the determination of appropriate interventions based on available resources (Houser 14). Adapting to situations by bending the rules or ultimately breaking them in order to compromise is something of a philosophical question for many (Furrow 2). Such dilemmas with regards to actions or choices available to individuals facing crossroads test them as to how they would react in a compromising way, both that their virtues and values would be still intact, and at the same time achieving their goals without causing large damages, especially if people are involved. By doing the right thing and upholding one’s virtues, a person gains something desirable in him that is purely noble and good, as long as this act is chosen for itself (Rorty 93). If the said person is only doing such deeds for the sake of being seen as a virtuous person, then the person is just playing up and acting out of being a crowd-pleaser, which could imply that this is just for show. This defeats the true purpose and meaning of being virtuous, which could corrupt the mind and eventually eat down the culture and morality if left unchecked (Redner 2). Therefore, in order to be sure that a person would remain virtuous, adequate motives within him should be assessed, since this would be his driving force in continuing to sacrifice a part of himself in the course of being moral and ethical (Troyer 50). Although being virtuous and being able to put their personal happiness second to their duty towards other people may be plausible in the real world, more often than not the situation would be a lot worse. Adequate motives for doing the right thing are supplied by the person involved, consulting himself in the process of making a sound and ethical decision (Bentham 313). Inevitable situations such as death, shame and guilt, uncovered secrets that would lead to such, among others require stronger and much more careful analyses of the actions and the consequences that could lead to solutions that may or may not be the best but is able to give a near win-win situation for all parties involved. This would also prove how a person’s duty to himself or herself affects how these people think, as well as how well they would be able to let go of their selves and start thinking about the welfare of others (Troyer 50). The story of The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins in 2008 is one of the most popular yet brutal stories that have come out of the market for young readers. This book is the first installment of a trilogy of books which includes Catching Fire and Mockingjay. It tells the story of a young, feisty girl named Katniss Everdeen, and her struggles to preserve herself and her beliefs in the midst of a violent death match being held in an artificial woods, while being televised and being betted on, much like horse or dog racing, but with death involved. For all those who have beliefs as to what is right and wrong, particularly with killing, as well as the power struggles and the imbalanced distribution of resources within a post-apocalyptic United States renamed as Panem, the story challenges the reader much like the heroine as to what is truly right, and what is acceptable within certain rules of conduct. Virtues, morals, values are challenged in this imaginary as well as a plausible reality, especially when the people running inside the story have to struggle to solve their moral dilemmas, at the same time trying to be themselves and pleasing others in the process. Restricting the flow of resources within a state or a nation creates a large gap between the upper class and the lower classes. This creates tension within the group much more aggravated than the other. The weak and the underdogs of the society would see this as a reason to rebel, and this would spark the hostilities between the elite, ruling class and the masses. Much like the power struggles in ancient Rome with regards to the indifference of the rulers to the plight of the masses; the ruling classes as well as the representatives no longer serve for the interests of the people anymore (Loewenstein 143). Such a situation can be seen in the Hunger Games, when Katniss and Peeta were sent to the Capitol, how dismal their district really is. Instead of famine, there is an abundance of sustenance as well as various technologies that were not even present in their dreams, back in their hometown of district 12 (Collins 55). Even during her stay back home discrimination was already present, so there would not be any assurance that there would be any less once they set foot on the Capitol and started presenting themselves to the public. This causes her to have her thoughts too full of winning for her sister despite too much pressure, under all circumstances and overlooking what she upholds and what she believes in despite all odds of actually living and staying alive in the game (Collins 105). Torturing humans for entertainment of the masses is not humane, unless the values and moral codes of a place state otherwise. Pain and pleasure are also other factors that would dictate what a person might do when facing a hard decision, and weighing the pros and cons could prove to be overwhelming (Bentham 1). Such existing and general ideas like diversity and brotherhood are called universals, which are generally held as true or right by same people within a particular group (Russel 35). However, during the course of time values of people may change, along with the evolving needs of the community or group. Also, self-deception and pride are some factors that can corrupt the whole concept of virtues within a person or a community, mostly due to changing lifestyles as well as inherent selfishness stemming from human nature itself (Houser 12). Also, the contemporary society presented in the book created such discrepancies between the classes that the Capitol is seen as a place that is full of excesses and lavishness, and at the same time pulling the other resources away from the people who need it the most, mainly those belonging to the poorer districts such as Districts 10-12, where hunger seems to be the tipping point for a rebellion (Collins 24). In the course of time, what is generally seen as right or wrong would eventually turned around, causing problems and additional dilemmas to people who have to choose on what they should do. In The Hunger Games, there is the glorification of the bloody and the gory as well as the inherent violence of humans. Killing sprees are all but a game, where spectators would bet on them like animals (Collins 90). There are also trainings which enhance the Tributes’ killing instincts, which are rather described in detail, almost leaving the reader breathless and their minds starting to question the existence of such a novel. No doubt that anyone who believes that killing is immoral regardless of the reasons would be appalled by the actions of the characters, especially of the female protagonist. Unfortunately, due to sanctions being imposed on those who will disobey, Katniss and the other Tributes are forced to comply, thereby giving up their values and following the governing body to their wants. Much like being bound under a common law, which imposes restrictions as well as punishments to all those who will not follow it, people are compelled to choose pain over pleasure in order to save themselves from harm (Bentham 25). Withholding the resources needed for survival by the masses by a centralized body governing an entire state in order to fuel their desires to win in a gladiator blood fest televised live is also not ethical, unless the past half-century has changes the views of people and made them think this is just and moral (Collins 19). For Panam as a plausible post-apocalyptic era, the settings portray a world where the beliefs of people can be seen as passive-aggressive, and that there is a distance between the ruling government and the masses. Since the concept of “right or wrong” is already dictated by the Capitol, and punishments such as death are always looming overhead, people are forced to choose while sacrificing their selves in the process. Eventually, due to the Capitol lording over the people and the people being dependent on the Capitol for their lives, giving up a pair of youth became a better option than the demise of a whole town or district. Also, since the ruling class has power over the masses, even though they make it seem like they do all that they can to help the people, in the end the ruling class still has the final say (Kirby 391). Since no society can survive the degenerating forces of the rivalries and differences between different classes, and that there would always be misunderstandings, prejudices and distrust, it is inevitable that there would always be the presence of violence due to the struggle for power (Kallen 84). Also, people who were willingly submitting to the hereditary leadership being imposed on them created an even larger gap between them and the ruling class, mainly due to the masses letting go of their identities as an equal member of the society (Loewenstein 137). This eventually caused the imbalance of power and the continuing struggle for the masses to be heard, and the ruling bodies to remain on their seats. It can be seen in the Hunger Games that due to the changed views of the people, particularly during the half century that passed, when wars were always present and hunger and famine were even much worse than the present world experiences, and the people were always under the mercy of the ruling body, the Capitol would impose such seemingly immoral ideas such as live death matches among 12 pairs of youths and it would still seem normal (Collins 19). Even if the people were to rebel now, they would just get killed by the soldiers and guards. In order to comply and prevent them from dying an untimely death, the whole nation of Panem just accepted the rules and regulations enforced on them by the government, and eventually accepting the Hunger Games as a part of their lives. Also, due to the capability of capitalists (The Sponsors) as well as the ruling body (The Capitol), the importance of the concept of power and the idea of different views and claims with regards to what is true and just was flawed, thereby causing tension and eventually unresolved conflicts between them and the masses. Conflict and struggles for dominance even within the ruling parties were present, but at the same time were hushed, mainly “for the common good”, thus sealing the dominance of the government even more (Kirby 571). Justification of moral practices of people is the goal of philosophy, and this can be seen under the perspective of the people of Panem that in their circumstances, wherein staying alive and letting others kill themselves is moral and normal, and also supported by their ruling body. This also implies that our reasoning tells that this is not logical and moral, if viewed from another perspective, what the people are doing and what the government is forcing the people to do is rather normal and is acceptable in all classes. Motives as well as theories are seen by the reader, in the sense that such actions came about due to conflicts as well as other problems that the people in the story would have to face, thus explaining the idea as to why killing and the imbalance of power is something common and acceptable in such a place as Panam (Furrow 3). In the course of the story, readers would be able to relate to the protagonist in such a way that the need to survive overtakes the need to remain virtuous despite the thought of being caught alive by other Tributes and killed slowly while dodging simulated natural disasters, everything else would be reasonable and logical. Under the rules imposed by the Capitol, any way of remaining alive and winning is all that it takes. Again, there is the concept of morals, values and ethics where in this case, is seen as immoral by the readers as outsiders. There is the continuing struggle to prove what is right or wrong, as seen by different views (Kirby 571). By playing with the lives of the youth, onlookers get the notion that doing all that it takes is far more important than by winning under a fair fight. The only thing that would set the protagonist apart is that in the end, she is willing to end her life if that would mean that she would do one less harmful thing to others. In this case, instead of killing Peeta as she was meant to do, she would rather kill herself as well to annoy and offend viewers of the Hunger Games (Collins 339). The implications of the values system in The Hunger Games is that no matter how much a person would want to keep their morals and virtues intact, there will always be a situation that would challenge their wits as well as their beliefs and would correspond to them accordingly. Although to others these would seem immoral, gruesome, or even despicable. However, once the readers would come to realize that what is moral or right is dependent on what is the experiences and conflicts that were experienced by the people in the story, there is a small, if not a big possibility of giving the reader a new perspective as to how such values are arrived at. Indeed, mores and values differ from each society and culture, mainly due to the different interactions within and among such groups, as well as to how their traditions would dictate. But keeping an open mind would resolve conflicts and at the same time should be able to give additional options to a person being subjected to a similar experience in the future. Works Cited Bentham, Jeremy. An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, Parts 1-5. Forgotten Books, 1961. Web. 4 May 2012. Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Corp., 2008. Print. Furrow, Dwight. 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Walton, Clarence C. and Ronald F. Duska. Education, Leadership, and Business Ethics: Essays on the Work of Clarence Walton. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1998. Print Read More