The Hunger Games Ethical Analysis

1547 Words4 Pages

In a nation where children and teenagers fight each other to the death for live entertainment annually, what social norms can actually be considered ethical? This is the question that Katniss Everdeen faces throughout The Hunger Games series. She must choose between doing what is right, and what is accepted, because in her world, the wrong thing is breaking the rules, no matter how wrong they may be. The rules that she deals with are much different than the ethical principles that people in the real world deal with, but for Katniss and the rest of the districts in Panem, these rules are what they have known their entire lives. Catching Fire is the second installment in The Hunger Games trilogy, based on the books written by Suzanne Collins, …show more content…

Because of this, ethical relativism is the most prominent moral code in the series. The nation of Panem has no universal moral truth, instead they have their own set of rules that are valid, and murder is accepted as one of those rules. These guidelines have been put in place by The Capitol, and everyone is expected to follow them, no matter how messed up they may seem and any disagreements to these rules are unacceptable. As Rosenstand (2013) notes, moral disagreements with ethical relativism can rarely be resolved within a culture or society (p. 122). This leads to Katniss’s ethical dilemma in Catching Fire. Should she play the game how The Capitol wants her to, or rebel and cause an …show more content…

Ever since her act of defiance in her first games, the leaders in The Capitol have been outraged with her. She made the conscious decision to disobey the rules. Her and Peeta would have rather killed themselves than be forced to kill one another like the game’s rules were set up, so the head game maker let them both live. The Capitol, and many people in the districts saw this act as defiance, which no one in Panem is allowed to do. But for Katniss, it was the most moral action in a world where morality is questionable. If she decides to play the game how she is supposed to, then she knows she has to die in the arena. At first, Katniss accepts this fate, as long as Peeta is the one to survive. She also knows that if she does not follow through with this plan, her family, friends, and everyone she cares about could potentially be murdered as a result of her actions. If she decides to play the game how it is supposed to go, Katniss can make The Capitol happy and end any potential threats that can lead to an uprising. She knows that his option is probably her best choice because she can protect the ones she loves. She would rather sacrifice herself for the lives of many other people than save herself. In this option, Katniss is choosing the most Utilitarian action to take. With her death, she thinks that peace will be the outcome, and

Open Document