Death in Hansel and Gretel and The Hunger Games Essay

Death in Hansel and Gretel and The Hunger Games - Essay Example Death means death of â€Å"death of death† as taboo, as well as death of humanity through the loss of morality rationality, and civil liberties,. For poor people, death is not a taboo, because it is part of their reality. Collins' Hunger Games is set in dystopia, where the Capitol controls twelve (12) districts by siphoning their resources and keeping them poor and hungry. The people, as a result, are too hungry to revolt against the system, particularly after the first revolution led to the creation of the Hunger Games. Collins shows that death is something real and evident in the Seam. Katniss thinks: â€Å"Gale and I agree that if we have to choose between dying of hunger and a bullet in the head, the bullet would be much quicker†(Collins 18). She thinks about this, because she knows how hard it is to survive in Panem, when the Capitol controls and owns all resources and food. She knows how hard it is to die slowly from hunger, and it is harder to watch one's family die slowly from the fangs of hunger too. What is taboo in Panem is listing starvation as the cause of death: â€Å"Starvation is never the cause of death officially. It’s always the flu, or exposure, or pneumonia. But that fools no one† (Collins 29). ... This thinking reflects the importance of self-survival over parental instincts and humanity. Hansel and Gretel's mother would have her children dead than find herself dying from hunger too. They talk about death as if it is the weather, unimportant and something that is paradoxically part of their existence. These stories argue that death is not limited to its physical dimension, because humanity can also die within people, when their sense of morality is gone. The Hunger Games kills humanity's morality. Part of it is knowing that life is a jungle and every one is game, especially in the Hunger Games. Katniss thinks that it will not be right to be affected too much by Peeta's kindness: â€Å"So I decide, from this moment on, to have as little as possible to do with the baker’s son† (Collins 49). To feel kindness and indebtedness will make her vulnerable and vulnerability is the first step toward death. The Hunger Games turns death into an option that can be erased, if o ne gives up one's morality. Morality also dies when people choose to be beasts. When Gale visits Katniss, he tells her that hunting in the forest is the same as hunting for people. Katniss does not believe in this: â€Å"The awful thing is that if I can forget they’re people, it will be no different at all† (Collins 41). One of the power implications of this statement is that an authoritarian society ensures that people's morality are gone, so that they can be ruled easier. At the individual level, Katniss is saying that if she can kill people so easily, then she is not a human being anymore, just another beast among wild animals. Another way that morality is killed is through trauma. When Katniss' father dies,