I just read Hunger Games and I feel absolutely in LOVE with the series. ( I also the first two books in 2 days, I am hooked)

It got me thinking a bit, and I wanted to see how you guys feel about it.
In a nutshell from Wikipedia "As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol, every year, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected by lottery and forced to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised event in which the participants, or "tributes," must fight to the death in a dangerous, outdoor arena, controlled by the Capitol, until only one remains. "

Children can also enter their name more then once in order to get some rations of oil+water. If I remember correctly, it doubles from each year at 12. So by the time someone is 18, they would have their name entered 6 times ( a lot more if they put in their name more then once for rations)

Knowing this is how your government ran, would you risk having a child and the possibility that they might have to go fight their death?

I wouldn't choose to have children if I were just plopped into that world. However, in the book, I'm guessing that they don't have access to birth control (seeing as how they're starving), so it's not necessarily a choice on their part. Even so, it's an established part of their society. In the second book, they celebrate the 75th hunger games, so I'm guessing that there are VERY few people alive who remember what it was like before that. In which case, many of them probably think that the small gamble to have a family is worth it.

I also assumed that with as hard as it is for them just to exist day to day, that they probably don't have birth control.

No, if I could avoid it, I would not have children in that environment. But I think it would be more about how hard their lives are, more than the possibility of being selected for the games.

No, I couldn't do it. Too much suffering, injustice, violence, flexible morals. No only would I not want to bring another child into the world to suffer, I would do everything in my power to change things and that would not be fair to children...most likely being orphaned.

I loved these books but they gave me nightmares.

Keep On Dancing*

Kekoa, I think that you have a great point about people not remembering life before the games.

I feel that if you asked a bunch of people 300 years ago if they would bring their children into a world filled with tons of steel going 65 mph,killing people daily, they would have said " no way"! It is a matter of perspective in a sense. I almost feel that having children was a way of actually sustaining the life of the family. The more hands working, the more income for the family.

(Disclaimer: I haven't read The Hunger Games)

Every year, young men and women put their names join the army. They do this for a wage, to see the world, and because they get a nice pension when they retire. Sometimes they get to do humanitarian work, like if there is a terrible natural disaster, but it's far more likely that a powerful wealthy person will instead decide to send them foreign countries, where they are forced to kill other human beings in order to survive.

Jazz_Lover wrote:

Knowing this is how your government ran, would you risk having a child and the possibility that they might have to go fight their death?

Plenty of people have babies in our world. I fail to see how the world of The Hunger Games is that much different.

Erin.
::righteous babe::

^ I think the difference with The Hunger Games is that these are children as young as 12 years old that don't have a choice whether they fight or not. People join the military under the conditions of being an adult, and they have a choice. ( Unless a mandatory draft).

I won't get too much into how the actual book is different because it doesn't change much of the debate. These fights are staged by the Capitol and they do horrible stuff to the children. They send in fires, set it up so children don't have water, one year people all froze to death because they didn't provide firewood etc. These people watch the fighting like it is a national sport. Also friends from hometowns have to chose to either kill their partner, or risk death themselves.

As I said I don't think my last paragraph plays much into the debate, so you can chose to ignore that. I thought it might be good to give a bit more insight to people who haven't read the books yet. I really do recommend these books, they are very thought provoking.

*hijack*...may name is still quoted as jazz_lover...how weird! I wonder if the system hasn't caught up with my name change.

^^ The kids don't get to choose, they are forced to enter their name, lottery style. It would be better to compare it to being drafted, or living in a world where there was a constant draft in place. Even then it is still different, they are called the Hunger GAMES. There is no reason for the fighting, other than to provide entertainment for the wealthy people of the Capitol. Also Spoiler: Show


If that is all you knew I don't think that would make it easier to make the decision whether or not to have children. In some cases it may even be a necessity to have children that could help make money for the family. It would be hard, but seeing as I don't know how I would feel in that situation I can't fully answer. Based on reading the books and trying to understand the characters, I would say that there would be a good probability that I would have children. If for no other reason than to keep our district alive and fighting the Capitol, instead of admitting defeat and letting the district die off.

Eh, depends on where I am in Panem.

I think that getting chosen for the Games has very small odds (esp. in the farming districts, like 11). Of course, once you're IN the games...that's an entirely different ballgame.
But I get the impression that no one actually expects their child to be chosen, the same way no one expects their child to be hit by a car.

That being said, I wouldn't want to bring up a child in the 'poor' districts-DEFINITELY not 11.

But the ones where the 'careers' come from? Sure. Also, they choose beforehand who goes in, so you can guarantee they won't go to the games.

I think most of the women in the districts fall pregnant-I can't recall any childless women outside the Capital. Probably due to lack of contraception, as others have said.

I should have expanded on my point - that wasn't a direct comparison, more a circumstantial comparison.

My point was - people accept all sorts of barbaric stuff as being just part of their society, and they still have children despite it. People are starving to death in Africa, but they're still having children. Countries like Israel and South Korea have mandatory military service laws, and they still have children. Chinese people live under a strict Communist government, but they still have children. North Korea is North Korea, and those people still have children. People living in Afghanistan have to fear for their lives every day, but they still have children. Does my comparison make more sense now?

I personally wouldn't have children if I lived in the world of the Hunger Games (assuming, of course, that I had a choice about this), but that is because I don't want children. I don't want children because I don't accept the barbaric and unfair things as part of my society the way some other people do and therefore I choose not to bring a child into this world because of it.

Erin.
::righteous babe::

I would still have children. In reality having children is always a bit of a lottery. You don't know if your child will catch a deadly childhood illness, be killed in a car accident or any number of horrific experiences. There is a lot more chance these things won't happen but there is always a chance they will.

If I lived in one of the lower number/more affluent districts like 1-4, where the 'careers' are like handpicked for it, sure, I mean people always volunteer in those districts.

If I lived in like 11, the poverty alone would be enough to make me not want kids. Also the odds are much worse there cause many kids trade an entry in the games lotto for rations. Though being that poor would mean no contraception, and in a miserable place like that I don't think abstinence would work heh.

I'm so excited for the movie btw, looks so good!

So glad I checked out this thread. I always saw the title for The Hunger Games and assumed it was about anorexia. I might just read the books now.*

I have no idea what I'd do under those circumstances. But like what others are mentioning, if you're that poor, where do you even get contraception from? I think the choice would be, ultimately, out of your hands. Either that or you'd better learn NFP REALLY well.

(*And yes, I really am this weird. For a long time I thought Lemony Snicketts was a desert or cookie. Then I changed my mind and thought maybe it was a band. Laughed hard when I found out it was a freaking book and then a MOVIE.)