Are the Hunger Games Hobbes State of Nature?

The Cornucopia Bloodbath 

Hobbes State of Nature exist were no government, no civilization, no laws, and no common power to restrain human nature. This means there is a "war against all" where human beings constantly seek to destroy each other for power. They live brutish and nasty lives. The Hunger Games is shown as Hobbes State of Nature but it is because they are forced into this situation. 

On the surface of the Hunger Games it is shown that the intended goal is that there can only be one victor to the games. This means that out of the 24 people that are forced to participate in the games, only one can win and go back to their district. This means that they are forced to go man vs. man and against each other. They are destined from the beginning to kill each other not because they want to but because they have to in order to survive. Another example on why the Hunger Games on the surface is State of Nature is because in the very first scene when they arrive to the arena and the countdown reaches one, the tributes get killed getting weapons and food at the cornucopia. The game makers strategically put it there for the reason that they knew that it was going to be a blood bath. There is a lack of authority and each tribute is on their own which means they are going to do whatever it is they need to do to survive. A third reason why it is State of Nature is because of the game makers. They add dogs and trees to put the tributes in tough situations and to get one another to kill each other. At the end of the games Seneca creates beastly dogs to kill off the tributes. When Katniss and Peeta successfully run from the dogs, Seneca creates two more dogs to really get them. They are physically trying to kill off the tributes by making the dogs and putting them in the area.

The Game Makers manipulating the game 

            One could argue that the tributes really want to kill one another but the reason that the Hunger Games is Hobbes State of Nature is because they were forced to participate in the games and also because the game makers make everything inconvenient for them. They are the ones that really create the rules to the game and they made it so that only one person could win. They knew with only one victor others would have to die and the game makers know who they want to win so they will give them the more advantage more so than the other tributes. That's why State of Nature is only on the surface because in reality the game is being controlled by the game makers. 

Machiavelli's view on President Snow

President Snow 

Seneca Presented the Poison Berries 

Machiavelli said that it is safer to be feared than to be loved. In the Hunger Games, President Snow is feared by the people and the districts. Machiavelli would say that Snow is more feared than he is loved. This is demonstrated by the actions of Snow and how people react to him. One instance is when Snow says to Seneca “I like you , be careful” regarding the Katniss situation. Seneca is now fearful that if he messes up Snow will do something bad to him. This fear leads to the announcement that there can only be one victor even though he already changed the rules that two victors from the same district were allowed. With this announcement we can see that Snow is using fear to control his nation and the action of the people. Another example on how Snow is more feared than loved is because at the end of the movie, there were two victors, Katniss and Peeta, which is not the end result that Snow hoped for. There is a scene in the movie that shows that poison berries Katniss and Peeta were about to eat and Seneca looking at the bowl presented to him. This foreshadows the event that since Seneca messed up, Snow gave him the berries, and since Seneca fears him, he ate the berries and died.  A third example of how is he feared is by creating the Hunger Games when the revolution erupted. Every year he presents these games to each district and they do not have a choice but to participate. They fear that if they don’t, Snow will kill off the district and not provide for them. They fear him so much that they have to watch each district kill each other until there is one victor left. Machiavelli would say that President Snow is more feared than he is loved by the people and by each district. 

Comedy Promoting Values?!?

Throughout our lives we find comedy in things that we observe. One big promoter of comedy is in television and the show that pops in my head first is The Family Guy. In this show they promote terrible things that we know are wrong and that we laugh at. An example of this that came almost instantly to mind is when Peter has a maid. The maid he has is a Spanish woman that barely speaks English. As a population we know that this is stereotyping and that it's wrong and completely not true but it's hilarious because it is a wrong ideal. They promote wrong ideas to show to the community that this isn't right and that we shouldn't think that all maids are like this. Comedy benefits to the society by making controversial topics seem all one sided and wrong when the people really know the reality of it all

Family Guy

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I Am Thankful for Emma

I am thankful for my friendship with Emma Guthrie.  We have sort of the perfect friendship in my eyes.  We have deep connections and we are alike in character. We also spend a lot of time together getting to know each other than people who I talk to less frequently do. We met each other freshman year but if you ask anyone who knows the two of us you'd think we have known each other forever. We bond over common interest such as dance and traveling and we spend so much time together that you'd think we would hate each other by now. I discovered we had this perfect friendship in Ireland and Scotland when we roomed together. In fact we are both going to Spain together and we were already discussing being roommates again (aka I am the best roommate to have apparently). I know that wherever our lives lead us we will be friends forever because we have invested so much time together that giving up our friendship after high school would be devastating. Emma and I have the perfect friendship because whenever I am not in school or whenever Emma isn't in school, people will come up to us asking where they are. We are associated with each other thus we have the perfect friendship. Plus she isn't afraid to tell me how it really is and I mean I guess she's a pretty rad gal. 

Aristotle Friendships

        There are three types of friendships in this world according to Aristotle, utility, pleasantness, and the "perfect friendship".
         In utility friendship their is common ground between two people. For example, you see people become friends because they both share a love for World of Warcraft. They are only friends because they are going to gain something out of being friends which is having someone else who loves the game to play the game with you. They do not associate with one another unless it is for the sole reason to play the game. You see this friendship happen a lot on the XBOX through XBOX live. I know my brother talks to people and games with kids just for the sole reason that they both enjoy the game and that he is benefiting from it.

Utility Friendship where they benefit from only becoming friends for playing video games 

       In a pleasantness friendship the chief friendship is guided by your interest and your feelings. As you grow up your feelings change so some of these friendships won't exist any longer. For example, you often see people who were best friends in middle school are not friends in high school because they changed and they are both interested into two different things. It happened to myself where my best friend from middle school developed different interest and that was that. 

These Woman are friends because they both find yoga to be a pleasant experience 

       The third friendship described is the perfect friendship. In a perfect friendship both people are very similar in goodness and interest. They are very similar to each other. An example of this is my friendship with one of my best friends. We are very much alike and we share many interest. We reflect each other so much that our families wonder if we were separated at birth. We think the same thoughts and we do almost everything together. In Toy Story, Woody and Buzz have the perfect friendship because they bring out the best in each other and are very similar to one another and both have the same interest and goals. 

Woody and Buzz Light-year from Toy Story 

Hogwarts House Assignment

Hufflepuff Crest 

           The sorting hat can be a scary and nerving experience because no one wants to be assigned a house that they don't want to be in. The house I belong to is Hufflepuff. 

            I belong to Hufflepuff for a variety of reasons. One of these reasons is because I think I am a kind and caring person. If there is someone in need of something or something that I know I can help with I do it. For example, when at a dance competition I will help the little girls that are on the same team with me with hair or costume dilemmas when I know there mother or whomever brought them is busy helping someone else.

         I'm a patient person (most of the time) and will wait however long for someone to do something. I also work hard at everything I do and won't stop until I have achieved my fullest potential or my intended goals. 

                                              

      Everyone has a fear of death but I am not afraid of it. With this said I do not welcome it in any sense but it is just something that I do not fear. I am loyal to myself as much as I can be. In conclusion, I am a Hufflepuff and quite proud of it.  

Les Miserables and Kierkegaard

           Kierkegaard has the ethical and the aesthetic stage of life. In Les Miserable there are people who are free and there are those who are not free at all. Those in the Aesthetic stage are the two parents of Eponine, M. and Mme. Thenardier. They are two characters that by whim steal money and whatever they can find. Their impulses make them disguise themselves and sneak into places they know they are not allowed in. These two character believe they are completely free because they don't care about the girls and they do not follow the laws, they just live their lives. Those in the Ethical stage include all the French that are fighting for their freedom. They stand up for what they believe in and they also won't stop until their ultimate freedom is achieved. Jean Valjean is also a character in the ethical stage because he runs away from the law and is searching for his freedom. He is a man that would do anything to protect Cosette even though he isn't technically free. Les Miserable  is a movie and a book that represents both the ethical stage and the aesthetic stage. It is clear in this book and movie who is free and doing things based on impulse and those who are fighting for what they believe in and their freedom.

M. and Mme. Thenardier

French Revolution-ers fighting for freedom 

Using Kant without Realization

                   Immanual Kant once said that when it comes to moral choices we have conflicts between what our true desire is and what our conflict is. This can relate to real life situations that we observe and even experience in real life.
                    I, myself, can look back at a time when I demonstrated Kant's moral choices. I remember it was a Friday night and my friends wanted to go out and celebrate it being a long weekend and all, but I had to babysit. My feelings and desires were with my friends going out and having a fun time with each other. Going out with them was my desire. My duty as Kant would put it was babysitting because I told them weeks in advance that I'd babysit for them. So even though I didn't want to, I babysat that night while my friends were living up their youth and long weekend. Kant would choose in this situation that the categorical imperative   would be babysitting because I made that commitment long before my friends had their plans and I allowed the parents of the children I was watching to make plans (or respond to plans) that their friends had posed to them. If I cancelled then i would of had to have the parents cancel their plans and tell their friends whom they don't hang out with much that they wouldn't be able to go and that right there is a lot of disappointment. The highest gold was also in this situation because I had so much fun with the kids I babysat that I didn't need to go out with my friends to find my happiness.

Desire: go out with friend

Duty: babysitting

The Real World meets Aristotle

           Aristotle once characterized people into four character traits: Virtuous, Continent, Incontinent, and Vicious. These character traits can be displayed in the real world by people, television shows. and movies.

           A Virtuous character I found in the real world was my friend Steph. As we were walking towards my car to go to Dunkin' Donuts on our hour break away from dance, we came across a wallet. Steph being the honest person she is didn't even look inside the wallet but went back inside the studio to give the wallet to the front desk. She did this without hesitation and clearly let adults in the situation handle it. She did a kind act because she wanted to and because she knew it was the right thing to do. Having adults handle the situation she knew that they would have some way of handling the wallet.

            A continent character I found in the world was actually this past week. I went to five below to get some wrap so I could wrap my ankle and I saw this little boy there. He was about ten years old. He picked up a small item (I believe it was a key chain but I am not certain) and he had this guilty look on his face. So obviously he was thinking about stealing this object . He didn't notice me but he looked back at his mother than at the key chain and he was about to put it in his pocket but last minute he put it back. He did the right thing by putting it back but he had to think about the right thing to do first.

           A incontinent character I came across was Newman from Seinfeld. I personally hate this show but it was on one day after school and I couldn't found my remote so me being the lazy person I am decided to watch it. In this episode he was dropped off at a farmer's house. Now this farmer has a beautiful daughter and he tried everything to try and get with her. This results in him getting kicked out of the house. He doesn't know right from wrong so his decisions always seem like the wrong choice.

         A vicious character is The Queen of Hearts from Alice and Wonderland. She doesn't feel bad when Alice gets lost or hurt and she definitely isn't Alice's number one fan. She sends her cards after her and she doesn't feel any remorse by doing this bad act. When Alice gets put down and then runs off the Queen is anything but happy because she thinks that Alice doesn't deserve happiness and the Queen thinks that if people aren't only looking at her and worshiping her they are worthless. She takes pride in doing the bad thing.

Summer of 2014

Busy! Busy! Busy! Exactly the ways to describe my summer. My summer started off in the studio (dance) preparing to go off to nationals which happened to be a week after school let out. So basically here I was eating, living,sleeping, and dreaming about dance. Yay! When the time approached though, my team as was I, were very confident that we were going to Virginia with a mission and that mission was to make all the large studios notice 12 teenage girls. Virginia Beach was about to be taken over by a small studio from Lowell, Massachusetts and I must say we held our own. We walked out of nationals the Senior Large Group Champions of 2014. Not only did we win that we also got the highest scoring piece of the entire competition. I don't think we could have sent off our seniors in a better way. There were so many emotions that night that we all got temporary tattoos that said number one and put them on our hips to remember that moment that will always hold a place in my heart. "We may be small but we are fierce"

The day we were suppose to leave though a huge hurricane was coming our way. Most of the team left at 5am in the morning but my mother and her friend found a cheaper flight later in the day so we went to the aquarium that day to pass the time and I must say i was thoroughly  entertained until we left for the airport. Our flight was delayed for a long time and then when we finally got on a flight to Baltimore, we happened to get stuck in Maryland for about 2 more hours. Please note that 2 yrs ago when we left Virginia we also got delayed in Baltimore. Needless to say I have bad experiences and memories in that airport. But finally we made it home on the Fourth of July to rain and storms so that was a clear indication that our perfect little vacation was over.

     So here I am back in mass thinking I'm finally gonna get a break, how wrong was I. We were chosen from thousands of pieces to dance in New York at the ACE Dance Awards which is a huge deal.  This meant I was dancing with professionals in front of professionals and scouts and a lot of famous dance people. So needless to say I worked my tail off in July just so I wouldn't mess up. Here I was again living, breathing, seeing dance. When the time finally came I was a nervous wreck. I left for New York on Friday Augest 1. The ride was long but it was so worth it. I love New York with a passion and being in the city made me realize how much I want to live there. So saturday we had our performance and what a stressful and exciting day that was. Personally I was so nervous but so excited that I'm pretty sure I had this look on my face that looked like I was gonna cry.

 We had a tech rehearsal at 1 which was probably the scariest thing that has ever happened. Not only was the stage not what we expected people were rude. Dancers are not the nicest people. We were the youngest dancers in the entire competiton by at least 4 years and the looks we got were very scary. In the dance that we did we had to dive off the stage the only problem was there were stairs there and dress rehearsal was so terrible. By the time of the performance we dedicated it to our parents and out choreographer for giving us these opportunities. I can't say I remember those 12 minutes we were on stage dancing but I do remember after words that we got so many compliments and so many people saying we were taking home first place. We didn't win but just the experience alone is more than anyone else can say they've done. That Sunday when we left I was incredibly sick that all I wanted to do was curl up in my bed. That next Monday I began intensive which is a 6 day dance camp where you dance from 9am to 6pm. Then the rest of the summer when I wasn't dancing I was working on homework and watching movies and hanging out with friends. I had the perfect summer to represent the last time I'll be dancing with everyone of my "sisters" cause I may never have that opportunity again. 

Two big news stories from this summer were the Market Basket Strikes and Ferguson riot. The Market Basket riots started because the beloved CEO Arthur T. was fired. Deliveries stopped at the stores and employees refused to work until they brought him back. The stores were empty and no one could shop there even if they wanted to. These riots lasted for about 4 weeks until Arthur T. was rehired bringing the riots to a close.

Market Basket Rally

The Ferguson riots happened because Micheal Brown, a Black individual, was shot by a white cop for no reason. The community was taken aback so they started rioting and the law enforcement was taking no mercy on them. The Coast Guard got involved to resituate the problem and bring peace to the community.

Woman expressing herself at the riot