Having to survive the Hunger Games would be hard enough, and living with those memories afterward would be traumatizing and would haunt you for the rest of your life. This is why it would be easier to die in the beginning of The Hunger Games if you were selected as a tribute. The Hunger Games typically lasts 2-3 weeks, which is a very long amount of time to be living in constant fear. During that time you would barely get any food or water, so you would constantly be suffering, and you wouldn’t get good sleep since you’d be in constant fear. In the beginning of the Hunger Games, Katniss almost dies after only a few days because she is so dehydrated.

Moreover, During The Hunger Games, to survive you would have to murder people and witness other people get murdered. In the beginning of the hunger games there is a cornucopia in the middle of the arena, and many people die there trying to get food and supplies to last them through the games, so if you want a chance at surviving you would have to fight in the cornucopia, and you would witness people die right in front of your eyes. During the games, Katniss ends up shooting Marvel with an arrow, who is the tribute who killed Rue. Katniss and Rue became friends in the games, making her death very hard on Katniss, Rue also comes up many other times throughout the series as she was someone who Katniss became close with.  Throughout the first Hunger Games, she also has to kill multiple other people, including Cato in the end. In the beginning of the second book in The Hunger Games series, Catching Fire, Katniss tries to go hunting with Gale, after she shoots a bird she hallucinates and she sees Marvel in the place of the bird, which frightens her immensely. Katniss also has recurring nightmares about the games throughout the entire series.

Additionally, during the games, many people make allies, which strengthens their chances of surviving, though if you start to make friends through your allies then eventually you will have to kill them or witness them get killed. Katniss ends up making allies with a little girl named Rue during The Hunger Games, though Rue ends up getting killed by Marvel. Rue’s death becomes hard for Katniss to cope with since they were friends. Furthermore, throughout the games, Katniss and Peeta both end up getting terribly injured, and they are both in pain for the duration of the games, so if you make it out of the games alive you will most likely be hurt when you do. In the games, Katniss is cut in the forehead by a knife that is thrown at her by Clove, and she gets in a fight with Clove and almost dies from a loss of blood. To add on, Peeta gets a terrible cut on his leg from Cato, which later results in him contracting blood poisoning, Peeta also gets several tracker jacker burns, and wolf mutations are able to bite and injure him. As it can be seen, The Hunger Games would be a painful and traumatizing experience to suffer through and live with afterward, which is why it would be easier to die in the very beginning. 

It Would Be Better to Survive The Hunger Games

All tributes in the Hunger Games are between the ages of 12 and 18, meaning you’re only a teenager when you are reaped. If you die in the Hunger Games that means you are throwing your entire life away, which is why it would be better to survive in the Hunger Games. To begin, even if you are hurt and bruised during the Hunger Games, once you are out there will be people who can treat your wounds. After Katniss and Peeta are announced as the winners of the 74th Hunger Games, they are shortly lifted into a hovercraft, and their wounds and injuries are immediately taken care of. In addition, when you are out of the hunger games you will become rich. After winning the Hunger Games the Capitol sends you money for the rest of your life, meaning you will never have to worry about things like food or shelter ever again.

To add on, after you win the Hunger Games you are given a big house to live in, in a place called Victors Village. After Katniss and Peeta win the Hunger Games, they move into very luxurious houses in Victor's Village with their families, and they become neighbors with Haymitch, since he is the only other Victor who is still alive from District 12. After winning you will also be given a special status in your district.

To continue, in the districts, if you are in need of food but can’t afford it, you can pay for food by putting your name into the reaping multiple times, Katniss had to do this many times growing up to support for her family. When you win the Hunger Games even though you don’t have to be a part of the reaping for any future Hunger Games, your siblings still have to, if you have any. Though, since you will now be rich your siblings won't have to put their names into the reaping any more times than is necessary. Furthermore, once coming out of the Games you will be stronger than you ever were before, both mentally and physically. In conclusion, after winning the hunger games you would be able to go home and live a very luxurious life with your family, which is why it would be better to survive the hunger games than die in the arena.

The Verdict

The Hunger Games would be an extremely traumatizing event to have to suffer through, though once you are out you would be able to live a great life, but would those memories haunt you so much that you won’t be able to enjoy your life any longer? I believe that it would be better to die in the Hunger Games, right in the beginning. The best thing to do would be to find poison berries right in the beginning of the games and eat them, so you wouldn’t have to suffer a painful death, just like what happened to Fox Face in the first Hunger Games book. To continue, the odds of you winning the Hunger Games are definitely not in your favor, to begin with. The chances of you winning are only about 4%, so even if you do push through and try to survive, odds are you’ll end up dying anyway, so it would be much easier to just die right in the beginning, and save yourself a whole lot of pain and suffering.