Procedimiento y modelos para la estimación de las propiedades del sistema

4.1 The Roman Empire Circus

The slaughter of persons has been object of distraction by unscrupulous and unprincipled men who have experienced a kind of amusement and enjoyment looking at people dying. Death was an object of entertainment.

By means of historical literature, we get to know that during the Roman Empire gladiators were taken to an arena to fight against each other to entertain people and for their lives. According to the Ancient History Encyclopedia, a gladiator was “an ancient professional fighter who specialized with particular weapons. They fought before the public in organized games held in large purpose-built arenas throughout the Roman Empire from 105 BCE to 404 CE (official contests).”

Gladiators did not live long, their respected and showy profession killed them sooner or later. Slaves and prisoners were victims of a game that entertained people who did not care for human life, who did not respect life itself, who did not believe in a merciful God.

These fights were taken place with the only purpose of entertaining people.

Those who lost a match in that public arena were eaten by hungry lions in front of many spectators shouting, laughing and celebrating death.

The first gladiatorial contests in Rome took place at a funeral in 264 B.C.

The ability to survive was the most interesting aspect for the audience. Each gladiator tried to kill his opponent to extend his period of life.

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4.2 The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell (short story).

In the past hunting was not as restricted as it is today. Hunters used to chase and kill their animals for entertaining or for money. Elephants lost their marbles, crocodiles, snakes, and bears lost their skin among others animals.

Their death had no importance, because they were just animals without feelings or emotions, no pain or sorrow.

In 1950 The World Federation for the Protection of Animals (WFPA) is formed and in 1959 The International Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPA) began. In 1981 WFPA and ISPA merged to become WSPA – the World Society for the Protection of Animals and in 2014 it became World Animal Protection. Since then other organization around the world were created in order to protect animals, especially because some of them became extinct.

For hunters, chasing and killing animals was an entertainment and a challenge. When the animal feels danger around it, it runs and hides and tries to protect itself. Nevertheless, the animal unfortunately does not have the

intelligence to think on ways to overcome its enemy according to its experience or strength. The animal is not a human being, it is unable to reason. The animals were chased, persecuted and killed just to entertain a hunter.

In the short story The Most Dangerous Game the author Richard Connell introduces a very interesting theme: the hunt of humans done by a character named General Zaroff with the only purpose of challenging the intelligence of those unlucky men who arrived at the island where he lived and were chosen as prey. General Zaroff wanted to hunt human beings because they have

intelligence and he wanted a real challenge. He wanted to see their reaction, although sometimes was disappointed by the results. A man who chased and killed human beings just to quench his thirst of amusement. As in the past, when the Romans chose criminals, prisoners or slaves sentenced to die, to be trained

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as gladiators to entertain the public in that arena called the Roman Coliseum, where not only hungry bears, tigers, elephants or giraffes were taken to fight against them, but also the gladiators until one died, turning the winner into a famous gladiator.

In the short story The Most Dangerous Game, we can appreciate a good topic similar to what is appreciated in The Hunger Games and it is the fact that in this novel hunting was taken as a game to entertain, where a human being had to die chased or hunt by a stronger one just to entertain the public, to have people enjoy while others suffer and to kill to preserve their lives.

4.3 The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

The lottery is a short story considered terrifying; it is about a small town with a population of 300 hundred people living there. Every year there is a celebration named “The lottery” celebrated for seventy-seven years by Mr. Summer on June 27th. It is a tradition that people do not want to change even when other bigger towns had done it.

The lottery is celebrated in this way: people meet in the main square and children pick up rocks before the lottery starts, The Lottery is a raffle where all heads of family had to participate, so their name must be put into the black wooden box the night before the event. The next day, the lottery begins and the name of the chosen head of the family is heard. This person, whose name was taken from the wooden box, becomes the winner and, as a result, it is his or her turn to die stoned as was the case of Mrs. Hutchinson who was chosen and killed stoned by all the people in town.

31 4.4 Battle Royale by Koushun Takami.

Battle Royale is a story developed in a dystopian Japan in which an unusual experiment is taking place among students of third year junior high schools. The experiment is done by the government and is called Battle Experiment No. 68 and its goal is to form a healthy nation of body and spirit through survival skills. The real reason of this experiment is to instill fear in the citizens to avoid an uprising against the government.

Among the third-year junior high classrooms, just one is finally selected at random. They are taken to an isolated place and forced to kill each other until there is only one student left alive.

Students must feel proud to participate, and it is obligatory to fulfill all the rules imposed by the creators. Each group of fifty students has their place to kill themselves; the game lasts three days, and every six hours it is informed who is dying.

Each student is given food, water, flashlight, a compass, a map of the place, and a pen followed by a weapon that can be a knife, a plate or any other object. Besides each student is given a collar that if he or she tries to remove it, it explodes and if the person is in a danger zone it also explodes.

The winner of the game will be designated as an exemplary citizen.

4.5 Greek Mythology “Theseus and the Minotaur”

The myth set in Athens tells the story of Athens's king Aegeus and Minos King of Crete, who during a fight among Athens and Crete, King Minos' son Androgeos was murdered by Athenians. As a punishment every nine years Athens

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had to send seven girls and seven boys to Crete to fight with the Minotaur, a monster half bull, half-human that lived in a maze.

Theseus, Aegeus' son volunteers to go to Crete as one of the fourteen young people with the intention of killing the Minotaur and freeing his homeland from the hateful punishment.

Once he gets to Crete, he fell in love with princess Ariadne, King Minos' daughter. Ariadne helped Theseus a lot providing him a ball of yarn he would find the way back into the labyrinth and a sword. Theseus could kill the Minotaur and returns victorious to Athens, taking Ariadne with him, but by a misunderstanding, he abandoned her during a trip to an island.

This myth has a big influence in The Hunger Games trilogy, similarities can be found in the myth as well as in the trilogy if we make a comparison, as for example:

In The Hunger Games trilogy are presented tributes who have to go every year to fight among death as in the myth.

Punishments: both are presented as consequences of acts made by the power.

Deaths: In the hunger games for 74 years were happening many unfair deaths as in the myth where every nine years many children died unfairly.

A leader: in both stories were presented leaders who helped to free a nation.

A love story and helping: in both stories, there are love affairs who helped to survive the loved one person.

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CHAPTER V

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