Books and Mythology---The Hunger Games

While finishing up a read of the book, the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, I couldn't help but think how many mythological archetypes there were in the book. First off, it's science-fiction, meaning it's fake in some kind of imaginary world. Greek Mythology can be fake at times to me as well, somewhere between Zeus having 50 wives and Hades owning an underworld. And the main character(s) names of the novel are unique ones, as in Myth.

The plot follows Katniss  Everdeen in a world gone mad, where every district (12 of them) have two send two tributes (1 boy, 1 girl) to the annual Hunger Games in the Capitol, to keep Panem's population at bay. During the tribute selection for District 12, Katniss' sister Prim gets selected, but Katniss offers to replace her out of the spur of the moment to save her younger sis. First archetype right there, the fact that the hero comes out of nowhere, somewhat a "goofy" fellow to save someone close to her. The boy selected from District 12, Peeta Mellark becomes a crucial point in the story.

As the two are getting ready for the Hunger Games, Peeta confesses his love for Katniss as a marketing ploy, and to create a "juicy" storyline. During the Games, the Capitol announces that if the last two tributes left are from the same District, the two will be co-winners. Obviously this is sent to Kat and Peeta. When the two beat the odds (yet another archetype, where the underdog hero who seemed done, comes back to win) to remain the last ones standing, the previous rule is revoked. The two have to beat one another, obviously to make viewers stay tuned. However, it seems like love has gone to them, and they threaten to eat poisonous berries if they both don't win. The fact that the hero is bound by love and won't let go of it is another archetype not only seen n this book, but in many other stories today. And the ending is different, left you hanging like many Greek myths did. The Capitol threatens to exile Katniss' and Peeta's family, because of their act of disobedience. I've seen this also many times in our mythology studies, where a governing body or deity is angry at the hero(s) for doing something there not supposed to do.

The author of the book also said that she got the idea for the book from (thank you YouTube) the myth of Theseus, from Ancient Greece when Athens was forced to send boys and girls in their youth to Crete so the Minotaur could devour them. Such cannibalism is also stated here in the book, when a starving Kat wonders if she could eat a dead tribute. Nevertheless, the book speaks volumes about the power of the authoritarian state and personal beliefs. There are 2 books after this one, so obviously more is to be said by Suzanne Collins, and maybe more links to Ancient Mythology.