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Analyzing pop culture
Essay paper on The hunger games
Explains the themes of the hunger games written by Suzanne Collins
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It has often been said that there is nothing new under the sun. In this vein, authors across all literary genres often borrow themes and plot from the stories of long ago. Many of those authors choose to borrow from the rich mythology of the ancient Greeks. Suzanne Collins has been asked on numerous occasions where the idea for The Hunger Games originated. She readily admits that the characters and plot come from Greek mythology and more specifically, from Theseus and the Minotaur (Margolis 30). One familiar with both both stories can easily recognize the identical framework upon which each of these stories are built. Both Theseus and Katniss Everdeen, Collins’ heroine, volunteer to go into battle for their respective homelands, they both fight beasts of strange origin, and they are both brave in battle and emerge victorious, but it is the uniqueness of the characters that makes each story appropriate for the time period and audience to which it belongs. Collins modernizes the classic hero of Theseus by changing his gender, his motivations and altering his selfish personality, and by doing these things she creates a heroine that better resonates with today's audience of young adults.
As a general rule, Women throughout history have not been highly regarded. This was especially true of the women in ancient Greece. In fact, “women were,” as Foley States in her article “Sex and State in ancient Greece,” “universally legal minors; citizen women participated at best indirectly in the political and intellectual life of the city” (31). This is the society in which the original Theseus was created, so it stands to reason that all of the major heroes passed down from that society would in fact be male. He...
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...counted. Collins uses her interpretation of the myth and her ability to transform the historic character of ancient Greece into one that better fits with modern society and audiences and to create a pop culture phenomenon the likes of which those in Ancient greece would likely be proud.
Works Cited
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic. Inc. 2009. Print.
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Guerber, H. A. Myths of Greece and Rome. New York: American Book Company. 1921. Print.
Moreaux, Dane. “Mythical Hero versus the Modern Heroine: The Female Hero in Suzanne
Collins’ The Hunger Games. Catalyst. 3.2 (2013) Article 3. Web.
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Colonial Company Ltd. 1905. Print.
Katniss and Theseus find themselves in similar situations that there are many literature parallels throughout both of their stories. Volunteering as a tribute for a cruel game like situation and come out as a victorious “hero”, both have to play along as if they love someone they don’t, and have people help them along the way. The only way to know how strong you are is not always a physical strength but mental or emotional strength also.
As a child, I was fascinated by Greek mythology and history, and I made it my business in elementary school to read as much as possible about the subject, including the outstanding stories and the pantheon of gods presented. I thought of them as fantastic, supernatural tales with fitful gods and brave heroes, and I never stopped to consider that the mythologies could be representative of the cultural views and habits of the Greeks, specifically regarding gender roles. One such representaton is Virgil's epic Aeneid, which contains depictions of women in positions of power, and also characterizes these women as irrational, emotional to the point of hysteria, and consequently, unfit rulers.
Daly, Kathleen N. Greek & Roman Mythology A to Z. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. Print.
"Unhandled Exception." Ancient Greece - History, Mythology, Art, War, Culture, Society, and Architecture. 2008. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. .
Grant, M. (1962). Myths of the Greeks and Romans (1st ed.). Cleveland: World Pub. Co.
In conclusion, it becomes obvious by these three plays that for a woman to achieve kleos in ancient Greece, she usually had to become more man-like in her role. The murders committed by Electra and Medea, the bravery of Antigone—all three of these were fulfilled by what would have normally been considered a man’s role. A woman could rarely be considered a hero unless she became like a man in her actions. Otherwise, she would be only a simple woman.
Throughout history, thousands upon thousands of stories have been told, written, and passed from generation to generation. Most of these stories follow a sort of pattern, from the damsel in distress to the joker and of course the greatest of all, the hero.Every once in awhile these stories reappear in different forms. Such is the case with Katniss Everdeen and Theseus. Although both Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games and the mythological Theseus follow the archetypal hero pattern, only Katniss actually portrays it as Theseus abandons the woman who makes his victory possible while Katniss completely embodies the heroic ideal by being both strong and human at the same time, proving that the heroic archetype is unrestricted by gender.
The society in which classical myths took place, the Greco-Roman society was a very patriarchal one. By taking a careful gander at female characters in Greco-Roman mythology one can see that the roles women played differ greatly from the roles they play today. The light that is cast upon females in classical myths shows us the views that society had about women at the time. In classical mythology women almost always play a certain type of character, that is to say the usual type of role that was always traditionally played by women in the past, the role of the domestic housewife who is in need of a man’s protection, women in myth also tended to have some unpleasant character traits such as vanity, a tendency to be deceitful, and a volatile personality. If one compares the type of roles that ladies played in the myths with the ones they play in today’s society the differences become glaringly obvious whilst the similarities seem to dwindle down. Clearly, and certainly fortunately, society’s views on women today have greatly changed.
Greek women, as depicted as in their history and literature, endure many hardships and struggle to establish a meaningful status in their society. In the Odyssey, Penelope’s only role in the epic is to support Odysseus and remain loyal to him. She is at home and struggles to keep her family intact while Odysseus is away trying to return to his native land. The cultural role of women is depicted as being supportive of man and nothing more. Yet what women in ancient Greece did long ago was by far more impressive than what men did.
In our Society when you don't follow the rules, you become an outcast to the rest of the society. Suzanne Collins’ novel series, The Hunger Games criticizes our society and its demands for people of specific genders to act in certain ways and become certain things. Stereotypes concerning gender are prevalent in our society and all over the world. However, The Hunger Games gives a very refreshing tone of “mockery” to these stereotypes. Katniss Everdeen isn’t your typical 16 year old girl, and neither is Peeta Mellark a typical 16 year old boy, especially when they are fighting everyday just to survive. The Hunger Games is a work of social commentary, used to convince us that there can’t and shouldn’t be any defined “roles” based on gender. A mixture of “stereo-typical” gender roles within a person and their actions is what people need just to survive in our world that is changing every day.
The movie “The Hunger Games” has many similarities and relations to World Mythology. While it may not seem like this movie is as myth related as others, such as Troy and Thor, many of the themes and situations in the movie were inspired by the stories of the great myths and epics. The overall theme of the movie is courage, strength, and destiny.
The Role of Women in Greek Mythology In learning about the feminist movement, we studied the three articles, discussed and reviewed the different authors perspectives on the topic, and learned how important the role of woman in Greek mythology is. In presenting the feminist theory to the class, we analyzed the three articles, Women in Ancient Greece; Women in Antiquity: New Assessments; and Women in Greek Myth, and discussed how although the three articles provided different views on Feminism in mythology, they all essentially are aiming to teach the same basic concept. In order to understand the feminist theory, we have to understand the notion that although myths are invented and that they involve fantasy, the concept of mythology does not necessarily imply that there is no truth of history in them. Some of the humans may have lived while some of the events may have taken place. Most importantly, the social customs and the way of life depicted in the myths are a valuable representation of Greek society.
The Odyssey and The Hunger Games are two very different stories, yet they both have many traits that apply to an epic. For example, in each story the main character is a hero who possesses supernatural qualities. In The Odyssey, the main character is Odysseus. He is a strong and intelligent man, unlike many other Greek heroes. His intelligence is shown when he defeated many monsters, who are much stronger than him, yet Odysseus outsmarts them. The main character in The Hunger Games is Katniss, and she also shows characteristics of a hero. Katniss is not only intelligent and brave, but she is very good with a bow and arrow, and has good survival skills. Katniss shows her bravery when she volunteers to replace her sister as a tribute for the
Gall, Timothy L., and Susan B. Gall: The Lincoln Library of Greek and Roman Mythology. Dis Pater to Janus. Cleveland, OH: Lincoln Library, 2006. Print.
With most narratives following this cultural standard and holding common traits, Katniss Everdeen of the story ‘The Hunger Games’ becomes an iconoclastic figure who in some respects takes an opposite standard to the archetypical western hero while the dominant side which is usually on the heroes side becomes twisted and corrupt, making what is usually protected our heroes enemy. Being the rare female hero, she once again deviates from the normal female role and holds many characteristics of the male hero including her strength in fighting and having people worthy of protecting, despite still involved in some romantic conundrums. With Katniss forced to overcome many different trials in this struggle against oppression, represented by the free-for-all fight to the death