What Are The Similarities Between Antigone And The Hunger Games

Introduction

‘The Hunger Games’ directed by Gary Ross in 2012 and ‘Antigone’ written by Sophocles in 441 BCE have many similarities and differences, which makes sense seeing as they’re both made for incredibly difference cultures. In both ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Antigone’, the lead is a female protagonist who goes against her gender norms in order to fight for what she think is right, however Antigone bewails that she won’t be able to ever get married or have kids, whereas Katniss herself chooses not to have children. Both Katniss and Antigone bravely sacrifice themselves for a loved one, however the fates their siblings are potentially exposed to are very different. And finally, both Katniss and Antigone become somewhat of a symbol of civil

disobedience in their worlds, and many join them in rebelling. However, Antigone only rebelled because she had to, she was the only person who could do what she had to, however Katniss strongly and willingly chose to rebel because she wanted to fight for what she believed in.

Topic 1: Women’s role in society

In ‘The Hunger Games’ directed by Gary Ross and ‘Antigone’ written by Sophocles the way in which gender roles play apart in both texts creates many similarities and differences between the two based off how the protagonists react to what’s expected of their gender during the time they’re living in.

Both protagonists in these texts are female (Katniss from ‘The Hunger Games’ and Antigone from ‘Antigone’), and they both go against the norms for their gender to stand up for what they believe in, despite being oppressed by men. Antigone standing up against Creon as a woman was incredibly brave. The very reason that Antigone’s sister Ismene didn’t want to stand up with Antigone was because of her gender, this is proven when Ismene tells her sister “O think, Antigone; we are women; it is not for us // To fight against men; our rulers are stronger than we,”. And we can see exactly why Antigone standing up as a woman was so brave when Creon expresses that he was especially offended because she rebelled as a woman “We’ll have no woman’s law here, while I live.”. He isn’t saying that he disapproved of Antigone breaking the rules, he disapproved of a woman breaking the rules. In the Hunger Games, though women aren’t as oppressed, she is still competing in the Hunger Games even though shes what our society consider ‘the weaker sex’. Yet instead of Peeta being the big hero who saves her during the Hunger Games, she is what saves Peeta. She’s the one who kills Cato, not Peeta. These are

all examples of her overcoming male strength. In both Ancient Greece and our modern society, women are still perceived as the weaker sex. Even though in our modern society we’ve come incredibly far, we’re still living in a world where according to the Guardian, women’s sports only get 5% of media coverage[1], because it’s perceived as weaker.

In both societies, it is expected for a woman to get married and have children, however neither of them do. Katniss doesn’t want to, and by Antigone committing her crimes against her state, she no longer can. They’re both strong women who are unable to fulfill their gender roles regarding families. But Katniss is fine with not having children, she even says to Gale “I’m never having kids”, yet Antigone says “Creon condemns me and hales me away, // Never a bride, never a mother”, mourning this idea. Katniss takes pride in not wanting kids, it was a decision, whereas Antigone is sorrowful about this. This is a difference between the two because in Ancient Greece women were much more oppressed. As soon as women began menstruating they were married off in Antigone’s time. This is because back then, women’s entire purpose in life was to breed. Antigone having this ripped from her would have been heartbreaking because in the society she was living in, it meant that she’d be essentially useless. In Antigone’s society, a woman was owned by her father until marriage, when she was then owned by her husband. Antigone had lost her father, and Creon ensured that Antigone could never get married, it was as if she was lost or unwanted property.

Katniss is proud and strong in her decision to never have kids. This is because The Hunger Games was made for an infinitely less sexist society. In the era that we’re living in, though women have lots to fight for, we are still so much closer to being equal to men than Antigone was. It’s much less expected for women to have children. Though having kids is somewhat expected of a woman nowadays, it’s not considered shockingly horrific if a woman chooses not to have kids, the telegraph itself even claims that the number of women choosing not to have kids has doubled this generation [2].

Topic 2: Family Loyalty

In both ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Antigone’ the entire plot line would cease to exist without the theme of family loyalty.

In the Hunger Games, Katniss was only entered into the Hunger Games because she volunteered to, so that Prim’s life wouldn’t be put at risk. “I volunteer, I volunteer as tribute” Katniss exclaims after finding out her sisters life is at risk, Katniss is willing to risk her own life in order to save Prim’s. When Antigone finds out about Polynices’ lack of burial rights she asks her sister Ismene, “Would you help me lift the body... you and me?”. Like Katniss, Antigone is willing to risk her life to give her brother burial rights. This is because in both modern and ancient societies, family loyalty is an incredibly major value. In Greek cultures, family was everything, even in modern day Greece, “The family unit is the most important foundation of Greek society, providing emotional and economic support to the individual.” [3]. And this high value of family has stayed relevant in more than just modern day Greece, but everywhere in the world. Family is something we’re all born into, and we can’t replace our family. Our parents nurture us and potential siblings, and we love them in return. This is why Katniss and Antigone feel such a responsibility to protect they siblings, Antigone summarises this idea pretty well when she says “I could have had another husband // And by him other sons, if one were lost; // But, father, mother lost, where could I get //

Another brother?”, summarising this idea of family being irreplaceable, especially with her dead parents. Both Katniss and Antigone have no problem with sacrificing themselves because this key idea of family loyal has remained so static since Ancient Greece. When talking about Prim, Katniss says “I told her that I would try to win, that I would try to win for her” - suggesting that really the main reason she wants to survive the Hunger Games is for Prim, who she sacrificed herself for. And Antigone doesn’t care about whether or not she gets executed or not. When Ismene brings up the idea of her dying for her cause, Antigone shoots back “And if I do for it, what happiness! Convicted of reverence - I shall be content To lie beside a brother whom I love

Katniss and Antigone are both saving their siblings from what their societies consider an awful fate, however both fates are very different from each other. Antigone is saving her brother from being neglected proper burial rights, which was an absolutely dreadful fate at the time. Not only was it considered unsightly to the gods, but it also meant that Polynices’ would be unable to enter the after life. And at the time this was a huge deal, Polynices being left unburied broke a sacred tradition in Ancient Greece. When Antigone discovers the fate of her brothers remains she says herself “the order // Says he is to be left unburied, unwept, a feast of flesh // For keen-eyed carrion birds”, using incredibly emotive language to express how much distress it caused her as it would cause anyone at the time of Ancient Greece. Funerals are still taken incredibly seriously nowadays, however not anywhere near as important as the burial rituals in Ancient Greece. Most people from our society wouldn’t risk their lives in order to bury their loved ones.
Katniss wasn’t sacrificing herself to protect her sisters burial rights, but was protecting her from a fate that was likely to result in death. Prim was the youngest possible age to compete in the Hunger Games, and on top of that she was from District 12, which at this point in the series had only one person returning alive. Her being drawn to compete was essentially a death sentence. The death of a child in our modern society is something thoroughly appalling, as to us it’s something so innocent and sacred coming to an end before it can even fully develop. But this is only a new idea. In Ancient Greece, science wasn’t nearly as developed as it is now, meaning that children dying wasn’t a rare event. It was so common that “babies did not receive names until the seventh or tenth day of life” [4]. This isn’t to disregard to importance of family in Ancient Greece, however hearing about a child dying wouldn’t get anywhere near as much of a reaction as someone being neglected burial rights.