Theseus and the Minotaur and the Hunger Games

Throughout countless novels society remains a common theme. Societal structure greatly reflects upon the composure of the plot, as well as the characters. In the novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Collins creates an alternate society which is completely controlled by their government, the Capitol. The Hunger Games is reminiscent of the Greek myth, Theseus and the Minotaur. They both share the idea of a society supervised thoroughly by the government, and the idea of a method of rebelling against higher powers.Collins uses the literary device of allusion to reference her literary work of The Hunger Games to characters and themes found in Theseus and the Minotaur. The Hunger Games and Theseus and the Minotaur both express the themes of sacrifice, oppression, government control, and survival through characterization and allegory. The characters of Katniss Everdeen and Prince Theseus of Athens both illustrate what it takes to sacrifice one’s self for others.They both have incredible incentives towards their decision of â€Å"volunteering as tribute,† yet they have different motives regarding who or what they made their choices for. From the beginning of The Hunger Games, it’s clear Katniss has a true connection to her younger sister, Prim, and genuinely cares for her. â€Å"How could I leave Prim, who is the only person in the world I’m certain I love? † (Collins, 10) Katniss implies that in all matters, she’ll always be there for Prim, who is eventually her motivation for volunteering as tribute for her.In Theseus and the Minotaur, Theseus volunteers to end King Minos’s viscous and never ending cycle of tributes sent to fight the minotaur, but are defeated and killed. What Katniss and Theseus have in the common is that they’re both volunteering so others don’t have to suffer. Katniss is sacrificing herself for her family, and Theseus for his country’s bravery. They both have strong motiv es and something they believe in which is what it takes for someone to sacrifice themselves if it betters their cause.The Capitol and King Minos have total control over Panem and Ancient Greece. They both make it almost impossible to rebel against them or else they will threaten war, in which the other sides have no chance of winning. The Capitol keeps control of Panem by providing food and entertainment. King Minos keeps control by threatening war and also by providing food and entertainment. The Capitol in The Hunger Games and King Minos in Theses and the Minotaur put their regions under complete government oppression. They both prevent war by reminding their societies of the cost of war.Theseus and Katniss both have cunning tactics of defeating either the minotaur, or other tributes. Katniss is an extremely strong hunter which helps her with survival in the hunger games. She can climb trees and can hid herself extraordinarily well from enemies. Theseus wins with his smart thinkin g and problem solving. They both have help from a â€Å"love interest† in which case it’s Peeta for Katniss, and King Minos’s daughter for Theseus. Katniss is originally uncomfortable accepting help from others, but as the novel progresses, she has to accept help if she wants to win.Theseus rather than Katniss takes help from King Minos’s daughter immediately, using any kind of resource he can to defeat the minotaur. Often writers take ideas and conceptions from other pieces of literary work and incorporate it in their own work. This is shown in The Hunger Games with the Greek myth Theseus and the Minotaur. Collins takes Theseus and the Minotaur and incorporates it into the future. If majority of ideas and thoughts all come from other sources, who originally thought those thoughts? The world may never know.