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Similarities Between Katniss And The Hunger Games

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In 2008 Suzanne Collins published a book that took the world by storm with 23 million copies sold as of 2012. Why did the novel get so much attention? Was it a new story that people had never heard before, or maybe just a retelling of an old tale that excited young readers with its action contents? The ancient Greek myth of is retold in the contemporary story of The Hunger Games as Katniss’ trail at the games is a modern rendition of Theseus’ battle with the minotaur, and both characters are defined by their success. While Theseus and Katniss have many similarities the biggest one are the trails they both go through, Theseus with the maze and the minotaur and Katniss and the annual Hunger Games. In myth of Theseus, Athens is invaded by Crete after Minos, the king of Crete, had sent his son to Athens and there he was killed when the Athenian king sent him on “an expedition full of peril”(Hamilton 157). After King Minos captured Athens he threatened to raze Athens to the ground unless every nine years Athens “sent him a tribute of seven maidens and seven youths”, all for the entertainment of King Minos and revenge for his son. Similarly in The Hunger Games, in the Country of Panem, after a failed revolution, the government in the capital city made each of the 12 districts send 2 tributes to the capital. Once they got to the capital they were forced to fight in an arena for the entertainment of the higher ups in the government. Theses trails that both Theseus and Katniss faced

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