Examples Of Archetypes In The Hunger Games

The Girl on Fire
In “Creating the Myth”, Linda Seger states how the lives of regular people, their ups and downs, the struggle of achieving ones dreams or goals, finding ones soul mate etc. are essentially universal stories drawn from the same experiences. She adds that these universal stories are quite comparable to the basic storyline of most successful movies, albeit the twists and turns, climax, cultural based differences and the characteristics of every person may differ. Furthermore, she distinguishes the two major kinds of stories, primarily “search stories” and “hero stories” (Seger 335). As the name suggests, search stories basically address the desire to find some sort of treasure which could be anything ranging from love and respect

Some of the prominent archetypes in The Hunger Games include the mentor or the “wise old man” character who is Haymitch, a veteran and former champion of the games, and Cinna, Katniss’ stylist. Haymitch can be considered as a mentor since he guides Katniss by giving her advice on how to survive the harsh and cruel environment in the Capitol and by telling her about the cruel truth of the backwards and corrupt system governing and sponsoring the Hunger Games. By revealing the brutal reality of the games, Haymitch toughens Katniss with his misogynist opinions while Cinna encourages Katniss on an emotional level and becomes a trustworthy figure for Katniss in the ruthless Capitol. In turns, this helps Katniss to grow an emotional connection with Cinna, something she and Haymitch don’t share. Another archetype is the Capitol itself, which plays a shadow figure in the movie. . The ultimate threat in The Hunger Games is the Capitol itself, which views the rest of the nation from a first-world perspective, ignoring the pathetic conditions of the people living in poverty and in a way reflecting the ignorance of first-world societies today. Finally the trickster, a mischievous archetypical figure is played by Finnick Odaire and Caesar. Finnick, a spear-wielding player and Katniss’ ally, provides comic relief through charm and charisma during hardships while Caesar, one of the games ' main hosts, provides a warped and television-friendly humor that gives the Capitol the illusion of warmth (The Hunger