When it comes to the media and storytelling, it can be argued that many characters in the world of fiction are somewhat based on real, historical persons. More specifically, many movie heroes share similar characteristics and circumstances with heroes from the bible. The Hunger Games is a popular, young adult series that has been made into four movies over the past couple of years. The story takes place from the perspective of Katniss Everdeen, a young girl brought up in poverty who takes a stand against a Utopian government when her sister is selected to partake in the annual “hunger games.” In comparison, there are several aspects of Queen Esther’s story in the Bible that are similar to those of Katniss Everdeen.
In both the story of Esther and "The Hunger Games," the heroin struggles to have courage in the midst of unspeakable fear as well as takes a stand against the eradication of a certain group of people. In addition, both heroines exhibit characteristics such as boldness, intelligence, leadership, and compassion. However, apart from having heroic characteristics, both Esther and Katniss appear to come from somewhat similar backgrounds. First, Katniss was born and raised in District 12 which is the lowest district in Panem. Citizens are extremely poor and the men are miners as it is a coal mining district. Similar to Katniss, Esther was born of low status. She was born in a Jewish community and raised in exile. It was not until an inciting incident in both of these stories that the heroin was removed from her life as a citizen of lower status. They we both selected to represent a group of people (Katniss as the “Girl on Fire” and Esther as Queen). But background is not the final aspect for comparison as both Katniss and Esther have similar journeys.
In the story of Esther, the heroin goes unbidden to the king (who is also her husband) which is actually a capital offense for which the punishment is execution. She does this after learning about a plot to eradicate the Jewish population from the Persian kingdom. Fortunately, King Xerxes I listens to his wife and the Jews are saved. Nowadays, we see this same story and character archetype manifested in various ways in modern movies and series. It is the archetype of a powerless, seemingly unqualified hero who triumphantly conquers oppressive forces despite all odds. Through courage, intelligence, and moral conviction, the hero prevails. As mentioned earlier, one of the characters that exhibits this archetype is Katniss in "The Hunger Games." Like Esther, Katniss is a young woman of low status who must stand up to the misguided (in Esther’s case, foolish) leader, President Snow. Despite the fact that Esther was Queen, this did not change the fact that she broke the law in approaching the King uninvited. She is still considered “lower,” beneath the king. With Katniss, there are several times in the story where she also faces death and torture whenever she encounters Capitol officials or President Snow himself. Still, she remains steadfast, persistent, and courageous until the hunger games are finally abolished. Another similarity in this archetype is the reason for heroic action. With Esther, she is a Jew (born Hadassah) married to a Persian King. Therefore, when she hears about a plan to extinguish her people, she feels a sense of responsibility to do what she can to protect them. Even if that means risking her own life. Katniss’ call to action is similar as her sister (who is much younger and softer than Katniss) is selected to partake in the annual hunger games. Katniss selflessly sacrifices herself and takes her sister’s place, which is the moment when her journey begins. Overall, both of these heroes are similar in that they take on a moral responsibility by sacrificing themselves for the survival of others despite greater odds.
