By: Adam Trillwood
There are many stories that depict a sort of post-apocalyptic
environment, or one of a sort of arena, where the protagonist has to fight
through countless challenges/challengers in order to confront the antagonist.
Prime examples of where these elements come into play are The Hunger Games
series as well as the Pendragon series, more specifically the first installment
of the hunger games, and the 8th book in the Pendragon series, the
Quillan Games. How Pendragon can be compared to both the Hungers Games, the
book and the movie, can be brought on by their differences as well as their
similarities, but also with how some of the characters act. After reading both
of these novels and seeing the movie, one may ask as to which of the three is the
most brutal in terms of what is meant to be done, as well as the consequences.
I will demonstrate why my opinion rests on the book of The Hunger Games to be
the most brutal of them all.
(I’ll be referring to the Book of The Hunger Games as “The
Hunger Games (B)” And the movie to be “The Hunger Games (M)”.)
The Quillan Games and The Hunger Games, both the book and movie, are
wonderfully crafted and made to make you feel as if you’re either watching the
dreadful games up close or in the action yourself. Despite this, there are some
key differences that can be made between the three. One of which being that The
Hunger Games (B) is far darker than the other two, as it pulls you in to the
point as you would fear for the outcome of the characters like Katniss or
Peeta, and continue reading just to ensure yourself that they’ll either make it
to the next chapter/book, or are ok at that exact moment and you can bear to
put the book down. Even though The Hunger Games (B) is far darker, the Quillan
Games has a very strange environment surrounding its games. The Quillan Games
are actually loved by many as a great form of entertainment, as well as the
winners of nearly every single round, as they are compensated for their
victory. As well as this, the following, leading to the relation of the
antagonist of the plot of the Pendragon series leading up to the Quillan Games
is done fantastically. It is brought as (since the main antagonist has the
ability to shape shift in order to change the decisions of the people of that
particular world to bend to his will) the main villain actually being one of
the participants of the games, but a sort of unbeatable (nearly)/unkillable
opponent, and even after the protagonist beats him in combat, but then does not
kill him, directly after that is the reveal of the true darkness of the games.
Despite the many differences that the three have between each other,
there are actually a lot of similarities that are brought to fruition
throughout the stories told. These range from the simple fact that they are all
games of which people are forced to fight for their lives following into the
discovery that the games are all bent to the will of the main antagonist, to
some of the less noticeable things. Both protagonists feel out of place/strange
being a part of the games, and want nothing more than the games to simply not
exist, as it would allow them to protect their loved ones. The games are all
under full control of a sort of government that the population cannot fight
against simply due to a full lack of money, or a will to fight the figures of
power, being The Hunger Games’ “Capitol” and the Quillan Games’ “Blok” (, and
both antagonists are even old people!). In turn, as the stories themselves end,
despite what efforts can be brought in order to try to affect how the games
play out, in the current situations, the protagonists of the stories are
powerless to stop the games from continuing to destroy all the hopes and dreams
of countless people on every outcome.
The characters of The Hunger Games and The Quillan Games can
actually be linked together from key characteristics, as well as compared
through some key points as to their wills to stop the games as well as the
strengths and weaknesses they show. Katniss (Hunger Games) can be compared to
Bobby (Bobby Pendragon, the protagonist of the 10 books in the series) through
their original entrance to the games to be different, as Katniss volunteers to
protect her own family, as Bobby joins the games in order to avenge someone who
was believed to be a very important person to him on the world of Quillan.
They both rise to the challenge, and are able to successfully
conquer the games, but are not able to stop the power behind the games. The
governments behind the games (Blok of Pendragon & Capitol of Hunger Games)
are nearly identical as they both simply take in the people without a concern
of their wellbeing for the games, and simply send them in for either the
enjoyment of the people (Pendragon) or to teach them a lesson (Hunger Games).
Even though they are similar, Capitol reigns supreme with the cruelty, as they
consistently take children/teenagers and send them into a forest with the goal
of simply having them all slaughter each other, while Blok simply takes the
grown men/women and pit them against each other in organized events that only
then they fight one on one to the death. The antagonists, President Snow
(Hunger Games) and Saint Dane (Pendragon), although President Snow is not known
to be the villain until late into the story, they are both depicted as
sadistic, yet elegant monsters. They have the true hand of cruelty, but it’s
swung with grace, as to make the defeat of their enemies calm and
sophisticated, yet to afterward simply rejoice in the cruel and inhumane
destruction of their foes.
The Pendragon Series is fantastic, and the Quillan games is just one
example of how and organized government treats what they believe to be a simple
sport turned into an organized method of murder, with the people powerless to
stop them. The Hunger Games(M), although it demonstrates similarly to the book,
The Hunger Games(B) truly sends shivers down the spines of the reader, the
detail of the death of the many competitors of the games being nearly gruesome,
yet at the same timed calmly detailed, as if the author would channel the
antagonist whenever it would be time to describe such a thing. Despite there
being many similarities and differences between the three, my point of the book
stands. The book combines perfectly what Pendragon did fantastically and what
the movie excelled in and turned it into a work or art, through the true
emotional rollercoaster that is the book of The Hunger Games.
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