The 5th Wave Against the Hunger Games

Who knew that so many books could be set in a dystopian future and have a female protagonist? Surprisingly, more than people would think. The the novel The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, it is easily comparable to the novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Within both of these novels, it is easy to find similar characters with similar motives and similar character symbolism.

Both of these novels have similar characters. In both of the novels, it is set in a dystopian future where the main protagonist is a teenage girl who ultimately has to sacrifice themselves in order to save their younger sibling (while falling in love along the way). In The 5th Wave, Cassie Sullivan is one of the unlucky ones who survived the apocalypse. While at a ‘safe’ camp, soldiers came to save the children, which included Cassie’s little brother. Cassie makes a promise to her little brother the she will come after him. Cassie goes on a great adventure and risks her life to save her brother. This is similar to whenever Katniss, from The Hunger Games, sacrifices herself in order to save her little sister from being in The Hunger Games. Katniss also goes on an adventure to save her sister from being killed. Both of these characters are female teenagers who go to a great deal of trouble to save their little sibling. These two characters and motives are similar and they also both have similar character symbolism.

In both of these novels, the two main protagonists are symbolized through an animal or an insect. In The 5th Wave, Cassie was portrayed through the mayfly. As the boy she falls in love with describes it, “You’re a mayfly. Here for a day and then gone” (Yancey 178). The mayfly is an insect which does not live a very long time, but in this instance the mayfly represents human life. This means that Cassie represents all human life, even if human life only lasts for an instant. This can be compared to Katniss from The Hunger Games who, through an animal, represents