Okay, I'm pretty sure that we all finished
The Selection at some point during the break so here is my opinion on the series so far. I'm going to address the on going debate about whether or not
The Selection is just a no violent
Hunger Games. Besides the overall structure of the plot, I don't really feel that they are alike anymore. Yes, many argue that the government is corrupt and that there is a competition and that there are castes but that's really just about it. Yet, 2/3 things I mentioned are in almost every dystopian novel. Take
Divergent for example, there were castes, a competition and a corrupt government but that doesn't make up the major plot of the story, it just adds to it. In my opinion the plot in
The Selection as a whole has much more emotional depth than any other dystopia I have read. The emotional appeal sets it apart from the other dystopian novels. Yes, more can argue that there was a love story in
The Hunger Games and in
Divergent, but that was just a subplot of the main plot.
The Selection is mainly about the love story between America, Maxon, and Aspen. Any one can argue that
The Selection is too similar to
The Hunger Games but the set up of both of those books are the set up of any dystopian novel. In the end,
The Selection is not a similar to
The Hunger Games than I originally thought.
I agree with you that The Selection is not entirely similar to The Hunger Games. I think that most of the other dystopian novels focus on the rebellion to overthrow the corrupt government that is in control. For example, the plot for The Hunger Games in the second book starts with how their president wants to avoid a rebellion and then the actually beginning of a rebellion. The third book is primarily about how each district is preparing for the rebellion and the possible overthrow of the government. The Selection hints at the fact that there is a rebellion going on and that there is a threat to the royal family, however, the main characters are not a part of the rebellion. The main story is focused around the competition itself and the love triangle that has developed between America, Maxon, and Aspen. I agree that many of similarities found between The Hunger Games and The Selection is a result of the fact that both are dystopias and there is a pattern that follows that genre.
ReplyDeleteI actually did not make the connection between the two books when I first read the general outline of the plot. Instead, it dawned on me after I started reading it. Even then, I did not expect to find the Selection like the Hunger Games in any other way. As you said, The Selection focuses much more on romance than Suzanne Collin's books. I liked the romantic elements in the Selection more than in the Hunger Games. I felt that Katniss had more important things to deal with than a love triangle. Instead, America's romantic relationships were allowed to be fleshed out more because they were the main focus of the book.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I saw too many parallels between the books in the first 30 pages. Sounds like if I read on, those connections would have broken down. Nice explanation.
ReplyDeleteI thought they were a bit too similar, not only because of the dystopian concepts, but also because of the characters. Gale or Peeta? Aspen or Maxon? And then there's Prim, Katniss's younger sister, who's startlingly similar to May, America's younger sister. The main difference between the two books was that romance had a dominant role in the selection, whereas romance took a major role but not the majority of the spotlight in the Hunger Games.
ReplyDelete