Character Intentions (minor spoilers for “Divergent” and “The Hunger Games”)

I watched Aaron Sorkin's MasterClass on screenwriting^[1] awhile ago, and in it he talks about character intentions (and the obstacles that can get in the way of a character achieving their intentions) and as an exercise I had then written-up some quick notes about Divergent that I came across again recently, so I thought I'd share them here because why not…?

So, as I sat and thought about Tris' intentions, I realized that Divergent (the first book) is basically two stories:

The first is a mini drama about a young woman named Beatrice who intends to choose a different faction than the one she was born into. She's conflicted about this, of course, for multiple reasons, and these internal/personal conflicts are the obstacles standing in her way. Can she really do it, or will she chicken out? What will her family think? (etc) And then comes the penultimate obstacle (for this mini-story): Caleb, her brother who she was certain would stay in Abnegation, surprisingly chooses Erudite, meaning that if she also went through with choosing Dauntless then her parents would be left all alone. It was a brilliant way to have all her conflicted thoughts and feelings come to a head at the very last moment, and made for a great climax to the first five chapters (at the end of which she does, of course, achieve her intention by choosing to switch factions).

Of course, the story would be over right there if the main character didn't intend to do anything else, and that's where the sixth chapter begins: With a young woman (soon to be) named Tris who has just left her family and friends with the intention of becoming Dauntless, the faction she just chose to join. And you could technically start reading here if you wanted to; I tried it, and it works quite well as the beginning of the book; and by some conventional wisdom it is the better place to start, because you're being dropped into the story just moments after the 'inciting incident', and the action is already starting to pick up a bit, etc… Though I personally love those first five chapters, not just for the character and world building they do, but because it's just such a tight, concise, and satisfying short-story all on its own. If you just read that story, you'd be left wanting more, which makes it a very compelling way to open the series.

Anyway, those were my thoughts then, but now that I've rediscovered them I've been re-thinking, and I've come to another realization: I've always liked The Hunger Games a lot too, but I've always thought Divergent was the better series; and now I think I know why…

Throughout the Divergent series, Tris is always really certain about herself, who she is, what she feels is right, what she wants (her intentions), etc… She's centered to herself (for lack of a better term) at all times, and is also willing to question herself, and her beliefs, and even has doubts at times, etc… So she's confident in herself while not always being totally self-confident, and this gives her a complexity that I (personally) really relate to…

Conversely, in The Hunger Games — which I reread recently when the new prequel book came out (more on that in a minute) — it feels like everyone but Katniss has intentions: Snow intends to hold on to power at any cost, the rebels intend to overthrow him and the government, while even within the rebellion there are those who are, in actuality, attempting to orchestrate a coup to take control of the government as it is and have the power for themselves, while trying to make it appear as though they're overthrowing it on behalf of the rebellion, etc…

It's a complex story that is really interesting and intriguing, but that we don't really get to see a whole lot of (for the most part)… Instead we're stuck following Katniss, who essentially lives moment to moment, doesn't often intend to do much of anything, and mostly just acts/reacts whenever she finds herself backed into a corner by her circumstances and/or by those around her who are trying to achieve their own goals (intentions) by using her as part of their plan…

I mean, she is strong and skilled, is often selfless, and the way she reacts to things is consistent to her character, etc… But she doesn't live or plan or act very intentionally, she mostly just wants to get up each day, hunt, and then go home. That's it. Which is completely fine for someone to want, the easy life, I get it completely; I just don't find her to be a very compelling main character for that reason… She's a 'victim of circumstance', but I somehow don't even totally sympathize with her from that perspective, so it's just hard for me to really get on board with her whole thing…

Contrast, then, those first three books and Katniss' story with the new prequel (The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), which is mostly about Snow… This is, to me, the best book in the series so far, and it makes me excited for the next one (Sunrise on the Reaping), which is presumably about Haymitch… Because these are characters with intentions, and the way they help drive the story is far more interesting to me… Even Lucy Gray in Ballad, it was clear she had intentions of her own^[2], which sometimes seemed to align with Snow's and other times didn't, and so the events surrounding her and Snow were far more compelling than just about anything in the main trilogy…

Anyway, that's all. To be clear, I'm not trying to say that any of the above is anything other than my subjective opinion, and I totally understand that many people feel the opposite, and relate far more with Katniss than with Tris. I get it, I do; I just don't feel the same, and I'm glad I can finally point to some reasons why.

^{[1] FWIW: If you're interested in any kind of writing, I recommend watching this and some of the other writing-related classes they have… The Margaret Atwood one is quite good as well.}

^{[2] Even if it wasn't always clear what, exactly, her intentions were, which is part of what made the whole thing that much more interesting.}

^{Note: I originally posted this in the Divergent sub a few days ago, but it was auto-rejected with no note/message.}