In Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games and Veronica Roth's Divergent, both authors present dystopian societies hindered by some form of corruption and evil, that is then challenged by unexpected female characters who transform from ordinary citizens to heroines in their own way.  While both novels appear similar on the surface, the main characters are distinct from one another and progress throughout the novels in very different manners, which is essential to creating complexities and variations in what might otherwise be very similar plots between the two novels.  By looking at the careful, almost tentative development of the relationship between Tris and Four (also known as Tobias) in Roth's Divergent in comparison to the rocky and distrustful relationship slowly formed by Katniss and Peeta in Collins's The Hunger Games, we can see the trend of how the main characters grow in their personal relationships, and in turn the relation of that trend to their growth and developments as heroines.  This is important because through the process of being cautious in her feelings towards and eventual relationship with Four, as well as her own personal assessments, Tris develops as a character in a way that is supportive to her role as a heroine, while Katniss's confusion and lack of emotional security hinders her success and lessens her impact as a heroine throughout the Hunger Games series.
	
Katniss and Tris are both characters with their own emotional flaws by far, however it seems that engaging in a personal relationship only accentuates Katniss's emotional and social shortcomings while engaging causes Tris to reevaluate aspects of herself in a way that enable her to grow.  Both characters, of course, develop a love interest throughout the course of their perspective novel, but it is the progression of these interests that define Katniss and Tris as characters. These progressions start on very different paths even from the very beginning and develop onward from there.  When Katniss hears Peeta's name announced, as the male tribute at the reaping it is not her first experience with this boy; Peeta is and always has been "the boy with the bread" to Katniss.  This proves problematic for Katniss, who from the very beginning of the novel seems to analyze situations in terms of "give or take".  She feels that since Peeta threw her bread in the rain that she is now indebted to him, which poses an even greater issue since she will now be engaging with him in a battle to the death.  Katniss even remarks to herself, "Oh well  There will be twenty-four of us.  Odds are someone else will kill him before I do" (33).  Katniss is a character plagued by social misjudgments, which serves an as interesting twist to readers who are sometimes more "in the loop" than Katniss herself.  However, her social misjudgments often concern Peeta, such as the train scene where she analyzed his attempts of trying to converse with and then cleaning up Haymitch as trying to gain an edge in the competition.  She does not allow herself to recognize Peeta as someone who is genuinely kind rather than someone plotting an elaborate game strategy.  In Divergent, Tris has never met Four until she arrives for Dauntless initiation and learns that the fearless looking young man will be her instructor as an initiate.  Tris seems to form an opinion on Four rather immediately by observing him and his interactions with characters such as Christina and Eric.  She acknowledges that he is perhaps dangerous but that he lacks the cruelty and condescending demeanor that Eric and the other Dauntless leaders possess.  Tris possesses more of an admiration and respect for Four rather than the competitive tension that Katniss experiences with Peeta.  This is primarily due to the fact that there is an instructor/student dynamic between Tris and Four instead of that of two competitors that will be faced with the possibility of killing one another like Katniss and Peeta.  Though the natures of the relationships between the main characters are different in the two novels, it is the way that Katniss and Tris approach them from the beginning that is significant.  Katniss is rash and inaccurately judgmental of Peeta while Tris is in awe of Four and his mysterious nature.  
	
From the beginning of both Divergent and The Hunger Games most readers can sense the impending love triangles, which are almost a necessity in such otherwise harshly plotted novels.  However in The Hunger Games when Peeta proclaims the feelings of love he has felt all his life for Katniss during the televised interviews she assaults him with violence and anger, accusing him of trying to make her look weak to the audience.  She only accepts his compliments of her when Haymitch puts it to her in a way that she can understand- a game strategy to help her look desirable and gain sponsors to help her in the games.  The fact that Katniss never evens acknowledges at this point that Peeta's feelings are not only true but that he genuinely cares about her well being more than his own is key to her emotional and social lacking.  Katniss has never considered herself desirable to anyone and has always pursued life as the caretaker aiming for day-to-day survival; she does not let emotions like romantic ideas of love to enter her mind, especially not in the deadly setting of the games.  In a similar point in the plot of Divergent, Tris has allowed herself to somewhat fall under the security of Four as he administers the fear simulations.  When he recognizes her unique talent during the simulations and calls her out as Divergent, she has trust in him for some unknown reason as he promises to alter her results to protect her.  This is a key difference between Katniss and Tris; Tris has the ability to trust others without clear reason or ulterior motives and is able to make true alliances because of that quality.  Her abilities will assist her later in the novel when she needs a teammate along with friends to count on.  Katniss's lack of trust in Peeta throughout the games is evident, most obviously at the beginning when she actually believes that Peeta is hunting her down with the career tributes, when in fact he is attempting to lead them away from her.  If she had actually paid any attention to Peter and his obvious cues of affection she would have recognized his supposedly traitorous actions to be impossible.  Katniss does not allow herself to see the goodness in Peeta and instead of truly falling in love with him, she grows to use him by playing their "romance".  True, this falsehood gains tools that assist them both with survival in the games, but Peeta's caring attitude and love for Katniss is never an act on his part at any point.  Tris and Four engage in a real relationship in Divergent, and though Tris is unsure exactly what to expect and how to move forward in it, she does have true feelings for Four and develops a relationship along with a partnership.
	
The relationships of Katniss and Peeta and Tris and Four are not just relationships in the simple romantic definition that some readers might seek.  These relationships are also necessary to specific plot developments and self-realizations of the main characters that define the works as wholes.  In The Hunger Games Katniss in constantly untrusting and hesitant in her relationship with Peeta, sometimes lying or hiding the truth from him in order to always maintain an edge.  When dire situations occur, Katniss never fails to revert back to her proven theme of self-preservation that has serves her throughout her life.  After all, Katniss only entered the games to save the life of her sister and she competes throughout the games with the burning desire and need to win and make it back home to her sister.  Katniss was perhaps never even really emotionally vulnerable enough to engage in a true relationship with Peeta.  Though they are presented as teammates throughout the novel, Katniss always seems to rise as her own player in the end.  Her lack of self-awareness is very unlike Tris who is constantly self-aware during Divergent.  Tris constantly questions herself, wondering whether she is selfish or brave? Or Abnegation or Dauntless?  It is these questions that aid Tris in self-discovery of herself as Divergent and her acceptance of that element of herself.  It is also Tris's relationship with Four that gives her confidence in herself and allows her to accept and embrace her Divergence.  While Katniss uses her partnership with Peeta to survive in the games, Tris truly engages in her relationship with Four and makes valuable self-discoveries as a result of that relationship.
	
Both Katniss and Tris play significant roles in their stories, and they both have relationships that aid them in one way or another on their journeys.  Katniss emerges, as a victor with Peeta at the conclusion of the games, but at that point in the series has not really done anything heroic herself.  It was Peeta who originally wanted to challenge the Capitol and the cruelty of the games while Katniss was focused on mere survival and making it home to take care of Prim, even though they both engage in acts of rebellion.  Katniss does develop throughout The Hunger Games but is held back by her lack of emotional stability and her lack to connect effectively with those around her.  In Divergent, Tris embraces an emotional experience and relationship with Four that enables her to assess herself accurately and accept herself despite the questions and insecurities she previously felt.  Her acknowledgment of herself as Divergent allows her to rise up as a heroine when the attacks begin, and they also allow her to save Four and their relationship.

