Amanda Young "The Pig"

Beautifully portrayed by Shawnee Smith in the SAW movies Amanda Young is a former heroin addict who has a dynamic and sly personality and has the uncanny ability to create for herself the outcomes she puts her mind to. Even though she eventually dies by getting shot in the throat, she is very able in her own sick and twisted ways. Whether it's accomplishing her survival of the Reverse Bear Trap - the death trap Jigsaw created for her - making her the first known survivor of a death trap, which is no small feat or the creation of her own skillful games where she puts others to the test.
Crying what kind of seemed like crocodile tears she is comforted by detective David Tapp, after surviving the death trap that was made for her, who believes in her goodness of heart even though she killed her cellmate along the way, who apparently was not so dead after all. Indeed good she seems and she partially was, but she's not - she's rotten to the core - we find out more and more along the way - her only real quality ultimately being her total commitment to her profane goals. But she also changes: her not being nearly as evil in the beginning as she is towards the end of the movies.
She plays the victim well as she was one herself, as is showcased by her involvement in one of John Kramer’s games in the nerve gas house with a group of real victims.
After Jigsaw takes her under his wing she is quick to learn his trade; she is in fact an incredible fast learner. Still she chooses to be the slave of an even bigger devil. Why? John seemed to genuinely care about her and he was the first person she felt she could really relate to. Basically it’s a not so mild case of Stockholm syndrome intermingled with a more and more compulsive need to hurt others. It probably also doesn’t help her former boyfriend caused Jigsaw’s child Gideon to die - wanting to keep this secret at all costs proves she has a will of her own.
What motivates her? Wrongdoing. Not abiding by the rules, Jigsaw had criticized her games, calling them unwinnable. In her games she made her death traps inescapable, because unlike Jigsaw, she did not believe anyone would change, including herself. This is another sign she has a will of her own and has her own beliefs, motivations and goals.
In Saw III Amanda is very proud of her Shotgun Collar, which she created for Dr. Lynn Denlon, so she would "follow the rules and grant someone the gift of life".                                                                                Ultimately it’s game over for Amanda when she fails her second test. One could argue her own strong will would ultimately become her demise.

What can we learn from her?
A true survivor, Amanda Young is like a snake who on average sheds its skin 2-4 times a year, i.e. she challenges herself to become better at what she does. In her case those goals are nasty and vile. But flip the intent of those goals around and you do not have a recipe for disaster anymore. Now you have something beautiful, something pure. Trying to better cure cancer is just one example of how people try to make this world a happier place. Fighting inequality is important, especially if it’s just making sure all people have enough safe water. If our goal is to strive towards making this world a better place for all of us – as it should be – and if we try to be empathetic, caring and helpful towards each other, antagonist Amanda Young can serve as our reminder that if we simply do what she doesn't, but with the same commitment to success - testing ourselves in healthy ways ideally every single day - we might just make this world a little bit better by doing just that.