Comments | horridporrid: Hunger Games: Ode to Peeta

horridporrid

Hunger Games: Ode to Peeta

Mar 23, 2012 15:40

So Hunger Games opens today and we'll be going to see it tomorrow (barring any earth shattering events) and I thought this would be a good time to write my "Defense of Peeta" post that I've been meaning to post since forever. (Or whenever I first read the books then went online. So. Yeah. Forever. *g*)

Only it's not so much a defense because ( Read more... )

books, hunger games, meta

Comments 7

sistermagpie March 24 2012, 04:31:18 UTC

That's exactly how I saw it. He wasn't so nutty that he was going to want to volunteer in Katniss's place (not that he could), but it seemed like the whole thing with Peeta was that he was thoughtful and knew himself pretty well. He had a talent not for winning the games the real way, but for reframing the games in his mind so that he could deal with them.

This is why I don't really buy the whole "he's a stalker!" idea, because I think it ignores that Peeta's got a similar arc to Katniss in a way. It's not that he's always lived for her, it's that this was the way he could survive the games emotionally and after living through it he's traumatized and he's imbued her without a lot of qualities because he needed to do that. I'm sure by the end of the games he was just as confused as she was, and that he'd convinced himself that she was everything to him because he needed to do that.

horridporrid March 25 2012, 20:47:49 UTC

...it seemed like the whole thing with Peeta was that he was thoughtful and knew himself pretty well. He had a talent not for winning the games the real way, but for reframing the games in his mind so that he could deal with them.

*nods* Yeah, that's exactly it. Not quite the game-master I'd thought at first, but a much more realistically thoughtful guy doing his best to deal sanely with a totally insane situation.

...it's that this was the way he could survive the games emotionally and after living through it he's traumatized and he's imbued her without a lot of qualities because he needed to do that.Yes! That's it exactly! I do adore Peeta and I really enjoyed the warmth of his relationship with Katniss, but it's not a healthy relationship. Or at least, it's been... forced (that might be too strong a word, but I can't think of an alternative) in a very unhealthy way. Without the games, I'm not sure if Peeta would have ever acted on his crush. Not unless Katniss and Gale actively split-up in a way that meant the people ( ... )

arsenicjade March 24 2012, 20:25:13 UTC

Here via a friend who sent me to this post. What I love about this post is that we read this book in an entirely different way AND we have wholly different tastes and we both ended up loving Peeta all the same. That makes me happy deep in my soul.

horridporrid March 25 2012, 20:49:37 UTC

Hee! Peeta is just that lovable. :D

ms_arithmancer April 4 2012, 17:35:30 UTC

I ignored this post when you made it because...never read HG!

However, last weekend my sister saw the movie, and *LOVED* it, and read the books, and even more **LOOOOOVED** them, so I decided it was worth trying. I have read the first 2 (waiting for my sister to loan me the third eBook...) and remembered this post, and wondered: is Peeta widely disliked in the fandom? Unless he does something really shocking and gross in the third book (if so, please don't tell me, I will know soon enough!) he seems to me the "best" character. I could see disliking him for being too perfect/unrealistic, but that's about it.

I am not sure he is my favorite, I really like Katniss too, and I think it is possible Book 3 could change my views on both them and some other characters...but he seems really unobjectionable.

horridporrid April 8 2012, 20:18:50 UTC

Hurrah for book and movie love! :D

So, Peeta and fandom (the non-spoilery for the 3rd book version *g*): First off, no Peeta's not widely disliked. It wouldn't surprise me if he wins a lot of "favorite character" polls and such. But this is the internet, and fandom, and there's a bit of a love-triangle with Katniss and Peeta and Gale. And while it's not the central story by any means, it's enough to get teams forming (Team Peeta vs. Team Gale). So you get the usual fallout from those sort of discussions.

But what I pinged to were arguments that you pretty much pegged: I could see disliking him for being too perfect/unrealistic, but that's about it. A view that wasn't just love-triange based was that Peeta's love for Katniss was too pure and/or self-sacrificing to be real. That it was actually a bit disturbing and heading towards (or had already landed hard into) crazy stalker-land ( ... )

ms_arithmancer April 9 2012, 02:54:14 UTC

I have now finished Book 3, and no, he does not do anything really gross, yay! Just makes me want to give him all the hugs, so I am glad he wound up with Katniss ( ... )