Katniss Everdeen, and Character Strength from Unexpected Sources

[puella_nerdii]

The promised essay for womenlovefest. Some of this is taken from comments I made at Mark Reads; a lot of it is new. HUGE GIANT SPOILERS for Mockingjay, so be warned.

Katniss Everdeen, and Character Strength from Unexpected Sources
by PuelKatniss Everdeen is not the easiest character to like. She's distrustful, judgmental, and prickly; she reacts to kindness

Comments

[reddwarfer]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Every single word is true and wonderful. Thank you so much for seeing my Katniss.

[puella_nerdii]

She deserves to be seen more often, I think. :D Thank you so much for reading!

[buried_alive55]

I loved this. Thank you for writing it. You've summed up everything about why I like Katniss and Mockingjay so much.

[puella_nerdii]

And thank you for reading. It's good to connect with other fans of Katniss, and of Mockingjay. :D

[xicedlemonteax]

This is one amazing post.

I hate how people hate Mockingjay because she has become "Weak", "Cold" and "She chose Peeta over Gale". Of course she has become hurt, after participating in not only one, but 2 Hunger Games in a row, and was one the most important person in the revolution. AND she has lost many of the people she cared for (Cinna, Rue, Prim, Peeta before he was tortured,Madge, and others in district 12). Who wouldn't be hurt, or depressed?

Maybe, but it illustrates why the whole Team Peeta versus Team Gale thing misses the point. It's never really been about the boys; it's about the worldview Katniss wants to adopt, and how she wants to conduct the revolution and her life. Katniss sees the kind of destruction wrought by the anger and self-interest and violent retaliation (and yes, pain) that Gale embodies.Yes, thank you for pointing that out. Although it's in the Y/A category, the romance is not the main point of this series

[puella_nerdii]

I think that violence has always been part of Gale, yeah. We know from The Hunger Games that he's been ranting about the Capitol and how it needs to be brought down for a while, and once he has the power to do that, he proves that a lot of his threats weren't idle. To be fair, by that point he's seen the girl he loves get hurt and nearly killed by the Capitol countless times, and been brutalized by the Peacekeepers, and lost his home and most of his friends. I understand where his anger comes from, but is it the best course of action for moving forward after the war? Maybe not.

Thanks for reading this; I'm so glad you enjoyed this.

[fragilesymphony]

This is an excellent point re: Gale; I find him fascinating and love him as a character, even though he had me legitimately screaming at my book in Mockingjay. I think it's important that the way he's coping with and viewing the war is represented: where with Katniss, she's putting a lot of responsibility on herself for things that happen, but Gale's been a relatively powerless bystander until his district gets blown to bits and he has the relative freedom and power to do something about it for the first time, ever. To me the most telling thing is the bit in MJ when he's asked how it felt to put his skills with weapons against the Capitol, and he says "long overdue." It give me chills; every time

[puella_nerdii]

Word to absolutely everything you've said. Gale gets pretty bad press from a lot of the fandom, and oh boy do I not agree with a whole bunch of his decisions, but he has reasons for doing what he does, and those reasons come from some pretty awful experiences. The source of his anger is legitimate. Yes, most of the people in the Capitol are as much products of their environment as he is and he doesn't get that because he hasn't met any of them, but the Capitol's citizens participate in or at least benefit from a whole lot of heinous shit, and in his position, I'd be fucking pissed, too. I don't think he's ever thought about rebuilding, either. I think he thinks destroying the Capitol will be enough to set things to rights, and I think he's starting to recognize the shades of gray by the end of Mockingjay -- but like you said, this is the first time he's had the energy to fight back, and he gets caught up in that because having that kind of power can be intoxicating

[limbomonkey]

I love the dandelion in the spring passage so freaking much, because for me, it encapsulates that. Heavy-handed? Maybe, but it illustrates why the whole Team Peeta versus Team Gale thing misses the point. It's never really been about the boys; it's about the worldview Katniss wants to adopt, and how she wants to conduct the revolution and her life.I agree. I wrote something similar (though less eloquent) after reading the books

[puella_nerdii]

I talked a little bit about why I think Katniss voted the way she did up here, but Collins keeps that entire sequence deliberately ambiguous so Coin's death will have more of a punch, so there are a lot of ways to read Katniss's actions. As for who dropped the bombs that killed Prim, I'm inclined to think it was the rebels because of the double-exploding bombs and because it served as a blow to both Snow and Katniss (Snow because nobody would stand with him after an act like that, Katniss because setting up her sister's death and broadcasting it is the perfect way to psychologically shatter her and Coin knows it). But I don't think who did it is ever definitively answered, and the real significance to me is that either side could have done it, that both the Capitol and 13 are capable of committing atrocities for the sake of what they call "peace."

Thanks for reading~

[limbomonkey]

and the real significance to me is that either side could have done it, that both the Capitol and 13 are capable of committing atrocities for the sake of what they call "peace."

Seconded. (Which to me makes it all the stranger that so few people think it was the Capitol that dropped the bombs.)

(As for the double-exploding bombs, I remember almost tearing my radio out of my car when NPR told me the Taliban was using that same tactic. Since I somehow doubt the book was translated into Pashto or that the Taliban are big Collins fans, I lean on the side of "other people could have thought of it too." And I have some textual support, just this "they thought of it" thing sticks in my crawl. Sorry for the rant.)

Off to go read what you linked.

[mihosayuri]

this is fantastic! I love Katniss, I hate that so many people don't see what you pointed out.

[puella_nerdii]

I love her, too, and yeah, I think sometimes people focus on specific moments or scenes and don't take them in context of her overall character arc. Glad you enjoyed!

[mihosayuri]

anytime :] I think it's more that people focus on the negative more than the positive. but to focus on the negative, you have to look at certain elements, which are and can be certain moments or events, so you are right. :] she is such a strong, fantastic character, IMO.