“She has no idea. The effect she can have”
My latest two obsessions are A Song of Ice and Fire/The Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games. Because it’s me, my brain somehow managed to connect the two and create long babbling thoughts about them. (this post is mostly about Hunger Games)
Ice and Fire is a dark, gritty fantasy about political intrigue and the price of honor. Hunger Games is a dark, gritty battle royale-type of story with hints of sci-fi about political intrigue and the price of freedom. Both feature basically good, despairing protagonists crushed by this corrupt system built against them. Both also feature hope and what it takes to create and keep it.
I thought it was interesting how both series feature a Game: one a metaphorical one (“You win or you die in the game of thrones”) and one a very physical, real one with spectators and excessive glory (“May the odds be ever in your favor”). Each Game is about power in every way possible. The game of thrones is literally for the throne, for power and glory over an entire nation (and indeed perhaps an entire world). The Hunger Games are about exhorting power, a cruel reminder to the Districts that there was a battle and they lost it. The Games also sap power from the supposed victors, mere children who are forced to get blood on their hands and many who never recover such as
Haymitch who became a misanthropic drunkard, Annie who completely shattered mentally and never found all the pieces, and Finnick who was forced into prostitution to protect the people he loves. And then of course there is Katniss.
Katniss is interesting because she doesn’t quite understand the Games, not at first. What is even more interesting is the fact that Peeta clearly does. The series reverses gender roles with Katniss the stoic, cold, and brutally physical hero and Peeta the empathetic and clever-minded love interest. In the beginning Katniss is simply focused on survival, not understanding or caring to understand what the Games mean while Peeta is resentful of being a pawn and manipulates everyone (including Katniss), rather subtly lashing out. Katniss tries rather miserably to play along, giggling and feigning happiness, while Peeta does something else entirely - he tells the truth. He is in love with a girl and she is here, and he’s not sure he wants to win.
The crowd goes wild.
I read a quote once, that the greatest lies have truths mixed in. That’s what Peeta did. He manipulates his own feelings into a weapon to defend both himself and the girl he’d in love with. Katniss, for all her wonderful strengths and flaws, can’t do that for her life. That’s why she’s such an awful mascot, that’s why her speeches wilt and die. She doesn’t know how to find truths within herself and spin them into half-lies. Peeta is a master of it and that is why Coin regrets not taking him instead. Peeta is gentle and manipulative. He is kind and he can be cruel. That’s why Peeta is the one who seems more likely to win the real [political] game.
But. Peeta’s not the one who reaches out to Rue. Peeta’s not the one who sings at her death, who grieves her like something has been torn from his life. Peeta’s not the one who battles insanely for another’s life (though I’m sure he would if the situation had been different). Peeta’s not the one hanging from a tree holding on to someone who might drag him into death. And Peeta’s not the one who holds out those berries for the crowd.
That is Katniss, in all her miserable, agonizing, wrecked glory.
Katniss is unique amongst YA heroines in that 1) her story is not defined by romance, 2) her strengths are not in mind but in body, and 3) she learns to heal. Number one is kind of obvious. Though the romance is crucial to the plot, the romance itself isn’t driving the plot. Katniss and Peeta didn’t have some forbidden romance or an epic battle to meet for makeouts, they were two unfortunate kids (one who had a crush on the other) who became so emotionally entangled that apart it hurt to breathe. Katniss thinks at the end of The Hunger Games,
“Because if he dies, I’ll never go home, not really. I’ll spend the rest of my life in this arena trying to think my way out.”
This girl literally needs him to crawl into her bed at night and hold her as she sleeps. She needs to touch his hand and know he is there. Peeta - although less needy - is similarly emotionally invested in Katniss, which is strengthened by his crush on her. But though this is their story, it is not the story. The story is Katniss vs. the Games, Katniss vs. Capitol, Katniss vs. Snow. Humanity vs. Corruption.
Number two seems kind of side detail but at the same time is kind of astounding. In her relationship with Peeta, Katniss is the bloodied knight and Peeta is the waiting damsel. But it’s not just in personality, it’s in action. Peeta’s instinct in their Game is to band with the Career pack, a group of vicious tributes who have been bred to win in the arena. He joins them and when it’s time he leaves them. His skills are in speech and hiding, something you’d imagine more out of a spy novel or an 1800’s royal wedding. Katniss on the other hand immediately jumps to grab a weapon and fend for herself. She watches the others and counts down till the time to strike. She tosses beehives at them, burns their food, shoots them with pained regret she shoves into a colder part of herself to remember later (And I love that, that her first kill is not a victory but a loss, and she thinks that this boy’s family is weeping and cursing her but all she can do is keep fighting because it’s better him than her). How often do we get a heroine (the main protagonist) who genuinely fights? Who gets dirty, bloody, scarred from battling people twice her size and pulling every trick she can to win?
Not often. Not often.
Number three is kind of weirdly worded but I couldn’t really think of a better way to say it. Katniss is…let’s say, damaged. A whole freaking lot. It’s not enough that she survives these awful Games but she’s pushed into a Victory Tour where she has to face the families of the dead and watch them pretend to love her. She watches people die because of a revolution she unknowingly kicked off. Peeta loves her, like for real, and she has no idea if she loves him or not because there’s Gale (who I kind of adore though I love Peeta more) and then Peeta is gone, stolen away by the Capitol and she is forcibly placed onto a pedestal she desires about as much as I desire a welding iron to my stomach. Katniss becomes the political equivalent of a whore.
Yes, that was a really harsh way to put it. But that’s what it is at its basest form - Snow forced Finnick into giving up his body, Coin forces Katniss into giving up her identity. Katniss Everdeen is not Katniss Everdeen. Katnis Everdeen is Katniss Everdeen, victor of the 74th Hunger Games, the Mockingjay, symbol of the revolution. Katniss is stripped of her humanity and becomes just as much a pawn in 13th District as she was in the Capitol. She is nothing but a face, nothing but a scarred body to be dragged in front of troops so they can scream her name in triumph. It makes me sick, and now we get to the important part:
Katniss breaks.
It’s not pretty, not at all. It’s a total meltdown complete with nausea and collapsing and hospitalization. Finally the idiots up top realize that no, completely dehumanizing a 16-year old girl is not good for her health. Oh, fucking really? I had no idea! (yes, I am bitter) They go fetch Peeta to cheer her up (and the Annie/Finnick scene was adorable, I ship them so hard thanks to this stupid fic) and - oops! Peeta’s been, you know, tortured and brainwashed by the government into thinking you’re an evil genetic monstrosity who wants to end humanity.
Oops.
Katniss breaks and she keeps breaking, but she takes it all in and she marches forward to Snow. To murder and to victory. But there are children there and they hesitate, and reinforcements come in and then -
There is nothing left anymore.
Prim, her beloved sister, is dead and she has nothing. Probably one of the most emotional scenes was with Buttercup, Prim’s bitter cat, who keeps yowling for his mistress and Katniss breaks down and starts screaming that Prim is dead, she’s dead, and she’s not coming back, you stupid cat. It’s raw, it’s ugly, it’s powerful. But it’s not the worst of it.
She visits Snow and he tells her something she doesn’t want to hear: he was going to surrender.
He was going to give in, and then Coin bombed the children (and Prim) anyway because it looked better if innocents died due to that monster, Snow. And Katniss looks at him and she looks at Coin, and she knows what happened. Coin propositions a new Game, a Capitol Game, and Katniss votes yes. We’re all horrified but she votes yes, because in her eyes this will never change. Nothing will ever change.
She takes her bow and aims it at Snow, an honor bestowed only to her, the glorious Mockingjay. She looks at him smiling with blood from his mouth.
And she shoots President Coin.
Remember, she just voted yes. She just decided that change is futile, that the world will always be bleak and the same.
And she shot the person who would have kept it that way.
This is one of the few choices Katniss is able to make by herself, for herself. No one whispers beforehand for her to do it. No one says to smile while she shoots. No one says they’ll keep Peeta safe for this favor.
This is Katniss, victor of the 74th Hunger Games. This is her and her alone.
And slowly, she heals. Quietly, painfully, she learns to move forward and live. She marries Peeta, has children, and that horror never fades.
But she heals.
Ice and Fire is a dark, gritty fantasy about political intrigue and the price of honor. Hunger Games is a dark, gritty battle royale-type of story with hints of sci-fi about political intrigue and the price of freedom. Both feature basically good, despairing protagonists crushed by this corrupt system built against them. Both also feature hope and what it takes to create and keep it.
I thought it was interesting how both series feature a Game: one a metaphorical one (“You win or you die in the game of thrones”) and one a very physical, real one with spectators and excessive glory (“May the odds be ever in your favor”). Each Game is about power in every way possible. The game of thrones is literally for the throne, for power and glory over an entire nation (and indeed perhaps an entire world). The Hunger Games are about exhorting power, a cruel reminder to the Districts that there was a battle and they lost it. The Games also sap power from the supposed victors, mere children who are forced to get blood on their hands and many who never recover such as
Haymitch who became a misanthropic drunkard, Annie who completely shattered mentally and never found all the pieces, and Finnick who was forced into prostitution to protect the people he loves. And then of course there is Katniss.
Katniss is interesting because she doesn’t quite understand the Games, not at first. What is even more interesting is the fact that Peeta clearly does. The series reverses gender roles with Katniss the stoic, cold, and brutally physical hero and Peeta the empathetic and clever-minded love interest. In the beginning Katniss is simply focused on survival, not understanding or caring to understand what the Games mean while Peeta is resentful of being a pawn and manipulates everyone (including Katniss), rather subtly lashing out. Katniss tries rather miserably to play along, giggling and feigning happiness, while Peeta does something else entirely - he tells the truth. He is in love with a girl and she is here, and he’s not sure he wants to win.
The crowd goes wild.
I read a quote once, that the greatest lies have truths mixed in. That’s what Peeta did. He manipulates his own feelings into a weapon to defend both himself and the girl he’d in love with. Katniss, for all her wonderful strengths and flaws, can’t do that for her life. That’s why she’s such an awful mascot, that’s why her speeches wilt and die. She doesn’t know how to find truths within herself and spin them into half-lies. Peeta is a master of it and that is why Coin regrets not taking him instead. Peeta is gentle and manipulative. He is kind and he can be cruel. That’s why Peeta is the one who seems more likely to win the real [political] game.
But. Peeta’s not the one who reaches out to Rue. Peeta’s not the one who sings at her death, who grieves her like something has been torn from his life. Peeta’s not the one who battles insanely for another’s life (though I’m sure he would if the situation had been different). Peeta’s not the one hanging from a tree holding on to someone who might drag him into death. And Peeta’s not the one who holds out those berries for the crowd.
That is Katniss, in all her miserable, agonizing, wrecked glory.
Katniss is unique amongst YA heroines in that 1) her story is not defined by romance, 2) her strengths are not in mind but in body, and 3) she learns to heal. Number one is kind of obvious. Though the romance is crucial to the plot, the romance itself isn’t driving the plot. Katniss and Peeta didn’t have some forbidden romance or an epic battle to meet for makeouts, they were two unfortunate kids (one who had a crush on the other) who became so emotionally entangled that apart it hurt to breathe. Katniss thinks at the end of The Hunger Games,
“Because if he dies, I’ll never go home, not really. I’ll spend the rest of my life in this arena trying to think my way out.”
This girl literally needs him to crawl into her bed at night and hold her as she sleeps. She needs to touch his hand and know he is there. Peeta - although less needy - is similarly emotionally invested in Katniss, which is strengthened by his crush on her. But though this is their story, it is not the story. The story is Katniss vs. the Games, Katniss vs. Capitol, Katniss vs. Snow. Humanity vs. Corruption.
Number two seems kind of side detail but at the same time is kind of astounding. In her relationship with Peeta, Katniss is the bloodied knight and Peeta is the waiting damsel. But it’s not just in personality, it’s in action. Peeta’s instinct in their Game is to band with the Career pack, a group of vicious tributes who have been bred to win in the arena. He joins them and when it’s time he leaves them. His skills are in speech and hiding, something you’d imagine more out of a spy novel or an 1800’s royal wedding. Katniss on the other hand immediately jumps to grab a weapon and fend for herself. She watches the others and counts down till the time to strike. She tosses beehives at them, burns their food, shoots them with pained regret she shoves into a colder part of herself to remember later (And I love that, that her first kill is not a victory but a loss, and she thinks that this boy’s family is weeping and cursing her but all she can do is keep fighting because it’s better him than her). How often do we get a heroine (the main protagonist) who genuinely fights? Who gets dirty, bloody, scarred from battling people twice her size and pulling every trick she can to win?
Not often. Not often.
Number three is kind of weirdly worded but I couldn’t really think of a better way to say it. Katniss is…let’s say, damaged. A whole freaking lot. It’s not enough that she survives these awful Games but she’s pushed into a Victory Tour where she has to face the families of the dead and watch them pretend to love her. She watches people die because of a revolution she unknowingly kicked off. Peeta loves her, like for real, and she has no idea if she loves him or not because there’s Gale (who I kind of adore though I love Peeta more) and then Peeta is gone, stolen away by the Capitol and she is forcibly placed onto a pedestal she desires about as much as I desire a welding iron to my stomach. Katniss becomes the political equivalent of a whore.
Yes, that was a really harsh way to put it. But that’s what it is at its basest form - Snow forced Finnick into giving up his body, Coin forces Katniss into giving up her identity. Katniss Everdeen is not Katniss Everdeen. Katnis Everdeen is Katniss Everdeen, victor of the 74th Hunger Games, the Mockingjay, symbol of the revolution. Katniss is stripped of her humanity and becomes just as much a pawn in 13th District as she was in the Capitol. She is nothing but a face, nothing but a scarred body to be dragged in front of troops so they can scream her name in triumph. It makes me sick, and now we get to the important part:
Katniss breaks.
It’s not pretty, not at all. It’s a total meltdown complete with nausea and collapsing and hospitalization. Finally the idiots up top realize that no, completely dehumanizing a 16-year old girl is not good for her health. Oh, fucking really? I had no idea! (yes, I am bitter) They go fetch Peeta to cheer her up (and the Annie/Finnick scene was adorable, I ship them so hard thanks to this stupid fic) and - oops! Peeta’s been, you know, tortured and brainwashed by the government into thinking you’re an evil genetic monstrosity who wants to end humanity.
Oops.
Katniss breaks and she keeps breaking, but she takes it all in and she marches forward to Snow. To murder and to victory. But there are children there and they hesitate, and reinforcements come in and then -
There is nothing left anymore.
Prim, her beloved sister, is dead and she has nothing. Probably one of the most emotional scenes was with Buttercup, Prim’s bitter cat, who keeps yowling for his mistress and Katniss breaks down and starts screaming that Prim is dead, she’s dead, and she’s not coming back, you stupid cat. It’s raw, it’s ugly, it’s powerful. But it’s not the worst of it.
She visits Snow and he tells her something she doesn’t want to hear: he was going to surrender.
He was going to give in, and then Coin bombed the children (and Prim) anyway because it looked better if innocents died due to that monster, Snow. And Katniss looks at him and she looks at Coin, and she knows what happened. Coin propositions a new Game, a Capitol Game, and Katniss votes yes. We’re all horrified but she votes yes, because in her eyes this will never change. Nothing will ever change.
She takes her bow and aims it at Snow, an honor bestowed only to her, the glorious Mockingjay. She looks at him smiling with blood from his mouth.
And she shoots President Coin.
Remember, she just voted yes. She just decided that change is futile, that the world will always be bleak and the same.
And she shot the person who would have kept it that way.
This is one of the few choices Katniss is able to make by herself, for herself. No one whispers beforehand for her to do it. No one says to smile while she shoots. No one says they’ll keep Peeta safe for this favor.
This is Katniss, victor of the 74th Hunger Games. This is her and her alone.
And slowly, she heals. Quietly, painfully, she learns to move forward and live. She marries Peeta, has children, and that horror never fades.
But she heals.