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

[eevilalice]

OMG THANK YOU so much for this. It's what I've wanted to write, what's been lingering in the back of my own mind, since reading so many others' thoughts on Katniss and simply being astonished. I loved her the whole way through the series (probably because, as I say to friends, we're the same brand of emotionally retarded!) for the reasons you've explained here so eloquently. I'm so bookmarking this and sharing.

Have to highlight this: 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.

I adored both Peeta and Gale through the course of the first two books, but when it came to Mockingjay, I began to be uneasy about Gale, then flat-out disappointed and angry re: the Nut. And it's because of the worldview Gale represents, which was one I hoped Katniss would reject.

One question: what did you make of Katniss voting for the Games (for Prim--revenge) near the end of Mockingjay?

And, no, Katniss isn't perfect, but so many people don't realize that she shouldn't be. That would truly make her boring and unrealistic, an impossible angel. Male heroes are allowed to be flawed and complex, but female ones aren't?

So, again, thanks!

[puella_nerdii]

Thank you! And ha, yeah, Katniss does kind of get an F in emotions, but it's one of the things I kind of love about her (much as I want to, er, gently take her aside and point a few things out to her sometimes).

One question: what did you make of Katniss voting for the Games (for Prim--revenge) near the end of Mockingjay?
I thought it was a ruse to gain Coin's confidence -- well, the second time I read the chapter, anyway (the first time I was screaming WHAT THE FUCK KATNISS NO HOW COULD YOU). Coin's been side-eyeing Katniss from the beginning and there's probably no way she'd let Katniss near a weapon if Katniss seemed to be going against her agenda. (Boggs said as much a few chapters back. Sob. Boggs.) And Haymitch sided with her because he does understand her -- and knows she'd never agree to this kind of thing unless she had some other plan she was working towards. Much like Haymitch himself, really. The paragraph before Katniss kills Coin, she talks about how she and Snow had agreed not to lie to each other, which was a tip-off for me that Katniss recognized that killing Snow now would ultimately solve nothing, and she needed to look at who was really lying. Obviously, Collins wanted Coin's death to have a big "WAIT WHAT JUST HAPPENED" punch, so she couldn't reveal too much of what Katniss was thinking, but I don't think Katniss ever intended for the Games to happen again.

And I do think there's a double standard in play when it comes to female heroes and flaws -- particularly because I've seen more than one person criticize Katniss for being too violent/too mopey/not decisive enough, and then praise male characters in different canons who show the exact same traits. (I seem to hear that glaring contradiction more when I talk to people about the books in offline life, but I don't doubt that similar things have happened on the Internet.)

[eevilalice]

You know what? I misremembered Katniss only thinking "for Prim" instead of actually saying it out loud, which is a huge part of why I thought she really meant it. I literally just grabbed my book and checked! She also looks at the rose...

I really need to re-read the books, lol. But I'm going to wait until after the movies.

[limbomonkey]

Obviously, Collins wanted Coin's death to have a big "WAIT WHAT JUST HAPPENED" punch, so she couldn't reveal too much of what Katniss was thinking, but I don't think Katniss ever intended for the Games to happen again.

Yes, but I just feel she (Collins) still would have put some textual support in Katniss's thoughts to clue the reader in, even if it didn't make sense to us then. But her thoughts there seem so entrenched in the black/white, games or kill everyone, two bad choices thing. I didn't see Katniss's Eureka moment/choosing the third option until she faces Snow.

Sorry I keep ranting on your journal.