Literary Lads We Love: Finnick Odair (The Hunger Games)
(written for the Literary Lads meme over at lisal825's journal. go check it out!)
This is going to sound strange, but I think one of my favorite parts of this character is that initially, it was hard for me to really get into his psyche and figure out who he was and what he wanted. I related almost immediately to many of the other male characters (i.e. Gale, Peeta, Haymitch, etc.) but took a little longer with Finnick, just because there are so many layers you have to peel away at before you can see what really makes him who he is.
Let's talk about what it is exactly that makes Finnick Odair such an amazing and compelling character.
(warning: spoilers for the entire series)
1. He's incredibly strong, both mentally and physically.
+ First off, let's just take a look at how shitty this guy's life is:
+ He's incredibly steady and focused (I'm gonna talk about how this relates to the core of his personality a bit more in a later point, as well as how this same quality of his is cruelly tested and lost when Annie is captured), especially considering everything he's been through. Despite all the ongoing troubles and trauma in his life, he's able to pull himself together to plan, organize, and carry out the rebellion. Even in the arena of the 75th Games, he has a cool focus that only breaks when he believes that Annie is in danger.
In contrast to Katniss's emotional battles between "right" and "wrong", Peeta's own predominantly pacifistic views, Gale's anger towards his oppressors, Johanna's snarky, vicious outspokenness, etc, he puts aside his own thoughts and feelings and focuses on getting shit done. (This also goes to show how much gold THG has to offer in terms of character diversity.)
+ He manages to retain a sense of humor in even the most dire of times.
2. ...but he breaks too.
Suzanne Collins is just so damn good at getting people right. Unlike many other young adult books/authors, she never shies away from fully fleshing out her characters and taking them to their breaking points. She never tries to paint the protagonists as these totally selfless beings who never experience any trauma and are just happy making sacrifices 'for the greater good'. She paints them as raw and disturbed and selfish, but at the same time as selfless, strong, and capable of more than they thought possible.
When Annie Cresta was captured by the Capitol, after years and years of endurance, Finnick Odair broke.
He collapsed into an emotionally stricken state of instability. He loses all rational thought, as well as his ability to set aside immediate emotional reactions, and just breaks, psychologically and emotionally, and it was both heart-wrenching and riveting to see the mental deterioration of an otherwise incredibly capable man play out.
It's here that Finnick Odair is truly stripped down. Not in the beds of his Capitol lovers, not in the tribute parades, but here, in the face of Annie suffering, in his helplessness and inability protect the woman he loves (I'm going to elaborate a bit more on that in the next point).
It's here that we see his weaknesses, his fragility, the crumbling psyche behind the seemingly suave and confident Victor. He is broken beyond his usually excellent ability to mask his insecurities and greatest fears. While there are other characters in the series that function relatively well in grief (Johanna, Peeta, Delly, etc), Finnick Odair is not one of them. And honestly, it's this painfully raw imperfection of him that makes him so vulnerable and real as a character.
(I'm guessing this was probably a side of him that only Annie - and perhaps Mags - saw, especially after his various 'meetings' with clients, except like, magnified by x1000)
"It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart." - Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins.
3. He's a protector.
+ Finnick Odair is, very fundamentally, a protector. A large majority of what he does is to protect other people. He endured sexual exploitation at the hands of the Capitol to protect Annie (and others he may have cared about back home in Four). He risked his own life and saw his mentor, Mags, die to protect Peeta and Katniss in the Quarter Quell. In the final pages of Mockingjay, he died an agonizing (and ultimately useless) death to protect his squad. In the 75th Games, he finds Johanna and makes sure she doesn't get left behind, because Finnick Odair is fiercely loyal and he does not leave people behind.
He is constantly putting others' needs before his own. Other characters, like Johanna for example, risked losing their loved ones' lives because they held their ground and refused to succumb to what the Capitol wanted, but Finnick was willing to make sacrifices for the sake of those he cared about.
[This isn't "better" or "worse" than the way other characters chose to act, though. No fucking way. On the contrary, it's absolutely fascinating to see the way Suzanne Collins has all these different characters react so differently to the same situations. Her characters are far from being cardboard cutouts, and throughout the trilogy, it's unclear whether or not certain actions and reactions are fundamentally good or bad, right or wrong.]
+ Linking the discussion back to the second point about him being a protector, he psychologically broke in Mockingjay because for the first time, he didn't have a CHOICE in protecting his loved ones. Initially, he chose to have his body sold for her. He chose to risk his life for Katniss and Peeta. In the end, he chose to give himself up to the mutts. He's always choosing to protect people, but here, he was left completely without choice and without any way to protect Annie...
.
...and it fucking broke him.
4. ...but he needs someone too.
A trope that often bothers me in fiction and fandom in general is the whole notion of one person saving another. People do not exist simply to save another person. People do not exist to be heroically saved by another. There's often this assumption in fandom that Finnick 'saved' Annie, that he's her protector, her rock.
Which he is! No doubt about that. But too often, people seem to forget that she's his rock too.
It was Annie who comforted him, stayed by his side, and kept on loving him despite everything that he had to do in the Capitol. It was Annie who, in the face of the man she loved being sexually (ab)used at the hands of the Capitol, stayed strong and kept Finnick steady and sane.
Finnick needed someone too, and the great thing about this character (and pretty much all the others in the series) is that he doesn't exist just to save or be saved. Rather, he is a complex character with complex, multifaceted needs, and he wants to give his love and support as much as he wants to be loved and supported.
Also, I'm a sucker for the whole save each other thing.
5. He thinks differently - he works from the inside out.
This was an especially intriguing facet to his character. He isn't outright rebellious like Johanna. He doesn't externally express his anger and disdain for the Capitol like Gale does. He isn't fundamentally impulsive like Katniss.
His biggest weapon was his ability to set aside immediate sentiments he felt against the Capitol and act in a way that would benefit both him and the revolution at a later point. Obviously, a lot of this 'setting aside' was done as a necessity to protect his loved ones, but even so, he has this... patience - a cool, calm nature - that many of the other characters lack. Over the years, he subtly infiltrated the secrets of the Capitol's most elite, and used them as a bullet to attack and garner support for the revolution at just the right time.
He works from the inside out. He's not rash and he doesn't straight-up engage in rebellious behavior. Instead, he maintains this relative focus and patience, and uses it to buy himself time to plan something big, something he believes can bring down the Capitol for good.
+ On a related tangent, the way his character often works defies traditional gender stereotypes in literature. It's usually a female character who uses her sexuality to pry information out of people. But here, it's Finnick - a handsome, masculine, physically strong male character - who uses his looks and his sexual charm to delve into the secrets of the most influential figures in Capitol society.
+ At the same time, let's not forget that Finnick Odair could absolutely be ruthless. He didn't hesitate to kill in the arena - not in his first Games, and not in his second.
Basically, his entire strategy of attack and offense is just so different and unique from many of the other characters, and it's fascinating to see how it plays out for him throughout his arc.
[On a side note: I think one of the few other characters that can really match Finnick's ability to "work-from-the-inside-out" is probably Haymitch, who, during and after the 74th Games, really starts to focus on taking action and making things happen by using his own Haymitchy charms (hell yeah diplomatic!Haymitch. still one of my only favorite scenes in the movie, even though it was kinda cheesy), but at the same time he is rarely ever outwardly and emotionally expressive about it.]
Finnick Odair wants to get shit done, but he isn't impulsive and he wants to do things in a way that won't hurt the people he loves. He's passionate, he's loyal, and he's brave, but he's also cautious, smart, and doesn't hesitate to make sacrifices for the things and the people he believes in.
6. He's also really, really hawt.
Considering his character history, this is probably not very appropriate to mention, especially not at the end of a meta post that explores his struggles with sexual exploitation. Nevertheless, I would like to respectfully add that Finnick Odair is one sexy ass mofo.
This is going to sound strange, but I think one of my favorite parts of this character is that initially, it was hard for me to really get into his psyche and figure out who he was and what he wanted. I related almost immediately to many of the other male characters (i.e. Gale, Peeta, Haymitch, etc.) but took a little longer with Finnick, just because there are so many layers you have to peel away at before you can see what really makes him who he is.
Let's talk about what it is exactly that makes Finnick Odair such an amazing and compelling character.
(warning: spoilers for the entire series)
1. He's incredibly strong, both mentally and physically.
+ First off, let's just take a look at how shitty this guy's life is:
- He grew up in a Career district, which meant that his whole life was dedicated to training for a future Games. He was literally raised since early childhood to slaughter. Honestly, just the idea of a young child being not only expected, but encouraged, to kill other innocent children for riches and personal ~glory is absolutely horrific.
- Two years after winning the Games, he was prostituted out to the citizens of the Capitol, and if he dared to refuse a client, his loved ones would pay the price. He was fucking sixteen,and this was just another sick, twisted way for President Snow/the Capitol government to keep the Victors in their places so that they wouldn't rebel.
- He was in love. He was in love with Annie Cresta, who Katniss describes as "a poor, mad girl from back home," but that's not the point. The point is, he was in love and he was forced to watch as the love of his life lost her mind in her own Games. He's forced to have sex with other men and women when the only person he wants to share his body with is Annie.
- Not only does he have to be the Capitol's ~favorite escort, he has to pretend to fucking love it. How shitty and completely humiliating is that? Having your body sold and used like an object, and then having to smile and wink and flirt with everyone who's used you/planning on using you. It's sickening.
- His mentor - one of the few people Finnick really loved - gave up her life in front of his own eyes to protect Katniss and Peeta, two strangers who he didn't have to give a single fuck about, but did anyway for the sake of the rebellion.
- Ultimately, he dies a pointless death, his body in bits and pieces. Even though the revolution was won, he'll never be able to live out the rest of his life with his wife, and he'll never know that he fathered a son, who was born shortly after the rebellion.
+ He's incredibly steady and focused (I'm gonna talk about how this relates to the core of his personality a bit more in a later point, as well as how this same quality of his is cruelly tested and lost when Annie is captured), especially considering everything he's been through. Despite all the ongoing troubles and trauma in his life, he's able to pull himself together to plan, organize, and carry out the rebellion. Even in the arena of the 75th Games, he has a cool focus that only breaks when he believes that Annie is in danger.
In contrast to Katniss's emotional battles between "right" and "wrong", Peeta's own predominantly pacifistic views, Gale's anger towards his oppressors, Johanna's snarky, vicious outspokenness, etc, he puts aside his own thoughts and feelings and focuses on getting shit done. (This also goes to show how much gold THG has to offer in terms of character diversity.)
+ He manages to retain a sense of humor in even the most dire of times.
- Finnick Odair in his underwear. 'nuff said.
2. ...but he breaks too.
Suzanne Collins is just so damn good at getting people right. Unlike many other young adult books/authors, she never shies away from fully fleshing out her characters and taking them to their breaking points. She never tries to paint the protagonists as these totally selfless beings who never experience any trauma and are just happy making sacrifices 'for the greater good'. She paints them as raw and disturbed and selfish, but at the same time as selfless, strong, and capable of more than they thought possible.
When Annie Cresta was captured by the Capitol, after years and years of endurance, Finnick Odair broke.
He collapsed into an emotionally stricken state of instability. He loses all rational thought, as well as his ability to set aside immediate emotional reactions, and just breaks, psychologically and emotionally, and it was both heart-wrenching and riveting to see the mental deterioration of an otherwise incredibly capable man play out.
It's here that Finnick Odair is truly stripped down. Not in the beds of his Capitol lovers, not in the tribute parades, but here, in the face of Annie suffering, in his helplessness and inability protect the woman he loves (I'm going to elaborate a bit more on that in the next point).
It's here that we see his weaknesses, his fragility, the crumbling psyche behind the seemingly suave and confident Victor. He is broken beyond his usually excellent ability to mask his insecurities and greatest fears. While there are other characters in the series that function relatively well in grief (Johanna, Peeta, Delly, etc), Finnick Odair is not one of them. And honestly, it's this painfully raw imperfection of him that makes him so vulnerable and real as a character.
(I'm guessing this was probably a side of him that only Annie - and perhaps Mags - saw, especially after his various 'meetings' with clients, except like, magnified by x1000)
"It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart." - Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins.
3. He's a protector.
+ Finnick Odair is, very fundamentally, a protector. A large majority of what he does is to protect other people. He endured sexual exploitation at the hands of the Capitol to protect Annie (and others he may have cared about back home in Four). He risked his own life and saw his mentor, Mags, die to protect Peeta and Katniss in the Quarter Quell. In the final pages of Mockingjay, he died an agonizing (and ultimately useless) death to protect his squad. In the 75th Games, he finds Johanna and makes sure she doesn't get left behind, because Finnick Odair is fiercely loyal and he does not leave people behind.
He is constantly putting others' needs before his own. Other characters, like Johanna for example, risked losing their loved ones' lives because they held their ground and refused to succumb to what the Capitol wanted, but Finnick was willing to make sacrifices for the sake of those he cared about.
[This isn't "better" or "worse" than the way other characters chose to act, though. No fucking way. On the contrary, it's absolutely fascinating to see the way Suzanne Collins has all these different characters react so differently to the same situations. Her characters are far from being cardboard cutouts, and throughout the trilogy, it's unclear whether or not certain actions and reactions are fundamentally good or bad, right or wrong.]
+ Linking the discussion back to the second point about him being a protector, he psychologically broke in Mockingjay because for the first time, he didn't have a CHOICE in protecting his loved ones. Initially, he chose to have his body sold for her. He chose to risk his life for Katniss and Peeta. In the end, he chose to give himself up to the mutts. He's always choosing to protect people, but here, he was left completely without choice and without any way to protect Annie...
.
...and it fucking broke him.
4. ...but he needs someone too.
A trope that often bothers me in fiction and fandom in general is the whole notion of one person saving another. People do not exist simply to save another person. People do not exist to be heroically saved by another. There's often this assumption in fandom that Finnick 'saved' Annie, that he's her protector, her rock.
Which he is! No doubt about that. But too often, people seem to forget that she's his rock too.
It was Annie who comforted him, stayed by his side, and kept on loving him despite everything that he had to do in the Capitol. It was Annie who, in the face of the man she loved being sexually (ab)used at the hands of the Capitol, stayed strong and kept Finnick steady and sane.
Finnick needed someone too, and the great thing about this character (and pretty much all the others in the series) is that he doesn't exist just to save or be saved. Rather, he is a complex character with complex, multifaceted needs, and he wants to give his love and support as much as he wants to be loved and supported.
Also, I'm a sucker for the whole save each other thing.
5. He thinks differently - he works from the inside out.
This was an especially intriguing facet to his character. He isn't outright rebellious like Johanna. He doesn't externally express his anger and disdain for the Capitol like Gale does. He isn't fundamentally impulsive like Katniss.
His biggest weapon was his ability to set aside immediate sentiments he felt against the Capitol and act in a way that would benefit both him and the revolution at a later point. Obviously, a lot of this 'setting aside' was done as a necessity to protect his loved ones, but even so, he has this... patience - a cool, calm nature - that many of the other characters lack. Over the years, he subtly infiltrated the secrets of the Capitol's most elite, and used them as a bullet to attack and garner support for the revolution at just the right time.
He works from the inside out. He's not rash and he doesn't straight-up engage in rebellious behavior. Instead, he maintains this relative focus and patience, and uses it to buy himself time to plan something big, something he believes can bring down the Capitol for good.
+ On a related tangent, the way his character often works defies traditional gender stereotypes in literature. It's usually a female character who uses her sexuality to pry information out of people. But here, it's Finnick - a handsome, masculine, physically strong male character - who uses his looks and his sexual charm to delve into the secrets of the most influential figures in Capitol society.
+ At the same time, let's not forget that Finnick Odair could absolutely be ruthless. He didn't hesitate to kill in the arena - not in his first Games, and not in his second.
Basically, his entire strategy of attack and offense is just so different and unique from many of the other characters, and it's fascinating to see how it plays out for him throughout his arc.
[On a side note: I think one of the few other characters that can really match Finnick's ability to "work-from-the-inside-out" is probably Haymitch, who, during and after the 74th Games, really starts to focus on taking action and making things happen by using his own Haymitchy charms (hell yeah diplomatic!Haymitch. still one of my only favorite scenes in the movie, even though it was kinda cheesy), but at the same time he is rarely ever outwardly and emotionally expressive about it.]
Finnick Odair wants to get shit done, but he isn't impulsive and he wants to do things in a way that won't hurt the people he loves. He's passionate, he's loyal, and he's brave, but he's also cautious, smart, and doesn't hesitate to make sacrifices for the things and the people he believes in.
6. He's also really, really hawt.
Considering his character history, this is probably not very appropriate to mention, especially not at the end of a meta post that explores his struggles with sexual exploitation. Nevertheless, I would like to respectfully add that Finnick Odair is one sexy ass mofo.