Thoughts on Katniss

[aislinntlc]

OK, I pretty much never post here, and very few will see this, but I feel the need to get some thoughts on Katniss from the Hunger Games down on "paper". I'll put them behind a cut, (I hope) in case they end up on anyone's friend page who hasn't read Mockingjay or doesn't care. Given the fact I should be going to sleep instead, this may only be

Comments

[moosatcows]

I don't disagree with anything you're saying here. Katniss is indeed flawed, she's shell shocked, and she's been twisted into thinking that her whole life is part of the Hunger Games (which she's right about

[aislinntlc]

See, and I think that makes her much more believable as a fallible human being in that moment. If she were faced with the children being chosen, I don't think her answer would have been the same. That was a moment of utter despair for her, and one in which she had definite reasons for choosing what she chose - Prim being a huge one, but I think there were others. It's interesting that when Haymitch votes after her, he doesn't say "I vote with Katniss" - he says "I vote with the Mockingjay." She looks at him and thinks to herself, this will be the moment to see how alike we are, how much he understands me, and this is his response

[moosatcows]

I agree that she grows in the final scenes of the book, I would have just preferred to have SEEN that growth. It felt like a bit of an add on to me, an "And by the way..." instead of real showing. I felt cheated out of that between the clipped last chapters and her vote for the Games, just like I felt cheated out of a lot of the action scenes in this book as well (but that's a whole other can of worms

[aislinntlc]

Your NF is showing my dear, lol. This is why I see Katniss as more of an NT - she not at all an Idealist, and one needs to be in order to think and act the way you wished her to do, in the role of hero. I don't think her character's growth was actually the focus of the author, and while she did grow, I can see why it wasn't made the focal point of the story, or laid out in as much detail as you would have wished. I think the DH epilogue is an excellent example of the realities of social change - laws or actions might change, but attitude changes come more slowly and incrementally. If Al gets into Slytherin, that will do more to change things socially - Ron had been too personally impacted by the war to be able to let go of those attitudes completely. There is hope that their children will, just as there is hope that the children of Katniss and Peeta can grow up in a world where the Hunger Games are just something they learn in the history books and from their parents, but where their personal realities consist of more than survival.

[moosatcows]

So what do you think was the focus of these books? The intent by the author?

[aislinntlc]

To me, it seemed that the author was exploring societal issues: class struggles; the way that, as a society, it is possible to dehumanize others; the darker side of reality TV extrapolated out to a horrific evolution; power and its corrupting influence; what one is willing to do/to compromise/to sacrifice in order to survive. While Katniss is the protagonist, it felt to me like the author was focusing more on the bigger societal questions, and not as much on a personal hero's journey and growth. She seems to deliberately leave it open ended and unresolved - the questions are complex, not easily solvable, if solvable at all.

[mlwl]

She doesn't see the bigger picture that Peeta sees, doesn't understand what he says to her on the roof about choices - at least, not until two books later. Her actions are very much in the moment, based on her feelings at that time.SO true... Katniss is incredibly un-self-aware, the most obvious point being in her indecision about romance with Peeta and Gale

[moosatcows]

Well, I do feel cheated out of the character growth in a lot of ways. Mostly because again, it felt so tacked on the end to me. Yes, there was character growth in other ways but on the whole it was very unsatisfying for me. I am well aware that these are war stories and not meant to have bubbly endings with rainbows and unicorns, but I wanted to see more of a resolution, if nowhere else than inside Katniss' head

[aislinntlc]

I just read somewhere that Collins' father is a Vietnam vet, and used to tell her stories as a child. I think that's really significant, in terms of how her story is told. Vietnam wasn't like WWII - it was a much more morally ambiguous war(not that war is ever the noble thing some would like us to believe it is). People talk about the WWII generation being the greatest generation, while Vietnam vets were vilified when they got home. War is ugly, it makes people do horrendous things out of self preservation, brain washing, a greed for power, the dehumanizing of others. If you haven't gone there yet, check out http://www.fallingwhistles.com/splash/index.php - the atrocities that are being perpetrated against the children in the Congo are just so chilling, and people should know this is going on in our world

[mlwl]

I agree... I feel like it would have really cheapened the story on the whole to have everything fixed for Katniss, including just in her head. She IS damaged goods, as are those around her.