Katniss Everdeen--The Temper on Fire

**Due to recent misinterpretations of some one post from this blog, a disclaimer is now apparently necessary.  If this is your first visit to The Scratched Camera, please read the introductory post and discover, for yourself, that every typed word that follows is unabashedly my opinion and mine alone.  In said introductory post, which, shockingly, I did not simply type up for my own good health, I state that we all read events and characters with our own baggage in mind; no one observes with a perfectly clear lens—hence the name The Scratched Camera.  Therefore, it is completely your will to disagree with any material that follows, just as it is my will to agree and advocate for what is mine.**  ~End, irritating obligatory disclaimer~

Katniss Everdeen—The Temper on Fire

            One of the first tasks I undertook upon setting up this blog was to decide on how I would rate the role model and relatability scales.  I wanted to title the sections with appropriately witty names (because, if it’s not witty, what’s the point, really?)  In terms of young adult female characters, the bulk of which I knew would make up the content of my blog, there were really only two names that stuck out to me:  Bella, of course, on the lower end of the scale, and Ms. Evergreen on the higher end. 

            For me, the thing that worked so fantastically about putting Katniss on the high end of the scale—as the character that was intended to represent the epitome of all that makes up an amazing role model for young adult girls—is that, very simply, she’s just too perfect.  This isn’t to say she isn’t flawed—Peeta heaven’s knows she is.  But, whereas Bella is just too much the clichéd stupid teenager, Katniss is just too much the snubbing girl who always has far too many things going on, and just happens to fail to notice that two boys have fallen for her.  And who can blame her?  She has a family to feed, a Game to win, and a life to fight for. 

            There’s no denying she holds the necessary skills required to make her way home, though.  From first meeting Katniss, there is no doubt in the reader’s mind that this is a girl who can handle herself.  She knows what to eat and what not to eat; she’s lethal with a bow and arrow.  With a little help from Gale, she becomes better acquainted with traps.  Years of feeding her family have equipped her to survive the Games without her even really knowing it. 

            But this isn’t what won the readers over.  Really, on a surface level, the audience shouldn’t like Katniss.  There are times when she is unsettlingly intolerable.  The loss of her father and years of fending for herself without any support or encouragement from her mother have left Katniss hardened on the inside.  Her goal in life is to survive, not make herself happy, or anyone else happy for that matter.

            The only exception to this stone-cold policy is her sister Prim.  Katniss puts on a smile for her sister every day.  She encourages her sister to be the best person she can be.  Really, Katniss tries to be the mother she never had for Prim.  Everything she does, she does for Prim’s sake.  Prim is the one she hunts for.  Prim is the one she puts herself in danger for.  And it is Prim that she volunteers for. 

            In one sentence, Katniss won me over.  Any cruelty or harshness on her part prior to or following Reaping Day was excused in one sentence:  “I volunteer as tribute.”  She willingly throws herself into the Games she abhors simply to save her very young sister the excruciating pain of doing it herself.  It is explained to us that this sort of thing isn’t done—no one volunteers, even for a sibling.  We receive proof of this a few minutes later as Peeta is called and not one of his brothers steps up for him. 

            As she and Peeta make their way to the Capitol, we learn more things about Katniss, not all of which are agreeable.  She doesn’t like nice people; she thinks they worm their way into your heart, just so they can find the perfect way to break it later.  This makes her wary of Peeta.  Alternatively, it draws her closer to Haymitch.  This is a view I share with Katniss, and, especially as it’s a rare mentality to hold (or so I’m told), my opinion of her couldn’t help but soar shortly after its declaration.  Although I’m certain I’m in the minority there. 

            When Peeta declares his supposed undying love during the pre-Game interviews, instead of clutching at her chest and weeping with wonder, Katniss swats him over the head and accuses him of trying to outwit her in the Games.  This, of course, stems from her opinion on the cruelties possible of kindhearted people.  I won’t deny that I had a similar reaction to Katniss, accompanied with a round of eye rolls.  But, as time went on, I, much like Katniss, saw the benefits of this ploy.  This, she thinks, could be what gets me home. 

            Meanwhile the Bella’s of the world Peeta’s thinking he just really wants to be with her.  It is along these lines that Katniss receives most of her criticism.  People say she can’t be stupid enough to completely miss that both Gale and Peeta have feelings for her.  Truthfully, she really can be.  To be fair, she really isn’t stupid, per say.  As I said earlier, she simply has bigger fish to fry.  Marriage and children were never in her agenda so, therefore, she sees no logic in wasting time thinking about Gale, Peeta, or any other male, in this way.  In the process, she misses the very obvious signs from Gale that he has feelings.  She misses that Peeta very clearly does truly love her—that he has since even before the incident with the bread.  Even once she realizes she’s missed these signs over the years, she still sees no need to actively pursue any of it.  By that point, President Snow has informed her she no longer has a choice in the matter and has, therefore, rendered options null and void.

            I often wonder how Katniss would react if she were to attempt to read Twilight.  I think it’s safe to say she would not have a positive reaction to Meyer’s ‘heroine,’ however the degree to which she would dislike Bella is widely disputed amongst critics.  One from Entertainment Weekly acknowledges that Katniss is self-possessed and, as such, directly contrasts Bella.  I tend to agree with this and have even gone so far as to contemplate that Collins sought to directly contradict Bella in as many ways as possible when she created Katniss Everdeen. 

On the other hand, one critic I read actually shocked me so much I feel compelled to use a direct quote.  “Katniss is more passive than Bella, allowed to have all kinds of goodies but only if she demonstrates her virtue by not really wanting them in the first place…For all of her irritating flaws, Bella, at least, has the courage of her desire.  For what, besides a well-earned vengeance does Katniss Everdeen truly hunger?”

            Food, that’s what she truly hungers for.  She’s starving—literally—as she gives as much as she can to her family every single day.  But not just food—that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  In Katniss’s world, freedom is too high of a demand.  She hungers to be free of Snow’s oppressive rule, perhaps not as much as Gale does, but she feels the dull ache of it every time she or her family go hungry.

            My first reaction upon reading this quote was to be incensed.  I absolutely love Katniss; she certainly makes my list of top five favorite female heroines.  To say she falls short of Bella Swan of all people, in any way shape or form, felt almost like a personal insult.  After this knee-jerk reaction subsided, I pondered the words.  For a second they almost seemed to make some twisted sort of sense.  They seemed to be telling the tale that it is unfair for society to only approve of a girl getting a significant other if she didn’t really want one to begin with.  But, to me, there’s a difference between wanting a significant other and being desperate for one.  The words also seemed to whisper to me that at least Bella has the guts to want something and seek it out. And, in a way, this is true. It’s just that what Bella wants is a pale dead thing that apparently lacks the common sense mirror reflection to comb his hair.

            But, quickly, my thoughts moved on to what that meant for Katniss.  This critic seemed to believe that Katniss didn’t want for anything other than revenge.  Yes, Katniss burns for vengeance, even before Prim is killed.  I think anyone would agree that she’s earned the right to.  But there are other things that she has wanted over her long sixteen years that she didn’t get.  She wants her father to come back, but that’s impossible.  She wants her mother to return to the kind, caring, responsible woman she was prior to her father’s untimely death, but that’s improbable.  She wants the government to stop taking advantage of the Districts, sucking them of their resources for their own uses and leaving the bulk of the populace with not even enough to get by.  She wants Gale to find some peace, somewhere preferably away from the mines.  She wants her sister to live in a better world than she did.  Katniss wants for so much; she simply refuses to put it to words, knowing that none of it will ever come true. 

            I believe her desire to keep Prim safe and make Prim happy far surpasses that of her need for revenge.  She becomes the Mockingjay, a symbol for the rebellion, but she does so begrudgingly.  She hates that the people of District 13 make her feel like she’s being dressed up for another Game.  Truly, she only goes through the motions on this, driven instead to keep Prim safe and to kill Snow.  Even if her need for vengeance was her only driving force, that would still be a hell of a lot better than wishing to have some leech suck the life out of you so you can be eternally hitched at the hip.  But, fortunately for Katniss, above her need for vengeance is the call of her love for Prim.  She would go to the end of the world to save her sister.  And that desire isn’t half bad. 

From Bella to Katniss:  Is Katniss a good role model?  Well, I’ve placed her at the end of the scale, which makes this paragraph a bit intimidating to write.  However, I do believe she’s earned that spot.  Katniss might not always be pleasant, but she is always 100% herself.  She doesn’t compromise to attract men.  And, even once she has attracted a few, she doesn’t change to suit them.  Gale offers for him and her to run off together, into the woods.  She says no, on the principle that she can’t leave without Prim.  He offers to take their families with them; still she refuses, acknowledging that it would simply be too difficult.  She could’ve just run off with him, left all her cares and concerns with her family behind, but she refused to do so.  Katniss could’ve immediately played along on the star-crossed lovers issue, but she dragged her feet every step of the way, believing the image made her look weak.  Interested boys weren’t the only ones she stood defiant against.  She may have outwardly submitted to Snow and Coin—to Snow for the sake of her family, to Coin for the sake to get her own revenge on both of them in one shot, literally—but she had her own agenda and saw it through to the end.  She even suffered through her mortification at the Games and the fate of Peeta in Mockingjay, independent from much help.  Some would argue that her marriage and subsequent children to Peeta would involve some sort of caving on her part, but I disagree.  The world had changed, perhaps it was a world she felt more comfortable having children in.  It is, after all, her right to change her mind. 

Role Model Rating:  10/10

From Lorelai to Wonder Woman:  Is Katniss relatable?  For me, she really, truly is.  But she can be cruel and nasty, choosing to vindictively push people away.  I suppose in a way, I think of Katniss as saying and doing the things a lot of people wish they had the guts to do.  Our society instills this filter upon us in which we feel obligated to be somewhat nice.  Katniss has no such filter—she may be mean and belligerent, but she’s at least honest about it.  I, too, have been told I lack a certain filter at times, but even Katniss can take it to proportions I can’t quite reach.  For that, I relate to her, although I’m not sure how other, perhaps nicer people would feel on the issue.  I speculate—as that’s really all I’m capable of in a situation such as this—that kinder people would find her too strong, almost like biting into a lemon—too much all at once.  But perhaps her latent and hidden ability to care saves her on their front.  Perhaps these generous, nicer people relate to the Katniss that placed flowers on Rue before they carried her from the arena.  Maybe they relate to the deep compassion she feels for her sister as she steps forward to take her place, in the process almost certainly sealing her own fate.  Either way, I think we all find something in Katniss worth investing in.  Much like Cinna, I’d bet on her every time. 

Relatability Rating:  9/10