Katniss is a hero. Point blank, but it honestly depends where
you stand in the spectrum. Whether you are of that 99% or of that 1%, you can
see Katniss Everdeen as the protagonist or just the anti- hero of the novel.
You would think that it shouldn’t be a serious debate, but it really is something
that can be seen as a highly debatable topic. For instance, if you are of that
99% then you see her as a hero. Much like a role model just because she has
shown her true colors in the games and in the lives around her. You can also
say she is sympathetic just for the fact that she is rebelling against the
Capitol for those like her in the less fortunate districts. She finds excitement
and pride when the less fortunate districts receive their food and satisfy the
tiniest bit of their overall starvation due to limited resources because she
has won the previous game. On another note, she did volunteer as tribute for
her sister Prim and that’s something she has remembered through it all especially
being attacked in the games by the jabberjays which caused her to believe they
were hurting what she has been trying to protect.
“Prim… Rue…. Aren’t they the
very reason I have to try and fight?” (123).
On the other hand, she can
be seen as the public enemy. Especially to that 1%. They see her as a threat to
their society. They see her as an endangerment to their order. People like them
like order and people of the inner districts also like what they have compared
to those of the outer districts.
Imagine, your world today
built on order then suddenly threatened by someone who is an outsider. Wouldn’t
you be highly concerned? Wouldn’t you want her to come to her senses and leave
everything as is?
“I outsmarted his sadistic
Hunger Games, made the Capitol look foolish, and consequently undermined his
control” (18).
That alone should prove that
she’s disrupting the community even in the slightest way. Wouldn’t you start
questioning the hands of your supposed government if something was becoming
unfamiliar to what you expected? But, in an ideal world, there are the norms
and there are certainly the outrages of others who are in a sense seen as
intruders or violators. In Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen is that person who
is currently breaking the order of it all. She has made it quite complicated
for the Capitol to keep it’s order especially because everything is practically
aired to the public, but she has been doing what is needed to create an ideal
world for everyone. Everyone meaning those who reside in both the inner parts
and outer parts of Panem.
“Because I’d love to do just
that and more. To break through the smug veneer of those who have used their
brains to find amusing ways to kill us. To make them realize that while we are
vulnerable to the Capitol’s cruelties, they are as well” (236).
To me, Katniss is a hero—the
protagonist to the misfortunes that suffocates her world. She might be cruel in
ways and she is definitely not completely sympathetic, but look at the bigger picture:
She trying. Not only her but the rebels who support her cause. As of now,
Katniss Everdeen is their hope against the Capitol’s reign.
“If I can make it clear that
I’m defying the Capitol right up to the end, the Capitol will have killed me…
but not my spirit. What better way to give hope to the rebels?” (243).
I honestly don’t see it any
other way except for the fact that Peeta potentially is and can be a better
protagonist to the novel because he is willing to put himself out there in
place for others, especially Katniss, but in the eyes of the public, Katniss
shows true.
“The bird, the pin, the
song, the berries, the watch, the cracker, the dress that burst into flames. I
am the mockingjay. The one that survived despite the Capitol’s plans. The
symbol of the rebellion” (336).
As the victor of the
previous game and defying the consequences of changing the rules, she has made
an impact in society. She has created a change in how things are supposed to be
according to the Capitol and those who make up the government like President
Snow. She as the symbol of rebellion, has made it one closer step to making
everything the way it should be in an ideal world.
Works Cited
Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. New York, NY: Scholastic Press, 2009. Print.
Sonthavy Kem
Character Analysis
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