Character Analysis of Katniss Everdeen - Book Report/Review Example

of the English of the Character Analysis of Katniss Everdeen Introduction The Hunger Game is a novel which presents a post apocalyptic world. In this world, a powerful metropolitan authority, known as Capitol, controls a large country called Panem. Annual competitions are held in Panem where contestants must kill each other. That who survives after the game is the winner of the Hunger Game (hereinafter referred to as the Games). Katniss is the protagonist in this novel, who is a skilled contestant in the Games. In this paper, the character of Katniss is analyzed. Thesis Statement Katniss Everdeen shows rebellious tendencies not because of her sense of ethics or sympathy for the downtrodden. She starts to defy institutionalism in the context of the difficulties she faces. A realist urge for survival has been the driving force behind Katniss’s struggle and intellectual development. Research and Argument Careful external research on the topic under discussion reveals that most researchers think of Katniss as either a revolutionary or a revolutionary in making. According to Sellnow, Katniss is a protagonist, rebellious character that can be explained with the help of left leaning ideologies. Although Sellnow does not abruptly mix up literary research with sociopolitical rhetoric, rhetorical development cannot be avoided as a subtopic while analyzing the text of The Hunger Games. First of all, Katniss Everdeen is a young girl, and her gender characteristic is a very important (if not all important) consideration for Sellnow. From this perspective, Sellnow (159) states that “gender is socially constructed in ways that oppress women and heteronormativity” to the extent of anti-institutionalism, and even literary fantasies! From this point, the author delves into a feminist context, which gradually mixes up with the sociological concepts of Marxism. At the right most extreme of Sellnow’s analysis, one comes across liberalism. Next, the author uses radical, Marxist, and most primarily, feminist points of view. But then, Sellnow (159-160) starts putting more emphasis on Marxist views and writes, “Marxist theory suggests that those in power perpetuate wealth and social capital. Marxist feminism contends that hegemonic structures unfairly place women in a lower class than men,” which has been vividly illustrated in The Hunger Games. Given the plot of The Hunger Games, subjugation of people in general and women in specific sense cannot be denied to have affected Katniss’s mental and physical self-training. Weber, on the other hand, appears to be building her analysis with the help of realism rather than left wing activism. Weber’s stress is on the realm of understanding international relations. Although Katniss cannot be a sovereign country, she is considered as an individual with independent attitude rather than any social protection. Weber, as such, explains how to understand this character from a realist point of view: “Katniss confuses social obligations with calculable debts. This causes her to act as if she believes that living with social, non-familial obligations is the same thing as living with debts that are anchored in state violence and brutal mathematics.” (Weber, 254) From a Marxist sociological viewpoint, Weber’s understanding may not be comprehensive. The reason is that Katniss’s views were not developed on her own or due to her attitude. Katniss’s views were developed relative to what she witnessed under the rule of Capitol, where her own country Appalachia had been relegated to the status of District 12. Debt, competition and starvation were more or less consequential to state sponsored exploitation. So an analysis completely based on realist aspirations may not hold. Therefore, Weber writes the following words: “Whatever her motivation, Katniss frames the mutual suicide pact as a gesture designed to deny the Capitol and the Panem television audience of what the Games always give them – a lone victor.” (Weber, 254) Most of the scholars have invariably focused on this act of defiance by Katniss. Lammers et al think that this rebellious tone in Katniss’s character has been pivotal for creating an enthusiastic fan following. According to the authors, youngsters are impressed particularly because of the “affinity space focus” (Lammers et al, 47) that they acquire through the vivid descriptions of The Hunger Games. Curwood has also developed a similar analysis of her own. According to Curwood, Katniss is a protagonist which facilitates “multimodal representations” inside the framework of a post-apocalyptic world and shifting cultures (Curwood, 232). In this way, general scholastic opinion holds the character of Katniss as a propagator of revolutionary tendencies with explicit futuristic implications. Authors like Sellnow are more straightforward in explaining this process. They are directly inducting Marxist theory and Marxist-feminist sociological view to explain the struggles and actions of Katniss. In these analyses too, Katniss is rather not an isolated, exceptional, and charismatic revolutionary hero. Instead, she learns from the harsh environment and adverse circumstances. Then, she develops a tendency of defiance, which is very likely to culminate at revolutionary activities. Framing the Argument However, we can still argue that Katniss Everdeen is not so sympathetic toward her poverty stricken and downtrodden countrymen. By chance, she becomes the chosen one to fight till death in The Hunger Games. Katniss’s urge to survive has been the driving force behind her struggle and intellectual development. Therefore, Katniss is a realist. She develops defiance toward Capitol because she does not want to lose the Game and die. She does not formulate the mutual suicide pact with Peeta due to her emotional feelings. She formulates the mutual suicide pact as a stratagem, which involved blackmailing the sponsors and the authorities at Capitol. She starts to defy Capitol’s dominant institutionalism not because she has revolutionary tendencies. Her acts of defiance are clearly interwoven with clever tactics of self-preservation and survival. Supporting the thesis statement and the argument developed so far is clearly challenging. In the first go, most researchers are likely to refute the argument. Katniss’s thought is change oriented. She also fails to betray Peeta during and after Katniss and Peeta got declared to be the joint winners of the Games. Therefore, one may think that the protagonist has left leaning tendencies along with a high degree of emotional quotient. But looking into the primary resource, it is evident that Katniss is innately cruel and never so emotional. Even as a little child, she tried to drown Buttercup in a bucket full of water. Buttercup was little Primrose’s (Katniss’s sister) favorite cat. Katniss spared Buttercup’s life only after Primrose “begged so hard” to save her pet’s life! (Collins, 3) Another instance of Katniss’s cruel feelings is her distrust toward another girl during the games. This girl, named Rue, is one of the competitors in the Games. At one point, when Katniss is very injured, Rue nurses Katniss instead of killing her. Even when Rue shows rationalistic willingness to collaborate, Katniss keeps on questioning to herself, “Why is she doing this? Why I am letting her?” (Collins, 119) Katniss appears to be cruel to the extent of always misunderstanding somebody else’s emotionality. She fails to understand Primrose’s love for Buttercup. She fails to understand Peeta’s love for her (Collins, 134). She fails to understand Rue’s decision to collaborate with her. It is strange to notice scholars like Sellnow, Curwood, etc. think that Katniss’s feeling-less approach is not cold-blooded cruelty but rebellious tendency. Innate self centered tendencies cannot be justified or identified as rebellious attitude. Instead of deploying sociology, it is important to utilize psychology. Katniss has very rational feelings (if any) all the time, which qualify as tactical thought. The moment Katniss fails to convince herself as a confused, inexperienced girl, she becomes more comparable to Macbeth than Theseus. Urge to survive is the most important thing in her mind. One cannot be sure even about her relationship with Peeta. Is it love or tactical requirement that finally puts Katniss alongside with Peeta? Only Katniss’s urge to survive can explain this kind of anomalies, which must not be confused as emotion or solidarity. Conclusion Romantic revolutionary thought appears to be decipherable in almost all of the critiques of Katniss’s character, tendencies, and intellectual leaning. However, it is more fitting to state that Katniss is a realist tactician rather than a revolutionary romanticist. Scholars like Weber have appropriately attempted to understand Katniss with the help of more traditional, right wing political thought. If Katniss’s urge of survival through self perseverance is closely followed, then she appears to be innately conservative. Her occasional changes of mind can be a literary fantasy. But her actions are too realist to be called ethical, inspiring, or revolutionary. Works Cited Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press, 2008. Print. Primary source Curwood, Jen. “Cultural shifts, multimodal representations, and assessment practices: A case study.” E-Learning and Digital Media 9.1 (2012): 232-244. Print. Curwood has focussed on how teenagers and young adults are trying to correlate themselves or their surroundings with the literary analogies that they come across in more recent novels or films. For example, futuristic themes of a post apocalyptic world may reflect present day disasters like war, natural calamities, etc. Such kind of themes is being liked by the young audience today. Lammers, Jayne , Jen Curwood, and Alecia Magnifico. "Toward an affinity space methodology: Considerations for literacy research." English Teaching: Practice and Critique 11.2 (2012): 44-58. Print. This is a research paper. In the paper, the authors focus on what kind of literary bases are being utilized for creating video games, online games, movies, etc. The authors note that modern literature has become highly descriptive and vivid. Emphases on dystopian plots, as shown in The Hunger Games, are also very conspicuous today. Sellnow, Deanna. The Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture. London: Sage, 2013. Print. Sellnow appears to be especially interested in the plot of The Hunger Games. Therefore, some important sections of the book have been written about Katniss. Sellnow aims at understanding social attitudes much better with the help of analyzing even fictional characters like Katniss. Weber, Cynthia. International Relations Theory 4th Edition: A Critical Introduction. New York and London: Routledge, 2013. Print. Weber believes that popular fictional characters may prove to be helpful in getting a clearer idea of international politics. So the author analyzes certain important fictional characters like Katniss. The author uses a sublime perspective of realist school of thought almost throughout her book. Read More