Personal Synthesis and Feminist Analysis

For such a young girl, Katniss Everdeen certainly gets people talking. Her story, exploitation, and fight to survive (not just in the Games, but in life) is a fascinating subject and has fans, as well as critics. While reading reviews of her story, I found that people had an array of feelings and opinions about Katniss. Some thought her story was too predictable, which baffles me, while others felt it was too violent. I'm not sure how this story could have been told without the violence, like it or not, this wasn't a perfect world. While others loved her story, her courage and her archery skills so much that they were inspired to take up archery themselves. Now that is a fan!

In class discussions I heard people love Katniss' ability to adapt and stay one step ahead of those out to harm her. We cheered for her when she provided for her family. Some loved her courage and some applauded her seemingly abhorrence of all things female. There were those that thought she was manipulative, selfish and as emotionless as a wet blanket. She had critics in class, as well as on Twitter, about her relationship triangle with Peeta and Gale. We thought she should make a decision; Peeta or Gale, just decide, would you!? There were critiques and questions about her alliance with Rue. Was it real? Was it selfish? Did she really care for the little girl or was she just using her to further her own survival?

It was wondered, 'Is she more comfortable being a female or acting like a male?'. Her skills as an archer, her knack for outsmarting the government when providing poached food for her family or fooling them with a deceitful 'Romeo and Juliet' fake out, brought speculation that she thinks like a man, acts like a man. She adds to this speculation when she fights the idea of a 'love story' and doesn't find the idea of a makeover very appealing.

Then there is another side. The side we want to throw 'female' all over. She gets upset when Prim is chosen as Tribute. So much so that she volunteers to take her place. During the Games she is considerably upset when Rue dies. During her time in the Capitol, while she is disturbed by the glitz and glamour, and the excessive waste of money and food, she is impressed with the outcome of her makeover. She feels pretty and you get the feeling she likes it. And, even though she is opposed to the love story with Peeta, you see her struggle between what she is 'pretending' and what she may truly feel. All things feminine, all things not typical of someone that is a skilled fighter, a hero, a reckoning.

So, all of that to say, 'So what?'. So what if she can shoot an arrow 'like a man'? So what if she likes to wear a shiny dress and an impressive hairstyle? Does she have only one option in life? Is it really one or the other? Why the need to put gender labels on skills, talents, hobbies, desires?

I say, 'What's wrong with being able to throw a ball from home plate to second base? What's wrong with wearing your favorite heels and baking a cake? And what's so wrong with being able to do those things and being a woman?'. Why do we have to take who we are, male or female, and smash it into a mold of what 'should be'? In the critical essay Reflection in a Plastic Mirror, by Valerie Estelle Franken, the push to find Katniss an appropriate talent- one fitting for a girl- was a point of great concern for the Capitol. They thought it would add to her femininity, but I contend it was more for trying to place her in a role that they hoped would squelch her from being who they knew her to be, and who she knew herself to be.

I can build a bookshelf, change oil, fix a toilet and then very easily go lose myself in one of my favorite movies: You've Got Mail, Sleepless In Seattle, or Steel Magnolias. Yes, 'chick flicks,' as they are known. Who says I can't take those two 'gender' molded areas of interest and share them in the same person? I am a female with differing interests, talents, and capabilities.

I can't help but wonder what Kat would say if we presented our questions and musings about her to her? I think she would wonder what the big deal was. I think she would have that same look on her face that she had during the interview in the movie.  She seemed lost to why someone would be so inquisitive to her life; she was Katniss; daughter, sister, human.  Why all the curiosity?

It didn't matter what Miss Everdeen was doing; in everything she raised eyebrows, standards, and hope... People could question her, try to mold her, even try to stop her... but they didn't, and in it all she stayed Katniss Everdeen.

Frankel, Valerie Estelle. "Reflection in a Plastic Mirror." Of Bread, Blood and The Hunger Games: Critical Essays on the Suzanne Collins Trilogy. Eds. Mary F. Pharr and Leisa A. Clark. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012. Pages 49 through 58. 2012.