In Defense of Katniss Everdeen

Hello, dear readers!

People often hate on Katniss Everdeen, the heroine of Suzann Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy. It's an easy thing to do.
But I was thinking about this, and I came to the realization that Katniss' attitude, emotions, decisions, strengths, and weaknesses, all need to be weighed against her circumstances.
And I came to realize the following, and thought it might make for an interesting post, especially considering Suzann Collins has recently released her new book, which is part of this franchise, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" (which I may do a review of  when the time comes). So, here it is.


**ALL the spoilers for The Hunger Games trilogy ahead. If you've not read the series, please do so before continuing to read.**

Katniss is a child

I'm not sure if you know this, but sixteen is a very young age. And, that's how old she is when the first and part of the second book take place. Not to mention, she was only twelve when her father died and she began taking care of her mother and little sister.
She didn't grow the way she needed to. She didn't grow up with anyone to take care of her, she had no one to teach her, no one to guide her.
And that includes things such as how to handle dangerous situations, hormones, anger, how to make hard decisions, how to deal with certain people, social manners, she didn't even have someone to help her build her moral ground. All of that stopped for her at the age of twelve. She had to piece it together and figure it out herself. 

The fact that she got as far as she did is honestly amazing.

And when I was younger and read this story, I saw sixteen year olds as an adult. But now, being around that age, I've come to realize that it truly is not.
So, at sixteen, Katniss Everdeen is thrown into a arena and told to kill other kids and survive.
Can you really honestly blame her for doing what she felt would keep her, and her friend, alive?



Hormones are a thing

Through the entire trilogy, Katniss never gets out of her teens. It's sixteen to seventeen, discluding the epilogue. And yes, she had been through a lot, but she still has hormones.
And as much as I hate love triangles (I really, really, really hate love triangles), there being one makes sense.
Because at sixteen/seventeen, your brain and body aren't fully done growing and maturing. They've hardly even begun where maturity is concerned.

Plus, Katniss has never really had romantic male interaction before, she's been too focused on surviving. Throw not one, but two equally hormonal boys also in hard life situations, at her and something is gonna happen. It'd be a miracle if it didn't.



Katniss was the face of the rebellion

This could also basically be worded as she was a war leader. Sure, she couldn't call all of the shots in District 13, but as far as the citizens were concerned, the Mockingjay was far more than a symbol.
And she had all kinds of pressure with that, while still being a teenager. She was forced into molds and positions and situations, she was forced into a war.
And all this time she doesn't even know where her loyalties lie. All she knows is Peeta is going through who knows what in the Capital, that she hates Snow, and that she needs to keep her mother and sister alive.
13 aligned with that better than the Capital, but even they took advantage of her.

All the while, Katniss surely has permanent mental damage such as post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, and is still being forced to make big decisions, still looking after her loved ones, still trying to save Peeta, still trying to lead the Districts, still trying to survive.
Not to mention the fact that Peeta is trying to kill her for half of Mockingjay.

The fact that her sanity hadn't completely snapped the second she stepped out of the first arena is amazing. Now look at her in the book "Mockingjay".
I can't blame her for having an attitude, or being confused, or crying, or breaking down, or any of it. Especially when you consider all the mind games that she's being forced to play.



She loses everything

Pardon me if I'm being redundant, but seeing as all these things tie together, it's kind of hard not to be.

There is not one thing that Katniss stands to lose that she doesn't lose in the end.
Prime dies, Rue dies, Peeta as she knew him is gone, Gale disappears from her life, her mother lives but she doesn't get to see her anymore, her district is exploded, Finnick dies (at her own hand), Madge dies, Cinna dies, her small amount of freedom is gone until the very end, and her life... Well, she has it, and she goes on to live a seemingly happy one, but it's at a very grave cost, and it's she's mentally never going to be the same again
It's all lost at the end of the day. She never even gets her revenge on Snow, which was top on her list of priorities next to keeping Prim alive.
I suppose, one thing she's kept that didn't really change, would be Haymitch. But he took his toll a while back, and Katniss was never too concerned with his survival.




She was a human

Humans aren't perfect. They don't always make the right decisions or take the easy path.
And in the heat of the moment, they do and say things that aren't right, they make faulty plans, and they don't always think ahead and about consequences. And that should be expected.
Because they're humans.

This is completely applicable to Katniss, as well as the other characters in this book.
Surely Katniss could've gone about many things differently, surely there are many easier ways to do this or that, surely there was some survival or fighting technique that would've worked better than what she did, surely there would've been some strategy, or some word choice, or some fill-in-the-blank that would've made the story "better" or fixed/saved a situation.
But humans don't always get that stuff right, and sure you can say the author is at fault for that. But isn't it just as believable that a character doesn't have the same time you, the reader, do to sit and analyse a situation for what it is, then find the best solution?

Another thing; it isn't about practicality or perfection, it's about telling a story. If Katniss, or anyone in the books, had all the answers, it'd be incredible boring and the book might as well not be written. Frankly, I'm glad it was written, and I'm glad that Ms. Everdeen wasn't perfect and didn't make all the best decisions.




Conclusion

I believe that readers nowadays are desensitized to the concept of death and killing. Sure, they know it's wrong, and it's suspenseful when the main character is in the heat of the moment and trying to defend themselves, but they seem to have lost the understanding that those things aren't just bad, they're permanently damaging. And in some cases, both losing a loved one and killing someone else, it can be debilitating.
Going through either thing can warrant years of therapy, and a life of PTSD.

Now consider this:

Katniss' father died.

Katniss had to take care of her mother, sister, and herself all on her own since age twelve.
Katniss was forced to kill or be killed in an arena.
Katniss watched Rue die.
Katniss is chased by beasts that look like her friend and opponents, a psychological terror-move on the game makers' part.
Katniss mercy kills Cato after he falls to the mutts.
Katniss saw a man get executed after he saluted her.
Katniss saw her best friend being whipped.
Katniss took a whip to the face.
Katniss saw Darius, her peacekeeper friend, made into an Avox.
Katniss was put back in the arena only a year after winning the last time. Now, she's focused on keeping Peeta, her lover, alive.
Katniss saw Cinna be brutally beaten, intentionally right before her eyes.
Katniss watched Mags die, sacrificing herself.
Katniss saw Wiress die.
Katniss saw the woman who scarified herself for Peeta die.
Katniss blew up a force field and almost died.
Katniss saw her entire District in rubble, with skeletons everywhere.
Katniss lost Madge.
Katniss saw Peeta beaten on a screen, unable to do anything to help him.
Katniss went to a hospital full of dead and dying people, then saw it explode.
Katniss got shot while reaching out to a wounded man.
Katniss was choked by Peeta after he's hijacked.

Katniss mercy-kills Finnick because she can't save him

Katniss is attacked by horrific mutts that are hunting her, and end up killing her team in the process.
Katniss loses almost her entire team after heading off to war and being in a third arena.
Katniss thinks Gale is, or will be, killed.
Katniss sees her sister die in an explosion, among other people, most far, far too young.
Katniss kills Coin.


Even just one of those things could ruin a person. But Katniss Everdeen goes through that entire list, and survives it all, at the age of seventeen. She was incredibly strong to have gone through all of that, and still manage to live on.
And she was in constant mind games with Snow and Coin and still managed to lead a rebellion, hold compassion (such as the man at the train station in Mockinjay), and make the right decision in the end.

So, yes. The love triangle is annoying, Katniss has an attitude, and she almost made the decision to repeat the Games and war at the end. She wasn't perfect, but that's kind of the point. She was the worst, and yet best, person to have leading a rebellion.
And again, I cannot stress this enough, she was a kid. That point is even made in Mockingjay once, though it is only in passing about the makeup she's wearing for a promo. The wording was, "she's just a girl". And honestly, being sixteen-eighteen, I agree with that wholeheartedly.

All that considered, maybe give our sassy, hormonal, strong, determined, and broken heroine a break. She's been through a lot.



Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post. And Suzann Collins, should this ever happen to find you, thanks for making such a realistic heroine and for writing the first full novel I ever read. 

 
Until we meet again,


          - Edna Pellen

Leibster+Sunshine Blog Tags

Greetings friends! 

I've been meaning to post an actual useful post for some time, but I've been surprisingly busy this month as well as brain dead. Excuses aside, I've got a post for you today that is hopefully more enjoyable than my recent content, curtesy of the lovely Allie from Rainy Days and Stardust Veins.

The new nominees and questions will be at the end of this post, so if you're here because I tagged you, feel free to skip to the bottom.

Sunshine Rules:

• Thank the blogger who nominated you (thanks, Allie!).
• Display your award.
• Answer the questions you were asked.
• Nominate 5 bloggers.
• Ask 6 questions.
• Let your nominees know they were nominated.

Leibster Rules:

• Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog (once more, thank you Allie!).
• List the rules and display an award logo on your blog post. 
• Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
• Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and notify them by commenting on any of their posts.
• Ask the nominees 11 new questions.

Sunshine Questions: 

  

1. What is your favorite kind of tea?

Pretty much anything black. English tea and Irish Breakfast tea in particular, no sugar or cream.  If I have something vanilla flavored, such as chi-vanilla, I like to put cream in it (because vanilla being thin just doesn't seem right).

I also enjoy lemon ginger with honey, which is an herbal tea.

    

  2. If you had to get all dressed up (like, to the nines) to go to a fancy restaurant or event, would you?

I'm entirely sure what "to the nines" means, but yes! I quite enjoy dressing up, though I've never thrived in such events. They're quite anxiety-inducing.

  3. What is something you’re a secret fan of that you’re afraid to admit about?

It's not a secret, but a lesser known and perhaps odd fact about me is that I'm greatly and ironically fond of the older Barbie movies. I could rattle off a huge list of why, but the main reasons are that they are nostalgic, and they hold genuinely good moral material.

In Barbie, the Princess and the Pauper, there's a line in the opening song sung by the princess Annaliese (who is to marry for the greater good of her kingdom, despite loving a different man), and the pauper Erika (who is an indebted seamstress to a horrible shop owner because her parents borrowed money to keep their daughter fed and alive), that goes; 

"Annaliese: I'll remain forever loyal, 

Erika: I'll repay my parents debt,

Both: Duty means doing the things your heart may well regret". 

And I find that to be a prime example of how amazing a role model Barbie used to be for young girls, such as myself. That's something modern shows, movies, and music that children are exposed to lack; duty, morality, and maturity on a level that they understand. 

Needless to say, I adore these movies and still enjoy watching them and am happy to expose my little sister and nieces to them.

  4. Do you have a favorite music album? If so what and if not, why?

I do not; I tend to find songs like one may adopt stray kittens. Unintentionally, but then fall in love with them. Even with artists I like and am familiar with, I couldn't tell the name of more than two albums, and then I could only tell you the contents of one. 

  5. How do you take notes? Are they neat and tidy, color coded by subject, or are they messy on-the-back-of-your-hand reminders, or perhaps you don't take any?

All of the above, I'm afraid. They start organized and sometimes color coded, but over time more notes are added on and scribbled all around the originals and it becomes a terrible mess that I will, depending on the importance of the notes, rewrite and organize later. 

I often don't take notes when I should, and when I catch myself doing this I will scribble them all over my left arm and hand.

  6. If you were a book, what might the title be?

"Messes: How to Make Them, Stumble Into Them, Be Pulled Into Them, and Exist In Them Because There Is No Escape".

In all seriousness, I don't have a clue. I began an autobiography called "Art in the Face of Anxiety" which was going to be about my testimony and whatnot, but I didn't get far in it and that title was just a place holder.

Leibster Questions:

1. If you had to chose to go to either the distant past or distant future for one year, and when you came back no time had past, which would you chose?

I would choose to go to the distant past; where the future is headed is pretty easily predicted and in areas that it's not, I'd rather live my life not knowing what I'll face and when. Besides that, if sci-fi has taught me anything (and if I could time travel, I'd clearly be living in a sci-fi story), it's that the future isn't necessarily set in stone, and so simply my knowing it may change it and what I think will be the future won't be, because I'll be deceived by what I saw by time traveling, and not by what will be there as a result of my time-traveling.

And when it comes to the past? We can never stop learning. If I could go back into the distant past and meet an old author, or go to the origin of a particular artifact, I could learn so much, and such knowledge may even be used for the better of the future. 

2. Who are your top three favorite YouTubers?

Well that depends. There are so many different types of YouTubers, there's tutorials, education, music, gaming, satire, and various other forms of entertainment. 

But off the top of my head, Bernadette Banner, Blimey Cow, and Mossy Bottom are my more consistent and comfortable (as in, I'm certain they will not have inappropriate content and am thus free to share them here) favorites. 

3. Where would you go if you had an all-expense payed trip for a three-day weekend and what would you do there?

Ah, but there's so many places I'd like to go! 

Perhaps a back-packing trip through the rain forest, Ireland, or Sweden! Oh, and I would love to do something that is very close to the top of my bucket list; stay in a castle with my writing group. Though I'd prefer the latter to be for a week or so, I would take even just three days.

4. If you could have anything, real or mythological, as a pet, what would it be?

As a pet... Hm. Well I would love a dragon, because they can fly and I could ride them and they're, you know, dragons. 

A phoenix would be lovely pet, but would mostly be for show because I couldn't hold it or pet it because it's made of fire and would burn me. 

A griffin, depending on the size, may be like a cuddly large dog, but it could fly and might run off that way. 

I'll go with the dragon. Be it large enough to ride, or small enough to cuddle with, dragons are always an acceptable answer.

(Editing Edna: Psst, Maple, if you're reading this then I promise I'm not copying your answers!)

5. What’s something (or someone) you couldn’t stop loving if you tried?

I can't think of something, because I feel like if I tried to stop loving it there would be a good reason.  But someone would actually be four someones; my three nieces and my nephew. 

I believe that, when each of them were born, it was my introduction to 'falling in love'. 

Not romantically so, but just in general. Not to love like a sister, and not like a friend, I've always known what it was like to love in that way, I can't remember an introduction to it. But this love is something entirely new that I can only figure is what it feels like to be an aunt. 

And so, these sweet babies stole my heart very quickly and I don't foresee me getting it back any time soon.

6. What is one moment in your life time just stopped?

I haven't a clue. I think when I'm playing music with other musicians, it tends to fade away. Which is odd enough seeing that, as a bassist, keeping track of time is very important. 

Then there's also all the times when someone in my family got hurt or injured and- oh wait, I've got one! 

Years ago when I was at summer camp, my group away from the camp and went hiking on a national forest trail, off-grounds. And whenever we took a break, I loved to get lost in the present. No time for thinking of the past or being anxious of the future; I closed my eyes and listened to the birds and enjoyed God's creation. 

This happens often when I'm outside, but never so intensely as when I'm deep in the nature.

7. What’s a food or drink (or combination) you like that most people you know think is gross?

For food: Chocolate and potato chips. Or no, a few people like that as well.

 Lightly dipping fries/potato chips/popcorn and chocolate milkshakes is one that my brother was completely repulsed by.

For drinks: Ginger ale and root beer. I've not actually had anyone dislike that, but no one I've known, other then a certain clan of friends, has tried it.

8. Stripes or pokadots?

It depends. If the dots are small and not huge, clown-like dots, I like pokadots. And depending on the color scheme of the strips and the contrast between them and the width of the stripes, I like stripes. 

Either thing can give me a headache and make me feel sick if done a certain way, though, so it varies from circumstance to circumstance.

9. What book is a book (or series) that you wish was longer?

The Last Dragon by Silvia De Mari! The book itself is a perfect length, I think, and it has a series, but I want it to have a series that's in my language. I want that so badly. 

I wonder, if I wrote to miss Silvia and requested that she have the other copies translated, would she?  Probably not. It has to go through agencies and other official people and whatnot.  

I guess I'm still subject to having to learn the entirety of the Italian language before I can read the rest.

10. Was there ever a movie you were waiting for for a long time that when it finally came out it was a disappointment? Why was it?

The Star Wars sequel trilogy. Some of it was good, some of it wasn't, and though it was entertaining and good as its own thing, it was disappointing to be looking forward to the trilogy so much only to  have all the cannon messed up and character development lost. 

Overall, it was an okay idea, but with a less okay execution. 

11. What is your least favorite Disney or Pixar movie?

The Good Dinosaur. The first time I saw it all I could really do was scratch my head (though the opening scene is hilarious, and the scenery throughout the movie is beautiful). It's enjoyable, but I'd expect something more... I don't, maybe in depth, from Pixar. 

(Also the scene when Arlo and the child get drunk (or maybe 'high' is the better term?) off of the fermented fruit was just weird and boring. I don't get why kids movies so often feel the need to put in odd scenes like that, they've never been entertaining to me, not as a kid and not now. I always just space out until they're over.)

New Sunshine Questions:

1. What's your least favorite book-to-film adaption?
2. What's your longest-lasting hobby?
3. Do you prefer mountains or valleys?
4. If you were a fruit, what kind do you think you'd be and why?
5. What's your favorite flower?

New Leibster Questions:

1. What is the strangest thing you've done in the early AMs?
2. If you had to act out an entire musical, of your choice, to save your life, which one would you choose to do? (can you tell that I'm struggling to think of questions?)
3. What are your top three favorite words?
4. What are your top three least favorite words?
5. What is the most obscure thing you've learned?
6. What is the best thing you've read for required reading in school?
7. Have you ever started reading a book, and then couldn't bring yourself to finish it? If so, what book was it, and why couldn't you finish it?
8. What's your opinion on puppets?
9. Which do you enjoy more; sun rises or sun sets?
10. What was your favorite book as a child?
11. What are your top three favorite books now? 

11 Nominees for Both Tags:

(Yes, I apologize, but I won't be the brave soul to go and find seventeen different bloggers to divide the tags between, though let it be said that I tried to. Many sorries to you eleven beings.) 

• Julia from LitAflame
• Noah from NoahLitleWrites
• Mary from Wild Writing Dreans
• Martina from Planet of Positivity 
• Jasmine from JustJasminella
• Jessica from JessicaC.Writes
• Julia from Julia's Creative Corner
• Mya from Life From Behind A Camera 
• Felicity from The Wonderous World Around Us
• Ruby from The Sea Calls Us Home
• Ari from Ari D. Original

And thus I conclude with a wish you go well, sweet be your dreams and your happiness swell (all the kudos to you if you know what song that's from). I'm off to go alert these eleven fine folk of their nomination. 

I shall see you anon, friend.

                ~ Edna Pellen 

P.S. Many apologies for the ever inconsistent formatting of this post, Blogger updated some time back  and I've yet to acquaint myself with the changes.

Updates IV

Hello, friends! 

I realize it's been quite a gap between this and my last post, but I assure I have not been inactive! 

Given I don't have much time to complete a full post at the moment, and I don't really want to make a new banner for one, I figured I'd just give you some updates (again). 

Reading Updates:

I haven't been reading much lately, as I've been doing a lot of alpha, beta, and proof reading. But the book I'm currently 'on', is book #3 of The Rangers Apprentice.

I'm also saving up to buy a lot of books (including: Azalei's Fall by Miranda Marie (third book in The Fire Rain Chronicles),  Dragons' Bane by Melody Jackson, the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce (sequal to Tricker's Choice), and The Mirror-Hunter Chronicles by R.M. Archer). It'll cost a small fortune, but it'll be worth it. 

Path to Publication Updates:

Ah yes, that great challenge I assigned myself. Your guess is as good as mine for how that's going.
I started this challenge, or more of I told you that I started this challenge, on the 7th of May. That post detailed my plan for this large task, and I can heartily tell you that I have not fallen behind. I've not written as much as I'd like to, but I still have a few months before October to finish this draft, so there is hope yet.

'Roslyn' is now at 66,430ish words, and still not done. I've come to realize that I don't like to rush through my story, that every travel-scene is important, that every character's point of view is important, and that each scene is, to some degree, important and not to be rushed through. 

But I'm only a little more than halfway through the actual plot, and so if this keeps up, I may either need to cut back on words, split it into two books, or I can just let it be 100k+ words and follow in Sanderson's footsteps. 

We shall have to wait and see. 

Other:

On blogs: 

R.M. Archer released two posts  recently ("Why I Read YA (even though it often stinks") and "5 Things I'd Like to See in YA Literature") that really caught my interest. They're really well thought out and detailed, and for me, they really got me thinking. 

You should check them out, as well as her blog in general.

Maple from Maple Quill Penning Magic has this wonderful feature on her blog where she makes a poem and uploads it each week, and I got lost looking through them today. So if you feel like reading some short poems and looking at pretty imagery, check out her poems of the week archives. 

On life:

I'm resuming work on my desk! Now that the winter months are over and a certain country-wide annoyance is lightening up (...sort of... not really, but, one can hope) we can retrieve the remaining needed supplies for it. 
It's nearly done, building-wise, and soon I will begin decoupaging the entire thing and adding embellishments here and there. Then, I'll begin my quest to find a nice desk chair to replace my rather uncomfortable and slightly too tall stool. 

Well, that's all I have to say for this post.

    Adieu, 

                    ~ E.P.