Personal Feelings of Katniss

[BellarinSlythertrix]

Hello All. I just want to air my personal feelings of Katniss Everdeen. I was listening to the My Hunger Games podcast, and all of the podcasters seemed to be in agreement that Katniss was completely unselfish. I had the exact opposite opinion while reading the books. Except for Prim, Katniss seemed #1 to Katniss. I based this on the way she treated her mother after her father died. Maybe it's because I can't understand what it's like for my parent to sit by while me and my sibling slowly starve to death, and I understand that initially it would make you angry, but when her mother came out of her depression, she helped to provide for Katniss and Prim. Katniss wouldn't let go of her anger to try to move forward with her mother until after she was in the games. Also, there is her treatment of Peeta (who is my favorite character). She didn't keep him alive in the first games because she loved him, or even wanted him around. She did it because she couldn't live with herself if she went home without him. It wasn't for his wellbeing, it was for hers. He just benefited from it. And her reaction when she found out she would have to go into the games again...Haymitch and Peete were trying to come up with a solution to keep her alive, and she was cowering in a basement crying for herself.

I know I am ranting, and I will also recieve some negative comments for this, but it is my view. I would enjoy reading arguments to my opinion and a healthy discussion on Katniss' flaws and positive qualities. And any other character in the book as well. Thank you for taking the time to read my first post on here.

[Sarra]

I agree.
I thought that Katniss was a horrible character.
I understand that her survival instincts make her selfish, but (as you mentioned) apart from her protection of Prim, I can't see that she had any other redeeming qualities.

I echo Gale's words here - she would choose whoever she couldn't survive without. Her levels of self preservation are rival only to that of Harry Potter's, but with it she doesn't give a toss about any one else.

I think that she must've inherited her selfishness from her mother who I genuinely believed had no love at all for Katniss.


My favourite character was Haymitch, at least he didn't lie about his motives and strategies, whereas everywhere I turned, Katniss seemed to be covering herself.

[TheFoxFacedOne]

Welcome to the forum .
Well Katniss can seem selfish at times but that's because of the situation she's had to grow up in. She's had to grow up fast and learn how to survive, and to do that you have to put yourself and the people you love first. She didn't look after Peeta at first because she couldn't risk trusting him.
I think that Katniss can be self centred sometimes but that's because shes had to lock all her feelings up inside and be brave for Prim, you can see her unlock her feelings, learn to trust people again and fight for others as the series progresses. Not to mention that she became the Mokingjay and disobeyed orders to fight for the people of District 8, you don't get more selfless than that!
So Katniss's apparent self-centeredniss is all part of character development and makes her a more complexed character.
Katniss does have several flaws but that's what makes her human!

[Sarra]

I'll give you that she does grow as the series progresses. However, I cannot say that she is not unselfish. Everything she does seems to be for personal gain and not for the 'greater good' so to speak.
I mean, she wasn't prepared to die to help out like Peeta, Gale and Prim were. No, anytime an explosion got near to Katniss she ran away.

When she fancies that she might be in love with Peeta, she does almost everything to try to save him, but as soon as it's clear that he hates her, she drops him like a mouldy pair of shoes.

I mean, D13 went all the way to the Capitol and risked their lives to bring him back, and I honestly don't think that she said thank you once, instead she just bitched and moaned about how she wasn't allowed to got with them.

[missingllama]

Never really liked her, her prose gave me a headache and half the time I wanted to slap her.

[TheFoxFacedOne]

Aww come on, guys where's the Katniss love? She's our protagonist, the Mokingjay and one of my heros.
And SHE DID RISK HER LIFE!!!! She was prepared to die for Peeta and the rebellion when she went back into the Games and running from explosions is common sense, she'll be no good to anyone dead.

[missingllama]

She may be the protagonist but she's a helluva annoying one.

[Sarra]

Aww come on, guys where's the Katniss love? She's our protagonist, the Mokingjay and one of my heros.
And SHE DID RISK HER LIFE!!!! She was prepared to die for Peeta and the rebellion when she went back into the Games and running from explosions is common sense, she'll be no good to anyone dead.

Prim didn't run from the explosion. She went in to see if she could help the people who were injured.

Katniss, I believe, stepped over quite a few wounded citizens of the capitol.

[TheFoxFacedOne]

She may be the protagonist but she's a helluva annoying one.

She might be sometimes, she's definatly no saint but she's most certainly not a bad person.

[missingllama]

She may be the protagonist but she's a helluva annoying one.

She might be sometimes, she's definatly no saint but she's most certainly not a bad person.

She's annoying practically ALL the time