Katniss Everdeen – The Reluctant Rebel

“Nobody decent ever wins the games.”

Katniss Everdeen is the main protagonist of the Hunger Games trilogy, but she doesn’t really see herself as a hero. She’s a rebel, if a reluctant one. She claims she never wanted to be the symbol of a revolution. She goes on quite a journey, and her experiences change her dramatically.

It’s very clear that she started out wanting to protect her sister, then Peeta, then her family and Gale. Eventually she realised that she was being used, exploited and manipulated for someone else’s benefit. The Mockingjay symbol, the idea of the Mockingjay is not who she really is, just who Panem thinks she is.

A Little Bit of a Rebel

Katniss was forced to grow up fast, thrown into an adult role before she reached her teens. Her father died in a coal mine explosion when she was eleven and her mother fell into a deep depression. This meant Katniss had to take charge to feed herself and her family. Eventually she used the skills her father had begun to teach her to find food. Peeta helped by giving her bread, giving her hope and a reminder that she could do something about her situation.

It was illegal to cross the fence, leave the boundaries of District Twelve, hunt game, make and use weapons of any kind and to sell on the black market in the Hob. Of course, she got away with it because a lot of the Peacekeepers and the merchants bought from her. Even the Mayor bought strawberries she collected.

She met Gale in the woods and the eventually traded skills, he taught her about snares and traps while she taught him how to use a bow. They became friends and agreed to take care of the other’s family should one of them be reaped. They shared their hauls and profits equally.

While in the woods, they would talk. Gale was always the more vocal in his dislike for the Capitol and the system keeping them poor. Katniss was wary of saying too much, but it’s clear she somewhat agrees with him. She was worried what would happen to Prim if something happened to her.

She avoided open rebellion but she was more than happy to break the local laws and venture beyond the fence. She was happy to trade in the black market. She knew the consequences, should one of the Peacekeepers take offence or something. But equally, she knew that this was necessary for her family to survive.

I Volunteer!

Katniss is so sure that Prim won’t be reaped in the 74^th Hunger Games, as she only has one entry. Yet it happens, and she barely hesitates to volunteer in Prim’s place. She will fight to protect her loved ones, risk her life to save Prim. It’s a strong motivation and it informs most of her major decisions throughout the story.

During her private evaluations, she is angered by the Gamemakers overlooking her. Her first arrow misses because she’s unused to the bow provided, but afterwards she nails every shot. But the Gamemakers are bored and ignore her efforts.

So she boldly draws attention to herself by shooting the apple out of the roast pig’s mouth, pinning it to the wall and shocking the Gamemakers. This proves she is a contender for the games, capable enough to potentially win.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

I also like the symbolism here. The Capitol people feast lavishly, even using an emetic so they throw up and can go on eating. While the people in the districts are starving, with malnutrition extremely commonplace. So she takes food out of the mouth of a pig. It’s very interesting, and definitely foreshadows the rebellion that happens later.

“I’m more than just a piece in their Games.”

The night before the arena, Peeta says this and Katniss gets angry. She can’t afford to think like that, she can only focus on trying to survive and get back home. She’s in survival mode, as she has been her entire life.

Katniss spends a lot of time trying to figure out Peeta’s angle, assuming everything he says and does is purely sstrategy. Her reaction to him confessing his crush on her on live TV is the same, she is angry. She doesn’t trust him. She doesn’t know what to make of him. Yet, when the first deaths are shown after the bloodbath, she is relieved and conflicted when she realises he’s alive.

The Mockingjay’s First Alliance

Katniss conflates Rue with Prim in a big way. She sees her little sister in Rue, thinking how unfair it is that such a sweet young girl is going into this fight to the death. She ends up forming an alliance with Rue and a plan to destroy the Career Pack’s supplies. This is the second time the Mockingjay motif shows up. First is the pin, given to her by the Mayor’s daughter (in the book) or Greasy Sae (in the film). Rue teaches Katniss how to use a short melody to signal via the Mockingjay birds.

When Rue is fatally injured by Marvel (District One) she kills him immediately without a thought, acting on instinct. She comforts Rue as she dies, then memorialises her with flowers and the farewell gesture used at funerals in Twelve. This three fingered salute later becomes a symbol of defiance. Again, Katniss was only thinking of the little girl, an adopted sister, that she watched die. She wasn’t defying the Capitol, she was mourning the loss of her ally.

Nightlock

After Cato dies to the mutts, the Gamemakers revoke the rule change allowing for two victors from the same district. Katniss is immediately defensive but Peeta refuses to attack her. She then decides if both of them can’t live, then they shouldn’t get a Victor at all. They agree to eat the nightlock berries, a double suicide pact.

They have no choice but to declare them both Victors, but Snow sees this as an act of rebellion. It is, but Katniss isn’t thinking about overthrowing the President and the Capitol. She’s thinking about survival and saving Peeta. She has feelings for Peeta, even though she doesn’t understand exactly what they are.

“Convince me.”

“It must be a fragile system if it can be brought down by just a few berries.”

Snow visits Katniss before their Victory Tour. He is worried about uprisings in the districts and tells her that she must convince all of Panem that she is just so in love that she’s ready to die. To convince Snow himself that her love is real and that’s the only reason she did what she did.

In District Eleven, giving the eulogy for Rue and Peeta’s promise to donate winnings to their families. An elderly man whistles the signal and raises the three fingered salute, and is quickly executed for it, much to Katniss’ horror. As they go through the districts, it’s clear that they’re not slowing down the rebellion.

Even though Peeta proposes, at the party Snow confirms that she has failed to pacify the districts. She and Peeta are both horrified when they learn about the drink that makes you sick so you can eat everything you want. The stark difference between the Capitol and the Districts, that people are suffering and starving while the Capitol residents are indulgent and eating to excess. The unfairness of the system is so clear.

New Head Peacekeeper

When Thread arrives as the new Head Peacekeeper in Twelve, and he is flogging Gale in the square, Katniss intervenes. She throws herself into the situation, risking herself for someone she cares about. She sees that things are changing, the Capitol are pushing back to subdue the districts. She’s still not thinking about any grand cause or revolution, just her loved ones.

Bonnie and Twill

This part only happens in the books. After the Victory Tour, Katniss ends up in the woods and meets two women who are fugitives from District Eight. They tell Katniss that they believe District 13 isn’t as destroyed as people think, and they are going there. They are confident because the footage shown every year is the same, confirmed by a Mockingjay wing in the corner. The Mockingjay is back to foreshadow and represent Katniss’ role in the rebellion.

Katniss teaches them survival skills and returns home, finding the fence electrified and Peacekeepers waiting to question her family when she fails to return home. They are surprised to see her but Peeta and Haymitch help her with a cover. So they’re now bothering to enforce the law about leaving the district territory. Because it gives them an excuse to target Katniss and her family.

The Quarter Quell

The movies basically confirm that the plan for the 75^th Hunger Games was deliberately changed to target her. Because she is the only living female Victor in Twelve, so if they reap from the living Victors, she’s guaranteed to go into the arena again and nobody can volunteer for her. Understandably she’s enraged and distraught about this. She is determined to save Peeta if she can, convincing Haymitch to volunteer for him.

During the run up to the Games, a lot happens that makes the rebellion a bit more overt. From Katniss’ display of Seneca Crane’s death, to the wedding gown transforming into a Mockingjay, to Peeta’s lie about her pregnancy. All of the tributes are angry and express this during their interviews, but nothing stops the games.

In the arena, she finds herself with a range of allies: Finnick, Mags, Johanna, Wiress and Beetee. All of them were in on the plan to get Katniss out of the arena. During the games, Katniss definitely seems to be falling for Peeta and is determined to make sure he survives. She still doesn’t know that she’s the symbol of the rebellion.

Once she recovers, she prepares to kill Peeta to stop him being tortured, before learning the truth. They want her as the Mockingjay, the face of the revolution to overthrow the Capitol. She learns that District Twelve has been destroyed and all survivors are in Thirteen. This is the point where she decides she’s on-board with the rebellion.

Demands

“My sister gets to keep her cat.”

Katniss agrees to be the Mockingjay but she makes a list of demands from Coin. Immunity for the other Victors, that Prim can keep the cat and most importantly, that Katniss herself gets to be the one to kill President Snow. Coin agrees to this.

Except she twists it on Katniss. If Katniss doesn’t fulfill her obligations as the Mockingjay, she and her loved ones will be killed. Coin doesn’t mention this until her public announcement, so Katniss can’t question it or avoid it. The first hint that Coin is not to be trusted.

Propos

“That is how you end a revolution.”

The plan is to have Katniss film ‘propos’ or propaganda clips for the rebels. Beetee can commandeer the airwaves to push these videos out. It’s clear she won’t be effective when scripted on a stage. The reasons people respect Katniss, love her and want to follow her, are because of her courage, her empathy and her desire to defend those she cares for.

She can’t fake her emotions, her outrage, her courage. She can’t convincingly read a script, which should have been obvious from her Victory Tour. It has to be real, raw and in her own words for it to be effective. Unfortunately, as we see in Distright Eight, that often means someone has to die for Katniss to ‘perform’.

Storming the Capitol

Katniss is supposed to stay back in a ‘safe’ neighbourhood to film more propos of her ‘fighting’ but the traps laid by the Gamemakers puts the team in real danger. She loses several people, inlcuding Boggs and Finnick but she does manage to help Peeta begin to overcome his brainwashing.

Unfortunately, once again Katniss is spurred to act when she loses someone she cares about. The bomb trap with the Capitol children, where a second explosion is triggered once people rush in to help. Primrose Everdeen is one of the medics who run in to help, and she dies.

Snow and Coin

After the battle is over, Katniss visits Snow before his execution. He tells her that the bomb trap was not his doing, it was the Rebels. She doesn’t quite believe him but it’s enough to plant the seed of doubt in her mind. She knows that the trap was suggested by Gale, and even if he wasn’t directly responsible, she knows she will never see her old friend the same way. That romance option is over, because he might have been responsible for her sister’s death.

Coin brings the surviving Victors together to propose a final symbolic Hunger Games using the Capitol’s children. Peeta argues against it, as does Annie and Beetee. Annie is sure Finnick would have also voted no. Johanna and Enobaria say yes, followed by Katniss. This leaves Haymitch with the deciding vote. Haymitch seems to know what Katniss is thinking and takes her side, or the side of the ‘Mockingjay’. He understands her pretty well by this point.

When the time comes for Snow’s execution, Katniss realises the truth behind everything. She changes her aim at the last minute, killing Coin instead. Snow ends up dead among the crowd. She tries to take her nightlock pill but is stopped. She realises that both of these leaders were just using her, using her emotions, her fears and her need to protect people.

They exploited her, manipulated her and used her as a pawn. She suspects that Coin put Prim in the firing line on purpose, that maybe Coin sees Katniss as a threat. If Katniss doesn’t bow to her, like she refused to do so to Snow, then she’s a threat to the new regime as much as the old.

Happily? Ever After

Katniss doesn’t end up with a heroes welcome, going home to District Twelve to thunderous applause with a massive gold statue of her built in the Capitol. Because she’s not a hero, she’s the protagonist. Coin wanted to control her, and didn’t like not being able to control Katniss.

So Katniss goes home with Haymitch and falls into a deep depression. She refuses company and it takes a long time for her to come out of it. She knows that there’s no future with Gale now, but there could be a future with Peeta. She realises this when he returns to Twelve and starts planting primroses around her house.

They work on healing together, able to understand each other due to their shared experiences and PTSD. Because it is PTSD. Haymitch has it too, heavily self-medicated. Basically all of the Victors have PTSD, because it looks different in different people. They are haunted by the past, but a real love develops between them.

Katniss said that she never wanted to be in the Games, to be a symbol, to be the Mockingjay. She wanted to save her sister, protect her family. She didn’t really want to be a rebel, but she also did. She knew that the oppression from the Capitol was unjust, unfair and cruel. The bread and circuses was a distraction, keeping the poor in their place.

Any tyrannical regime that keeps pushing people down will eventually crumble. A line will be crossed and people will finally decide that enough is enough. She resented being used, being manipulated and being something she’s not. She realised that with Coin, it was jumping from the frying pan into the fire. The only people she feels can truly understand her now are Peeta and Haymitch.

She manages to live the rest of her life in relative peace. They put together a book about everything that happened, all the people that were lost. Eventually they have children, and prepare to tell them about their past when the time is right. It’s not perfect, it’s not a happily ever after, it’s an ending.

Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Emi the Cat Lady 💜