VS.
The Hunger Games as a series is
very nihilistic, but simultaneously there is a love triangle between Katniss,
Gale and Peeta. It’s also very true that I’m going to write thi
*deep sigh*…okay…here we go.
So throughout Catching Fire, the
second book in The Hunger Games series, we watch Katniss’ struggle with her
feelings for Gale while living a lie with Peeta as her husband. The hints that
Katniss likes Gale are pretty clear…I mean, they’re not even hints, she flat
out says it:
“Gale is mine. I
am his. Anything else is unthinkable.” (117)
In today’s social standards, she would be called a cheater!
Hahahaha…ahem.
Well
okay, so yes, Katniss loves Gale and is pretty neutral about Peeta, right?
WRONG, YOU ARE WRONG! As seen in the first book as well as this one later on,
Katniss has her moments of weakness where she truly does show feelings for
Peeta as well. She is constantly battling herself and her feelings for Peeta.
Example; after having a terrible nightmare about Clove turning into a werewolf
(teenwolf? Lol) she thinks:
“ I wish Peeta were here to hold me, until I remember I’m
not supposed to wish that anymore.”(121).
Oh come on that was only four pages later!
Then a
couple of pages later (125-126) she starts freaking out about kissing Gale. I
really wish Katniss would be a little less emotionally compromised given her
current situation of needing to pretend to love Peeta (or actually loving him, I
don’t even know anymore) in order to prevent President snow from killing her
and her entire family. I mean really.
Well let’s
look at the background Katniss shares with her love interests: Gale has been
her friend forever, while Peeta isin’t someone she really cares for all too
much, despite him being a really nice guy. So we have a childhood friend and a
guy whose madly in love with someone who doesn’t share his feelings… both of
those are kind of lost causes when it comes to romantic literature.
To make
it easier for everyone, I think that Katniss should just become a forest hermit
who lives her life hunting and bringing food in secret to those who need it most,
like a hero or something! It seems like that’s the kind of person she’d rather
be, anyway.
-Taylor
R.
Collins, Suzanne, and Elizabeth B. Parisi. Catching Fire. New York: Scholastic, 2009. Print.
Taylor. It seems you want to turn her into a contemporary Robin Hood--sans his Merry Men. You do a great job of keeping the writing fun and engaging in your blog post. But to be completely honest, I was most interested by your claim that Catching Fire is a really nihilistic novel. I'm not sure how you came to this conclusion, but you just brush it off as if there's some general consensus. I want to know why you feel this way.
ReplyDeleteProf. M