Lets Talk: The Evolution of the Mockingjay

-- This discussion post is created assuming readers have read all three of the books in the Hunger Games trilogy all the way through, thus it contains spoilers below the cut --



If you remember back a few months ago, we had our first discussion about A Moveable Feast. For our second chat, I thought we'd discuss something that kind of pushes my buttons. Many people across the internet have read the Hunger Games Trilogy. I've reviewed both Catching Fire and Mockingjay. One big thing that is often critiqued in these books is the evolution of Katniss's character. I have my own thoughts, which are found below the cut, but I'd also love to hear some of your thoughts on the subject.



In reading the Hunger Games, Katniss is a strong, beautiful woman supporting for her family then surviving for her family when in the arena. She does some horrible things and some wonderfully compassionate things. Very few will argue that Katniss in this book is anything but a strong female character.

In Catching Fire, Katniss is a very different character. She doesn't have a purpose anymore. She's succeeded in surviving; her survival has provided sustenance for her family. She's safe and her family isn't going to starve. She doesn't need to hunt and doesn't need to kill. Her best friend, Gale, is still needed. Even her mother has a purpose at this point. She feels useless. Then she's back in the arena and she's a pawn. Yes, she's a different character, but is she really weaker?

In Mockingjay, Katniss's position as the pawn is continued. She doesn't really have any control of her own life, so she takes control.

I've heard the argument that Katniss's perceived weakness in the last two books is a failure in Suzanne Collins's trilogy and writing. I completely disagree. People in dire circumstances do very strange, out of character things. I think the "weakness" and the changes from the first book to the last two is intentional. When you're not fighting for your life, you're a completely different person. In the first book, Katniss is constantly fighting for her life, even before the arena. In the last two, she's provided for and no one is going to kill her or let her die, and on some level she knows that.

I think that the discussion about Katniss's character becoming suddenly weaker is a poor one because that argument leaves out and ignores the entirely different circumstances in the first versus the last two books. You can't judge someone by them in a time of trauma and tragedy, you have to look at them when they're in normal circumstances.

I do have one big problem with Katniss's evolution. The epilogue of Mockingjay, which if you've read or watched my review, you already know this. In the epilogue Katniss decides to be with Peeta and have kids. Okay, what? From the beginning she says she doesn't want children. I can't believe the world has changed enough and become stable enough to guarantee a good life for her kids. It was such a sudden drastic change that made me sick. Maybe it's the feminist in me, but it seemed to me that she didn't fight hard enough for what she believed in and just gave in to Peeta's desires.

But that's just me, What do you think about Katniss's evolution?