Katniss Everdeen’s Posthuman Identity in Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games Series: Free as a Mockingjay?

Abstract

This article draws on theories of the posthuman in order to identify the significance of the figure of the mockingjay throughout the three volumes of Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy. It argues that the ever-tighter association between Katniss Everdeen and this bio-engineered hybrid species of bird thematizes issues central to posthuman theory, most notably the blurring of species boundaries and the potential dangers to society posed by advanced technology. Furthermore, it discusses the impact of biotechnology upon the protagonist’s sense of identity. Analyzing the bird symbolism in the series, and in particular the development of the mockingjay, the article thus considers the values attributed to bio- and cyborg technology in the series as a whole.