The Hunger Games’ Narrator and Protagonist: The Multifaceted Identity of Katniss Everdeen

Abstract

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, has become “a literary and cultural phenomenon” since it was published in 2008; it was not only a commercial success but also a serious subject of academic discussion even before 2012, the release year of the adapted film, The Hunger Games. This study demonstrates that a major reason for the acclaim derives from the narrator and protagonist of this novel, Katniss Everdeen as a non-stereotypical female character. Unfolding through diverse narrative threads and her relationships with other characters, especially Gale, Pita, and Rue, this paper will argue for the enchanting characteristics of Katniss. The sixteen-year old Katniss is multifaceted: a hunter, a bread-winner, a negotiator, a warrior, a survivor, a potential rebel, a performer, an empathizer, and a healer. By undergoing the frighteningly hideous game, and by probing inward and outward, Katniss shows the value of other people’s dignity, and reveals her multidimentional identity. Significantly, she recognizes how “humiliating” and “torturous” the hunger games are, and how oppressive and unjust the Capitol’s power is. In spite of the novel’s cruel and ominous game in a vast outdoor arena, which appears to be inappropriate for teenagers, the implications of The Hunger Games can be educational and enriching primarily because Katniss Everdeen is appealing to the hearts of the youth beyond gender polarizations through her androgynous qualities, to encourage them with the suggestion, “Why don’t you just be yourself?” Katniss’s moral choices and independence in the midst of the difficult social fabric remain thought-provoking and resonant even after the end of The Hunger Games.