Girl on Psych Consult We all know her as the girl on fire. The girl who became the ultimate heroine when she volunteered to save he baby sister’s life, but that didn’t come without its price, along the way Katniss Everdeen suffered major emotional as well as psychological drawbacks. Katniss Everdeen is a seventeen-year-old girl who has been through several traumatic events within the past couple years. Events including witness multiple murders, murdering, witnessing death of loved ones, and multiple near death experiences. Since these events Katniss has had trouble sleeping, waking up from violent reoccurring nightmares where she wakes up screaming and often times lashing out. Katniss has also experience flashbacks from time to time as well …show more content…
Post traumatic stress disorder is broken down into four categories, trauma, traumatic events can be defined as anything that causes psychological, emotional, or physical distress (MedlinePlus). “She just has time to reach her hand through the mesh and say my name before the spear enters her body” (Collins, pg.232). The second category is intrusion which can come in the form of flashbacks, nightmares, and overwhelming memories, “I know what he means. Nightmares…now plague me whenever I sleep…Instead I relive versions of what happened in the arena.” (Collins, pg.54). Avoidance, to avoid doing or thinking of anything that might remind a person of the traumatic event(s), “I haven’t even left the house. I haven’t even left the kitchen, except to go to the small bathroom a few steps off from it.” (Collins, pg.381) Lastly is arousal and reactivity/negative changes in mood or thinking, people who suffer form PTSD often times have changes in the way they think, feel, or behave, startling easily, irritability, overwhelming guilt, self-destructive behavior, feeling emotionally numb, lack of interest, negative thoughts about one’s self, hopelessness, and having trouble sleeping or concentrating (it should be noted that these are just some of the symptoms one could have not all). “I give up. Stop speaking, responding, refuse food and water…it takes more than that to keep a person going once
... hunter that lives to protect her family. When taken to the Capitol, it is Katniss’s first time away from her duty and she changes. When Katniss returns to District 12, it is unclear exactly how much change Katniss has undergone and how permanent these changes are. Katniss obviously has an aptitude for survival as seen in her nature, but she is also very affected by her environment. The Katniss in District 12 was so sure of herself and her role, but after everything she has gone through, how much of this Katniss remains? Does she truly love Peeta or was it just an act? Was she capable of murder before or was it forced upon her in the Hunger Games? Is she the protector, the girl on fire, or are they one in the same? Nature and nurture both play an integral role in one’s identity, but it is the individual’s job to decipher what these two forces combined can create.
PTSD occurs after experiencing traumatic events and prolonged periods of emotional distress. A traumatic event is something that a person experiences that causes them to feel like their lives, or the lives of others, are in immediate danger. If after traumatic events such feelings of fear or complete loss of control do not subside and cause disruptions in a person's everyday life PTSD may occur. Such traumatic events may include: Combat in a war zone, sexual or physical abuse or assault, major accidents, or natural disasters. There are four main symptoms used to identify PTSD: Reliving the traumatic event, which can include nightmares and flashbacks. Avoiding people or situations that could remind one of the event. Negative changes in a persons thoughts or feelings, such as fear, guilt, shame or loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities. Lastly, hyperarousal, feeling jittery, alert and on the look for danger along with trouble sleeping or focusing. (National Center For PTSD). People suffering from Ptsd may also encounter problems with depression and anxiety along with relationship problems, physical symptoms, and drug and alcohol problems.
Over the past few years, there has been various books, films, and even songs about influential, heroic, women throughout the world. Some of the most recent heroic female figures include the fictional character “Hermione Granger” from the novel Harry Potter by J. K Rowling. Another strong female figure includes “Katniss Everdeen” from the novel The Hunger Games by Suzzane Collins. The two heroic women certainly share their differences. Hermoine was described as a bookworm who could be a tad bossy at times. Katniss was athletically inclined, however, lacked certain communication skills with people. Although Hermoine and Katniss have their distinct differences, they both become heroic female figures who show what the true meaning of bravery is.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is defined by our book, Abnormal Psychology, as “an extreme response to a severe stressor, including increased anxiety, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, and symptoms of increased arousal.” In the diagnosis of PTSD, a person must have experienced an serious trauma; including “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation.” In the DSM-5, symptoms for PTSD are grouped in four categories. First being intrusively reexperiencing the traumatic event. The person may have recurring memories of the event and may be intensely upset by reminders of the event. Secondly, avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, either internally or externally. Third, signs of mood and cognitive change after the trauma. This includes blaming the self or others for the event and feeling detached from others. The last category is symptoms of increased arousal and reactivity. The person may experience self-destructive behavior and sleep disturbance. The person must have 1 symptom from the first category, 1 from the second, at least 2 from the third, and at least 2 from the fourth. The symptoms began or worsened after the trauma(s) and continued for at least one
PTSD is defined as mental health disorder triggered by a terrifying event (Mayoclinic). This ordeal could be the result of some sort of physical harm or threat to the individual, family members, friends or even strangers. (NIMH) While PTSD is typically associated with someone who has served in the military, it can affect more than just that genre of individuals. It could affect rape victims, victims in a terrorist or natural disaster incident, nurses, doctors, and police and fire personnel and bystanders. PTSD can manifest itself in many forms. The primary signs and symptoms of PTSD include but are not limited to re-experiencing symptoms (flashbacks, bad dreams, frightening thoughts), avoidance of places, situations, or events that may cause those memories to resurface, and hyperarousal symptoms (easily startled, feeling tense or on edge) (NIMH). Other symptoms may include not having positive or loving feelings toward other people, staying away from relationships, may forget about parts of the traumatic event or not be able to talk about them, may think the world is completely dangerous, and no one can be trusted.
Without being portrayed as a loving and caring girlfriend, Katniss can hardly survive. According to the film, the controllers set a fire purposely, which has large possibility of killing Katniss. If Katniss continues to be “boring”, which means she doesn’t kill anyone but hiding, it has large chance that the controllers would set another fire until they hear the term of “young love”. “In terms of narrative progression, this project of ‘feminization’, launched in part as a strategy to enhance Katniss’ chances of survival in the Games, is complete at series’ end where Katniss’ main role is that of wife and mother.”(Guanio-Uluru ,123) Therefore, she has to take advantage of her sexuality and behave in the way that others want to see. Even though she preciously fights with Peeta for putting her into a “weak spot”, she follows Haymitch’s advice and behaves like a little girl who is madly in love. “Katniss is put under pressure by several male characters to perform emphasized feminity and the male characters are not required in the same way to appear physically attractive to the audience, prevailing rather through displays of strength and physical prowess” (Connors, 150) Thus, regardless of the fact that Katniss’s dress on fire does somehow show their rebellion by not following the rule of dressing like their district, the most important purpose is to be remarkable and to impress
She was extremely close with her younger sister. She spent much of her time doing whatever was necessary to ensure the survival of her family. After being put in the spotlight at the Hunger Games, her life takes on new complications. From the moment she volunteered to take her sister’s place in the Hunger Games, she was forced to hide her emotions in order to prevent the Capitol and its people from viewing her as weak and feeble. She says “When they televise the replay of the reaping tonight, everyone will make note of my tears, and I will be marked as an easy target” (Katniss , Page 23). She knew that she has to censor all her actions carefully to
PTSD is a debilitating mental illness that occurs when someone is exposed to a traumatic, dangerous, frightening, or a possibly life-threating occurrence. “It is an anxiety disorder that can interfere with your relationships, your work, and your social life.” (Muscari, pp. 3-7) Trauma affects everyone in different ways. Everyone feels wide ranges of emotions after going through or witnessing a traumatic event, fear, sadness and depression, it can cause changes in your everyday life as in your sleep and eating patterns. Some people experience reoccurring thoughts and nightmares about the event.
...ith her peers. It is only when they couple desperately needs supplies that Katniss realizes, “ (Collins 297). Through Katniss’ unreliability, the reader is able to make realizations about her as she makes them about herself.
The second category symptom for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the avoidance symptoms. This is where the person who has experienced the trauma stays away from places that may trigger his or her memory to the event that caused the trauma. The person also may seem emotionless. He or she may not want to experience that feeling again so he or she become emotionally numb to everything going on around them. The person may also feel a great amount of guilt, depression or worry. He or she may also lose interest in activities that he or she found to be fun before the traumatic event. He or she may have trouble remembering the event. Things that remind he or she of the event may cause avoidance symptoms. This can cause he or she to can change his or her everyday routine to avoid something that triggers rememberance of the event.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental illness that develops after exposure to an event that is perceived to be life threatening or pose serious bodily injury to self or others (Sherin & Nemeroff, 2011). According
It was essential to make Katniss a likable character as if she was not; the movie runs the risk of the audience finding “The Hunger Games” only as a grotesque culture that kills children. The framework needs to be set that Katniss is a character that a viewer wants to invest in and further watch her collide with the corrupt system throughout four films. While Katniss’ character flaw may be that she is hard to relate to, the choices in the film throughout the story allow an audience to find Katniss favorable and relatable. Through visuals and audio techniques, one can better experience the world as she does. Through Primrose, Rue, and Peeta, one is able to identify better with who Katniss is and see her growth throughout the movie. The plot allowed for Katniss’ morals to be tested and rise above being both a physical and a moral victim of the Hunger games. All these details allowed for Katniss to be a likable character where one hoped the odds were in her
Gender roles are a set of societal norms that determine how a specific sex should think, speak and act. Society often portrays women as the housewife who nurtures the family while portraying men as the breadwinner who provides the family. Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Suzanne Collins’ novel, The Hunger Games, both portray unconventional characters that defy the universally accepted gender roles. By allowing their characters to surpass the stereotypical expectations, Kafka and Collins challenge the ideas of traditional gender roles that have created certain requirements and restrictions on both men and women. Kafka and Collins illustrate the theme of role reversal to exemplify that there should not be any defined gender roles. They try to
You will be amazed at Katniss’s rebellious spirit, and her ability to rally the rebels. The
“As I slowly, thoroughly wash the makeup from my face and put my hair in its braid, I begin transforming back into myself. Katniss Everdeen. A girl who lives in the Seam, Hunts in the woods. Trades in the Hob. I stare in the mirror as I try to remember who I am and who I am not”.