In Suzanne Collins’ compelling novel The Hunger Games, the sophisticated usage of symbolic plants provides meaning to the story. Collins relates themes of survival, beauty, healing, and transformation through the names of important characters and the plants that they represent. The author named three important characters, Katniss Everdeen, Primrose (Prim) Everdeen, and Rue, after plants that represent their personalities and roles in the novel. The katniss plant, also known as arrowhead, derives it’s name from the Latin term Sagittaria, which alludes to the archer Zodiac. The term represents adaptability, determination, and accuracy, just like Katniss herself. Primrose got her name from the evening primrose. This fragile flower, noted for its …show more content…
In addition, the Evening Primrose’s title as “king’s cure-all” emphasizes Primrose’s responsibility in caring for her family. Katniss befriends Rue, a young girl during the Hunger Games, who carries the name of the Rue plant, a “herb of grace” with a variety of symbolic meanings. In literature, Rue is often used as a symbol of both regret and freedom. When Rue is killed, Katniss feels a deep feeling of grief and regret, which drives her to take action against the capital and start the rebellion. Her death is an important turning point in the plot, and the Rue plant’s symbolism highlights how significant this time is. Plants play an important role in the story, not just as character names, but also as symbols. When food is limited, Katniss resorts to a pine tree, “I slowly chew the stuff as I walk along.it’s a little hard to choke down.” This was written in Chapter 11, page 154. Katniss emphasizes the value of these trees as food in the harsh wilderness. More than that, the sight of dandelions gives Katniss new hope and confidence in her ability to provide for her family. Nightlock, while not an actual plant, is a powerful symbol of resistance to the
One of the most prominent themes in Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games is the evolving identity of the protagonist Katniss Everdeen. A common debate in modern day psychology is whether it is nature or our environment that shapes one’s identity. Are people born with their identity and personality already intact and decided for them or is it the experiences we go through in life that make us who we are? Collins takes on this difficult debate of nature versus nurture and uses Katniss to show how a combination of the two determine and effect our sense of self. Katniss is a very strong willed and heroic character, but even she experiences change in The Hunger Games. Katniss starts off as a survivor, has to transform herself to win the gruesome games, and then has to rediscover who she has actually become at the end of the novel after everything she has been through.
Katniss and Theseus find themselves in similar situations that there are many literature parallels throughout both of their stories. Volunteering as a tribute for a cruel game like situation and come out as a victorious “hero”, both have to play along as if they love someone they don’t, and have people help them along the way. The only way to know how strong you are is not always a physical strength but mental or emotional strength also.
You would think Katniss wouldn’t dream of teaming up with a child, but she has. Rue is so similar yet so different from Katniss’s younger sister Prim which is partly the reason why they have teamed up. They surprisingly make an impressive duo and they work so well they’ve become partners in crime. The song presented is lighthearted and connects to the scene very well because at each other’s side they feel safe and secure. They both know the situation they’re in is life or death, but that doesn’t stop them from doing as much as they can to hurt the Career tributes of 1, 2, and 4. The piece also tells how both people in the song care for each other and treasure the bond they have made, much like Katniss and
An epic hero can be defined in many ways; however, most epic heroes and heroines possess a specific set of characteristics. These characteristics have several components and are often used to determine whether or not one qualifies as an epic hero. The popular novel, The Hunger Games, features a young girl from District 12 named Katniss Everdeen. Katniss faces a daily struggle to keep her family from starving and is forced to take the place of her sister in a selection to compete in the annual Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is a televised fight to the death between children aged twelve to eighteen. The competitors are selected by random draw, one male and one female from each of the twelve districts. The last remaining survivor is crowned
Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games goes on a journey that is quite comparable to a Hero's Journey. It starts with her sister Prim being selected to "play" in the games and Katniss volunteers to take her place. She then goes into training and preparation for the games. She also gets a mentor that is a previous winner of The Hunger Games from District 12, Haymitch. Many of the characters in The Hunger Games match the archetypes of the Hero's Journey very similarly. Every character has a specific role in Katniss' journey throughout The Hunger Games.
Katniss ideals and integrity stay true and strong that is what make her different from everyone else. She values everyone's life and she does not believe that innocent people have to die to make a point of a situation. For example, The Hunger Games she completely disagree about being socially acceptable to kill children and being broadcast as entertainment for people to have a tea party while children die. Which her actions leads to do things out of the ordinary, like try to die with Peeta instead betraying him to go back and win the games. Peeta tells her that it should be you to go home I have no one. She says, “No I need you”. Katniss tells Peeta hit her because she does not believe in killing when it is unfair and person is unarmed. Any
Whereas Collins uses symbolic imagery and Atwood uses tactile imagery, they both illustrate that their protagonists, although they are strong women, seek the touch of their loved ones to give them the needed strength to continue on fighting for rebellion. Throughout the entire Hunger Games series Katniss sacrifices herself for her sister Prim, her love Peeta and for the freedom of the oppressed citizens of Panem. After her second Hunger Games, when Katniss is in safety in District 13 and Peeta is still trapped in the Capitol, she holds onto the memories of Peeta in form of a pearl he once gave her: "Sometimes when I'm alone, I take the pearl from where it lives in my pocket and try to remember the boy with the bread, the strong arms that warded off nightmares on the train, the kisses in the arena" (Collins 39, Mockingjay).
In all novels the author plans for readers to see a character in a certain way. The Hunger Games written by Suzanne Collins follows Katniss Everdeen as she is thrown into a televised game show, where you kill or be killed, along the way Katniss builds a friendship with a young girl named Rue. In the text figurative language is used to build the idea of fear, connotation is used to give the aura of innocence and characterisation is used to create a softhearted sense, thus builds the idea that Rue is a young, pure, kind soul. Suzanne Collins uses narrative conventions such as; metaphors, connotation and characterisation to position the reader to see Rue as a scared, softhearted, innocent child.
It has often been said that there is nothing new under the sun. In this vein, authors across all literary genres often borrow themes and plot from the stories of long ago. Many of those authors choose to borrow from the rich mythology of the ancient Greeks. Suzanne Collins has been asked on numerous occasions where the idea for The Hunger Games originated. She readily admits that the characters and plot come from Greek mythology and more specifically, from Theseus and the Minotaur (Margolis 30). One familiar with both both stories can easily recognize the identical framework upon which each of these stories are built. Both Theseus and Katniss Everdeen, Collins’ heroine, volunteer to go into battle for their respective homelands, they both fight beasts of strange origin, and they are both brave in battle and emerge victorious, but it is the uniqueness of the characters that makes each story appropriate for the time period and audience to which it belongs. Collins modernizes the classic hero of Theseus by changing his gender, his motivations and altering his selfish personality, and by doing these things she creates a heroine that better resonates with today's audience of young adults.
Katniss’ act of defiance near the end of the novel with attempting to have her and Peeta eat the poisonous berries to assure there will be no single winner of the games, sparked a fiery rebellion in the districts. That same flame that was in the hearts of the people of America in the 1770’s is shown in this fictional story burning hot in the hearts of the nation of Panem’s citizens. As the books carry through the series, the reader can see that Katniss did the people a favor and sparked progress towards a better life for them. Eventually, the districts win the rebellion and gain reliable government leaders. The story of Katniss in The Hunger Games reaffirms Wilde’s claim, proves disobedience to be valuable, and promotes social
As an impoverished resident of District 12, the priorities that have shaped Katniss’ identity are those of survival. Whether is it in hunting the fields with her trusty bow and arrow, or trading her catch at the illegal hub, Katniss’ society has enabled her to hold many attributes and attitudes that would traditionally be considered as masculine. Her characteristic plait is done so for functional rather than fashionable purposes; she is a surrogate father over her sister Prim since his death in the coal mines; she is the main provider for her family; and her ‘romantic attachment’ to Gale has developed through his respect for stubborn and resilient nature rather that her looks or dependence upon
On the big screen, women have often been treated as second-class citizens and portrayed as helpless creatures, waiting to be rescued by their Prince Charming. This gender gap came to a halt when The Hunger Games (Dir. Gary Ross) was released in theaters. The brave Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) - stood up for someone else – even when it meant risking her own life. The Hunger Games was not only one of the top grossing movies of the year, but it was also one of the very few movies where a woman was able to display her stability and willingness to fight. The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Gravity are some of the recent movies that show a woman’s much greater potential in life centering around: courage, nature, and recognition.
While reading the novel, “The Hunger Games”, written by Suzanne Collins, one could see without difficulty that a running theme flows through the writing. This theme being perseverance, the one thing that had allowed Katniss Everdeen, the main character that a reader follows during the events presented in the narrative, to live on and be crowned victor with her teammate, Peeta, a young man who ventures into the Hunger Games with Katniss. The theme of perseverance appears frequently as it is tied to every trait and skill of Katniss which includes the idea that she is persistent, caring, and resourceful when it comes to surviving in severe conditions similar to the Games. Every thought she has and every action that she performs drives her to
The pear tree metaphor is one of the most prevalent and recurring metaphors throughout the novel. It is one that represents Janie’s sexual awakening, her relationships, her dreams, and her journey to womanhood. Gates argues that this repetition of the tree metaphor “is fundamental to the process of narration, and Hurston repeats the figure of the tree both to expound her theme of becoming and to render the action of the plot and simultaneous and as unified as possible” (78). The tree first appears when Janie is preparing to tell her story to Phoeby: “Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches” (8), seemingly setting out what Janie’s story will entail and as Henry Louis Gates Jr. asserts in Zora Neale Hurston and the Speakerly Text, this introduction of the metaphor “re...
Traits Katniss Everdeen is very determined. If she wants to do something, she tries until she achieves it. This is proved when Katniss wins the Hunger Games after she is told that she should try to win, by Prim, her sister and throughout the games she remembers these words and kind of uses them as her guide. She is also very strong in both mental and physical ways. Her worst character trait is that she lets kind people root into her, so if someone pretends to be kind she will let them root in which means she lets them know about her and becomes easygoing with them.