Hunger Games

I'm sure by now you've either read The Hunger Games or at least seen the movie preview. If all you've seen in the preview, I suggest you go read the book, because it's pretty awesome and will only take you a few hours. Then you'll want to read the other two. I'm not wanting to talk about the books as in  "here is what I think of them" more I want to discuss Katniss and if I think she makes very sound decisions. So I guess if you've never read them don't read this, or if you have no intentions of reading them and/or don't care to know what happens, continue onward. I'm making a jump for those who do care.
Katniss is a bitch. There is no way around that. I think this is the only book I've ever read where I truly dislike the protagonist. For someone who grew up so poor and completely unspoiled, she is really a brat. At the beginning she does this very selfless thing by volunteering herself in her sisters place, knowing without a doubt that her sister would die but thinking she herself would at least have a chance in hell. So that is not a choice I would question, here is what I would question though: Peeta.

I'm not going to say I'm virtuous and I wouldn't do what she did. I would do the exact same thing. Hell if I were hungry enough I probably would have had sex with him in that disgusting cave in order to have food sent down to me, but seeing as she's 17 and a virgin I don't think that was something that was really on her mind. Her first kiss was in that cave, and she was sort of confused about it, but she knew she was doing it in order to survive, unlike Peeta who was doing it because he was in love with her. Do I think it's cruel to mess with his emotions like that? Yeah, but they were also in a life-or-death situation and in her defense she was pretty sure she was going to be killed anyway so there wouldn't be any consequences.

My biggest problem with Peeta is that he's sort of a pussy. I love him, don't get me wrong. The way he loves Katniss and will do anything for her and the things he says to her- they're very sweet and very much what every young girl wants to hear (this is, after all, a book for teenagers). But in all actuality, in the real world, she never would have chose Peeta. I have the same personality as Katniss, the same drive to do whatever it takes, to always be proactive, to fight and not give a shit- and every time I would pick Gale. Yeah I get that it's supposed to be the yin to her yang but honestly, those types of relationships only last in movies.

Gale is just like her. And maybe that is a reason their relationship wouldn't work. Neither is willing to compromise but they also have the same goal. The only reason she didn't pick him was because her sister accidently died when he helped drop some bombs. She didn't care about any other causality, only her sister, and that's pretty damn selfish. If he had done that and her sister hadn't been around, the thought process would have been something about how Gale had saved the day and ensured their safety and how Peeta would never be able to make that tough decision. Even in the end, when they decide whether or not to have a Hunger Games for the children of the Capital, she votes yes- knowing that they were walking into sudden death, going against the very thing she was always saying shouldn't happen in the first place. She doesn't care about all people, only the two who actually matter to her.

Peeta on the other hand, he cares about everyone. She thankfully acknowledges that he's too good for her, which he is. People like Peeta, they're too good for people like Katniss (and myself) because they always care about other people and they aren't as cutthroat about what they do. They aren't always seeking constant upward mobility. People like Katniss are like sharks, must always move to stay alive, but Peeta is like a sea turtle, contemplative and smart, harmless unless necessary. In our minds we all want a Peeta (either girl or boy version), but we aren't all worthy of a Peeta and we definitely don't all end up with a Peeta. I'll be honest, I had a boyfriend like that, and it was exhausting. After the first few months you get over the whole I-can't-believe-he-loves-me-he's-so-wonderful thing, it mostly turns into God-I-wish-he-had-some-motivation-in-life-beyond-loving-me. So in reality, Katniss would never have settled for a Peeta, and maybe that's what makes a good book. It's not like the dystopian universe they live in truly exists anyway.

I also question her indecisiveness upon being so ambitious. She wants things to change and she wants to be apart of it but at times she is kind of lazy about it. Yeah she's really young and part of it could be due to fear, but really after killing people in the Games she should be more up for the whole commanding an army thing. The first chunk of the third book is devoted to her whining and doing next to nothing. Once she actually starts doing stuff it's only because Peeta doesn't love her anymore due to his brain washing. Then she wants to kill him because he's mean to her even though he was tortured into hating her. Like I said, she's a bitch. And not the smartest girl in the world. But she's a fighter. I think she saw a part of herself in Snow though, and that frightened her in the end. So she killed Coin (is it bad that I kept forgetting Coin was a woman throughout the book unless they specifically said she? I feel like the description of her was very Dickensesque). In the end she stopped the cycle, but she had to see herself first to be able to do that. In my mind, seeing myself like that and knowing what I'm capable of would make me tell Peeta to hit the road and find a nice girl that isn't a murderous bitch, but to each their own I guess.

So that't (part) of my take. Would love to know what you think of the series. It's very fascinating to me.