Katniss Everdeen

Katniss and her family live in 12 (coal-mining) “districts,” that is, the region that is the poorest and least populated in the fictional autocratic state of Pane . In the first book, The Hunger Games , Katniss Everdeen volunteers to participate in The Hunger Games to save her young sister Primrose, chosen by lot. Katniss teams up with the second member of District 12, Pete Mellark. Katniss uses her knowledge of hunting and archery to survive. Contrary to the Capitol rules, two become winners at once. Over the next two novels, “Catching Fire” and “Mockingjay,” Katniss becomes a symbol of the rebellion of thirteen districts against the Capitol.

The idea of ​​creating a trilogy is partially based on the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur , according to which 7 girls and 7 boys from Athens were sent to the Minotaur every 9 years to be eaten. This happened until Theseus killed him. Collins , having heard this story at the age of 8, was surprised by such ruthlessness and cruelty. Susan later said: “In her own way, Katniss is Theseus of the future” ^[3] . The books indicate that Katniss is well versed in survival techniques, focuses on nature, has been hunting since childhood to feed her family. Thus, Collins repelled those friends of her father who grew up during the Great Depression and were forced to hunt in order to get at least some food ^[4] .

Katniss and other participants ("tributes"), before participating in the Games, must compete for the sympathy of sponsors who donate money to buy vital items while they are in the arena. That is, spectators have almost the same power as the stewards of the Games, which is actually based on Roman gladiatorial battles, when spectators can decide with one gesture whether to leave the fighter alive ^[4] .

Name

The name Katniss comes from a plant, which is better known as arrowhead (in English “katniss”), whose roots are usually found in water ^[5] . The roots of this plant can be eaten, which Katniss does in the book. Her father said: "As long as you can find yourself, you will not starve." The shooter also shares his name with the Sagittarius zodiac sign (Eng. "Sagittarius" or "The Archer"), which may indicate her archery .

Her surname comes from Bathsheba Everdeen, the main character of Thomas Hardy ’s novel “Far From the Crazed Crowd” . As Collins says, “These two are very different, but both follow their hearts” ^[6] .

Appearance

In the book, Katniss has a typical appearance for the inhabitants of Slag - she has curly dark hair, olive skin and dark gray eyes. She has a long braid, falling onto her back (in the second part, during the fog, she was burnt by a third). She is thin and short, but strong, because she had to feed her family, hunting in the forests outside of District-12. In the film, the role of Katniss is played by Jennifer Lawrence .

Origin

Father Katniss was a miner and died in an explosion in a mine when Katniss was 11 years old. After that, her mother became depressed and was unable to take care of the children. On the verge of starvation a few weeks before her twelfth birthday, May 8, Katniss wandered around the rich parts of the city in the hope of stealing some food from the garbage cans of wealthy shopkeepers. She tried to find food in the back of the bakery when she was seen by the baker's wife and her son Pete. The baker's wife drove Katniss away, but, exhausted from hunger, she disappeared into the garden. Pete deliberately burned two loaves of bread, for which he was beaten by his own mother, then ordered him to throw bread to their pigs. Instead, Pete gave bread to the starving Katniss, and she brought the bread home to feed her mother and sister, who had not eaten for several days. Bread gave them hope and gave Katniss the strength to live on. Katniss considered herself indebted to Pete because of this incident.

A few days later, Katniss decided to go into the forest surrounding her district to illegally hunt and collect plants for food, which they most often fed on until her father died. There she met a boy, Gail Hotthorn, who similarly procured food for his family. Katniss and Gale became friends.

While mother Katniss was slowly moving away from depression and was already able to return to the work of a doctor, Katniss tried to forgive her for her detachment. But despite the improvement in her relationship with her mother, her strong friendship with Gail, and her growing affection for Pete, Katniss is sure that she really loves only her younger sister.

Katniss received mostly positive reviews. In a review of The Hunger Games , Stephen King said she was like a “tough guy” with a “wrong name”, adding: “As I saw her, I almost fell in love” ^[7] .

Francis Goldsmith in Booklist said: “Despite the fact that Katniss is a great archer and a good hunter who can analyze her opponents, it’s hard for her to judge personal feelings and feelings, especially about hers” ^[8] .

Publishers Weekly wrote: “ Collins masterfully described Katniss as the new Theseus. She is cold, prudent, but also pretty ” ^[9] .

Cleveland Plain Dealer writes in a review of the book “ Catching Fire ”, that “Katniss in a thoughtful mood is poorly combined with the murders she commits,” adding that her loyalty and cordial kindness pleasantly surprised ^[10] .

John Green in the New York Times calls Katniss "a memorable, complex and exciting heroine." ^[11] In addition, in the New York Times, Katie Roife said that Katniss had a “strong character, though certainly not attractive, in Mockingjay. ” She is domineering, capricious, masterful, demanding and stabbing. " She also noted that recently these very qualities have made many of the last heroines of literature pretty ^[12] .

Entertainment Weekly comparing Katniss and Bella Swan from the Twilight saga, wrote that “unlike the passive Twilight and the fearful Bella, Katniss is a cold-blooded girl who demonstrates both compassion and fearlessness” ^[13] .

Laura Miller ( Salon.com ) finds Katniss too virtuous and without motivation, calling her the negative opposite of Bella from Twilight: “In a sense, Katniss is more passive than Bella, she has good qualities, but the Hunger Games heroine never puts them first. Despite all the flaws, Bella, at least, has the courage, her desire. What, besides revenge, is driven by Katniss Everdeen? ”Nevertheless, Miller believes that she was“ much better ... Bella ” ^[14] .

Nevertheless, The Daily Telegraph David Gritten noted that Katniss is “a good role model for girls,” the heroine “has other hobbies besides the spleen for boys” ^[15] .

Actresses Lindsay Fonseca ^[16] and Kaya Scodelario ^[17] became interested in the film and received the screenplay in October 2010 ^[18] , while Oscar nominee Haley Steinfield met with director Gary Ross ^[19] . Chloe Moretz ^[20] , Malez Jow ^[21] and Jodelle Ferland ^{[22] have} publicly expressed interest in Katniss. Lionsgate confirmed in March 2011 that some 30 actresses met with them to familiarize themselves with the role, including Jennifer Lawrence , Abigail Breslin , Emma Roberts , Sirsha Ronan , Emily Browning and Shailene Woodley. ^[23] On March 16, 2011, it was announced that Jennifer Lawrence of Winterbone was approved for the role of Katniss Everdeen ^[24] . At this time, Lawrence was 20 - a little more than her heroine ^[25] . However, author Susan Collins said that the actress who will play Katniss must have “a certain maturity and integrity” and, apparently, the actress should be older than her character ^[26] . Collins claims that Lawrence "is the only one who truly understands the character described in my book," and that she "has all the necessary qualities to play Katniss" ^[27] .