Katniss Everdeen Character Analysis
Lucia Corvalan
English W131
A.I Stephanie Luke
3/25/2013
The Monstrous “Monster”
In The Hunger Games, an unsuccessful revolution against an immoral ruler leads to the development of a game where 24 young men and women fight to the death until only one remains. The main character, Katniss Everdeen, takes her sister’s place to compete in this winner-takes-all game. Katniss is portrayed as the under-dog who will ultimately prevail throughout the movie. With the use of camera angles, music and dialogue, Katniss is given superiority over the other competitors. This superiority establishes, as seen through the essay Monster Culture (Seven Theses) by Jeffery Cohen, that Katniss is a rebellious monster who threatens The Capitol’s way of life. Although Cohen focuses on the negative aspects of monsters, in the Hunger Games, Katniss’ monstrous inability to conform to expectations and social order can be viewed as a positive attribute that induces a necessary radical change.
The inhabitants of District Twelve believe that Katniss has a good chance of winning; she is smart, resourceful and an exemplary archer. Although she may have the elements necessary to win, she also needs the support of the sponsors, who during the competition are able to send her much needed supplies. Katniss’ coach, Haymitch …show more content…
In the words of Cohen: “as the monster of prohibition exists to demarcate the bonds that hold together that system of relations we call culture to call horrid attention to the borders that cannot --must not-- be crossed. ” Women who dwell outside the norms, like Katniss, are “monstrous” to society. They are feared because “this refusal to participate in the classificatory "order of things" is true of monsters generally” (Cohen). Her behavior scares the Capitol, because it questions cultural
English W131
A.I Stephanie Luke
3/25/2013
The Monstrous “Monster”
In The Hunger Games, an unsuccessful revolution against an immoral ruler leads to the development of a game where 24 young men and women fight to the death until only one remains. The main character, Katniss Everdeen, takes her sister’s place to compete in this winner-takes-all game. Katniss is portrayed as the under-dog who will ultimately prevail throughout the movie. With the use of camera angles, music and dialogue, Katniss is given superiority over the other competitors. This superiority establishes, as seen through the essay Monster Culture (Seven Theses) by Jeffery Cohen, that Katniss is a rebellious monster who threatens The Capitol’s way of life. Although Cohen focuses on the negative aspects of monsters, in the Hunger Games, Katniss’ monstrous inability to conform to expectations and social order can be viewed as a positive attribute that induces a necessary radical change.
The inhabitants of District Twelve believe that Katniss has a good chance of winning; she is smart, resourceful and an exemplary archer. Although she may have the elements necessary to win, she also needs the support of the sponsors, who during the competition are able to send her much needed supplies. Katniss’ coach, Haymitch …show more content…
In the words of Cohen: “as the monster of prohibition exists to demarcate the bonds that hold together that system of relations we call culture to call horrid attention to the borders that cannot --must not-- be crossed. ” Women who dwell outside the norms, like Katniss, are “monstrous” to society. They are feared because “this refusal to participate in the classificatory "order of things" is true of monsters generally” (Cohen). Her behavior scares the Capitol, because it questions cultural