Hunger Games

I think the author of Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins, chose a female main character because she wanted her readers to see a character that does not have to be male in order to be a hero. It is a stereotype of most heroic characters are mostly male saving a damsel in distress, whom are often female. I also think that Katniss depicts not your usual feminine character because she is analytical and focused on survival. She despises people who are so overcome with their emotion that it controls their actions to not being able to do anything. Katniss would describe those people as weak and she does not want to be depicted as weak. But despite this dislike, she is forced to show how “feminine” qualities that was about emotions and caring could be seen as strong and not weak. It is evident in, “The Hunger Games: Performing Not-performing to Authenticate Femininity and Whiteness,” by Rachel E. Dubrofsky & Emily D. Ryalls, “When Katniss does kill, it is motivated by her care and concern: one of the final scenes is of Katniss killing Cato, out of compassion, to spare him unnecessary suffering…Nonetheless, as is her nature, Katniss kills him out of mercy. Katniss’s caring for others inspires her bravest and only emotional moments.” The author uses a female character because Suzanne Collins understands what it means to be a female in the world we live in today along with the struggles and societal pressures women go through. Collins illustrates that females are not just waiting in immerse themselves into just romance, but are capable of things of so much more and are stronger than people stereotype them to be. She depicts Katniss to be a capable and in equal grounds with the men or maybe even smarter as well as even stronger. It is also to show that not just love, but empathy is the way to understand the injustice in our world and maybe help bring peace.