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| eyes-on-fire by V G |
Initially, I loved her character because she was strong. Not completely dependent like other typical female protagonists. Her relationship was Gale appeared pretty obvious at first; how they were just like friends, and then one of them begins to love the other and the scandal breaks out.
However, she wasn't chosen for the Hunger Games. She volunteered. That was the bit that struck a spark in me when I read the book. Unlike the typical "fate" storyline of two born lovers, she chose he so-called destiny as a tribute for the sake of her sister, showing bravery and sacrifice.
Nonetheless, she only appeared fierce until she demonstrated her amazing archery skills in the arena. The bit when Peeta described Katniss' skills stuck to my memory:
"My father buys her squirrels. He always comments on how the arrows never pierce the body. She hits every one in the eye. It's the same with the rabbits she sells the butcher. She can even bring a deer down." --Peeta, page 109, book 1
There, the fact that she could aim and kill before the book had started really drew me in for her character. Unlike the strongest of other female protagonists, she wasn't taught to fight after danger swept her up, but she was ready for anything, which also contributes well to her fierce personality.
Despite that, she wasn't one of those dead-pan, tomboy-ish girls, she also had a weak point. Though that weak point wasn't at killing or the love of her life, it was for family. However, she doesn't procrastinate and risk everybody else's life at the expense of protecting her family, but she sacrifices herself. Like Prim, she would die to care for her and only leave her at someone else's hands (Gale) when there was no burden of immediate danger. Also, with Rue, she was in the front lines to protect her. Although she failed to do so, she was never close to the word 'coward' or 'weakling', it was just the turn of events that resulted in that death.
Moving onto the lovey dovey side of things. She was infuriatingly too rough with Peeta, who appeared too gentle to be shouted at. However, she was the same to everyone and all the way through. She did not appear only angry at him, but to the world for the world she lived in was not a pleasant one. Hatred and compassion for her loved ones drove her. Eventually, Peeta - who treated her with love - was returned with love and gratitude as she finally understood the situations behind her.
Furthermore, in the last book, I think she weakened from her fierce fire girl image to a love sick widow. She no longer cared for the bigger picture as she had in the first two books, as she had to return for her family. Her loved one, Peeta was in danger and she only wept and went crazy over it while the others fought for their freedom.
However, with all that she had gone through, it was easy to understand her actions, though difficult to comprehend amongst all the possibilities she could achieve. So, instead of a glorious end to her climatic story, she settled slowly into the new life she had found.
Personally, I love dramatic endings for the characters, but her ending was not as dramatic as it could have been and slightly rushed.
BUT, she was still an amazing character. Well built up and smashed down.
