The Hunger Games is a series that stands out compared to many popular young adult franchises because it deals with so many intense themes of war, propaganda, death, and love. One of the other ways it stands apart is that Katniss Everdeen is a rather complex and imperfect protagonist, and while there is a core love story to the series, Katniss isn’t solely defined by it. Katniss doesn’t always act like a typical hero, and there were times she made people mad with her shameless actions.
But, overall, Katniss is a main character who is often maligned wrongly when the truth is that she often acts in rather understandable ways given the trauma she goes through in the world she lives in. She is definitely not a perfect character, and she does have many weaknesses, but she has many strengths as well.
10 Weakness: She would sometimes use other people
From childhood, Katniss has a lot of responsibilities on her plate, and she sees a lot of pain and suffering. She lives in a very harsh world under a totalitarian government, and she’s usually focused on surviving and keeping her family safe.
She also realizes that even outside of the arena that she is a part of a giant game, and because of this, she can often be strategic in how she interacts with people, even people she cares about.
9 Strength: Her impulsive behavior in the face of injustice
This is a point that might seem like it’s a weakness rather than a strength, but there are times when reacting out of intuition can be a good thing. Katniss can be strategic and measured, but she can also be rather reckless and quick to act in some situations.
However, she usually is only like this when she’s trying to protect others or send a message, such as when she turns the mannequin into Seneca Crane in front of the Gamemakers.
8 Weakness: She often didn’t see things in a nuanced way
Katniss is an intelligent character, and she does often catch on to all of the moving pieces around her such as when she’s interacting with President Snow.
However, when it comes to concepts of things like justice and mercy, she can be a bit black and white in her thinking. This makes sense however given what she has been through all of her life, but she does start to see these shades of nuance as time goes on, such as when she kills President Coin.
7 Strength: She’s a leader without even trying to be
Katniss becomes a symbol for the resistance, and over time, she continues to play a big role in taking down President Snow. However, she never really tried to be a figurehead or a leader at all. At the end of the day, she wanted to protect her sister more than anything else, and she never had dreams of being a big hero or warrior.
However, her actions naturally made her a hero. She was willing to take risks and put her own life on the line in order to help others, and she did want the Capitol to stop getting away with their horrible actions.
6 Weakness: She isn’t always honest about her true emotions
Katniss is a great example of an interesting female protagonist in the young adult genre because she doesn’t act like stereotypical heroines. She’s not overly emotional or even motivated by romance, but instead, she’s just trying to survive.
However, at times, this can be a weakness. She has a difficult time understanding how she really feels about things, especially when it comes to relationships, and she’s even worse at expressing those feelings.
5 Strength: She could be very compassionate
Katniss is undeniably very tough and strong, and she has to be to even function in the world she lives in. She’s both physically tough and capable as a hunter, but she’s also emotionally rather sound to even manage at all after all the horrors she sees.
While she’s not as naturally kind as someone like Peeta, she does have a lot of compassion. This is especially apparent in how she treats Rue.
4 Weakness: She didn’t really want to get involved with saving the world
It actually makes a lot of sense why Katniss didn’t really want to become the Mockingjay at first, seeing as how survival had always been her main motivator. She knew that becoming really involved with taking down the government would put her loved ones at risk, and they were her priority.
However, there is also something somewhat unethical about being in a position to enact great change and not wanting to do so. While Katniss doesn’t exactly shirk her opportunity, she is hesitant especially at first.
3 Strength: Her independence and self-reliance
Katniss is someone who really can take care of herself in many ways. Even on an emotional level, she doesn’t really need a lot of people, and she has a lot of mental fortitude. She’s also able to fend for herself in the wilderness and can live off of the land.
These were skills she had developed over most of her life, and they also helped her as a Tribute. She would have been able to leave and exist outside of society if she wanted, but it was her care for her family that kept her from doing so.
2 Weakness: She can be hypocritical
Katniss is only a teenager when she becomes a tribute, not once but twice, and then goes on to help District 13 attack the Capitol. So, she has gone through a lot that it’s hard to understand what that would be like.
However, fans were understandably upset when Katniss was one of the tributes who voted to create a new Hunger Games for children of the Capitol leadership. Given that Katniss knew how horrible these scenarios were, it just didn’t feel right.
1 Strength: Her loyalty to the people she loves
Katniss is a strong character in many ways, and her strengths include being able to care for herself as well as her compassion to look out for others. But, her biggest strength of all is her strong loyalty to the people she cares about.
This is most apparent in her love for her sister, Prim, but it also applies to people like Peeta and others she becomes attached to. Her love for the people in her inner circle is really what propels most of her decisions in the series, including when she first volunteers to take Prim’s place in the Hunger Games.
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