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Foundational Text: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 

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Foundational Text: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 

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I chose to read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and engage with the symbolism in the text for my Gender Identity section of my portfolio. I first read The Hunger Games in 5th grade, and decided to reread it and go more in depth with it 11 years later because of the profound impact it had on me as a young girl. I remember reading this text and being empowered by the ways in which Collins switched up the gender roles away from the stereotypical roles present in literature for decades, and rereading it reminded me of all of the symbols of power and voice present within the female protagonist and heroine, Katniss Everdeen.

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Before I dive into an analysis of the gender roles in The Hunger Games and how they impacted me, I wanted to give readers a synopsis of the story. I will give a *Spoiler Warning* for The Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games centers around Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year old living in Panem, a futuristic United States, where the country is divided up into 12 districts, with each district focusing on a trade that betters the entire nation. Each year, the Capitol of Panem gathers together 24 "tributes" - a boy and a girl from each district - to fight to the death, in order to remind the districts that their President, President Snow, has all of the power, and that the people have none.

Katniss' younger sister, Prim, is chosen as a tribute from district 12, and Katniss volunteers for her, not wanting her sister to fight in the games. Along with Katniss, Peeta Mellark, a gentle and kind baker's son, is chosen as the other district 12 tribute. The two of them go to the capitol, where they train, build alliances, and begin the games. In the games, Katniss befriends a young 12 year old, Rue, who reminds her of her sister, and takes care of her and fights alongside her. In the end, Katniss' efforts to save her are not enough, and Rue is killed. After many others are killed, Katniss and Peeta find themselves as the last two standing, neither wanting to kill the other. Katniss devises up a plan where they could eat poison berries, so the Capitol does not have a victor. As they begin to go through with this plan, the Capitol stops them, awarding both of them with their survival and the title of "Victor." The victors go home, where their true fight for survival begins.

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When considering the female characters in classic literature that I have read in my life, such as Circe in The Odyssey, Daisy in The Great Gatsby, and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, these women fall into the generic stereotypes placed on them by male writers. Circe is merely portrayed as a sexual distraction for Odysseus as he figures out how to continue his journey home; Daisy is the desirable, perfect, boring love interest for a rich man such as Jay Gatsby, and Juliet's entire worthiness of living revolves around a single man. As if a woman could figure out a way to live a life without a man she met yesterday.

These female characters were a handful of the many stereotypical female personalities I met while reading when I was younger. The Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen brought a refreshing perspective on what a woman could be in a piece of literature, and this is one of the many reasons why I connected so much with her.

In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins switches up the roles of the male and female protagonists. Katniss is the fighter; good with a bow and arrow, and commonly found illegally hunting in the woods for food, she is ruthless in order to help her family survive. Her male counterpart, Peeta Mellark, is a baker, and he is kind and gentle, helping out a starving Katniss when needed. In training for the games, Katniss has no fears in showing off her exemplary skills with a bow and arrow, while Peeta is timid and shows off his skills of painting himself to camouflage himself among the trees. Katniss is stubborn, refusing to make herself "girly" in order to appeal to the Capitol, unlike many of the other girls in the games.

In the games themselves, Katniss kills three people, while Peeta kills none.

Katniss' character is one that I refer back to when I am looking for inspiration as to how to defy the gender norms placed upon women in society. I am someone who can be stubborn, and through Katniss' character, I now see that this can benefit me in multiple ways. Peeta's character also has the potential to show men that they do not have to be aggressive or "manly" in order to satisfy their gender identity. Instead, they can be gentle, kind, and care about others.
Suzanne Collins' switching up of the stereotypical gender roles showed me, as a young teen and now as a 22 year old, that women are not defined by the narrative that has been told about how we "should" act. Instead, we can be our true selves and have traits that go beyond the stereotype.

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In literature, men are usually seen as the aggressive, weapon-bearing characters, while women are timid, staying back and using poison if they do need a weapon. Historically, poison has been known as a woman's weapon because of the lack of risk and closeness that it takes to kill someone with poison. A woman can administer the poison, and then "hide" while it kills its victim. Contrastingly, men's weapons are usually swords, guns, knives, etc. that require men to look into the eyes of their victims as they die. It is much more intimate.

In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins switches the weapons away from the stereotypical weapons for men and woman. She gives Katniss Everdeen the bow and arrow, forcing her to get close and watch her victims die. President Snow, the male tyrant of Panem, is given poison as his weapon. He kills people by poisoning them, and is not always present when they die. This symbolism showed me that women do not have to be the silent, scared killers that many classics authors have encouraged them to be. Instead, they can be aggressive, and fight for their lives, just like men.

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When considering my own gender identity, I find myself crossing the boundaries between stereotypical female and male personality traits. Many of the female characters in classic literary texts made me question whether my personality was okay, given that I identify as a female. They would usually care about their appearance in order to appeal to men, they cared more about romance and finding love than books and intelligence, and they were usually surface level when it came to considering the world around them. I, on the other hand, did not think about my appearance all of the time. I would throw my hair up in a ponytail, ignore the makeup, and throw on a hoodie. I loved to read and play sports, and I never gave a second thought to romance. I love learning about the world around me, and I ask more questions than could ever be answered. I was nothing like many of the female characters in the books I read in my high school English classes.

Katniss, on the other hand, showed me that I could be a girl and be strong. I could be a girl and not care about makeup. I could be a girl and want to be the most intelligent person in the room.

Katniss also showed me that, even with a text where the gender roles are reversed, no personality trait is out of the question for anyone. While Katniss is ruthless and is willing to do whatever it takes to survive, she also shows mercy when she kills Cato, another tribute who is mutilated by beasts in the games. She kills him so he no longer has to endure torture. Mercy and strength can coexist.
Katniss also showed me that I could strive to be the best person I can be and focus on myself, while also building relationships with those around me. Katniss worries about herself and getting back to her sister, while also befriending and later falling in love with Peeta Mellark.

A character like Katniss has the power to show young readers that they are more than the stereotypes define them as.

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I grew up with the stereotypical family dynamic, with my dad, my mom, my two siblings, and my dog. Both of my parents worked, and my siblings and I attended school. It wasn't until late high school and early college that I truly considered the privileges that I have because of the family in which I was raised.

In many examples of classic literature, it is the father figure who brings in money, while the mother takes care of the family. Many times, the woman is defined by her role as a wife. In Little Women, the father is off fighting in the war, while the mother is left at home to take care of their four daughters. While this common example of a family dynamic might relate with some readers, not all readers exist in a family dynamic that mimics this.

The Hunger Games brings forth a different family dynamic, which has the power to inspire young female readers to believe that a family can look like many things. In The Hunger Games, Katniss' father was killed in a mining accident when she was young. Her mother did not have the mental capacity to step up and take care of the family, so Katniss did so - hunting, finding food, and raising her younger sister. Katniss was the matriarch of her family, and this dynamic resonates with many readers who have women in their family stepping up.