Character Sketch
Katniss Everdeen was born on May 8th in District
12. She is 5’7 and 17 years old in Mockingjay
and was named after Katniss: an edible plant root. Her father died when she was eight, after
which her mother went into a state of depression leaving Katniss to provide for
her mother and sister, Prim. Since then, Katniss has been the hunter and
provider for the rest of her family, making her independent, strong-willed and
a survivor. While in the arena, Katniss’
defiant, rebellious, lethal and angry personality is made known in her biggest
acts, stemming from her instincts to act, even with irrationality. However, in
Mockingjay, she has changed from the girl who volunteered for her sister in The
Hunger Games, to a withdrawn, passive person that has become angrier than
before. After both of her games, she’s
culminated a great amount of traumatisation from her experiences that she
screams uncontrollably when asleep, has vivid flashbacks to the arena, and hides
in closets to shut herself out from the world.
Katniss becomes the face of the rebellion taking place, eventually
taking on the role of the Mockingjay. Since
she goes through reciting facts about herself to grasp her own sense of her
identity, she comes to hate the weight of the districts that was thrust upon
her during the revolution. In the book,
she is described as having straight, black hair that's usually in a braid down
her back, an olive skin tone and grey eyes, typical of the Seam, where she grew
up. In Mockingjay, she wears a plain
grey shirt and pants, the same as the rest of the District 13 residents; while
in the propos, she wears the Mockingjay suit, with her Mockingjay pin placed
over her heart, which was designed by Cinna, her stylist in both of her games. Katniss is the protagonist and narrator
throughout the book and also a round character. She becomes “the face, the voice, the
embodiment of the revolution” (1.28) and “the symbol of the revolution” (1.28)
and she acts as a symbol as herself and as the Mockingjay. When all of Panem believes that Katniss dies,
the rebel President Coin uses her death to make her into a martyr, who the districts
will fight for if their resolve wavers, all the while giving the districts enough
strength and purpose to rid them of their oppressors. As the Mockingjay, Katniss represents a
person that was never suppose to be created and that the Capitol never intended
to happen, but are still around because they persist in surviving, hence why
the Mockingjay is the symbol of the rebellion. Katniss’ change in personality that
she has experienced from her time in the arena is represented by the quote: “So
have you. So have I. And Finnick and Haymitch and Beetee. Don’t get me started
on Annie Cresta. The arena messed us all up pretty good, don’t you think? Or do
you still feel like the girl who volunteered for your sister?” (17.45). However, despite her changes in personality,
she continues to protect those she loves as well as those who are weak, and in
the end comes to value life, meaning, that killing the innocent for whatever
reason is wrong and that anyone willing to kill innocent children, cannot be
good.
