Catching Fire, a la Shmoop.
You'll always remember your first televised fight to the death.
Katniss sure does, at least.
Throughout Catching Fire, she seems totally shell-shocked by the memories of her own "battle
royale."
All these disturbing trips down memory lane eventually bring us to our $64,000 question:
is Katniss selfish?
She certainly seems to think so.
Quick recap: At the end of the first book, Katniss saved the day and defied the Capitol
by threatening berry suicide.
In Catching Fire, she has a little something to say about that incident:
"I realize the answer to who I am lies in that handful of poisonous fruit.
If I held them out to save Peeta because I knew I would be shunned if I came back without
him, then I am despicable.
If I held them out because I loved him, I am still self-centered, although forgivable.
"But if I held them out to defy the Capitol, I am someone of worth.
The trouble is, I don't know exactly what was going on inside me at that moment."
(8.87) Unfortunately, we don't know either, even
though we've had a direct link to her thoughts for a while now.
If our narrator's confused, chances are we will be, too.
But that doesn't mean we can't do some digging.
So let's follow Katniss's train of thought and see if she really is a "me-first" kind
of girl.
Self-accusation #1: Katniss is worried that she may just have been craving some hero status.
If she had killed Peeta just as the gamemaster wanted, she sure wouldn't have won many fans
in District 12, the Capitol... or anywhere, actually.
The act of betraying your lover would've been known forever as "pulling a Katniss."
Instead, the double-suicide plot gave her the option of a more dramatic outcome.
Or a soap opera-like death, if the gamemaster hadn't stopped her.
Either way: heroic.
This girl sure enjoys being the suffering hero, don't you think?
Okay, that's one vote Selfish.
All right, so moving on to self-accusation #2: Katniss suspects that her feelings for
Peeta may be guiding her actions.
Sorry, Gale.
It's clear to everyone that Peeta is obsessed with Katniss.
As she points out, there's nothing shameful about choosing love over victory...
...but even she knows that love is a selfish motive that really only benefits her.
That's two votes Selfish.
But wait a second.
Maybe Katniss isn't so selfish.
She repeatedly defies the Capitol in her actions, words, and fashion statements...
...and she's always putting her life on the line for other people.
Whether it's standing in for her sister Prim, or protecting Peeta...
...she's not exactly taking the easy way out, is she?
Katniss could've lived a comfortable life as a victor, but she chose the road less traveled.
That's one vote not selfish.
So Shmoopers, we've got 2 votes selfish, 1 vote not selfish.
Will your vote be the tipping point or are you calling it a tie?
What do you think: is Katniss a selfish hero monger with purely romantic intentions...
...or is she a self-sacrificing sister, friend, and leader of the rebellion against President
Jerkface?
Shmoop amongst yourselves.