The Hunger Games (Novel) Courage

{ April 24, 2012 }

The Hunger Games

 - Suzanne Collins

" I won’t close my eyes…As my last act of defiance, I will stare her down as long as I can see…I will not cry out, I will die, in my own small way, undefeated. " (Collins, 286)

"I protect Prim every way I can, but I’m powerless against the reaping." (Collins, 15)

" Oh well, I think. There will be twenty-four of us. Odds are someone else will kill him before I do. Of Course, the odds have not been very dependable lately. " (Collins, 33)

      ... I have chosen this novel to use as a reflection of Courage. I think that Katniss Everdeen shows a lot of courage, at home, in the arena and within herself. Katniss has many conflicts that make her take on the courage "role." She also, at the beginning of The Hunger Games, steps up in order to save her sister, Prim Everdeen, from the reaping. This would have taken a lot of courage, as the refer to volunteers in the games as "Deadbags," because no one in District 12 has ever lived through the battles in the arena at the Games. But, holding true to her sister, she promises that she will in the games and return to her, just as she had been supporting her sister all these years before hand. Katniss is also stepping out of her "safe" zone, and into a pit of hell. 

      During the games, Katniss is in an environment that is somewhat known to her; a forest. Though, she is all alone, as Peeta had sided with people from the higher Districts. Katniss also has to face her fears when she is trying to cut down the Bees nest, so that it will drop onto the competitors below her; giving her an advantage over them; as a sting could be fatal. Katniss herself, even gets stung and begins to feel the effects of the sting when she blacks out. Though, Rue saves her by putting leaves on her stings as well as removing the stinger. She portrayed many of the qualities that courage stands for, as described in the poem by Cory Fauchan, she is trying to win the Games so that her family can be free from living in poverty. She stands up for what she believed was right, and in the end, achieved her goals by winning the Hunger Games, returning home to her sister safely...