I don't really see the first Hunger Games novel as much of a
love triangle. As an aside, I think that love triangle is a silly term. There
are only two points each with a love line (of sorts) pointing towards a common
point. This makes a V, not a triangle. Additionally, I think there should only
be a line connecting two individuals who have mutual affection. In the case of
the Hunger Games, Katniss never
really understands that Peeta is interested in her and in this book Gale isn't
really mentioned all too much.
Katniss
is too much in survival mode to understand that Peeta’s affection for her isn’t
a tactic but rather a simple emotion. After Peeta announces to the Capital
that he has a crush on Katniss, she flies into a rage, pushes him over. She
then proceeds to berate him, “You had no right! No right to say those things
about me” (134). Katniss cannot process that Peeta is acting in any other way
than a strategy for self-preservation. Even at the end of the novel, she hasn’t
caught on. She tells Peeta that Haymitch was coaching her but not him because he knew
Peeta “was smart enough to get it right” (372). She still has not realized that
Peeta is in love or that anyone is in love with her.
Katniss
also upon first mentioning Gale makes it clear that “[t]here’s never been
anything romantic between Gale and me” (10). She explains that it was a
long time before they could even begin to trust one another as hunting partners. They first met when
she was only twelve, and Gale already looked like a man (10). Other than the
early chapters there really is no huge mention of Gale. Katniss is too
preoccupied with feeding her family and then surviving the Hunger Games to
really sort out how she feels about boys.
So The Hunger Games is a new and refreshing novel in some respects from the woman’s perspective
of the “love triangle” because Katniss’s really not interested in boys at all. Katniss
has the strongest instincts of self –preservation and is so intensely logical
she cannot understand the illogical nature of love. Her world doesn’t revolve around
analyzing what some boy said to her and whether or not a boy likes her. She’s
not part of some love triangle, rather just someone focusing on staying alive.
I agree with your statement that it is not a love triangle. In this book, as it is the first of the Hunger Games series, Gayle is not mentioned very often except for the beginning of the book. He role is mostly highlighted in the beginning of the novel when Collins is describing District 12 and Katniss’ home life. Katniss describes Gayle as “the only person with whom I can be myself” (Collins 5). I think that Gayle has always been more of a platonic friend or brother-like figure than a romantic companion. Gayle brings her comfort more than anything and reminds her of home throughout the games. On the other hand, Peeta is never actually a love interest of Katniss’ as she uses him to advance in the games. The Capitol is obsessed with the on-screen romance of Katniss and Peeta and she uses this to her advantage. Although, there are moments where Katniss half-heartedly believes he actually loves her. For example, “This perplexing good-natured boy who can spin out lies so convincingly the whole of Panem believes him to be hopelessly in love with me, and I’ll admit it, there are moments when he makes me believe it myself?” (Collins 311). I think that despite these moments, she does not truly love him. Therefore, as Gayle is a platonic friend and Peeta is a publicity stunt, there is no triangle. There is no competition between the two of them.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there is not a love triangle, because you are very right that Gale is not mentioned much, and that she never really figures out that Peeta is actually in love with her. However, I do think that Katniss is concerned about the boys in some ways. Yes, she is very focused on survival, and is certainly putting this above everything else. For example, even though she and Peeta have been through a lot, when she thinks he is reaching for his knife to kill her, her "bow is loaded with the arrow pointed straight at his heart" (343). So I agree that she is highly survival oriented and that she is putting this above thinking about boys. Of course, under the circumstances this makes sense. However, she is not completely oblivious to them either.
ReplyDeleteKatniss expresses romantic feelings towards both Peeta and Gale in the novel, although she does so briefly. After she had gotten the medicine to save Peeta from the blood poisoning, they kiss. Katniss says that "this is the first kiss that makes [her] want another" (298). She also describes a "stirring inside [her] chest" as a result of the kiss (298). The fact that she is feeling this way shows that she is feeling something for Peeta, and although it has been for show, it isn't entirely anymore. She even tells Peeta that "not all of it" was "for the Games" (372). In addition to this, she shows some feelings for Gale in a more subtle way. She is nervous about showing affection for Peeta on screen because Gale will see it at home. This feeling proves that she doesn't want Gale to think she is too interested, possibly because she is interested in him.
I agree with you that, within the confines of this first book, there’s no real love triangle. As you and the other commenters have said, Gale is not prominent enough in this book to be a major factor in Katniss’s “love life.” Peeta’s role, however, is very interesting to dissect. It is quite clear that Katniss likes him as a friend and ally, but not romantically. She has to consciously produce almost every act of romance she performs while in the games; she even thinks “I’ve got to give the audience something more to care about… Never having been in love, this is going to be a real trick” (261). This is clearly an act from her, and requires messages from Haymitch. Peeta, on the other hand, seems to have true feelings for Katniss. To use a quote from the original post, Haymitch knew Peeta “was smart enough to get it right” (372). This is a very interesting word choice in my opinion. Not just that Peeta would get it right naturally, necessarily, but that he was smart enough to. This implies that although true feeling may be behind Peeta’s words and actions, they weren’t entirely lacking in motive. After all, Peeta could’ve confessed his love for Katniss before the games, privately, but chose instead to do so in front of a live studio audience. So, although Peeta had true feelings for Katniss, he was not so unintelligent as not to use them to both of their advantage in the games.
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