I don't think THG is sexist, I think the author is exaggerating. As you said, there are other pretty good female characters in the story (Johanna was particularly a favourite of mine, along with Prim, who I considered pretty badass, given how young she was, that she was helping people in the war by curing their wounds and she was essentially training to be a doctor/nurse to help people. At least in the third book, I think Prim is a better character than Katniss).
I think the "lack of agency" is definitely the author's fault, as she is the one writing the story and ultimately the one behind what happens. When I read THG, I was always very conscious that I was reading a fictional book - I guess because the "influence" of the author was so strong and noticeable. Every time something happened, it wasn't just an event in the story - I always thought it was the author trying to pull something.
I can't remember much of what Katniss does in the arena, tbh - I remember her hunting and making sure she had enough water to keep her going, but I can't remember her making the decision to avoid fighting. I think it was definitely lucky that she had to kill so few people and I was a bit disappointed that she didn't have any big inner turmoil over killing perfectly innocent children who were just trying to survive, just like she was. Sure, she killed when threatened and she just killed "the bad guys", but it's still killing. I think it's also lucky that she didn't have to kill anyone that she liked (i.e. Rue, Peeta or Foxface).
I had never thought about Katniss's relationship with her mother like that. Thanks for the insight! :)
As for killing Alma Coin, I would like to believe that it was Katniss's decision to do so, but in one review I read of Mockingjay, the author pointed out that maybe Katniss was manipulated by president Snow into killing Coin, so maybe it was not even a proper thought-out (or even rushed) decision on her part.
Oh, it's perfectly fine! I love long comments and discussions! :)
Re: Spoilers for the whole series, so. Yeah.
I think the "lack of agency" is definitely the author's fault, as she is the one writing the story and ultimately the one behind what happens. When I read THG, I was always very conscious that I was reading a fictional book - I guess because the "influence" of the author was so strong and noticeable. Every time something happened, it wasn't just an event in the story - I always thought it was the author trying to pull something.
I can't remember much of what Katniss does in the arena, tbh - I remember her hunting and making sure she had enough water to keep her going, but I can't remember her making the decision to avoid fighting. I think it was definitely lucky that she had to kill so few people and I was a bit disappointed that she didn't have any big inner turmoil over killing perfectly innocent children who were just trying to survive, just like she was. Sure, she killed when threatened and she just killed "the bad guys", but it's still killing. I think it's also lucky that she didn't have to kill anyone that she liked (i.e. Rue, Peeta or Foxface).
I had never thought about Katniss's relationship with her mother like that. Thanks for the insight! :)
As for killing Alma Coin, I would like to believe that it was Katniss's decision to do so, but in one review I read of Mockingjay, the author pointed out that maybe Katniss was manipulated by president Snow into killing Coin, so maybe it was not even a proper thought-out (or even rushed) decision on her part.
Oh, it's perfectly fine! I love long comments and discussions! :)