cinnamon girl

Dandelions are considered by many people to be weeds. They're not toxic, but they're eyesores in any perfect garden or lawn; they spread fast due to the way they seed, so they're considered invasive; their one use—attracting pollenators—is negated by the fact that their pollen is low in nutrients.

In other words, they're useless. They're pests.

Peeta throughout canon is treated similarly. It's a repeated theme that he is always brushed aside and disregarded in some way, second best to someone or something else. He's the third son. His mother deems him inadequate, he loses to his brother in wrestling, his father always wanted a daughter. Haymitch saves Katniss over him in the first games, the rebellion saves Katniss over him in the Quell. Peeta, in the eyes of others, inculding himself, has very little value. It's partially why in Catching Fire he says on the beach, "Nobody needs me."

And yet, we see how Katniss views dandelions, just as she views Peeta. To Katniss, dandelions are a sign of spring, the first bit of food bees get after winter, a sign of cultivation and new life on the horizon. They mean being sustained, for every bit of a dandelion is edible. They represent hope. To Katniss, dandelions are beautiful.

Peeta is her dandelion. He takes a beating to feed her when she's starving. The bread he gives her is enough to keep her alive for when spring comes, and she can forage in the woods. At her lowest, most cynical, and most suicidal, Peeta returns to her and plants a garden outside her window so that she can mourn in peace, and bakes her bread for breakfast the next morning so she can eat. So she can live.

There is so much in the text that shows us how valuable Katniss finds Peeta. To her, Peeta is incredibly kind, talented, and intelligent. He's a wordsmith. He's her hope. He's beautiful.

But I think it's best expressed in Catching Fire, in response to Peeta's assessment of his worth: "It's true his family doesn't need him. They will mourn him, as will a handful of friends. But they will get on. Even Haymitch, with the help of a lot of white liquor, will get on. I realize only one person will be damaged beyond repair if Peeta dies. Me.

'I do,' I say. 'I need you.'"

So what is the definition of an unreliable narrator?

That is a narrator that actively lies to the audience, or, whose credibility has been compromised. That usually means twisting the truth so it fits their narrative via exaggeration, omission, insanity and more.

This narrative style while mainly used in first-person storytelling has been debated to exist in second and third person too.

Some examples: Lolita, American Psycho, Penance, Gone Girl, Bunny

Is Katniss an unreliable narrator?

The short answer is no. Not really. Her narration style isn't to actively hide things from the reader. She doesn't lie, she doesn't exaggerate and she doesn't omit the truth from us.

Katniss tells us what happens around her when it happens around her. In fact, we are in her head constantly.

What Katniss is, is a biased narrator.

What is a biased narrator?

A biased narrator is one whose personal feelings, emotions, beliefs or limited perspective affects their account of the events.

Every. single. narrator is a biased one.

In literature, an unbiased narrator is SO extremely rare that people still debate if that even exists. Every story is funneled through from someone's perspective, someone's specific experience.

Would The Hunger Games be the same from Effie's POV? Would it be the same from Finnick's? Plutarch's? Gale's?

No! Of course not. All these people viewed events differently, experienced things differently and experienced different things.

But Katniss doesn't tell us everything!

Katniss tells us everything she experiences through the lens in which she experiences it. Katniss is a traumatized character that people omit things from all the time.

She is not told about Peeta's plan to confess his feelings. She is not told about the plan in the Quell. She is not told about almost every single aspect of the rebellion plan. AND SO MUCH MORE.

Katniss is lied to, and used all the time. And that's what we get too - we are experiencing it with her. We are not being actively lied to by her.

Narration doesn't come to you served in a platter all ready and prepared for you to consume. You can't read Lolita and tell me how Humber Humber was the good guy, but he actively tries to get you to believe him he is. Just because Katniss is a complex character and not the know-it-all hero of the story, that does not make her unreliable. You can and should rely on her perspective. There is a reason it's limited.

Happy belated birthday to Katniss Everdeen — the girl who keeps reminding me not to lose hope (which is not an easy task).

What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again.

Happy Birthday, Katniss ᥫ᭡

Peeta got a little carried away in the studio one afternoon...

The art is mine (but Peeta painted it, trust), the photo is not. I found it on pinterest and photoshopped the art onto the canvas. Full painting is below the cut