The Hunger Games
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Is Peeta a weak character?
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Natalie
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May 01, 2014 03:48PM

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Also, how many people do you know who would plant primroses outside Katniss's house who were just very recently hijacked and made to believe that Katniss ruined his life? Who would announce Capitol's attack on TV knowing that they would get tortured for it later? Even though Katniss's sister died, Peeta was the one who suffered most. At least Katniss didn't have her brain washed and then have people tell her all the things Capitol told her was a lie and whatnot.
So Peeta and 'weak'?
A big fat NO.


*Applauds*


well said


I'm sure this gender reversal probably made some people uncomfortable with Peeta even if they couldn't articulate why. Because Peeta is neither physically, emotionally, or mentally weak. He was just cast in a role usually held by women.
I think he's a groundbreaking character. He shows that guys can be sensitive, caring and artistic without being weak.

This is almost the inverse of the whole "we need more Strong Female Characters" debate. Some people get confused about what is meant by "strong female character. They write in a one-note token tough action female in certain movies sometimes, whose purpose is to wear tight clothes and always look hot, no matter how much she's been fighting...and say "look, we wrote a strong female character". Because she's strong, physically, like a man. But she has no depth.There's someone on Tumblr who thinks Elsa from Frozen isn't a "strong female character" because she runs away from her problems( forgetting how stories work, that plot requires conflict, and her character has an arc). Some people think a character has to be absolutely flawless to be strong.
Maybe we shouldn't be asking "Is this a strong female character, is this a strong male character?" We should be asking, is this an interesting character? is this a complex character? does this character make sense? People shouldn't have to always fit into gendered definitions of strength.

In the second book, he is giving Katniss up, giving her a chance to have a life with Gale... To me, that is the biggest show of maturity ever- to let go of someone you care deeply about because their happiness is your happiness and therefore more importnant than his own. He's far from being selfish about his feelings for her.
In the third book, I about died after learning the things done to him. I cried... so much... even in front of my dad... shamelessly... at age 20 (and still admitting to it years later). It was terrible! I was in this funk for about a week. It was so unfair what the Capital did to him and how it was nowhere near possible to ever get him back to the way he was before... it's still unfair. No matter how many years go by since I've read the book last, I will never heal from that devastation.
When I was blubbering to my dad about the wrongness of it all (yes folks, I said wrongness), he shared some very memorable words. "They were at war, Allie... did you think something good was going to happen? War is never good, it's never fair. Real life is never fair. War never has a happy ending, even for those who come out victorious."
War is real. Bad things happen. People will never heal from certain pains & horrors in life, whether it be phsysically or mentally or psychologically.
It sure does put life in a different perspective...


Very well said (applauds***).



really qiuite attracted to him ----oh you know reL LIFE A GAY MAN


Personally, I don't think Peeta was "pathetic", but he did allow Katniss to walk all over him and worshiped at her freaking alter even when she treated him lower than dirt (I guess that's more being whipped than anything else). I think the aftermath of Peeta being tortured was really interesting because he told the truth about Katniss for the first time. I thought I was the only one, but I asked a couple of friends and they agreed, so I guess I'm not alone in wishing Peeta would stand up for himself every once in a while, instead of taking Katniss' crap.




I really love the complexity that is Peeta Mellark and wish more people could see how kick ass he actually is!



I really agree with that; it's a great way to put it. But it did seem like Katniss was more in control of every situation (not saying that Peeta is weak though).


Exactly, I just didn't know how to explain that. You put it perfectly :)

Well, true.

Nicely said. Good reversal and insightful description!
While Katniss is widely considered a very strong protagonist, Peeta is strong in a different way. He is willing to sacrifice his own life for the people he cares about. In the first book, he tells Katniss not to go after the mystery package because she might get killed, even though if she doesn't get any medicine for him, he will definitely die. Also, it takes a lot of courage to risk torture to let District 13 know there was an attack coming. A big reason Peeta is seen as weak is because he is being compared to Katniss.

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