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Am I the only one that thinks...(yeah, yeah, another HG thread)


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That Katniss belongs with Gale, not Peeta?

 

Prim, Rue, Peeta... I think Katniss has compassion for each of these. But true love? Not buying it (okay I know I'm not really supposed to buy it by the end of the first book/movie anyway).

 

I felt this way after reading the books, and the film did not cause me to feel more sympathetic to Peeta. I guess I know this will sound silly but I think even the physical differences make Katniss look more like a mother/caretaker figure to him. Josh Hutcherson looks so small and young compared to Jennifer Lawrence.

 

Am I the only one?

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I felt that way after the first book but by the end of the series I flipped. Katniss and Gale change so much throughout the series that having them as a couple doesn't work for me anymore. Really, I think she ends up too messed up for any relationship, but Peeta would be the only one who could make it somewhat work.

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I think I would have thought that if Gale hadn't changed so much in the last book. After all she's been through, I don't think Katniss could've been with someone so hardened, someone bent on revenge. Even after the war, I think seeing those things in Gale would've kept her from really being able to love him. All other things being equal (i.e., she had never gone to the games, or in a totally different situation), I'd think they should be together.

 

I think Peeta is who she *needs* by the end of the books. I don't get the sense that she loves him in a passionate or particularly romantic way when they first go home. She's so pragmatic and practical, I don't think she'd ever be the type to be super-romantic, head-over-heels in love with ANYONE. But I think she can (and will/does) *grow* to love him. Like I said, I think she needs him--he fills the voids for her (and she for him, I think). His peace, steadiness, and unconditional love and acceptance is healing for her--Gale's volatility and willingness to perpetuate the killing is not what her damaged heart, soul, and mind need. I also felt like Peeta accepts her for who and what she is and needs, while I have the impression that Gale wants her at his side as the fighter she has been and a "mover and shaker" in the new order, even though that's the last thing she wants.

 

I think the clincher really is that Peeta and Katniss share a history and experiences that Gale just can never fully understand or relate to. They really are a part of each other--I don't think either of them could make a relationship genuinely work with anyone else after all that.

 

I agree about the movie, though--Josh Hutcherson did a great job, but he definitely looks a good bit younger than Jennifer Lawrence.

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....

I think Peeta is who she *needs* by the end of the books. I don't get the sense that she loves him in a passionate or particularly romantic way when they first go home. She's so pragmatic and practical, I don't think she'd ever be the type to be super-romantic, head-over-heels in love with ANYONE. But I think she can (and will/does) *grow* to love him. Like I said, I think she needs him--he fills the voids for her (and she for him, I think). His peace, steadiness, and unconditional love and acceptance is healing for her--Gale's volatility and willingness to perpetuate the killing is not what her damaged heart, soul, and mind need. I also felt like Peeta accepts her for who and what she is and needs, while I have the impression that Gale wants her at his side as the fighter she has been and a "mover and shaker" in the new order, even though that's the last thing she wants.

 

...

 

I agree about the movie, though--Josh Hutcherson did a great job, but he definitely looks a good bit younger than Jennifer Lawrence.

 

I think that this - the nature of their relationship - is what bothers me most. I mean, it's kind of sad, to "settle" for someone rather than fight for someone who really makes your heart pound.

 

I realize there's much more to the Hunger Games (et al) story that affects why K ends up with P. I think K could have used her hurt to help Gale heal and curb his bitterness. Instead, she stayed at bay, in a safe cocoon she'd built with Peeta. Of course, at the *very* end it's too tragic, but all the way up 'til then, there was a chance. I think so, anyway.

 

As I consider real life choices, I guess I hope my dds choose true love, even if it's more of a reach to obtain, over going with familiar and comfortable. It kind of bugged me that all the young girls exiting the theater yesterday were going on and on in a swoon about Peeta. I wanted to stop and tell them all they were wrong! :lol:

 

Anyway, I am glad to know I'm not alone in my Gale preference. Thanks, comrades!

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This is interesting. I felt the same until I finished the third book. Older dd just finished book three yesterday. Today, she said to me that she didn't like Gale anymore and was happy Katniss ended up with Peeta. It's funny because when she finished book one she said, "Please tell me Katniss doesn't marry Peeta!!! She marries Gale, right?". :tongue_smilie: I think they had changed too much by the end and it ended the right way.

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I think that this - the nature of their relationship - is what bothers me most. I mean, it's kind of sad, to "settle" for someone rather than fight for someone who really makes your heart pound.

 

I realize there's much more to the Hunger Games (et al) story that affects why K ends up with P. I think K could have used her hurt to help Gale heal and curb his bitterness. Instead, she stayed at bay, in a safe cocoon she'd built with Peeta. Of course, at the *very* end it's too tragic, but all the way up 'til then, there was a chance. I think so, anyway.

 

As I consider real life choices, I guess I hope my dds choose true love, even if it's more of a reach to obtain, over going with familiar and comfortable. It kind of bugged me that all the young girls exiting the theater yesterday were going on and on in a swoon about Peeta. I wanted to stop and tell them all they were wrong! :lol:

 

Anyway, I am glad to know I'm not alone in my Gale preference. Thanks, comrades!

 

Interesting ideas. I think you might be right about how things could've worked out with Katniss and Gale if she'd been able to reach out to him. I think maybe she just didn't have anything left to give at that point, though. Plus, she was pretty conflicted about their relationship from the start. There was a definite possibility, maybe even a spark (especially in the first part of the third book), but I don't think it was ever a clear "I love Gale" realization. She was shoved into situations and decisions about love with regard to both of them before she was ready or even interested in making those decisions. It seemed like circumstances kept pushing her along with regard to both boys, and she never really got a chance to take stock and really search her heart.

 

I felt like when Gale made his decision and left that it forced the decision for her. If he'd stayed and fought for her? Maybe. Although the whole Prim issue (or possible issue, or the fact that he would've been willing to do that) would have been an insurmountable obstacle, I think.

 

I think part of my perspective is due to how I think of "true love." I think true love can grow out of friendship and shared experience--it's not limited to a person who immediately makes your heart pound and your palms sweat. I also don't necessarily buy into the modern romantic idea that there's only one person who is your perfect match or that romantic, heart-pounding love is always the best goal to pursue in finding a spouse. It's fun and it feels good, but long-term relationships are so much more (and require so much more) than that . So much of love and marriage is a process and a journey of growing together (makes me think of Fiddler on the Roof!). And I think that Katniss and Peeta's relationship by the end of the series is in a good place for that journey.

 

ETA: FTR, I was pretty much pro-Gale all the way up until close to the end of the last book. I don't think *I* could've been happy with the person that Gale's choices showed him to be in the end, so I think that's also part of why I was glad she ended up with Peeta.

Edited by Kirch
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She should have been with Gale, until they all changed. And then she just couldn't. It wouldn't have worked out. The games ripped them apart. She's too changed now.

 

I agree. I wanted her to be with Gale, but Peeta was the better choice at the end. One of the major themes running through the entire trilogy was who to trust. Everyone wanted something from her, even Gale. She always ended up trusting her gut instinct. which (imo) is why she never went completely head over heels for Gale despite their past. Peeta was the one person in her life (aside from her sister) who wanted nothing from her except for her to be herself.

 

ETA: FTR, I was pretty much pro-Gale all the way up until close to the end of the last book. I don't think *I* could've been happy with the person that Gale's choices showed him to be in the end, so I think that's also part of why I was glad she ended up with Peeta.

 

Me too.

 

Cat

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Spoilers.

 

No definitely not Gale. Gale has always been a rebel and will continue to be an instigator of change in the political landscape of Panem. He will never understand what Katniss went through in the Games.

 

Katniss was only ever trying to survive and was essentially used as a political pawn. By the third book she is suicidal, depressed and suffering from hardcore ptsd. Even when Peeta was hijacked, he was still trying to help himself recover and that is what Katniss needs. Peeta has always been trying to look out for her and he is ultimately what pushes her to heal by the epilogue.

 

I think she may have had minor teenage twinges of attraction to Gale and then more so to Peeta but it isn't relevant in such a bleak scenario. She may never love Peeta the way he loves her (we don't actually know how the relationship dynamics work as they get older) but it still works. Not every successful relationship is going to be the soulmate type.

 

It's a refreshing portrayal especially in a YA novel.

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That Katniss belongs with Gale, not Peeta?

 

Well, I don't think she belonged with Gale.

 

Katniss would never be able to look at Gale without thinking of what he created and what it cost her. I'm trying to be all non-spoiler here. To me the pairing made perfect sense. Gale would never understand what she went through, but Peeta does because he went through it too.

 

This is part of it.

 

Spoilers.

 

No definitely not Gale. Gale has always been a rebel and will continue to be an instigator of change in the political landscape of Panem. He will never understand what Katniss went through in the Games.

 

Katniss was only ever trying to survive and was essentially used as a political pawn. By the third book she is suicidal, depressed and suffering from hardcore ptsd. Even when Peeta was hijacked, he was still trying to help himself recover and that is what Katniss needs. Peeta has always been trying to look out for her and he is ultimately what pushes her to heal by the epilogue.

 

I think she may have had minor teenage twinges of attraction to Gale and then more so to Peeta but it isn't relevant in such a bleak scenario. She may never love Peeta the way he loves her (we don't actually know how the relationship dynamics work as they get older) but it still works. Not every successful relationship is going to be the soulmate type.

 

This too. Peeta was the one who *actually* took care of her and gave her the emotional support that she needed. Katniss and Gale are too much alike. How many of us are opposite from our spouses in many ways? I know I am. I dated guys who were more like me. I don't want to marry me. That doesn't *add* anything.

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I feel like the Katniss before the games should have wound up with Gale.

 

And I feel like the only real bond between post-game-Katniss and Peeta is the games.

 

But post-games Gale (even though he wasn't in the games, the games/events that followed did change him) and post-games-Katniss simply weren't compatible any more, even though I think the part of Katniss that wanted life "back to normal" wanted, desperately, to hold onto him.

 

I just think that the games were so life altering that who they all were Before and who they all were After, were all so different. That experience shaped all 3 of them in ways that the others can never fully understand (by that, I mean K & P can never understand what it was for G, nor can he understand what it was for them). Sadly, the people we love most dearly, who are the best fit for us Before some life changing event are not always the best fit for us when we arrive at After, especially if that person/those people didn't go through it with us. I think that is true in this case.

 

I do think maybe, just maybe, if they'd fought for it when she first returned, maybe they could have made it work. But I'm skeptical about that, even though all through all 3 books I was torn as to which way I wanted it to end up.

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I thought Katniss and Gale should be together when I read the first book. Somewhere in the second book I totally changed my mind and started thinking she belonged with Peeta.

 

***Spoilers***

 

Katniss had built a thick wall around her heart as far as boys go. She was determined to defy the capitol in the only way she could - by not every marrying and having children. I think she *did* like both Peeta AND Gale, but she refused to admit it to herself.

 

If either Peeta or Gale had died, I don't think marrying either one would have been that great. There would always be the question of whether she would have been happier with the other, but "settled" because there was no choice to make anymore.

 

Gale changed a lot. He was a soldier. He loved that life. Katniss wanted to be as far away from fighting as possible. She had seen and done enough for a lifetime between her two times in the arena. Gale wasn't the only one to change. Katniss was quite changed, too.

 

Through the whole first (maybe more) book I was just as unsure as Katniss whether Peeta really had had a crush on her or not. I tended to think it was an act, actually. Clearly, he did. It was a little boy crush (and I think Josh Hutcherson sold that... little boy crushes are immature and insecure and hard to navigate and here he was admitting it to the entire country). He did LOVE her then. That blossomed as he spent more time with her and really got to know her.

 

Then when Peeta was hijacked just when Katniss was starting to open her feelings up to him, I think that's how she fell in love. She realized she really, truly cared for him. She wanted him to still love her. The fact that he had been altered by the capitol to no longer love her hurt. Badly.

 

Also, Katniss and Gale did not share something so deep as the Games. Gale could never understand how she felt or why she'd wake up years later screaming from a nightmare. Peeta could understand exactly, and when he woke up screaming, she'd understand. They shared a deep, deep bond. They'd been in the arena not once, but twice, and come out of it alive (and totally different people).

 

So I think she ended up with just the right person.

 

Josh Hutcherson *is* younger than Jennifer Lawrence. She's 21 and he's 19. (And, random fact, he's the brunette and she's the blond.) Liam Hemsworth (Gale) is 22, born the same year as Jennifer Lawrence. Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are the same height which I think contributed to him looking that much younger than her in the movie.

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Katniss would never be able to look at Gale without thinking of what he created and what it cost her. I'm trying to be all non-spoiler here. To me the pairing made perfect sense. Gale would never understand what she went through, but Peeta does because he went through it too.

 

:iagree:Gale's more volitile in nature- like Katniss herself, wheras Peeta maximizes his options, even if they s*ck- which is what Katniss needs- someone very politic. The games are as much about that as about ability to fight physically.

I don't think she "settles" for Peeta- I think she does love him- they've gone through a lot together, and they'll are able to create a life together because of that, They are war comrades, they are bonded by trauma, and survival.

 

FWIW: I really didn't like how they cast Peeta when I saw the casting last year and my first view of him in the movie was that he was all wrong. I think he played it right, .

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I think I would have thought that if Gale hadn't changed so much in the last book. After all she's been through, I don't think Katniss could've been with someone so hardened, someone bent on revenge. Even after the war, I think seeing those things in Gale would've kept her from really being able to love him. All other things being equal (i.e., she had never gone to the games, or in a totally different situation), I'd think they should be together.

 

I think Peeta is who she *needs* by the end of the books. I don't get the sense that she loves him in a passionate or particularly romantic way when they first go home. She's so pragmatic and practical, I don't think she'd ever be the type to be super-romantic, head-over-heels in love with ANYONE. But I think she can (and will/does) *grow* to love him. Like I said, I think she needs him--he fills the voids for her (and she for him, I think). His peace, steadiness, and unconditional love and acceptance is healing for her--Gale's volatility and willingness to perpetuate the killing is not what her damaged heart, soul, and mind need. I also felt like Peeta accepts her for who and what she is and needs, while I have the impression that Gale wants her at his side as the fighter she has been and a "mover and shaker" in the new order, even though that's the last thing she wants.

 

I think the clincher really is that Peeta and Katniss share a history and experiences that Gale just can never fully understand or relate to. They really are a part of each other--I don't think either of them could make a relationship genuinely work with anyone else after all that.

 

I agree about the movie, though--Josh Hutcherson did a great job, but he definitely looks a good bit younger than Jennifer Lawrence.

 

:iagree:

 

Except I thought that Peeta looking younger and more naive than Katniss worked. She had a much rougher life than he did - having to hunt for food or starve, her father dying, having to take responsibility for her sister and her mother's survival. Peeta didn't have any easy life but it wasn't the fight for survival that Katniss had.

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I think that this - the nature of their relationship - is what bothers me most. I mean, it's kind of sad, to "settle" for someone rather than fight for someone who really makes your heart pound.

 

I don't think that was the case at all, at least not as everything happens in the book. She feels something for him in that first kiss that she was never described as having for Gale. I don't think she ever felt anything more for Gale than she did for Peeta. Before the games she and Gale had a common background, while there was an economic divide between Katniss and Peeta that meant she never really "saw" him before. After the games, Katniss and Peeta shared a common past, while Gale experienced something totally different.

 

I realize there's much more to the Hunger Games (et al) story that affects why K ends up with P. I think K could have used her hurt to help Gale heal and curb his bitterness. Instead, she stayed at bay, in a safe cocoon she'd built with Peeta. Of course, at the *very* end it's too tragic, but all the way up 'til then, there was a chance. I think so, anyway.

 

I don't think so. Gale was happy fighting and building a new government. Katniss just wanted a home and a family of sorts. She never wanted to fight.

 

As I consider real life choices, I guess I hope my dds choose true love, even if it's more of a reach to obtain, over going with familiar and comfortable. It kind of bugged me that all the young girls exiting the theater yesterday were going on and on in a swoon about Peeta. I wanted to stop and tell them all they were wrong! :lol:

 

Why do you think it wasn't true love? I don't get it. Gale was no Humphrey Bogart. They had no "we'll always have Paris" moment. She was never described as having strong feelings for Gale. There just came a point when she knew that he loved her, and that...she would lose him if she wasn't in love with him back. But...she wasn't. I never saw Gale as her true love. I saw him as her friend and companion. If the games and revolution had never happened, then maybe it would have turned into something. That is how I saw it.

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Also, Katniss and Gale did not share something so deep as the Games. Gale could never understand how she felt or why she'd wake up years later screaming from a nightmare. Peeta could understand exactly, and when he woke up screaming, she'd understand. They shared a deep, deep bond. They'd been in the arena not once, but twice, and come out of it alive (and totally different people).

 

So I think she ended up with just the right person.

 

 

At the very beginning of the books I thought Gale but during Catching Fire that shifted to her only real choices being Peeta or spending her life alone for the very reasons you mentioned above.

 

I've always thought that based on physical appearances they didn't cast either of these guys well. Peeta is physically too small and Gale is too much of a pretty boy.

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I felt that way after the first book but by the end of the series I flipped. Katniss and Gale change so much throughout the series that having them as a couple doesn't work for me anymore. Really, I think she ends up too messed up for any relationship, but Peeta would be the only one who could make it somewhat work.

 

:iagree:

 

I've only read this far in the thread, but this is exactly how I feel, especially the last sentence.

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I think Katniss was at the point where really the most important thing to her was peace, safety, stability. She would never have that with Gale.

 

I was always a bit annoyed that Gale didn't volunteer as male tribute to go along and protect her, we know that Peeta was without a doubt willing to die for her, would Gale have made that sacrifice? Moot point, I know he had to stay and feed the families, but I'd like to know anyhow.

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I wanted Katniss to end up with Gale for the same reason I wanted Frodo to live a long and happy life in the Shire: because I desperately want to believe that those who sacrifice their lives for their friends are rewarded at the end of the battle with peace and happiness.

 

But that ending would not tell the Truth about violence or evil and the price we pay, even when we win.

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I've always thought that based on physical appearances they didn't cast either of these guys well. Peeta is physically too small and Gale is too much of a pretty boy.

 

I thought so, too, until about an hour ago when I reread the part where Peeta gets drawn and he is described as being medium height and stocky build with ashy blond hair in waves over his forehead. I didn't remember that. Josh Hutcherson with dyed hair is definitely medium height and stocky.

 

I always imagined Gale as a pretty boy in my head :lol:

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I agree with everything you said here. Peeta was a much better fit, in the end, for Katniss. She wanted no part of building a new government. She'd had enough turmoil. Peeta was also able to help her heal, as evidenced by her finally deciding it was safe to have children. Love, love Peeta and Katniss together.

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Okay, all you Peeta peeps have pled a strong case!

 

I still think she should be with Gale, and Melinda has probably hit the nail on the head. Call me guilty of wishing the same for Katniss.

 

 

I wanted Katniss to end up with Gale for the same reason I wanted Frodo to live a long and happy life in the Shire: because I desperately want to believe that those who sacrifice their lives for their friends are rewarded at the end of the battle with peace and happiness.

 

But that ending would not tell the Truth about violence or evil and the price we pay, even when we win.

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I thought so, too, until about an hour ago when I reread the part where Peeta gets drawn and he is described as being medium height and stocky build with ashy blond hair in waves over his forehead. I didn't remember that. Josh Hutcherson with dyed hair is definitely medium height and stocky.

 

I always imagined Gale as a pretty boy in my head :lol:

 

Well, obviously she wrote Peeta wrong!;)

 

I had room for a handsome Gale, but had a more rugged handsomeness in mind. Not a guy who looks like he just had his hair styled and brows shaped. :tongue_smilie: I'll just bet he doesn't have any dirt under his fingernails, either.

 

http://www.flicksandbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/liam-hemsworth-gale-the-hunger-games-katniss-jennifer-lawrence.jpg

Edited by Pippen
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I still think she should be with Gale, and Melinda has probably hit the nail on the head. Call me guilty of wishing the same for Katniss.

 

Stand by your man, then. ;) I first read Little Women in 1973 and I'm still not happy that Jo married Professor Bhaer.

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I felt that way after the first book but by the end of the series I flipped. Katniss and Gale change so much throughout the series that having them as a couple doesn't work for me anymore. Really, I think she ends up too messed up for any relationship, but Peeta would be the only one who could make it somewhat work.

 

:iagree:And I do believe she really loved Peeta. Not in the same way he loved her, but definitely a non-platonic love.

 

Katniss would never be able to look at Gale without thinking of what he created and what it cost her.

 

Exactly. She could never be with Gale after what he did. She would never know if it was his that did it. (also trying to be non-spoiler)

 

I think that this - the nature of their relationship - is what bothers me most. I mean, it's kind of sad, to "settle" for someone rather than fight for someone who really makes your heart pound.

 

 

 

I don't think her heard pounded for Gale after all that happened. It might have before the games and the war, but it stopped long before the end of the series. I also don't think choosing someone who understands her is settling.

 

She should have been with Gale, until they all changed. And then she just couldn't. It wouldn't have worked out. The games ripped them apart. She's too changed now.

 

:iagree:

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Katniss would never be able to look at Gale without thinking of what he created and what it cost her. I'm trying to be all non-spoiler here. To me the pairing made perfect sense. Gale would never understand what she went through, but Peeta does because he went through it too.

 

Exactly.

 

My daughter and I disagree on this. She hated the ending of the last book, both because of the fact that Katniss chooses "the wrong" guy and because she wanted a more cut-and-dried finish.

 

But it is crystal clear to me that Katniss would never be able to see Gale in that light again after "the incident." (Trying not to be spoilerish.)

 

In addition, once the rebellion gets underway, it's obvious that she and Gale come at that from very different places, with very different sets of values.

 

She and Peeta, meanwhile, share a bond and an understanding born of their Hunger Games experiences that draws them together.

 

It's funny, because I'm almost always a big sucker for the whole "first love" thing. But, in this case, I think the author got it right.

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I loved Gale. He is a man--no matter his age, he was shouldering responsibility and doing what was right and needed to support his family and Katniss's family. Gotta love that.

 

Peeta was a boy...and in many ways he stayed a boy to me. Peeta grew as the books went on, but I nevered loved him.

I must admit to hoping until the last page that Gale and Katniss would finally get to live a safe, happy, loving life together.

 

And, I, too, wanted Jo to marry Laurie, but I must admit Professor Bhaer has grown on me the older I get. ;)

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I loved Gale. He is a man--no matter his age, he was shouldering responsibility and doing what was right and needed to support his family and Katniss's family. Gotta love that.

 

Peeta was a boy...and in many ways he stayed a boy to me. Peeta grew as the books went on, but I nevered loved him.

I must admit to hoping until the last page that Gale and Katniss would finally get to live a safe, happy, loving life together.

 

And, I, too, wanted Jo to marry Laurie, but I must admit Professor Bhaer has grown on me the older I get. ;)

 

Happy, welcome to the Gale Force. :D

 

Note to self: reread Little Women.

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I loved Gale. He is a man--no matter his age, he was shouldering responsibility and doing what was right and needed to support his family and Katniss's family. Gotta love that.

 

Peeta was a boy...and in many ways he stayed a boy to me. Peeta grew as the books went on, but I nevered loved him.

I must admit to hoping until the last page that Gale and Katniss would finally get to live a safe, happy, loving life together.

 

And, I, too, wanted Jo to marry Laurie, but I must admit Professor Bhaer has grown on me the older I get. ;)

 

I'm in the Peeta camp, all the way, baby, and I thought he did what he needed to during the games - he offered a smooth, political side Katniss was missing- I did envision him taller and stocker....

but now I'm re-thinking the Laurie/Jo thing. I always thought that Baher was 2nd, and she would have gone for Laurie if Amy hadn't stepped in ...

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Peeta was a boy...and in many ways he stayed a boy to me.

 

Oh, he was never a boy to me. He risked a beating at his mother's hand to get food to Katniss, did everything he could with publicity to keep her alive, and even tried to get her withdrawn from the 75th games. Everything he did, he did to keep Katniss alive.

 

Gale, on the other hand, fought Capital by Capital's rules (I'm afraid I'm killing kittens here). In the end he abandoned Katniss with as much cruelty as her mother did. Gale never knew of the nightmares Katniss had, nor - I suspect - did he care. He was caught up in the romance of the rebellion when Peeta and Katniss were the victims of it over and over again. In the end, they survived it all together.

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That Katniss belongs with Gale, not Peeta?

 

Prim, Rue, Peeta... I think Katniss has compassion for each of these. But true love? Not buying it (okay I know I'm not really supposed to buy it by the end of the first book/movie anyway).

 

I felt this way after reading the books, and the film did not cause me to feel more sympathetic to Peeta. I guess I know this will sound silly but I think even the physical differences make Katniss look more like a mother/caretaker figure to him. Josh Hutcherson looks so small and young compared to Jennifer Lawrence.

 

Am I the only one?

 

DD & I were both rooting for Gale...and still pick him over Peeta....Oh, well....noone asked us:glare:

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I'm in the Peeta camp, all the way, baby, and I thought he did what he needed to during the games - he offered a smooth, political side Katniss was missing- I did envision him taller and stocker....

but now I'm re-thinking the Laurie/Jo thing. I always thought that Baher was 2nd, and she would have gone for Laurie if Amy hadn't stepped in ...

 

Hm. I guess when I was younger I thought that way too. But, now...thinking on it...I think Laurie was "hers" in a different sense, not necessarily a romantic sense. After all, look at what she tells him when she rejects him:

You’ll get over this after a while, and find some lovely, accomplished girl who will adore you, and make a fine mistress for your fine house. I shouldn’t. I’m homely and awkward and odd and old, and you’d be ashamed of me, and we should quarrel–we can’t help it even now, you see—and I shouldn’t like elegant society and you would, and you’d hate my scribbling and I couldn’t get on without it, and we should be unhappy, and wish we hadn’t done it, and everything would be horrid!

 

I guess I like to think that the female heroines of the books I read know their own hearts quite as well as I know my own. I might have dated guys who were more this or that than my husband. But, none of them were as perfect for me.

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I never had a pre-determined choice (Gale or Peeta), but one of the reasons I respected the book was because Collins didn't make it an easy choice. She made it a realistic choice made by characters who change so much during the series that you understand Katniss really could love/admire both of them and that those feelings could change, grow, flatten depending on individual situations and choices. There wasn't a magical soul-mate, just fallible people who grow and change.

 

I thought Katniss was always under so much pressure to survive during her whole life that romantic love, as a concept, was very difficult for her. Survival is much lower on the hierarchy of needs. Both Peeta and Gale were able to develop those normal interests and needs earlier. I thought it was interesting how love became another weight on Katniss, and I actually rejoiced at the end that she could still try to move on. She was severely damaged. Love was so entwined with survival, death, and dishonesty that any attempt to love was a miracle of her resiliency. Her choice was a clear-sighted choice of someone who could understand her and completely commit to her welfare. Gale was no longer able to do that.

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Well, obviously she wrote Peeta wrong!;)

 

My dd and I could not believe when Brendan Fraser was chosen to be the dad in The movie version of Inkheart. BUT, we saw Cornelia Funke speak at the library in Hawaii, and it turned out she wrote the character with him in mind! I still can't wrap my head around it.

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Hm. I guess when I was younger I thought that way too. But, now...thinking on it...I think Laurie was "hers" in a different sense, not necessarily a romantic sense. After all, look at what she tells him when she rejects him:

 

 

I guess I like to think that the female heroines of the books I read know their own hearts quite as well as I know my own. I might have dated guys who were more this or that than my husband. But, none of them were as perfect for me.

 

From reading Little Women as a young woman I internalized the idea that females and males can be FRIENDS. Jo and Laurie taught me that...and my life has been infinitely enriched by the friendship of many 'brothers.'

 

I still can sigh when she turns him down, though...I loved him enough for both of us. :D

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DD & I were both rooting for Gale...and still pick him over Peeta....Oh, well....noone asked us:glare:

 

As I read the third book, I kept imagining Peeta might end up with Prim in the future. Her sweetnes, healing heart, and quiet ways would have suited him, imho.

 

Collins certainly burst that bubble for me....:confused:

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Aw, Happy, write us some fan fic! Save Prim and put her with Peeta. Have Katniss get her mojo back and go after Gale.

 

I thought that Gale was going to suddenly intervene and save Prim, and then he and K would ride off into the sunset together. I also thought that Prim's death was unnecessary, sort of like Haley Joel Osment's demise in Pay It Forward. I still wouldn't put it past screenwriters to change up the ending of Mockingjay. American theater goers are mighty fond of happy endings....

 

Honestly, gow much of a brouhaha do you think there'd be if the movie version saved Prim?

Edited by AuntieM
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I also thought that Prim's death was unnecessary, sort of like Haley Joel Osment's demise in Pay It Forward.QUOTE]

 

:iagree: At the time I was so shocked by that I put the book down and then re-read the whole part just to make sure I hadn't imagined it.

 

I think though, that Katniss was a broken person by the end. She and Peeta had to rebuild themselves and really there wasn't space for Gale in all of that (someone who had not gone through the games and lived through the emotional turmoil).

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