Katniss and The Districts’ Uprising
Postcolonial theory is partly a response to, and a resistance against, the endurance of colonialism and is unashamedly political with its intent to change political, cultural and social
structures to enable democratic societies for all AmalTreacher. It basically says that Colonizers often do not allow democratic societies to develop among the colonized side or
between the colonized and the colonizer. The Capitol ruled the whole of Panem, redefined their cultures and social structures, and thereby controlled them by monopolizing their
resources to benefit the Capitol; Panem is obviously not a democratic society. However, when the oppressed society has been suffering for so long, when to live is harder for them
than to die, they no longer have a fear of death and it‟s only a matter of time until someone gives the spark and an uprising is inevitable. Now what does a person need to give that spark
of rebellion? I imagine Said would answer that if you want to produce power then the knowledge of how you are doing it shall be a necessity. However, all examples from Katniss,
interestingly, show the opposite. Katniss and her speech in District 11 was one example of a circumstance when a spark of
power wasproduced by someone who wasn‟t even aware of or had knowledge about any
rebellion. From the colonized party, we have Katniss and Peeta, teenagers from District 12 who had never been close to the Capitol, its concerns and anything related to it. Even until
they were chosen as tributes in the 74
th
Hunger Games, being in the Games once would not help them to gain any more knowledge about the Capitol‟s system of government or the
„inflammable‟ situation around the Districts after the Game. According to Said‟s theory, one is supposed to know either about how to plan an uprising or execute and organize a rebellion
to gain power.However in contrast, Katniss and Peeta did n‟t know how to unite people or
start an organized rebellion. The only thing they knew at that time was that President Snow had threatened Katniss. Therefore, they acted in-love to prove that the night-lock action was
just because of their love so that Snow would not hurt those who Katniss loved. The speech
they gave in the District 11 was also their first personal speech ever and they had no idea how to do it in a provocative manner. However, as a result of their speech, they created trouble for
the government in the Capitol by unintentionally giving the spark, the power, to rebel. This Peeta and Katniss‟s case in Catching Fire, especially Katniss who unintentionally
created a strong response of unity among the people in District 11, is the first evidence of how power can be obtained by the colonized side without them having any adequate
knowledge on how to make it happen. She didn‟t even know that the rebellion had started
everywhere, but she succeeded in encouraging the rebels even more. The man indeed got shot bec
ause of the Capitol‟s power to control the masses, but before that, innocent Katniss had made unexpected trouble for the Capitol‟s government.
The second example, which also proves that power doesn‟t always necessarily go with knowledge, comes along with the runaways from District 8 when they met Katniss. The
rebels had made her Mockingjay pin as their symbol, so that whenever they see the symbol, they automatically have Katnissin mind. Even though the whole of Panem knew that, Katniss
didn‟t.
When the runaways from District 8 showed Katniss the symbol printed on bread, the following is her first response:
It‟s a Mockingjay. It makes no sense. My bird baked into bread. Unlike the stylish renderings I saw in the Capitol, this is definitely
not a fashion statement. “What is it? What does that mean?” I ask
harshly, still prepared to kill. Collins, p. 212
Up to that point, she only knew that her pin was used for fashion purposes. Even after Bonnie, one of the runaways, answered her question,
Katniss still didn‟t get that her pin was used as the rebels‟ mascot and she asked again.
“It means we‟re on your side,” says a tremulous voice behind me. I didn‟t see her […] “That cracker in your hand. With the bird.
What‟s that about?” I ask. Collins, p. 214
The mockingjay bird became a mascot for Katniss and she herself became the mascot of the rebellion towards the Capitol. Apparently, Katniss did not recognize the mockingjay to
be used as anything other than a fashion statement in the Capitol. To confirm it further, below is Katniss
‟ response after one of the runawaysquestioned her knowledge about the rebellion, mockingjay and all.
“Don‟t you know, Katniss?” Bonnie appears genuinely surprised.
They recognized me. Of course they recognized me. My face is uncovered and I‟m standing here outside of District 12 pointing
arrow at them. Who else would I be? “I know it matches the pin I wore in the arena.
”
“She doesn‟t know,” says Bonnie softly. “Maybe not about any of it.
” Collins, p. 215
She definitely didn‟t have any clue about her pin being a symbol of rebellion as
Bonnie stated it clearlyin the last quotation. Katniss still knows nothing about the power she actually possesses to lead, or at least ignite, the rebels. The other case that is related to the
second example is in the interview with Caecar when Katniss wore her burnable wedding dress that Cinna, her stylist, managed to design it so that when she‟s spinning the true design
could be revealed. Caecar, the interviewer, helps us to imagine what the true design is.
“Feathers,” says Caecar. “You‟re like a bird.”
“Mockingjay, I think.” I say, giving my wings a small flap. “It‟s
the bird on the pin I wear as a token.” Collins, p. 391
Now we know that the true design actually made her similar to a Mockingjay. Just at this time Katniss realized something big was about to happen.
“A shadow of recognition flickers across Caecar‟s face, and I can tell he knows that the Mockingjay isn‟t just my token. That
it‟s come to symbolize so much more. That what will be seen as a flashy costume change in the Capitol is resonating in an
entirely different way throughout the district.
” Collins, p. 391
What she does not quite get is that the Districts rebellion is going on already. Above all, she thought Cinna was disappointed because Katniss had to join the Games two times in a
row that he conveyed the message of disappointment through his work. She never thought she really was the Mockingjay, the bird that mocks the Capitol, flying free and voicing
rebellion throughout Panem. She was the one who was in the real danger. […]and suddenly I am so afraid for him. What has he done?
Something terribly dangerous.An act of rebellion in itself. I remember his words.. “Don‟t worry. I always channel my
emotions into my wo rk. That way I don‟t hurt anyone but
myself.” Collins, p. 391-2 Interestingly, her having a little knowledge about the connection between Mockingjay
and Rebellion still did n‟t make her realize that she had the power to ignite the districts‟
uprising . She could not be convinced yet that she was the districts‟ Mockingjay. She sensed
that her Mockingjay seemed to have significance, but that didn‟t make her feel like she was even involved, let alone to believe that she was the spark of the rebellion.
The last example is taken from the moment Katniss went back to the arena. At Haymitch‟s urging, Katniss and Peeta agreed to team up with some of the victors. What they
didn‟t know was that the tributes they teamed up with were all rebels undercover who had planned their escapes from the arena with their alliances outside, including people from the
supposedly destroyed District 13. Katniss had an advantage of knowing about the force field‟s chink, and just before the help came, Katniss panicked and blew the force field on her
own to save Peeta without knowing the rebels‟ plan Collins, p. 587. It made the rescue only half succeed with the other three survivors captured by the Capitol. Haymitch was so angry at
Katniss for messing up the rebels‟ plan without knowing.
In this example, to clarify both situations of Katniss and the rebels, there are two different types of group. On the one side is Haymitch, the undercover rebels and the alliances
outside which are equipped with knowledge. On the other side is Katniss who relies on her instincts. She had no certain knowledge to plan a good escape nor did she know about the
undercover rebels, but her spontaneity helped her through. Unfortunately, their plans collided without any of them knowing each other‟s plan so both goals failed. I can‟t say which group
is better in this case, because their methods are different. A group of adults in the colonized group had the knowledge in order for there to be power for the Districts‟ uprising, but we
have to keep this in mind that before Katniss showed up, they didn‟t dare to make a move at
all. The rebels needed Katniss to continue giving the spark, because she was the Mockingjay and if she lived, the revolution lived. In light of the crucial role of Katniss, it is she whom we
will focus on. With our focus on Katniss, who had the tendency to do things with her own
conscious, we noted that in this example Katniss blew the rebels‟ plan. Things didn‟t end well and Haymitch was angry at her for being reckless. Then how exactly is this being an
example of power produced without knowledge? It seems like an example of her failure from her lack of knowledge and so there won‟t be uprising produced as the outcome. However,
such a point of view is too short-sighted of Katniss, because this reckless action then became the start of Katniss‟ blatant rebellion to inspire all rebels throughout Panem. The rebels were
actually planned to blow the force field, Katniss did it a bit too early and caused Peeta and two others to be captured by the Capitol
first. At the risk of spoiling the story‟s development in the next book, Katniss‟ reckless action draws the strongest powerful effect as the districts‟
sympathy grows when they learn Katniss will do everything to save Peeta, including openly fight against the Capitol, which leads to the biggest encouragement for the Districts to revolt
and so, rebellion continues and is even stronger in the next book.