Is ButterCup Katniss alter ego? Airtime Assault 18

[realornotreal]

Is there hidden meaning behind Buttercup, the mangy, entrail eating cat in The Hunger Games? Could his appearances actually be a representation of Katniss herself? A guest author on the Hogwart's Professor certainly thinks that might be the case. Steve Barkmeier analyzes Buttercup's appearances in the trilogy and challenges that he is actually meant to represent Katniss' alter ego and reflects her attitude toward herself throughout the series.Katniss and Buttercup have numerous parallels through the series.

Most obviously, Katniss’s name suggests a connection to cats.

In The Hunger Games, Katniss states that Prim is the only person that she knows she loves. In a similar vein, Buttercup loves Prim but does not display that love toward any other character.

Katniss is a hunter. At the beginning of Mockingjay, Buttercup makes an appearance and is well fed. Katniss assumes that Buttercup has survived by hunting field mice. In District 13 Katniss states that Buttercup will be expected to hunt to feed himself if he misses curfew.

In the first chapter of Catching Fire we find that both Katniss and Buttercup prefer their old home over their nicer home in Victors Village.

In the shelter in District 13, Buttercup becomes a celebrity. Katniss is clearly portrayed as a celebrity.

Their methods of obtaining celebrity are even similar. Buttercup wins the hearts of the people of District 13 by playing a game of chasing light from a flashlight. There is no way for him to really win the game and the light is always out of reach. Katniss gains celebrity status by participating in a game that is hopeless. She finds out in Mockingjay that even the victors who have won the game haven’t really won. The Capitol continues using and abusing the victors even after they exit the games. Every victor has personality issues that began with participation in the Hunger Games.

Most telling, Katniss even states “I am Buttercup” in chapter 11 of Mockingjay at the start of an extended simile relating Buttercup’s relationship with the light and Katniss’s relationship with Peeta. I think this is also an indication of how Peeta represents Katniss’s light throughout the series.

www.downwiththecapitol.net/2011/01/airtime-assault-18-meaning-of-prims-cat.html

What do you think? Does Buttercup represent more than just a mangy cat?

[IveBeenFrosted]

Interesting! I didn't even realize there could be a similarity between the two!