While she manages to escape both Games with her life, she is left suffering significant psychological distress and displays symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Katniss Everdeen, heroine of The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, is said to have PTSD, demonstrated by the psychological effects of her traumatic journey through life.
Katniss seems to meet the criteria for both PTSD and major depressive disorder. Believing herself to be “broken,” she has a hard time enjoying herself and is devastated and without hope, especially after the bombing of District 12.
She outruns the fire but ends up in a section of the arena in which the Gamemakers shoot fireballs at her, and one catches her calf as she runs. She puts the fire out with her hands, leaving them mildly burned and her right calf much more severely injured.
While Katniss did experience hearing loss after the explosion in THG, the Capitol fixed that after the games therefore, she didn't need to wear a hearing aid…but that's really one of the only instances where the movies didn't underrepresent the disabilities shown in the book.
The Awkward Teenage Years of Katniss Everdeen Explained
Why does Peeta lose his leg?
Peeta urges Katniss to run and stays to fight fellow tribute Cato while she escapes. He survives the encounter with Cato but suffers a stab wound on his leg. He camouflages himself into the rocks and mud alongside a riverbank, slowly dying of blood poisoning until Katniss finds him days later.
It is so rare that we see a main character in mainstream media who has a disability that is not a focus of the story, and this is why I was so disappointed in the movie. In the book, Peeta is an amputee, but that is merely a part of who he is and does not take over the storyline in any way, shape, or form.
A fireball brushes her calf, scalding her. She manages to put the fire out, but her hands and calf are seriously injured. Eventually the attack ends and Katniss walks until she finds a small pool. The water soothes the burns.
Katniss comes close to crying, something she knows she mustn't do because it would indicate weakness to the other tributes and make her look vulnerable; thankfully, Haymitch distracts the crowd and the cameras by stumbling off stage.
Additionally, Katniss was in great pain and still suffered from the trauma of the war. Death to her also meant a relief. Living, on the other hand, would be harder. It's understandable why Katniss sank into a deep depression after everything was over.
Katniss spends the rest of the day crying on her bed. She believes that the Gamemakers will punish her for what she's done, that they'll make her an Avox and cut out her tongue. She imagines all of the possible scenarios, but is most fearful that the Capitol people will go after Prim and her mother.
Katniss didn't really have the time to consider romance when she was worried about survival. When Peeta and Gale both made their feelings clear, Katniss wasn't entirely receptive despite caring for them both. In the end, her feelings for Peeta and Gale diverged, with Peeta ultimately winning her heart.
The recurring mention of a need for water, and Katniss' inability to find any, lets the reader know that this will continue to be a problem, and her growing thirst indicates that she needs to fix this problem quickly if she's going to survive much longer. Again we see Katniss struggling with her emotions about Peeta.
Katniss is rendered deaf in one ear after she blows up the Careers' supplies, and she doesn't regain any hearing on her left side until afterwards when the Capitol gives her a hearing aid.
People who suffer from PTSD can also experience trouble sleeping, which both Katniss and Peeta deal with, exhibit self-destructive or reckless behavior or can be aggressive and irritable. Both tributes also have trouble controlling themselves and often react aggressively to situations that upset them.
2. Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss Wig Was Stolen! The natural blonde had to wear a brunette wig in the final two installments of the franchise due to hair damage after dying her tresses for the first two films. It turned out that one of her castmates was all about Katniss' wig, too.
She was only 13 years old when she was killed in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, and her youth only makes the tragedy that much harder for Katniss to bear after everything else she had suffered. Prim's death is a truly heartbreaking moment.
Katniss has a conflicted relationship with her mother. Following her father's death, her mother fell into deep depression and now rarely speaks. As a result, Katniss has a difficult time feeling love and affection for her mother, even as she recognizes that her mother is a kind and intelligent woman.
All this is amidst a constant battle to procure food and water, and indeed she nearly dies of thirst in one of the Games. While she manages to escape both Games with her life, she is left suffering significant psychological distress and displays symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In the 74th Hunger Games, Clove was the only Career tribute who came close to killing Katniss twice — at the Bloodbath and at the Feast, and certainly seemed to have a deep hatred for her, perhaps because Katniss received a higher score than her.
Why does Katniss scream Peeta's name at the end of Chapter 18?
Under the new rule, tributes from the same district will both be declared winners if they are the last two left alive. Katniss, realizing that she and Peeta can both survive, immediately calls out Peeta's name.
Peeta Mellark - 8, for physical strength. Katniss Everdeen - 11, for her skill with a bow and arrow and her fierce temper. (Highest training score in the 74th Hunger Games).
Katniss rarely sings because it reminds her of her father, but she now remembers a morbid song that her father taught her: “The Hanging Tree.” This moment in the story is significant in multiple ways.
The two don't have sex on screen. It's only implied that they get it on via snuggling and other affectionate acts in close quarters — but if you have read the book, they really imply that they took their relationship to the next level. Plus, in the epilogue, they have two kids.
