Let’s talk about the Prim Reaper
Listen. It’s funny. I enjoy a big tall glass of I hate Gale juice in the morning with my bacon and eggs as much as the next girlie. But he’s also super interesting and complicated and important and I have a million thoughts so buckle up for a lengthy journey through the Gale Hawthorn section of my brain.
He wants a better world for everyone in panem
He stepped up to care for his family as a 14 year old
He took care of Katniss’s family while she was in the arena and would have continued to feed them for the rest of his life if she’d died in the games. At great person cost
Every single person from district 12 who is alive at the end of the games (besides the victors) is alive because of Gale. He pulled people out of burning buildings, he tore down the fence, he fed and led all the refugees to d13
He’s smart, resourceful, capable, determined, idealistic, stubborn, and honest.
Why Gale is important as a character
His anger at the state of Panem is (1) valid and (2) representative of a feeling held by a LARGE number of people. Katniss doesn’t talk to a lot of folks openly, but it’s safe to assume everyone overthrowing their districts was just as angry as Gale. He puts a voice to that fury
His focus on violence as a solution and his quickness to assimilate into the military and his trust of Coin make him one of the most notable mirrors held up to society in the original trilogy. Susanne wrote THG inspired by Americans response to the Iraq War. We were dealing with things like the Patriot Act, anti-Muslim sentiment, and enlistment propaganda in the states when these books were first written. Gales view on enemies and war were incredibly normal takes for the average American citizen at the time. She didn’t write him to be a villain, she wrote him to be US
The belief that some collateral civilian death is necessary and acceptable in war is NORMAL (bad, but very very common). All of you reading this live under governments that operate that way. It’s KATNISS’S beliefs that are the outliers here. The fact that Susanne got us all to agree with Katniss on this is wonderful and impressive and half the point of the books. But that doesn’t make Gale a stand out villain, he’s representing the norm. He is who we were before we read THG
Gale is a foil to so many things I don’t even know where to begin. His morals contrast Katniss’s and make her views more solidified and defined for the reader. He does the same for Peeta by being a contrasting romantic lead. Also Finnick to a lesser degree. He mimics some of Snow’s philosophy, reminding us the call is sometimes coming from inside the house. And he exemplifies Coin’s control and influence over her people. Not all of these are examples of literary foils but if you’re not Mrs Pierce from 12th grade English you don’t get to call me out about it
He has a strong Us vs Them mentality, which is very normal, very problematic, and very worth critiquing. He has a chip on his shoulder about the “well off” merchant class in district 12, he has no empathy or forgiveness for capital citizens like Katniss’s prep team, and holds onto prejudices against victors. Unlike Katniss, he doesn’t get to know people and change his mind about their motives, he doesn’t give respect or humanize those he thinks are against him. He does not remember who the real enemy is
He also has a strong “if you’re not with me you’re against me” view of people. Anyone who isn’t rebelling loudly enough is making themselves his enemy. He’s angry with katniss in Catching Fire for not wanting to join the rebellion, he complains she should be doing more to spread dissent instead of trying to protect herself and her loved ones. He says that anyone sweeping floors in the Nut in district 2 is working for the enemy and deserving of the same treatment as those actively firing weapons against him. He’s very black and white about who deserves mercy and who does not.
He’s a really bad friend!!! He rarely gives Katniss any sort of comfort or emotional support. He ignored it when she’s struggling. He ignores the trauma she went through in the games. He goes so far as to ignore it when her SISTER DIES. When she acts out of fear (trying to run away, performing with Peeta for the cameras, refusing to define any romantic relationships atm) he belittles her.
It has to be said, we all knew this bullet point was coming, the romantic pressure he puts on Katniss is not chill. He kisses her without permission, guilts and manipulates her, gets angry when she doesn’t make a “choice” about who her “boyfriend” should be in the middle of conversations about who will be brutally murdered next. He does not read the room and does not accept her no or empathize with her confusion or fear.
“‘It’s the way he hates you. It’s so… familiar. I used to feel like that,’ he admits, ‘when I’d watch you kissing him on the screen. Only I knew I wasn’t being entirely fair. He can’t see that.’” - Gale says about hijacked Peeta after he’s insulted and embarrassed Katniss in the dining hall. Hijacked Peeta, who barely sees Katniss as human, who tried to kill her, who at best sees her as cruel and manipulative and wicked at this point in the story. Gale relates to that overgrown, violent, jealousy so much he tells katniss it’s FAMILIAR. He says that TO HER FACE. Evil. I know he goes on to say a nice comforting thing about how hijacked Peeta isn’t seeing the real her right after this quote but I will never be over that he says this and I shan’t forgive him for it.
What happened with Prim and the bomb
This gets its own section cuz it’s a big deal and super twisted by in fandom discussions
We know that Gale didn’t make the choice to use the double bomb when and where it was used. He was with Katniss and Co.™️ in the capital when it went down
Gale and Beetee are not even sure that it was their trap design enacted by Coin. But they seem to suspect. Katniss is sure it’s true. We the readers are meant to believe that’s what happened. It was Chekhov's gun, it had to go off
Gale would NEVER hurt Prim on purpose. He’s proven himself to be a protector, and Prim is one of his priorities. He’s saved her life, he’s cared for her, he cares a lot about Katniss and knows better than almost anybody how important Prim is to her. There’s no reality where Gale knew she was going to be in the capital and allowed it. No world where he saw her on the street and pressed a button to drop a bomb on her.
However, Gale is okay with the death of innocence. His design preys on compassion, it intentionally targets medics and those rushing in to help. It reflects his belief system about collateral damage in war perfectly. He knows it’s not pretty, but he believes it’s necessary and the ends justify the means. When he says this he’s imagining the trap being used on the ENEMY. He’s comfortable thinking about the deaths of theoretical, enemy Prims.
The fact that this got turned around and used on allies and ultimately kills someone close to him and ruins the relationship he cares most about is a huge lesson for Gale. He never learned to remember who the enemy is and that failing lead him right up to that scene with katniss in the mirror. He thought there was a wholely good and wholely bad side to the war. He thought his designs would only be used on enemies. He thought those getting hurt would deserve it. He thought the loss of life would be worth it. He was wrong.
