everlark colors theory and appreciation
Something I'll always appreciate about The Hunger Games is that it's a story brimming with symbolism inspired by nature, the great teacher of cycles, in fact. There's the clash between fire and snow, represented by Katniss and President Snow, an image of the struggle between change that burns and control that freezes to the bone.
Then there are the appearances of various plants and flowers that become symbols of hope, like the dandelion, or a character named after one of these flowers, which gives you a clue about their personality or importance in the plot.
And of course, we have the colors that the characters appreciate in the landscapes of their daily lives. A forest full of shades of green and an orange sunset that fills the senses.
Katniss' favorite color is green, and Peeta's is orange. I feel the reasons why they choose these colors are obvious; their home is covered in coal dust and gray machinery that transforms natural resources found only underground, so I feel that finding charm in living nature is a human need to cope with daily life. Specially when it's in a very precarious situation.
However, these reasons speak A LOT about their shared connection to nature, which also reflects their stances on war, which is undeniably unnatural. Animals do have confrontations among themselves; yes, they hunt to survive and clash to defend territories, but there are no wars in the human style. Human wars are built on cruel and violent strategies. Human wars are driven by selfish interests. And we also know that animals do not build weapons.
Similarly, it's clear that orange and green somewhat represent Katniss and Peeta's personalities and social contexts. Green belongs to the cool color group, which we can associate with Katniss's reserved and distant nature, particularly with her surroundings in the poorest part of District 12 and the trauma she had experienced in her life. On the other hand, orange belongs to the warm color group, representing Peeta as someone more friendly and likeable, who lives in the city with the merchants who have a less deplorable economic status.
Both colors and characters are in opposite categories.
But here comes my favorite part of this meta analysis because these days I've been painting and studying a bit about color theory/psychology.
ORANGE visually represents characteristics such as creativity, strength, and commitment. In its negative aspect, it represents destruction, caution, or it could mean a warning. It can even be associated with something with very extravagant characteristics, too.
GREEN symbolizes nature, security, positive emotions, and hope. In its negative aspects, it represents ambition, cowardice, and in many Disney-style character designs, green is used to represent evil.
Katniss seeks the qualities (but already possesses most of them) of the psychology of orange because it is a color associated with resilience, something that Peeta represents in the story and is a quality that she builds thanks to their first real contact when they were 11yo, and also after surviving the Games and the war.
Katniss is also a person who grew up with limited resources, which allows Peeta's creativity to help her see the world from another point of view.
Commitment is another quality that, after her father's death, Katniss thought no one else was going to offer her and that the only relationship that could exist between her and the word was her commitment (responsibility) to provide food for her family.
The moment Peeta gives Katniss the bread, a commitment is created between them. Not in search of reciprocity, but because of the love Peeta has for Katniss. Because, without having exchanged a word, he valued her enough not to want to lose her. A commitment of care born from selfless love. And then, this commitment is reflected in Katniss' words.
"Because that's what you and I do, protect each other".
At this point in the story, Katniss isn't saying this because she feels they still owe each other something. Remember, she believes the Peeta she knew before the hijacking is gone, so she doesn't believe he loves her anymore either. She's saying it here because she truly loves him, and she doesn't need him to love her back to affirm that she cares about Peeta. Her commitment is based on love here as well.
If we look at the negative connotation of the color, we can see that Katniss also takes her precautions. At the beginning of the story, she feels Peeta is good for hidden reason at the start of the Games. Obviously, it's in a survival context.
Then, Katniss is also careful about letting Peeta grow up in her heart. She doesn't want to get attached to him because she says kind people have a way of opening up to her. This is because Katniss is incredibly loving with the people she cares about and is so cautious about letting people into her heart because she saw her mother lose her husband. Often, the rejection she feels toward Asterid is a weakness she herself fears experiencing, and ultimately, she ends up living it firsthand during Mockingjay while Peeta was held captive in the Capitol.
And then there's the association with the concept of extravagance. Haymitch, projecting himself somewhat onto the loss of his relationship with Lenore Dove, tells Katniss that even if she lived a hundred lifetimes, she couldn't possibly deserve Peeta.
I think that, from the moment she meets him, Katniss senses that she isn't worthy of his attention and affection. Even when they both win the Games and live in similar economic circumstances, Katniss sees Peeta as a luxury she believes it (he) is too kind, funny, strong, and loving, and by all means, qualities she cannot have because she perceives herself as lacking positive attributes. As we know, this is untrue, and these beliefs stem from her low self-esteem.
But Katniss also chooses green as her favorite color because it represents what she's subconsciously seeking: hope, security, and positive emotions. Things she easily finds in Peeta.
Peeta is a person with clear ideals from the beginning of the first book when he says that he doesn't want to be changed, he doesn't want to be a piece in the Games. He has a great power with words, a more empathetic approach, and is extroverted by nature. He's more green than orange.
So that's why Peeta is able to easily see the characteristics of Katniss' favorite color in her. He sees the hope and security she gives. He recognizes the effect she has on others. He sees all her positive qualities: her kindness, her strength, and her dedication.
I think he could see from the very beginning the great heart that Katniss possesses and all the love that life limited her to give for so many years.
So, I feel that what Peeta is really looking in Katniss, more subtextually, are the strongest characteristics of the color orange that she possesses so naturally.
First, he sees her as someone beautiful beyond her physical appearance (which I'm also 100% sure Katniss is beautiful and most of the times it's just her putting herself down). Someone who inspires. Katniss makes Peeta's creativity flow more easily on canvases and in words.
Katniss is also strength and commitment. Let's remember that Peeta had a more difficult childhood than Katniss due to family factors, experiencing less maternal/paternal love for reasons external to him and originating from what is surely a loveless marriage.
I think that for a child who wasn't very loved, but still always stood out socially, finding someone who truly sees you is difficult because they also develop insecurities about their own worth as a person. These are children who become sociable and compliant out of a fear of abandonment, of not being enough.
"Nobody needs me," he says, and there's no self-pity in his voice.
And I think Peeta always knew that Katniss had a fierce determination, something he probably needed to hear/experience and that Katniss had more trouble demonstrating because of all the context we read and know. So I think Peeta needs to know he's loved by someone with unwavering determination, and we saw that, despite everything, she chooses him. She chooses to save him again and again because she loves who he is, and the entire ending of Mockingjay is about her helping him fight the insecurity that already existed within him and that Snow used against him.
"And it's not just that I don't want to be alone. It's him. I do not want to lose the boy with the bread".
So, they both have similar qualities that complement each other and blend in perfect natural harmony. Katniss has prominent green and orange qualities, but she is only able to see the negative connotations of both colors. Peeta is more green than orange, so he seeks out the orange energy that Katniss has.
So I firmly believe that their entire relationship in the books is based on finding the good that was inside them in each other, at the same time as they discover after Peeta's hijacking that neither of them is so perfect and that they have their negative nuances, the de-idealization of the loved one.
They need each other, but they also complement each other. And I believe that, by supporting one another, they are able to see each other's strengths. But above all, they understand each other's human and imperfect side and still make the loving decision to nurture each other's positive qualities.
Before they experienced trauma, there was already a connection through a song. A lovely memory. Yes, they bonded because of the Games, but we know this would have happened anyway. Whenever someone tells you that trauma is the only thing connecting them, remember it's not true and, even if it were real, thas's only bad if both of them drown in pain and don't help each other. And from what we know from the end of Mockingjay, they're always there for each other, growing together. Not stuck. But building a more gentle future together.
“That what I need to survive is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that.”
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