Patronymic

When I read the popular character name Katniss Everdene I thought the last name sounded familiar. I peeked at the author's acknowledgement, remembered an undergraduate paper I wrote on Gabriel Oak, plan to pull it out from under the bed to re-read soon. My thesis was Thomas Hardy describes Oak in terms used to describe medieval heroes. I'll look up the support I used for my assertion and see if they still make sense today: trial by fire, vanquish, staff, sword, water, triumph, and redemption.