The setting in “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins takes place in the future, in what was once North America. A harsh Capitol rules over 12 districts. Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12, the poorest district by far, and is nicknamed “the Seam.” Since coal mining is district 12’s trade, a layer of coal dust settles over everything each night. The chain link fence that encloses District 12 is supposed to be electrified 24 hours a day. Normally it isn’t, there is even some holes in the fence.
The Capitol is an impressive city, surrounded by a natural barrier of mountains. The buildings are all the colors of the rainbow.
The Hunger Games arena changes from year to year, one year it may be a frozen wasteland and the next a burning desert. The year of the 74th Hunger Games, the arena is a flat stretch of open ground, a cool, blue lake, and sparse piney woods. The middle of the arena is dominated by a golden Cornucopia, where twenty-four metal plates are set equidistance from it.
Poor housing in District 12. The Capitol.
Cato: Cato is the vicious District 2 tribute. During the Hunger Games he is part of a group known as the Careers. They are generally made up of Districts 1, 2 and 4. They have been fed and trained throughout their lives for this moment, for many it is an honor to be chosen for the Games. He is cruel, uncontrollable, defiant, and enraged that Katniss is becoming a favorite for winning the Games. Katniss assumes that he is the main opponent in winning the Games because he is strong and muscular, and has no restraint when it comes to killing. He will do anything to win. In the beginning of the Hunger Games, he is equipped with food, water, and supplies from the Cornucopia. During the middle of the book, Katniss and Rue form a plan to blow up the Career’s supplies ensuring that their food source will be cut off. Cato is a major character, an antagonist, and a dynamic character.
Cato and Clove are the
District 2 tributes.
Katniss: Katniss Everdeen is the main character in the book “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins. Katniss is a sixteen year old girl with straight black hair, olive skin, and gray eyes; many people that live in the Seam have these traits. She is determined, independent, adventurous, and wary. Her father has died a few years ago in an explosion in the mines where he worked. She single handedly feeds a family of three, illegally in the woods near her home. Being a participant in the Hunger Games is anything but easy, however her skill with a bow and arrow, and her attitude, give her an advantage. During the middle of the book she teams up with District 11 tribute, Rue. Rue gets killed before Katniss can save her. After a slight rule change, Peeta and Katniss are both allowed to win. However when all the other tributes are dead, the rule change was revoked to insure the most dramatic showdown in history. Katniss and Peeta threaten the Gamemakers by attempting a double suicide. If that happened, it would blow up in the Gamemakers faces, so both of them end up winning the seventy-fourth Hunger Games. Katniss is major character, protagonist, and dynamic individual.
Katniss hunts in the Hunger Games,
as well as in her home district.
Peeta: Peeta is a boy who lives in one of the nicer parts of the Seam. His family runs a bakery where he works. Peeta is medium height, stocky build, and has ashy blond hair that falls in waves over his forehead. He is kind, sweet, and brave. He is in love with Katniss, and has been ever since the first day of school when they were five. He remembers the day perfectly, down to the last detail. Peeta is picked as the boy tribute for District 12, and to Katniss’s dismay, teams up with the Career pack. Towards the end, we find out that everything he did was to save Katniss. They win the Hunger Games, but Peeta loses his leg due to a fatal sword cut by Cato. It gets amputated, and Peeta acquired a prosthetic leg. He is a major character, a protagonist, and a static character.
Peeta Mellark is the boy tribute for District 12.
Prim: Prim is Katniss’s little sister that lives in District 12. She is a healer, like her mother. Prim is a sweet, quiet, and loveable. Almost everyone that meets her can’t help but like her. The world’s ugliest cat, Buttercup, absolutely loves her after she brought him home and nursed him to health. Prim is named after the beautiful flower evening primrose, and has light hair, blue eyes. Her name is chosen at the reaping, but her sister takes her place. Prim is a minor character, a protagonist, and a static character.
Prim helps her family make money by selling
goat cheese from her goat, Lady.
Rue: Rue is the twelve year old tribute from district 11. She is resourceful, adventurous, trusting, and kind. Rue has bright dark eyes and satiny brown skin, and stands tilted up on her toes with her arms slightly extended to her sides as if ready to take flight. She teams up with Katniss during the Hunger Games. They form a plan to blow up the Career packs’ main food supply. She is up for anything, and has faith in herself. Rue is a minor character, a protagonist, and a static character.
Rue is the eldest of all her siblings, and is
already supporting her family by working in
the fields.
Rising Action:
· Person vs. Self. Prim gets chosen as the girl tribute for District 12, but Katniss volunteers for her. Peeta gets chosen as the boy tribute which spells out bad news for Katniss since she feels that she owes him, and is in his debt for making her feel hope. Shortly after Katniss’s father was killed in a mine explosion, the little money that they had was gone. She was trying to sell some items from around the house, but no one would buy anything. She was weak from hunger and exhaustion, and was ready to give up. Peeta’s mother slapped Peeta because he had burned some bread, she yelled at him to go feed the pigs. He made his way to feed them, but gave the bread to Katniss instead. He purposely dropped the loaves in the fire, just so she could have some food. The next day at school, Katniss didn’t get the chance to thank him, and she never did. But just as her eyes left him, it fell on a dandelion, it reminded her that spring was near, the flowers would be growing, and she could find a way to feed her family. Katniss learned what plants to eat, and how to hunt. She never forgot the boy with the bread. Now they will be in the arena together, and there can only be one victor.
Rising Action:
· Person vs. Person: Traditionally during the Hunger Games each tribute will have an interview that lasts about three minutes. It’s a time to make an impression on the audience. The tributes mentors will give them advice on presentation, and content. Peeta gives his interview, and Katniss isn’t really paying attention to it. But, then she hears a snippet of their conversation in which Caesar Flickerman, the interviewer, asks Peeta if he has a girlfriend back home. He unconvincingly shakes his head. After more questioning, he admits that he does in fact like a girl that lives in District 12. Peeta stammers out, “She came here with me.” Katniss is in complete shock. Peeta loves her. But, they are both tributes. There can only be one victor. The question is, is it real?
Rising Action:
· Person vs. person: Cato is the real enemy, or so Katniss assumes. Even after all the tributes are gone, and only Katniss, Peeta, and Cato remain, she still feels like she did on day 1. All the other tributes were only obstacles; the real challenge of the Games is beating Cato. Cato had always had a special hatred for Katniss. She outdid him in the chariot rides, the interviews, and got the top score in training. She blew up his resources for food, and his weapons. She dropped a trackerjacker nest on him, and got away, ever so slyly, when he thought he had her cornered. Katniss, at first thought that he was mad, but now assumes he may have gone insane. One morning Peeta and Katniss wake up to find the pond of water they were near gone. With a little investigating, they discover that every stream, pond, and trickle of water was drained during the night. The Gamemakers were driving the remaining tributes together towards the inevitable fight. Cato shows up is high-grade flesh colored mesh that covers him from ankle to neck. He may be tired, but he has enormous strength, skill, and uncontrollable rage.
Climax
· Person vs. Fate: When Katniss and Peeta’s final opponent, Cato, get taken out they listen for the sound of a cannon, the sound that signals the Hunger Games are over, they have won, they are safe. A voice then announces that only one winner may be allowed, one of them must end up killing the other. For one endless moment, they consider the thought, then both tributes discard their weapons. Katniss’s mind was in over drive as she knew she had little time before the audience would get bored, and the Gamesmakers would send something that would make the choice for them. In a pouch on Katniss’s belt, there were a handful of poisonous berries. If there were to be no victor…Or they thought there might be no victor. In a tense moment, they hold out their hands to show the world what they are about to do, then Katniss and Peeta bring the berries to their mouths. Claudius Templesmith’s frantic voice announces the words they wanted so badly to hear, “Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victors on the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!”
Falling action:
· Person vs. Society: Katniss had just won the Hunger Games. She is supposed to be safe. But the Capitol is furious about her stunt with the berries, they are supposed to be in control, they orchestrate the Hunger Games, and use it as their weapon against the districts’. Her only defense is that she was madly in love and had no control over her actions. With her life on the line, she has to perform because in the arena, Katniss was the only on who could get hurt by her actions. Their words will be broadcasted live to the entire nation of Panem. Out here, her family, friends, and home could be destroyed if the Capitol wished it. As she believes, the most dangerous part of the Hunger Games is about to begin.
Caesar Flickerman interviews Katniss and Peeta after they have one the games. Their words will be broadcasted live to the entire nation of Panem.
Mood (as it relates to literature in general):
· Mood is what the reader is feeling while they are reading a book. It isn’t what is happening in the story, it’s how you feel about what’s happening in the story.
Mood (as it relates to your novel):
· The feeling that I get from this novel is dark, grim, seriousness, and hope. This is what I feel from the words that I am reading.
Ø “In punishment for the uprising, each of the 12 districts must provide 1 girl and 1 boy, called tributes, to participate. The twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert, to a frozen wasteland. Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute standing wins.
Taking the kids from our Districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch-this is the Capitol's way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. "Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there's nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District 13." (Collins p. 18-19)The mood in this passage-pretty much in the whole book is grim, dark, and brutal. Taking kids from their homes and forcing them to fight to the death is evil. They aren't dying for anything, but entertainment, and for the Capitols show of power.
Ø “For the first time, I allow myself to truly think about the possibility that I might make it home. To fame. To wealth. To my own house in the Victor’s Village. My mother and Prim would live there with me. No more fear of hunger. A new kind of freedom.”(Collins p.310) This passage gave me a feeling of hope for Katniss. It reminded me that even in the darkest of days, your outlook can be positive.
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Ø “You don’t have much competition anywhere. And this time, it’s me who leans in.” (Collins p.302)Although strange, in a story about killing games, the mood frequently evoked from when Katniss and Peeta team up is romantic. I think the tense, fast-paced world makes Peeta and Katniss long for something normal, and not extreme.