thehungergamesbreakdown

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How Effie Shows There's Hope For The Capitol

The Capitol is separated from the districts both by its mountains but also by its culture. They dress strangely, modify their bodies, talk in a strange accent, and have a desensitization towards the violence of the Hunger Games. To the Capitol people, it's really all just a game where the fun of it all covers the brutality of the Games. Most Capitol people don't see the tributes as People until they're crowned Victor. More on this later.

In "Catching Fire", the lavishness of the Capitol is shown at the end of the Victory Tour. Katniss and Peeta attend massive parties in the Capitol, with the last one being in President Snow's mansion. There are tables upon tables of food and Katniss and Peeta are stuffed to the brim, unable to eat another bite. Katniss's prep team approach them and ask why they're not eating and this scene transpires.

"“I have been, but I can't hold another bite,” I say. They all laugh as if that's the silliest thing they've ever heard.

“No one lets that stop them!” says Flavius. They lead us over to a table that holds tiny stemmed wineglasses filled with clear liquid. “Drink this!”

Peeta picks one up to take a sip and they lose it.

“Not here!” shrieks Octavia.

“You have to do it in there,” says Venia, pointing to doors that lead to the toilets. “Or you'll get it all over the floor!”

Peeta looks at the glass again and puts it together. “You mean this will make me puke?”

My prep team laughs hysterically. “Of course, so you can keep eating,” says Octavia. “I've been in there twice already. Everyone does it, or else how would you have any fun at a feast?”

I'm speechless, staring at the pretty little glasses and all they imply. Peeta sets his back on the table with such precision you'd think it might detonate. “Come on, Katniss, let's dance.” (Collins, 38 - 39).

By this point, Katniss had commented she'd come to think of the Capitol people as pets or children. People simply didn't know any better, but this shocked her back to Reality. “You go along, thinking you can deal with it, thinking maybe they're not so bad, and then you—”, (Collins, 39) Peeta said.

But just because the Capitol people have been fed a laced diet of The Games Are Necessary for their Survival and That It's All Okay, doesn't mean they are incapable of breaking out of this mindset. For this, I want to examine Effie Trinket.

Effie Trinket is fascinating. First off, the movie did a wonderful job with her costumes, seriously they're amazing. In the movies, they used the wonderful actress Elizabeth Banks to really develop her character. We first meet Effie during the Reaping, she's the escort for the tributes and is the one who actually draws the names. She's described as "Effie Trinket, District 12's escort, fresh from the Capitol with her scary white grin, pinkish hair, and spring green suit." (Collins 17 - 18).

Effie is this light bubbly character who is insistent on keeping a schedule. In previous years, she hasn't gotten attached to her escortees but this year is different with Katniss and Peeta, where she sticks with them the entire way. It's Effie who warns the two that Haymitch will be their survival, and she stays with their training, the interview, and the scoring, even though she doesn't have to. In the arena, Katniss assumed that it was Effie working alongside Haymitch to talk up sponsorship for her.

Effie can be seen floundering with her idealogy in "Catching Fire" with the announcement of the Quarter Quell. She seems horrified that Both Katniss and Peeta are going back into the arena and thinks it's unfair even though she is at first scared to voice this. I chalk this up to the fact that Effie had allowed herself to get attached to Katniss and Peeta. These were her two Victors who would have their wonderful happy lives and get married and she would get to see them forever - she didn't have to worry about losing them. Then suddenly she is forced to confront the fact she will be losing both. Remember what I said earlier? Capitol people only get attached to their Victors. There were a lot of distressed Capitol citizens when the Quarter Quell was announced with even some screaming for the games to be canceled.

Not only was there Effie but there was also Plutarch and the Props crew who all gave up their cushy lives for the Cause they believed was worth sacrificing their comforts for, they have no tragic backstory - they realized something was wrong and began to work against the system. While the people of the Capitol seem beyond hope, this is proven wrong by these characters.

This is our currently last planned post for this series. This was all actually a final research paper on analyzing The Hunger Games. I hoped you enjoyed and I might return to make more posts in the future.

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What is The Capitol, And Why Does It Suck

For the entire series, the Capitol is an overarching main antagonist - it is the final boss's lair so to speak. This is where President Snow rules over Panem with an iron fist. But what IS the Capitol, exactly? And why do its citizens have such a disconnect from the districts? Before I'm able to properly get into how the Capitol is different from the districts, I want to talk briefly about what the Capitol actually is.

We get our first reference to the Capitol in the book on page six. Katniss is telling us how as a child, she would share her thoughts about everything, "about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol." (Collins, pg 6). Later during the Reaping, we are told that the Capitol roses out of the chaos of the brutal war that destroyed nearly all of America and brought "peace and prosperity to its citizens" (Collins, pg 18). It is the Capitol that enforces the Treaty of Treason and the Hunger Games every year, who never have to subject their children to such horrors.

The Capitol is located in what has to be the Rocky Mountain Range, Katniss tells us as such while describing that "The mountains form a natural barrier between the Capitol and the eastern districts. It is almost impossible to enter from the east except through the tunnels. This geographical advantage was a major factor in the districts losing the war" (Collins, pg 59).

When Katniss and Peeta arrive at the Capitol, they are awestruck. Everything is so bright and glistening in a rainbow of hues with buildings that tower in the air, with oddly dressed people who have never missed a meal in their entire life. Katniss thinks the colors seem too artificial, everything is far too bright. Not only are their fashion and buildings different but the Capitol is far more technologically advanced, with the ability to genetically modify people and heal unfixable injuries like a burst eardrum with no issue at all.

In the movies, they do an excellent job of making the Capitol people look alien with their clothes of flashy colors with undertones of black. They tone down the genetic modifications but still, they do a fantastic job at showing how strange the Capitol's people are. Katniss's prep team is the first set of Capitol people we get to see up close and they are different from any other characters Katniss has interacted with. There are three of them, Venia who has aqua hair and gold tattoos above her eyebrows, Octavia with her entire body died a pea green, and Flavius with orange corkscrew locks and purple lipstick.

Katniss mentioned how even the way the Capitol people talk is different from the districts. They talk high-pitched and barely open their jaws with this accent with "odd vowels, clipped words, and always a hiss on the letter s" (Collins, pg 61).

"The Hunger Games" does an excellent job of making us quickly realize the Capitol is a strange new environment that is cruel and distant from the Districts and completely out of touch with reality. In our next post, I'll look at the different attitudes of the Capitol to the Hunger Games and the two characters who break this norm! See you next time.

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A Clever Drunk Devil.

Haymitch remains one of my favorite characters in the Hunger Games Series due to one fact - he is a clever devil. Haymitch Abernathy is far more clever than any person ever gives credit to. I have a personal theory about Haymitch but it requires to talk about his Games.

Haymitch participated in the Second Quarter Quell, the 50th Hunger Games. According to the Treaty of Treason and pulling a selected Quell out of a locked box, this Hunger Games would have double as many tributes. That meant Haymitch went in the arena with FORTY-SEVEN other kids. We get intimate details about Haymitch's game during the second book because Katniss and Peeta have been rewatching tapes of the previous Hunger Games. Both feel icky about watching Haymitch's tape because they feel like it's a massive invasion of his privacy but it's the only Quarter Queell tape they have.

Katniss describes Haymitch during his Reaping, "Haymitch's name is called last of all. It's more of a shock to see him than my mother. Young. Strong. Hard to admit, but he was something of a looker. His hair dark and curly, those gray Seam eyes bright and, even then, dangerous." (Collins, 91).

His games are a nightmare. The arena is set up in an idyllic meadow with such vibrant colors it almost seems like a dream but everything, and I do mean everything is poisonous and dangerous in a way. The entire game, Haymitch is focused on making his way to the edge of the arena - only to find a dry cliff with jagged rocks below.

During his game, he makes an alliance with the other District Twelve tribute, Maysilee Donner, and only splits with her after Maysilee says there are only five of them left and she doesn't want to kill him. Haymitch doesn't want to kill her either, so they part ways right at the edge of the arena.

This is where his cleverness really gleams. "Haymitch skirts along the edge of the cliff as if trying to figure something out. His foot dislodges a pebble and it falls into the abyss, apparently gone forever. But a minute later, as he sits to rest, the pebble shoots back up beside him. Haymitch stares at it, puzzled, and then his face takes on a strange intensity. He lobs a rock the size of his fist over the cliff and waits. When it flies back out and right into his hand, he starts laughing. (Collins, 92). Haymitch is the first tribute to figure out that the barrier will throw whatever you throw at it back at you. It's the same technology that keeps the tributes from jumping off the roof of the Training Arena.

A few minutes later, Maysilee is fatally injured by mutts and Haymitch runs towards her screams. He can't save her but he holds her hand while she dies. The same day, the rest of the tributes except for a girl from District 1 die. The two have a brutal battle where both are dealt fatal wounds and sooner rather than later, they are simply trying to outlast the other. Haymitch stumbles to the cliffs with his intestines hanging out and the girl is missing an eye.

"Haymitch makes a beeline for his cliff and has just reached the edge when she throws the ax. He collapses on the ground and it flies into the abyss. Now weaponless as well, the girl just stands there, trying to staunch the flow of blood pouring from her empty eye socket. She's thinking perhaps that she can outlast Haymitch, who's starting to convulse on the ground. But what she doesn't know, and what he does, is that the ax will return. And when it flies back over the ledge, it buries itself in her head. The cannon sounds, her body is removed, and the trumpets blow to announce Haymitch's victory." (Collins, 93).

Katniss realizes incredibly quickly that the Capitol was shocked Haymitch figured the barrier out and then later used it as a weapon. It wasn't even supposed to be a weapon! This made the Capitol look stupid and was just as bad as the berry trick Katniss and Peeta pulled. Because of this, Haymitch goes home and two weeks later his entire family and his girlfriend end up dead on President Snow's orders. Haymitch starts drinking.

My theory with Haymitch is that the killing of his loved ones wasn't just to punish him for the barrier stunt. President Snow saw this incredibly young, clever boy and wanted to make sure he could never be a problem ever again. So he murdered his loved ones and Haymitch began drinking. So President Snow won until the very when Haymitch got his hands on two fighters and did what no other mentor was able to do - he brought them both home.

As much as I'd love to continue talking about Haymitch, we'd be here all day. Our next post will be a rundown on the Capitol! See you then.

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An Incredibly Drunk Man Falls Off The Stage. And I love him.

I love Haymitch Abernathy. Second to Katniss, he is my favorite character. The only male tribute of District Twelve at the beginning of "The Hunger Games," he is Katniss and Peeta's mentor. Before I get into why I think Haymitch is one of the most fascinating characters of the Hunger Games series, let's get into who Haymitch is.

Haymitch first walks into the series on page 19, during the Reaping. "He reads the list of past District 12 victors. In seventy-four years, we have had exactly two. Only one is still alive. Haymitch Abernathy, a paunchy, middle-aged man, who at this very moment appears hollering something unintelligible, staggers onto the stage, and falls into the third chair. He's drunk. Very. The crowd responds with its token applause, but he's confused and tries to give Effie Trinket a big hug, which she barely manages to fend off." (Collins, 19.). After Katniss volunteers for Prim, Haymitch announces he likes her and then falls right off the stage, knocking himself unconscious.

With our first interaction with Haymitch, we know that he is a severe alcoholic. This is lightened in the movies, where even if Haymitch is drunk he's still functional. Not here. Peeta says later that Haymitch is always drunk during the Reaping, with Kanitss following immediately that he's drunk every day. This man is hardly functioning outside of when he gets his act together briefly during the 74th Hunger Games.

Haymitch's alcoholism is his coping mechanism to deal with what he went through in his Hunger Games, the second Quarter Quell. Haymitch has been drunk since he was 16. He has no wife, he has no children, and his only friends are fellow tributes he gets to see during the yearly Hunger Games.

Every single set of kids Haymitch has mentored has died in the games. It's no wonder he turned to the bottle. Katniss and Peeta actually have to 'prove" themselves for him to take them seriously.

"So, you're supposed to give us advice," I say to Haymitch.

"Here's some advice. Stay alive," says Haymitch, and then bursts out laughing. I exchange a look with Peeta before I remember I'm having nothing more to do with him. I'm surprised to see the hardness in his eyes. He generally seems so mild.

"That's very funny," says Peeta. Suddenly he lashes out at the glass in Haymitch's hand. It shatters on the floor, sending the blood-red liquid running toward the back of the train. "Only not to us."

Haymitch considers this a moment, then punches Peeta in the jaw, knocking him from his chair. When he turns back to reach for the spirits, I stab my knife into the table between his hand and the bottle, barely missing his finger. I brace myself to deflect his hit, but it doesn't come. Instead, he sits back and squints at us.

"Well, what's this?" says Haymitch. "Did I actually get a pair of fighters this year?" (Collins, 56 - 57)

A few sentences later, Haymitch cuts a deal with the two of them. "All right, I'll make a deal with you. You don't interfere with my drinking, and I'll stay sober enough to help you." says Haymitch. "but you have to do exactly what I say." (Collins, 58). From then on, Haymitch is functionally sober and does work to help Katniss and Peeta the best way he can. He becomes a valuable member of the District 12 team and works incredibly hard to get Katniss, and then Peeta both home. In the next post, we'll talk more about Haymitch's brilliance but for now, I'll leave you with my favorite fact about him.

He retires to District Twelve after the rebellion to raise Geese. Geese! I like to think he raises Canadians and names the mean one Katniss. Regardless, what a legend.

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Peeta Mallark, The Best Boy

Peeta Mallark really is the best character in the entire series. No, I'm serious - Katniss told me herself. Peeta takes a while to get into the story. I mean a while as in the first twenty-five pages but between meeting Gale and Prim and everyone at the Hob and Madge, Peeta takes a while! His first moment on the page is him being reaped right after Katniss' sister, Prim. Katniss's first thought? "Oh, No." (Collins, 25).

Peeta's description comes shortly after this, "Medium height, stocky build, ashy blond hair that falls in waves over his forehead. The shock of the moment is registering on his face, you can see his struggle to remain emotionless, but his blue eyes show the alarm I've seen so often in prey." (Collins, 25-26). Peeta is from the merchant class of District Twelve, his father owns the Baker. It's also revealed that he has two brothers but nether volunteers.

Katniss quickly reveals why she had such a reaction to Peeta's reaping, Right after her father died when the money had dried up, Katniss's entire family was on the brink of survival. Katniss was 11 years old in the pouring rain, going from house to house trying to sell baby clothes. She ended up going through the bins but she found nothing. The bakery's wife yells at her when she sees her and Katniss backs off. The scene goes as follows. "The realization that I'd have nothing to take home finally suck in. My knees buckled and I slid down the tree trunk to its roots. I was too much. I was too sick and weak and tired, oh, so tired. Let them call the Peaccekeeprs and take us to the community home, I thought. Or better yet, let me die right here in the rain.

There was a clatter in the bakery and I heard the woman screaming again and the sound of a blow, and I vaguely wondered what was going on. Feet sloshed toward me through the mud and I thought, It's here. She's coming to drive me away with a stick. But it wasn't here. It was the boy. In his arms, he carried two large loaves of bread that must have fallen into the fire because the crusts were scorched black.

His mother was yelling, "Feed it to the pig, you stupid creature! Why not? No one decent will buy burnt bread!"

He began to tear off chunks from the burned parts and toss them in the trough, and the front bell runa dn the mother disappeared to help a customer.

The boy never even glanced my way, but I was watching him. Because of the bread, because of that read weal that stood out on his cheekbones. What had she hit him with? My parents never hit us. I couldn't even imagine it. The boy took one look back at the bakery as if checking that the coast was clear, then his attention back on the pig, he threw a loaf of bread in my direction. The second quickly followed, and he sloshed back to the bakery, closing the kitchen door tightly behind him.

I stared at the loaves in disbelief. They were fine, perfect really, except for the burned areas. Did he mean for me to have them? He must have. Because they were at my feet. Before anyone could witness what had happened I shoved the loaves up my shirt, wrapped the hunting jacket tightly about me, and walked swiftly away." (Collins, 38 - 39).

Katniss tells us in the next passage that the loaves get them to the start of spring where Dandelions start to bloom and Katniss realizes she can figure out how to feed her family. She considers this to be a debt to Peeta, the boy with the bread.

It's a recurring thought of hers in the arena that she constantly has another thing to owe Peeta and that she is never going to be able to repay this debt and finally be able to be okay if she has to kill him. Plot twist, she never really is okay with the idea of killing Peeta, even when the two victor thing is revoked. Then she hates the idea of him killing himself and that's when she brings up the berries.

Peeta might be considered to be "one of Katniss' love interests" but Peeta is so much better than that. Peeta is more than half the reason Katniss survived the first game because if Katniss is the head, logical and survival-driven, then Peeta is the heart of their team, the charmer and emotional know-it-all - skills Katniss struggles with.

For most of the book, Katniss has no idea what Peeta's deal is. She has this recurring thought that he is constantly trying to trick her or even backstab her in one way or another but she's always wrong. It's kind of amusing to watch on your second reread.

In the next post, I'll talk examine the myth, the man the legend himself - Haymitch.

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A Katniss Headcanon I Don't Understand

This might ruffle some feathers in a certain section of the Hunger Games fandom. I first noticed it this year, during my reread of the series and the so called "Hunger Game Renissance" that began with the excitmetn for the new movie. I won't be dropping blogs but I've seen numerous posts questioning if Katniss was Aromantic or even stating that she is. And I do not agree with this.

To start, we need some context. What does the word Aromantic mean? According to WebMD, Aromantics are people who "have little or no romantic attraction to others. They may or may not feel sexual attraction". They are essentially on the opposite scale of Asexual. Now there are people who say Katniss is aromantic and while I'm not going to say that they shouldn't think that, I am going to think they are wrong.

Katniss clearly has strong romantic feelings for Peeta. While she is confused by them during "The Hunger Games", she openly said "I don't know. The closer we get to District Twelve, the more confused I get," (Collins, 372). I believe that Katniss' stressful situation and the true blend of what needed to be done for the camera but also what was real mixed in Katniss's head and she couldn't tell what was real or not. Hence her confusion. Plus on top of all of this, she is a Sixteen-year-old girl!

It is incredibly telling that in "Catching Fire", whenever Peeta and Katniss sleep in the same bed, neither of them has their usual nightmares. That's how safe they feel with each other.

After everything, in District 13 after Peeta has been taken captive - Katniss has to be sedated at the mere thought that Peeta is being tortured. She comes to a new understanding with her mother after feeling such pain, because her mother shut down after her father's death. The pain she feels when Peeta comes back and was hijacked by the

Then at the very end of it all, the two marry and stay together in Victor Village. It's a sweet, kind ending for them that feels just right. Saying that Katniss is aromantic erases how much she truly cares about Peeta, and I think diminishes Katniss' own autonomy to heal as a child that grew up in a world where her children were always at risk of being reaped. She finally was able to heal after the end.

Is Katniss aromantic? No, certainly not. Is Katniss asexual? You got some evidence pointing there, but that is a topic for another day. This is our last post dissecting Katniss Everdeen, now we move on to the bread boy himself, Peeta Mellark.

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I Like the Movies, I promise. Just not Right Now.

And this is when we move into a different category of Katniss. The Jennifer Lawerence Katniss. You know her, pale skin and black hair. Look at my profile picture. There she is. I'm going to start this with a disclaimer. I like the movies but I like the book Katniss a lot better.

In theory, the movie Katniss Everdeen should be the same as the book, right? Wrong. The two most glaring issues are tied to her appearance. This isn't Jennifer Lawerence's fault and she did the best she could but that doesn't mean I can't criticize the casting directors for these decisions.

Starting off with the big one - Jennifer Lawerence is white. She is as pale as milk and book Katniss is not. It was mentioned in the previous post but Katniss has olive skin, straight black hair, and grey eyes.

The perfection of this was that "Katniss was someone that everyone could relate to, regardless of race. Whether Caucasian or Hispanic or Indian or biracial, this was a character to whom people could relate. With dark hair, olive skin, and gray eyes, Katniss fit the appearance of various different people." (Schueler). But no. The casting director went with a white woman. Apparently, the criteria for the audition were "should be Caucasian, between ages 15 and 20, who could portray someone ‘underfed but strong,’ and ‘naturally pretty underneath her tomboyishness.". Absolutely tragic.

The second thing is her age. Jennifer Lawerence was twenty-two when the first film was made. Katniss is supposed to be a sixteen-year-old girl. Have you seen a 16-year-old? They don't look 22. That made Katniss look older than she should have been. Katniss is a child, that's one reason why There's a post here that shows pictures of Jennifer Lawerence and Josh Hutcherson when they were the ages of their characters - it was so jarring how you knew on sight they were kids. This made that lose some oompf.

Another main issue with The Hunger Games movies is that we lose Katniss's narration. In the entire book trilogy, we are with Katniss as she navigates her life and the rebellion. This is stripped in the movie, for reasonable reasons - voice narration is difficult to pull off in film. According to the CMD (Creative Media Design), the main issue with voice-over narration is "many see with a voice-over narration in films is it defeats the purpose of storytelling through imagery, and even the characters’ own dialogue. Some will even say narration is only used to move along an otherwise stagnant story or one that’s poorly directed." (The Editors of CMD). Regardless, Katniss's voice was cut from the story which is a real shame! There are a lot of details that Katniss gives us in her narration. Without Katniss telling us things, we the viewers have to be explained things that Katniss already knows which makes Katniss appear a little dumb even if it was just for the viewers.

Another thing the movies leave out is the physical damage Katniss endures in the arena. When she causes the explosion to destroy the Cornucopia, Katniss was so close that she ended up blowing up her left eardrum and going deaf. "Gradually, subtly, the ringing in my right ear diminishes until it's gone entirely. I find myself pawing at my left ear periodically, trying to clean away whatever deadens its ability to collect sounds. If there's an improvement, it's left undetectable...The more time that passes, the less hopeful I am that this is an injury that will heal." (Collins, 228-229). Later this injury is fixed by the Capital through corrective surgeries. But regardless - they erase her temporary disability. Would it be so hard to add commentary from Ceasar Flickerman to say "Ooohh I think she might have lost hearing in her left ear!" after observing her turn her head constantly to the left?

One last note is when Rue dies in the film, Katniss comforts her by saying she will be alright. But Katniss thinks to herself in the book that there is no point in saying this since Rue is not a fool - "There's no point in comforting words, in telling her she'll be all right. She's not fool." (Collins, 233.). This was done to soften Katniss's character but this is just something she wouldn't do. It's out of her character.

I like these movies, I promise. They're incredibly well done and I think they do a good job adapting "The Hunger Games" but at the same time, I think they could do better because these two Katniss are vastly different from each other. There is so much of Katniss's was lost when she was transferred to the silver screen and that's so frustrating to me.

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Katniss, Oh Katniss.

Katniss Everdeen is such an iconic heroine. She sparked so many young girls to pick up archery as a sport. However, there are two different Katniss that exist - the book Katniss and the Movie Katniss. In this post, we will be talking about Book Katniss today.

Katniss is our narrator in the books. It is the first point of view, we get her thoughts and everything through her eyes. Katniss is an incredibly blunt narrator - she tells things exactly how she views them with her opinions mixed in. She definitely suffers from C-PTSD (Complex PTSD) from growing up in Panem.

Names are important in "The Hunger Games". Most of the characters have Roman names, like Plutarch and Cinna, and others have plants. Katniss reveals that she is named after the water plant Sagittaria, otherwise known as "Katniss" or "Arrowheads". The plants grow these potato-like tubers that are edible. Her father taught her that "As long as you can find yourself, you'll never starve" (Collins, 52). From what we get from her name, Katniss is a born survivor and has a connection with her main weapon - arrows.

Second, we can look at her at Katniss' appearance. This is established on page 8 as Katniss describes her friend, Gale. "He could be my brother. Straight black hair, olive skin, we even have the same gray eyes. But we're not related, at least not closely. Most of the families who work the mines remember one another this way." (Collins, 8). Katniss reveals in the same breath that her mother and Prim do not look like her with their light hair and blue eyes. This is because Katniss's mother is from the merchant class.

While there are no official maps of Panama, Katniss ensures we know exactly where District Twelve is. She said, "District 12 was in a place called Appalachia. Even hundreds of years ago, they mined coal here, which is why our miners have to dig so deep.” (Collins, pg 41). Appalachia is a region of the USA that is set in the Appalachian mountains, it makes up "423 counties across 13 states and spans 206,000 square miles" (Appalachian Regional Commission). Most people argue that District Twelve is either in West Virginia or eastern Kentucky on details about the weather and fauna and flora but Collins left the details muddled.

While this is complete headcanon ("ideas held by fans of series that are not explicitly supported by sanctioned text or other media" Merriam-Webster Dictionary), a lot of readers take the location of District 12 and Katniss's description to believe that she is indigenous or a part of the Melungeon people, a marginalized mixed-race Appalachian community. Regardless of whether you believe in this headcanon or not, Katniss's olive skin and grey eyes are an important distinction in her community that she is from the Seam, the poorest part of District 12.

Katniss in the first book is a rough and traumatized young girl. I feel like a lot of people focus on her bitterness at the world. Katniss doesn't trust anything at face value even if she's not in a stressful situation. She wants her family to be safe and well-fed, no matter what it costs her personally. Poaching is a high offense in District 12 after all and she has been going in the woods since she was 11 to feed her family. What most people forget about Katniss is that she is King. She loves her sister, Prim, more than life itself and she tries again and again to make sure she can have some semblance of a childhood then when she meets Rue in the arena, she cannot help but ally her - mostly because she reminds her of Prim.

"I can almost hear Haymitch groaning as I team up with this wispy child. But I want her. Because she's a survivor, and I trust her, and why not admit it? She reminds me of Prim." (Collins,

In later books, Katniss allows the circle of people she cares about to grow. In "Catching Fire", she comes across two women named Bonnie and Twill, on the run from District Eight to the supposed District Thirteen. Despite the fact it might get her in deep trouble because of the Capitol watching her, Katniss helps them.

"First I give them all the food in my pack, grain and dried beans mostly, but there's enough to hold them for a while if they're careful. Then I take Twill out in the woods and try to explain the basics of hunting. She's got a weapon that if necessary can convert solar energy into deadly rays of power, so that could last indefinitely. When she manages to kill her first squirrel, the poor thing is mostly a charred mess because it took a direct hit to the body. But I show her how to skin and clean it. With some practice, she'll figure it out. I cut a new crutch for Bonnie. Back at the house, I peel off an extra layer of socks for the girl, telling her to stuff them in the toes of her boots to walk, then wear them on her feet at night. Finally I teach them how to build a proper fire." (Collins, pg 68).

Katniss is a fascinating character to study because of her complexities. This is barely scratching the surface of her character. In the next post, I'll be examining the Movie Version of Katniss and how she differs from the Book Katniss. See you then.

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The Games Breakdown

With our overview of the novels and the genre set, it is time to actually talk about the Hunger Games as they are in the book. For a minute, assume you have not read or have access to that plot description on the back of the book. Go into the Hunger Games completely blind.

Aside from the title, the first mention of the Games is on page 1 in the first paragraph is the plot hook. It's the mention of what Katniss calls 'the reaping'. "When I wake, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping." (Collins, pg 1.).

From there, the actual first mention of the games by name comes on page 7 as the line "I almost forgot! Happy Hunger Games!" (Collins, pg 7) but still they are left undefined. The Reaping looms over Katniss and her sister in these first few pages. From there, there is an explanation of the tesserae system (grain and oil for more names in the bowl), and the first actual mention of what the games are coming on pages 18 - 19.

"The rules of the Hunger Games are simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must provide one girl and one 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." (Collins, pg 18).

The Reaping everyone has been talking about prior to this point is the ritual of drawing those two kids' names. An escort from the capitol arrives, picks the names out of a fish bowl, and whisks the kids off to Capitol. Katniss sums up the message of the Hunger Games simply in her next little paragraph, "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 one finger, we will destroy every last one of you." (Collins, pg 18-19).

The Hunger Games in the story are horrific. Other than the people of the Capitol, they are overall seen as a terrible, cruel act by the Capitol. And that's how they're meant to be seen by the audience. We are meant to be horrified by this government's actions because these are children. Often times pulled from the poorest areas of the district. Prior to this, Katniss mentioned that "The reaping system is unfair, with the poor getting the worst of it". So not only is the Hunger Games a device by the Capitol to prevent rebellion, and kill children, but it is also a way for to create tensions between the poor and the barely-doing-well citizens of Panem.

In our next three posts, I'll examine our heroine - Katniss Everdeen.

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Time to Get Dystopian

With the general details of the Hunger Games, with its release dates and movies covered, it's time to get talking about the actual meat of the series - the plot.

For the most basic plot description of the first book, "The Hunger Games". According to the back of my handy edition, "In the Ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love."

So right away, we know two things, well three. One - we are following a sixteen-year-old girl named Katniss Everdeen. Two - This is set in North America after the doom of presumedly Our Civilization. Three - We are in Dystopia Territory. Now what is a Dystopia?

While incredibly popular in the early 2010s, Dystopia has kind of fallen off the popular bandwagon so allow me to quickly define them. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a Dystopia is "an imaginary place where people are unhappy and usually afraid because they are not treated fairly". The opposite of this is a Utopia, where everything is supposedly perfect. Several Examples of Dystopian Literature are "Nineteen Eighty-Four" by George Orwell, "The Giver," by Lois Lowry, and "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury. Readers going into "The Hunger Games" are geared up for seeing the worst - children forced to kill other children.

The next post will be breaking down what the Hunger Games are in the series, as the actual plot device. See you then!

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Overview of the Hunger Games.

All right, folks. Let's get started. So to properly break down "The Hunger Games", we first need to define what it is. So what is the Hunger Games? "The Hunger Games" is a trilogy of Young Adult novels that were written by Suzanne Collins. The first book of the series, amply named "The Hunger Games" was published way back in 2008, about fifteen years ago. The next two books, "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay" were published in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

Then in 2012, Lionsgate made the first book into a film, with Catching Fire and Mockingjay Part I and Part II coming out in 2013, and 2014 with the series ending in 2015. After a decade without publishing a single Hunger Games-related book, Suzanne Collins released "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" in 2020, a prequel to the series about antagonist President Snow. The movie version will be coming out on November 17th of this very year.

Both book and movie series were immensely popular. I can remember it being all the rage back when I was in middle school. Even now, popularity has picked back up with the new movie coming out. I'll be discussing more plot-relevant stuff in my next post. See you there.

One final note, as a PSA of sorts, in this series, I will be mainly focusing on the first book and the first movie however there will be mentions of the other two books and movies mentioned if needed.