Hunger+Games

Sofia Torres Da Silva - 8 Silver Setting: Panem

Panem is the name of the country where Katniss lives with her family, a country that – after a series of vague disasters – rose from the ashes of North America. Droughts, storms, fires, war. We learn the history of Panem, and the Hunger Games, and the thirteen districts in the first chapter from the mayor. The uprising of the Districts is known as the "Dark Days". After the destruction of District 13, the Treaty of Treason was signed to end the conflict, and the Hunger Games were instituted to remind the districts that the uprising, must never be repeated.

District 12

District 12 is a very poor coal-mining district located in the region formerly known as Appalachia. Katniss and her family live in the poor section of District 12, the Seam, where the coal-miners live and work. There is also the Hob, the black market. The district is surrounded by a sometimes-electrified fence from woodlands. The poverty of District 12 is often contrasted with the wealth of the Capitol.

The Capitol

Speaking of which, the Capitol is a shining city of wealth and grandeur city located where the Rockies used to be. The people of the Capitol are shallow, speak in a funny, affected accent and value surface appearances, plastic surgery, and entertainment. Being one of the richer districts, they also view the Games as television entertainment. Katniss, of course, despises the place.

Characters: Katniss: A 16 year old girl who had to provide for her family ever since her father died. Her mother kinda went crazy after her father's death. She loves her little sister, Prim, more than anything. Katniss would hunt outside of the ' district ' were she is suppose to stay in. She goes out of the fenced area of her town to hunt with her longtime family friend, Gale. Later on it does reveal some intention of feeling for Gale from Katniss but it probably won't be revealed till the second book. Katniss is known in the book as: poor, determined, stubborn, doesn't smile often, doesn't trust people easily, suspicious and lovable. She is also known as the 'Girl on fire'.

Peeta: He is the son of a baker. His dad actually wanted to marry Katniss's mum long time ago, but ended up with a witch of a wife. Peeta had a crush on Katniss ever since he was little. One time when Katniss was hard on food because of her father's death Peeta being the son of a baker burned a piece of bread accidental that no one would want to buy. He got hit by his mum for it and was told to give it to the pigs but gave it to Katniss who was there instead. Peeta is entered into the hunger games. Peeta is a determined, strong, kind-hearted, and love crazy boy who is given the nickname 'The boy with the bread'. In the huger games although he was competing against Katniss he did everything he could so she could win.

Gale – Katniss's best friend, whom she met while hunting in the forest four years prior to the beginning of the novel. Gale is the oldest child in his family, and also feels responsible for feeding his mother and his siblings. Katniss feels a connection with him upon their first meeting. Katniss thinks Gale can have any girl he wants, which she can tell "by the way girls whisper when he walks by in school." Gale has strong opinions about the Capitol, which he often voices to Katniss in the safety of the woods, and which cause him to have a distaste for those who are better off. He is 18, has black hair, olive skin, and gray eyes.

Primrose "Prim" Everdeen - Katniss Everdeen's sister. She is, against all odds, picked as the female tribute from District 12 at her first reaping, but Katniss volunteers in her place. Katniss notes that many people seem to genuinely like Prim. Prim is described as being very pretty, with a face "fresh as a raindrop, as lovely as the primrose for which she was named", with light hair and blue eyes. She is 12 years old.

Mrs. Everdeen - Katniss and Prim's mother. Though said to be once very beautiful, she now looks worn and beaten-down. The daughter of the town, Mrs. Everdeen grew up in the merchant class; however, she married a coal miner. Katniss has little respect for her mother now, as after Katniss's father died, Mrs. Everdeen sank into depression and would have let the family starve to death were it not for Katniss's resourcefulness. She now works as a healer, but Katniss still holds her in low regard and refuses to trust her.

Haymitch – As of the beginning of the book, he is the only living District 12 winner of the Hunger Games. Because of this, he assumes the role of mentor for both of District 12's tributes. Haymitch is, until Peeta and Katniss force him to sober up, a drunk, after years of training hopeless tributes. He is described as paunchy and middle-aged. During the Games, he "speaks" to Katniss through his giving of gifts, or lack thereof, from sponsors.

Cinna - Katniss's stylist in the Capitol before the Hunger Games begin. Cinna, in comparison to the majority of Capitol residents, looks very normal and natural: his hair is "close cropped" and "appears to be its natural shade of brown", and he has green eyes. He claims to have requested working with a tribute from District 12, though as of now, it is not known why. Throughout the novel, he becomes good friends with Katniss.

Effie Trinket - The Capitol's "representative" for District 12. She is very unhappy with her post because District 12 is the poorest of the districts, and she wishes to be moved to a better one. This results in her consistently making horrible remarks to Katniss and Peeta, while thinking she is being polite. Effie is almost always bright and bubbly, has a "scary" white grin, speaks with a Capitol accent, and wears a bright pink wig.

Story: The Beginning: Part 1: The Tributes In the first third of the book, we are introduced to Katniss Everdeen. Though she's only a teenager, she's a tough hunter who puts food on her family's table. Her father is dead and she lives with her mother and sister Prim in District 12 in the country of Panem. She hunts with a guy named Gale who is cute and might even have a thing for her, but who knows? Katniss is not very in touch with her mushy side Every year the Capitol of Panem hosts an event called the Hunger Games where two "tributes" – a boy and a girl – are drafted from each of the twelve districts to be brought to an arena and fight to the death. Only one person can win. This year, unfortunately, Katniss's little sister is selected for the Hunger Games, so Katniss volunteers to take her place. Also selected is Peeta Mellark, the baker's son, who maybe has a teeny tiny crush on Katniss. Maybe? After the reaping (that's the tribute selection process), Katniss and Peeta are whisked away to the Capitol to prepare for the Games We meet their support team, which is primarily comprised of Haymitch ( their mentor, former winner of The Hunger Games and also a drunk), Effie (their advisor ), and Cinna and Portia (their stylists). During the opening ceremonies, Cinna and Portia dress Katniss and Peeta in flames and they draw much attention to themselves. During training, Katniss reveals her archery skills to the Gamemakers and recives an amazing score, however Peeta gets a lower score and asks to be coached separately. Peeta also announces in an interview that he has a mega crush on Katniss. Is this all just a strategy to gain audience support and sponsors? Katniss thinks so, but it works well for her too, so she plays along. Read more to find out !!!

Relationships: Katniss and Gale's Relationship: All the way through the book Gale and Katniss are growing apart. It's natural; they no longer need each other for survival as they did in D12 (D12= District 12). Now that they aren't bound as tightly because of that, the differences in opinion (about how to deal with the Capitol) and the type of person they are. Gale is a rebel right through, Katniss was more thrown into a position of rebellion unintentionally became more clear. So they grow apart a little bit. But Gale still loves Katniss and she still loves him, not 'in' love, just love. How can they not?!... Find out!

Peeta's and Katniss's Relationship: Peeta's and Katniss's relationships impacts the hunger games, but in a good way. i think that the whole reason the gamemaker said their could be 2 winners was because of their relationship. If peeta never announced his love for katniss that probably wouldn't have happened. On another level, though Katniss is left uncertain about the reasons for much of the time, her life is actually saved by Peeta by the both of them being able to win the 74th annual 'Hunger Games' which amounts to a pretty enormous impact as well.

Issues: The book did make me re-think about a lot of things written in the book. for example: like will Gale ever get over katniss, what the 3 fingered salute mean't and much more. In the Hunger Games, i would say that there were not much problems that you would point out. Its a very clear book with no issues.

Personal Response: I personally adore this book. This is probably one of my all-time favorite books. I found this book extremely interesting and incredibly suspense-building. Suzanne Collins wrote this book in present tense, not like most books in the past tense. This made everything seem even more real, more dangerous, more exciting. I loved reading this book and i recommend it to anyone who hasn’t read it yet.