Fictional world of The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games universe is the fictional world which serves as the setting for The Hunger Games, a trilogy of young-adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins, and the movie series that has been adapted from the novels. The series takes place in the fictional nation of Panem, which was created at an unspecified time in the future after a series of ecological disasters and a devastating war. Panem's government is based in the Capitol, which rules over its thirteen districts.

Panem

Panem/The Capitol
Genre	Science fiction Post-apocalyptic
Type	Totalitarian police state
Ruler	President Coriolanus Snow (Hunger Games Trilogy), President Ravinstill (The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes)
Ethnic group(s)	North American: Mixed diaspora Demonym(s): People of Panem
Notable locations	The Capitol   District 1 (industry luxury)   District 2 (mining construction aggregate, industry masonry, industry military, industry law enforcement)   District 3 (industry electronics, industry automobiles, industry firearms)   District 4 (agriculture aquaculture, industry fishing)   District 5 (industry power, hydroelectric)   District 6 (industry transportation)   District 7 (agriculture forestry, industry lumber)   District 8 (industry textiles)   District 9 (agriculture grain)   District 10 (agriculture livestock)   District 11 (agriculture fruits, agriculture vegetables, agriculture cotton)   District 12 (mining coal, medicine [after the successful second rebellion])   District 13 (formerly a district, became independent.) (mining graphite, industry military, industry nuclear)
Official language	English

The word panem is the accusative singular form of Latin word for 'bread' and was derived from the Latin saying panem et circenses, meaning 'bread and circuses'. The phrase is attributed to the Roman poet Juvenal and refers to the use of entertainment and plentiful food to make citizens give up their freedoms and political power. Panem consists of a capital city, called 'the Capitol', located in the Rocky Mountains. The Capitol is surrounded by twelve outlying numbered Districts. There is also a thirteenth District that was allegedly destroyed before the series's beginning. The country of Panem is smaller geographically than North America today, and characters in the Hunger Games story state that large areas of land across the world were lost due to rising sea levels.

Panem is a totalitarian society and a police state modeled somewhat on ancient Rome. Districts 1-12 are subservient to the Capitol. The Districts provide resources to the Capitol in exchange for protection by and from the Capitol's army of "Peacekeepers". The Peacekeepers brutally control all riots and protect the dictatorial President Coriolanus Snow. They also attend the "reapings", where participants are selected for the Hunger Games. At the start of the series, Panem has been ruled for more than 25 years by President Snow.

Seventy-four years before the series's beginning, a civil war was waged against the Capitol. The uprising was led by District 13, which was a center of military–industrial production. The Capitol put down the rebellion and supposedly destroyed District 13 and its residents. To further punish the rebellious districts and discourage future rebellion, the government instituted an annual violent pageant known as the Hunger Games, for which each district is compelled to provide two 'tributes': one male and one female, aged between 12 and 18, who are chosen by lottery. The tributes are sent to an arena and forced to fight to the death until a single victor remains.

In the final novel of the series, Mockingjay, it is revealed that District 13's population had not been wiped out, but had instead gone underground. There, District 13's president, Alma Coin heads a faction of rebels planning a further assault against the Capitol.

The Capitol

The Capitol is populated by citizens who have surrendered their civic responsibility and capacity for self-governance in return for "bread and circuses". Removed from the deprivation and oppression of the districts, the pampered and hedonistic civilians are generally preoccupied with flamboyant and extravagant fashion, parties, and mass entertainment. The Capitol is a lot wealthier than the districts, and it derives most of the benefits of advanced technologies such as computers, hover planes and high-speed trains. Visiting tributes, who have grown up with the constant threat of starvation and poverty, are shocked by the wasteful decadence in the Capitol. For example, at parties, it is common to serve many more dishes than one person could normally consume and to provide emetic beverages so that guests can continue eating.

Citizens of the Capitol are described as culturally distinct from those of the districts. They speak with characteristic accents and choose first names of ancient Greco-Roman derivation. The Capitol's architecture is a modernized version of ancient Roman architecture: in the Hunger Games novels, The Capitol's buildings are described as "candy-colored." The fashions of the Capitol are depicted as exotic and ostentatious, and its citizens dye their skin and hair with vivid colors, have many tattoos, and undergo extensive surgical alteration. The Capitol accent is said to sound "silly" and effete to people from the districts; it is described as "high-pitched with clipped tones and odd vowels". The letter s is a hiss and the tone rises at the end of every sentence, as if the speaker is asking a question.

Residents of the Capitol cannot be chosen as tributes for the Hunger Games because the Games were instituted as a punishment for the twelve remaining districts of Panem for their failed rebellion. The Games are an annual cause for celebration in the Capitol; citizens gamble on the tributes and sponsor their favorites in the arena, providing water, food, weapons, and other necessary provisions. Past victors often become celebrities in the Capitol and their districts. Despite the bloodthirsty nature of the Games, the people of the Capitol are vulnerable to sentimentality and melodrama and becoming emotionally invested in the tributes. This tendency is exploited and manipulated by Katniss and Peeta, important characters in Hunger Games.

Avox

An Avox is a person who has been punished for being a rebel against the Capitol, a traitor, or a deserter. Most Avoxes were likely hunted and caught by the Peacekeepers of their respective districts. Avoxes have their tongues removed, rendering them mute. They are often used as domestic servants and waiters upon tributes and Capitol citizens. It is also suggested that Avoxes are charged with the day-to-day maintenance of the Capitol and work shifts in the Transfer network under the city. They are generally not spoken to unless being given orders and spend their lives serving the Capitol.

Peacekeepers

Cosplay of a Peacekeeper at San Diego Comic-Con 2014.

Peacekeepers are the military, internal security and law enforcement organization in Panem. They wear black-trimmed white uniforms consisting of a "police helmet" (which resembles a police motorcycle helmet in the first film and full-face motorcycle helmets in later films), a standing collar, a waist-length tunic, and trousers tucked into high black boots. In the Capitol, they wear similar but more formal and ceremonial attire. This uniform is of the same basic design, with a black sash and beret with the gold Capitol seal. In The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, their appearance is different from the first film; they wear a full helmet, darker visor, and heavier-looking armor, and carry automatic rifles. Peacekeepers are most often born in District 2 or the Capitol itself, and they must serve for 20 years before getting married or having children. Due to Capitol citizens' extravagant lifestyle, they typically join only to avoid punishment for a crime.

Peacekeepers maintain order and suppress dissidence through coercion and brutality. The force in each region is led by an appointed Head Peacekeeper of the district. The Peacekeepers ensure that the laws of the Capitol are obeyed and publicly punish those who break them. Flogging is the most frequent punishment, but the pillory and hanging are imposed for more serious crimes. Peacekeepers are usually equipped with submachine guns to discourage disobedience in the districts. Since the Capitol considers District 12 a minimal threat, the Peacekeepers stationed there are less brutal and easily bribed with black market goods such as poached animals. But in Catching Fire, after Katniss Everdeen's and Peeta Mellark's defiance of the Capitol in the 74th Hunger Games, the Head Peacekeeper is replaced by a more brutal peacekeeper, Romulus Thread. In Catching Fire, Thread destroys the Hob, where black market trades take place. Thread also whipped Gale Hawthorne in the District 12 square as a punishment. Throughout the book series, Peacekeepers use the train and hovercraft for transportation. The films show the Peacekeepers using armored trucks, submachine guns, pistols, and armed hovercraft. In Mockingjay Part II, during the battle for the Capitol, they use machine guns and rocket launchers, weapons previously unseen in the films. They also have access to an air defense network (seen in both Mockingjay Part I and II) and use a fortified bunker in District 2 (nicknamed "The Nut" by the rebels) as a command and control center.

Muttations

Throughout the series, the government of Panem uses genetic engineering to create animals that are used in Hunger Games or that serve Panem's political purposes. All of those listed below, excluding grooslings, are examples of these so-called muttations.

Jabberjay

Jabberjays are small, crested blackbirds created by the Capitol during the Dark Days. They were originally used to spy on rebels because they possess the capability to remember and precisely mimic human speech. The rebels eventually realized this and gave the birds disinformation. When the Capitol discovered this, the birds were abandoned in the wilderness, expected to die because they were exclusively male. However, they bred with female mockingbirds and created a new hybrid species, called a mockingjay.

During the third Quarter Quell in Catching Fire, the Capitol uses jabber jays in the arena to demoralize the tributes by repeating faked screams of their loved ones. Finnick hears his lover Annie, Katniss hears her sister Prim, and her mother, and Gale and Gale's family. Katniss attempts to shoot the screaming birds but eventually gives up.

Mockingjay

For other uses, see Mockingjay (disambiguation).

For the third book of the series, see Mockingjay.

Mockingjays are black and white birds that resulted from the mating of engineered jabberjays with female mockingbirds. After the emergence of mockingjays, their jabberjay progenitors became, as Katniss states in Catching Fire, "as rare and tough as rocks". The Mockingjay does not have the ability to enunciate words, but it can perfectly copy a melody in a whistling tone. District 11 has an especially large mockingjay population, and they are used there to signal the end of the workday.

The mockingjay is a source of embarrassment to the Capitol because of its accidental creation. Because of this, it becomes a symbol of anti-Capitol resistance and the rebellion. At the beginning of The Hunger Games, Katniss wears a mockingjay pin given to her by Madge Undersee In the movie she buys the mockingjay pin in The Hob. In Catching Fire, Plutarch Heavensbee shows Katniss that his pocket watch displays a holographic mockingjay. In Mockingjay, Katniss is given the identity of "the Mockingjay" as an inspirational figure for the rebels, wearing a mockingjay-inspired costume.

Tracker jackers

Tracker jackers are wasps engineered to be extremely aggressive, tracking their victims and stinging them with extremely painful, hallucinogenic and potentially fatal venom. Katniss drops a tracker jacker nest on several tributes during her first Hunger Games (the 74th Hunger Games), killing two of them, including Glimmer of District 1. Katniss and several other tributes hallucinate when they are stung. The Capitol uses tracker jacker venom in a process of torture and brainwashing known as "hijacking". "Hijacking targets the part of the brain that controls fear and confusion in order to distort the victim's memories. The technique is used on Peeta in Mockingjay, in an attempt to turn him into an assassin to kill Katniss.

Grooslings

The groosling is an edible wild bird the size of a wild turkey. Katniss hunts it in the first book of the series. Rue states that it is commonly found in District 11. They are spotted and hunted frequently in the 74th Hunger Games. They are, according to Katniss, fatty and delicious, like turkey.

Wolf muttations

Wolf "muttations" or "mutts" are engineered wolf-like creatures that appear at the end of the 74th Hunger Games to draw Katniss, Peeta, and Cato into a final fight. These creatures are hybrids created by mixing wolf DNA with the DNA of deceased tributes in order to cause them to resemble those tributes. The resemblance is expressed in fur and eye color, and the mutts' collars match the tributes' district numbers. Katniss identifies one wolf as Rue and others as Glimmer, Foxface, the boy from District 9, and Thresh. When he is shot in the hand with an arrow, Cato falls off the Cornucopia; in the book, Cato's fight for survival against the mutts goes on for several hours before Katniss shoots him in the skull with an arrow out of pity. He would not have survived for so long without his suit of body armor and a hidden knife. In the film adaptation, the mutts resemble Rottweiler dogs, and Cato dies more quickly.

Lizard Muttations

These creatures are seen in Mockingjay in the tunnels of the Capitol, supposedly created to hunt down Katniss. They are human-sized, with tight, white skin, a long reptilian tail, long wolflike claws, and sharp teeth. They are engineered to smell like the roses from President Snow's garden, reminding Katniss that he is after her and has many ways to capture her. Finnick Odair is killed by one.

Monkey Mutts

The 75th Games included "muttation" monkeys, with razor-sharp claws, wickedly sharp teeth, and orange fur that would attack during the 4th hour of the "clock". They attacked the tributes in packs when Peeta glanced up at them, but the woman victor from 6, or 'female morphling' as Katniss calls her, jumps in front of Peeta to save his life because she was part of the alliance formed to defend Katniss and Peeta with their lives.

Candy-pink birds

During the 50th Games, Haymitch struck a temporary alliance with a female tribute from his district named Maysilee Donner. After they break off this alliance, Haymitch hears her screams and runs to her. He sees a flock of candy-pink birds attacking Maysilee and spearing her throat with their razor-sharp beaks. He stays with her as she dies, just as Katniss stays with Rue.

Snake Mutts

A type of highly venomous snake muttations, with pink, blue or yellow skins, are introduced in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. They instinctively attack people with unfamiliar smells. The head Gamemaker, Dr. Gaul, uses them on one of the mentors, Clemensia Dovecote, as punishment. Clemensia survives, as she promptly receives the antidote, but the venom makes her grow scales over her torso and discolors her skin and eyes. They are deployed in the 10th Hunger Games. Coriolanus Snow suspects this beforehand, so places a handkerchief he had previously lent to the tribute he was mentoring, Lucy Gray Baird, to familiarise them with her smell. Once delivered to the arena, they kill three of the seven remaining tributes, but they do not attack Lucy Gray and allow her to collect them in her skirt.

Nightlock

Nightlock is a wild bush with extremely toxic berries. The berries will kill almost as soon as they are ingested, and they serve as a major plot device in The Hunger Games. They are first gathered by Peeta, who thinks that they are edible. Katniss identifies them before Peeta has eaten any. Foxface, one of the remaining tributes steals them and eats them. When Katniss and Peeta are the last two survivors, the improvised rule allowing two winners from the same district is revoked. Katniss suggests that they kill themselves by eating the berries, accurately assuming that the Gamemakers would rather relent than have a Game with no victor.

"Nightlock" is likely a portmanteau of the names of the real plants nightshade and hemlock, both of which are toxic to humans. It has been suggested the names may go with Collins' allusions to Romeo and Juliet in the use of the phrase "star-crossed lovers" and the suicidal nature of Romeo and Juliet's death.

In Mockingjay, District 13 makes a suicide pill out of the nightlock toxin and gives one to Katniss and each member of the "Star Squad" in the final Capitol attack in case they are captured. The word "nightlock" repeated three times is used as the self-destruct code for the Holo, a holographic map device used by the rebels in Mockingjay to display the location of the Capitol's defense pods.

Tracker jacker antidote leaves

In The Hunger Games, Rue uses the leaves of an unidentified plant to treat Katniss's tracker jacker stings. Katniss recognizes the leaves as something that her mother used. Rue chews the leaves into a pulp and applies them directly to the tracker jacker stings, while Katniss recalls that her mother stewed them to make an infusion for her patients to drink. Later in the book, Katniss applies the leaves of the same plant to Peeta's leg wound (inflicted by Cato) in the hope of warding off infection. The application makes pus run out of his leg and temporarily decreases the swelling.

Technology

Lunar glasses

Rue, from District 11, mentions that Katniss had these in her pack in the 74th Hunger Games. They are used in District 11 to help farmers work during night shifts. The glasses obstruct vision in daylight, but at night and in very dark areas, they function as night-vision devices.

Television

The Capitol controls all TV broadcasts within Panem. Sometimes there are emergency announcements that make the TV start itself, like the Hunger Games, news bulletins, or warnings. In The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2, the televisions are used to air District 13 propaganda.

High-speed rail

High-speed maglev trains run throughout Panem, carrying tributes and others on official Capitol business; otherwise, travel between districts is prohibited. The trains are known for their speed and comfort; they can travel at 250 mph (400 km/h) and contain sleeping and dining quarters as luxurious as those found in the Capitol.

Freight trains are the primary means of transporting goods from the districts to the Capitol.

Electromagnetic force fields

Electromagnetic force fields are used by the Capitol as barriers, mainly in the arenas, where the fields are actively camouflaged to match the arena's terrain. In the Second Quarter Quell, Haymitch uses the force field as a weapon against a District 1 tribute by bouncing an axe off it. In the Third Quarter Quell, Peeta accidentally hits the force field while walking through the tropical arena, stopping his heart and almost killing him. Blight, the male District 7 tribute, is killed when stumbling upon the force field during the blood rain. Katniss shoots an arrow attached to a copper coil at the force field during the Third Quarter Quell; the coil itself was wrapped by Beetee around a tree that is struck by lightning every 12 hours, allowing Katniss to destroy the forcefield and the arena.

Clothing

In Panem, Districts 1–12 inhabitants wear generic clothing that is like modern-day fashions, but citizens of the Capitol typically wear extravagant designer clothes that are very colorful and peculiar. In District 13, all the citizens wear simple grey jumpsuits. In the Games, special uniforms are designed to help the tributes fend against harsh conditions. In Catching Fire, the uniforms were designed to help survive in tropical temperatures. Technological advances also influence Panem fashions. During both tribute parades and interviews in the Hunger Games trilogy, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark wear outfits that seem to catch fire, just like the coal from their District (District 12).

Hovercraft

VTOL aircraft, or hovercraft, are used by the Capitol to transport Peacekeepers and secure district borders. They are implied to be extremely fast and silent, and some may have active camouflage that makes them seem to appear out of thin air. In Mockingjay, it is revealed that District 13 has a fleet of hovercraft, but they never used them out of fear that the Capitol would retaliate. Hovercraft are also used in The Hunger Games to transport the tributes to the arena. In Mockingjay the Capitol uses them as bombers to attack Districts 8 and 12. The rebels also use them in this manner while attacking the Nut in District 2 and bombing the Capitol.

To counter the aircraft, both the Capitol and District 13 operate air defense networks to intercept and shoot them down.

In the movies, their appearances change between The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. They all lack the active camouflage mentioned in the novels. However, they are still used for close air support, strategic bombing missions, and transporting cargo and personnel. District 13 appears to operate different versions, including some models similar to those used by the Capitol. However, in District 2, the rebellion appears to have used combat hovercraft while bombing the Nut.

Holo Map

A Holo Map, more commonly referred to as a Holo, is a piece of technology with the purpose of projecting a holographic map of a location. In Mockingjay, it is used by the Star Squad as both an interactive, three-dimensional map of the Capitol and as a tool to locate dangerous defense pods hidden in the streets of the city. It also functions as an explosive device that detonates if a squad member flicks a switch and repeats the word 'nightlock' three times. If set off, it blasts everything within a five-yard radius. After the lizard Mutts kill Finnick, Katniss uses the Holo to kill the remaining Mutts.

Nuclear weapons

Both the Capitol and District 13 have nuclear weapons. Before the Dark Days, District 13 was responsible for the Capitol's nuclear weapons program, although the public was told that its purpose was graphite mining (a material needed in the enrichment process). It is implied that the weapons are only delivered via missiles. Little information is given about the origin of the weapons' development, though it is possible that they originated from the remains of the United States Military's nuclear arsenal.

The novels do not state the amount of weaponry that District 13 or the government of Panem possess. However, it is implied that each group holds enough that mutually assured destruction is the assumed outcome of another war.

In the films, there is little mention of nuclear weapons.

The Districts of Panem

District 1 (Luxury)

District 1 specializes in producing luxury items like jewelry. Children living there take pride in representing District 1 in the Games and are often among the group of tributes nicknamed "Careers" who illegally train for the Games from a young age. Along with District 2, District 1 is heavily favored by the Capitol and is wealthier than the rest of the districts. People from this district name their children after expensive materials, such as Cashmere, or the characteristics of the things they make, such as Glimmer.

In The Hunger Games, during the 74th Hunger Games, both tributes from District 1 (Marvel and Glimmer) join the "Career" pack. Glimmer is eventually killed by the tracker jackers (wasp muttations) that were dropped on the Careers by Katniss. Katniss kills Marvel after he kills Rue. In Catching Fire, the tributes from District 1 are siblings Cashmere and Gloss, who are killed by Johanna Mason and Katniss, respectively. In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, both tributes from District 1 (Facet and Velvereen) are shot by Peacekeepers trying to escape from the arena after it is bombed.

During the Second Rebellion, it is noted that District 1 was one of the first to rebel against the Capitol.

District 2 (Masonry and defense)

District 2, filming for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 on Berlin Tempelhof Airport in May 2014

District 2 is in charge of stone cutting, supplying Peacekeepers, and weapons manufacturing. It is also a center of training for the Capitol's army of Peacekeepers. District 2 is a large district in the mountains, not far from the Capitol itself. Its citizens have better living conditions than most other districts, and support for Capitol control is stronger there than in any other district. Some citizens of District 2 name their children in Ancient Roman or Greek style, like those common in the Capitol. District 2 tributes often volunteer for the Games even when not selected in the drawing, which makes reapings very difficult. As such, their tributes often train for the games and are among those referred to as "careers." Though this practice is illegal, the Capitol ignores it because of District 2's support for its rule. The number of victors is heavily skewed towards District 2 due to their eagerness to compete in the Games.

During the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Cato and Clove, the tributes from District 2, are formidable opponents. Clove comes the closest to killing Katniss, but she is interrupted and killed by Thresh. Cato is the final tribute killed. In the Seventy-fifth Hunger Games, District 2's tributes are Brutus and Enobaria. Brutus is killed by Peeta in the arena; Enobaria survives the Games and the rebellion. Another victor, Commander Lyme, is the leader of the rebellion's District 2 forces during the takeover of The Nut. The District 2 tributes in the Tenth Hunger Games both try to escape after the arena is bombed. The female tribute, Sabyn, falls to her death when attempting to escape the Pre-Games arena bombing, while the male tribute, Marcus, successfully escapes and hides in the Capitol sewers, only to be recaptured, beaten, and placed back into the arena, hanging by his wrists from between two tall poles. Lamina kills him with an axe.

District 2 is made up of many villages, each based around a mine. In the midst of District 2 is a central mountain (referred to as "The Nut" by Katniss) which contains the command and control center for the Capitol's defenses. During the Dark Days, District 2 was the Capitol's staunchest ally, and it received preferential treatment from the Capitol after the rebellion, along with District 1. Katniss states that many of the other Districts loathe District 2, referring to them as "the Capitol's lap dogs." In the third book, during the second rebellion, District 2 is the last to fall to the rebels.

District 3 (Technology)

District 3 specializes in the production of technology and electronics. Most of its inhabitants work in factories and are good at engineering, which helps its tributes in the Games. In the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games, the male tribute from District 3 manages to reactivate the land mines surrounding the Cornucopia to protect the supplies of the Careers. One of the previous victors from District 3, Beetee Latier, won his Games by setting a trap that electrocuted six tributes at once. He uses his skills after being chosen to compete in the Seventy-fifth Hunger Games in Catching Fire. The other victor who competes in the Seventy-fifth Hunger Games is a woman named Wiress, who discovers that the arena operates like a clock and tells Katniss how to detect force fields, after she points out the force field between the Gamemakers and the victors. Wiress dies during the Seventy-fifth Hunger Games, while Beetee joins the technological division for the Second Rebellion's war effort and becomes the only surviving Victor from District 3. In the 10th Hunger Games, the District 3 tributes hack the drones which deliver supplies. Circ, the male tribute, is killed by snake mutts before he has a chance to use them, but Teslee, the female tribute, uses them to kill Mizzen, only to be killed by Treech.

During the Second Rebellion, Beetee makes a special bow and arrows for Katniss. The arrows include explosive arrows and regular arrows. He also designed a specialized trident for Finnick.

Although District 3 seems to have technological advantages over other districts, it is the poorest of the wealthy districts and typically does not do well in the Games.

District 4 (Fishing)

District 4 is a coastal district that specializes in aquaculture and wild fisheries. It is another wealthy district in which children often train for the Hunger Games. It is said that District 4 has the most "decent-looking" people. The most popular bread baked in this District is a salty, fish-shaped loaf tinted green by seaweed. The most common tools in District 4 are fishing nets, tridents and fishing rods.

In the first book, the male tribute from District 4 is one of the eleven to die in the initial bloodbath at the Cornucopia; in the film he has his throat slit by Cato after an attempt to flee. In the book, the female tribute is killed by the tracker jackers alongside Glimmer; however, in the film she barely makes an appearance. She is seen picking up one of the backpacks at the cornucopia bloodbath and running away. In Catching Fire, Katniss finds important allies in Mags Flanagan and Finnick Odair, the victors from District 4 chosen for the Quarter Quell. Mags is an elderly victor who mentored Finnick in his first Games and could make a fishing hook "out of anything". She volunteers for the Quarter Quell, taking the place of Annie Cresta, an unstable past victor who won her games by being able to swim the longest after the arena was flooded. During the third Quarter Quell, Mags is killed by a mysterious blister agent in the form of a fog. Katniss says that Finnick is "beautiful" and “a tool.” He won his Games at the young age of fourteen by using an expensive trident. In Mockingjay, Katniss and Finnick become friends and eventually Finnick is killed by part-lizard, part-human "muttations", saving Katniss's life. Thus, Annie, now Finnick's wife, becomes the only surviving Victor from District 4 after the war.

In the 10th Hunger Games, the male and female tributes are Mizzen and Coral, respectively. Coral is killed by snake mutts, and Mizzen is killed by Teslee with hacked drones.

District 5 (Power)

District 5 specializes in electrical power, Caesar Flickerman refers to them as the "Power Plant Workers" in the first film. The district is dotted by dams that provide the Capitol with electricity; this fact is exploited by the rebels, who destroy the dams, briefly cutting off electricity within the Capitol and allowing District 13 to rescue the captured Victors.

Even though District 12 mines coal, it is implied throughout the series that the coal is used to heat buildings and homes in the Capitol, not to generate electricity. It is not known if there are any other sources of power generation. From the attack on the hydroelectric dam during the second rebellion, it is implied that there are only a handful of power facilities, given the Capitol's limited ability to supply power.

In the first movie, Katniss nicknames the female tribute from District 5 "Foxface" because she looked like a fox, with a slim face and sleek red hair. She is one of the last to die, due to her cleverness, avoiding any form of contact with other tributes. She steals a small portion of food from the Careers' supplies, dodging the bombs set up by the Careers, shortly before her death. She dies by eating poisonous berries known as nightlock after watching Peeta harvest them, assuming that they are safe. No name or description is given to the male tribute from District 5, except that he is one of the eleven who die in the bloodbath on the first day. In the 75th Hunger Games, Finnick kills the male tribute with his trident at the Cornucopia on the first day. In the film, the female tribute is killed by the 10 o'clock wave that propels itself through the jungle. In the tenth Hunger Games, the male tribute, Hy, dies due to complications from asthma before the Games begin, and the female tribute, Sol, is killed by Coral on the second day.

District 6 (Transportation)

District 6 specializes in transportation, serving as a hub for Panem's transport network. During the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, both tributes are killed in the bloodbath on the first day. In the film, the male is targeted by Cato, who accuses him of taking his knife during a pre-Games training exercise (that was stolen by Rue). During the 75th Hunger Games, both tributes are nicknamed the "Morphlings" due to their addiction to morphling, a psychoactive drug like morphine. During training, they often go to the camouflage station and paint. The male tribute is killed in the bloodbath, while the female tribute dies blocking a monkey muttation from Peeta. Peeta comforts her and allows her to paint flowers on his face with her blood and describes the many colors in the sky and sunset to her, particularly his favourite color orange, as she dies. The tributes for the 10th Hunger Games, Otto and Ginnee, are killed in a bombing attack before the games begin.

District 7 (Lumber)

District 7 specializes in forestry, lumber and paper. Its two tributes in the 74th Hunger Games die in the initial bloodbath. In the 75th Hunger Games, the tributes selected are Blight, who protests his inclusion, and Johanna Mason, a strong-willed yet somewhat abrasive woman who has no qualms with killing with her axe, a signature weapon from her district. In the film, Johanna also protests her inclusion in an expletive-ridden tirade with Caesar Flickerman. The winner of the 71st Hunger Games, she is the closest mentioned victor to Katniss and Peeta in age. Despite her intense and stand-offish attitude, she defends Katniss and takes her out of the 75th Hunger Games at the beginning of the Second Rebellion. In the 10th Hunger Games, the female tribute Lamina shelters up on a crossbar for two days, only to be killed by the District 4 tributes after they climb it. Lucy Gray kills the male tribute, Treech, with a snake mutt.

District 8 (Textiles)

District 8 specializes in textiles, including at least one factory in which Peacekeeper uniforms are made. Along with Districts 7 and 11, it was one of the first districts to rebel. Two people from District 8, Bonnie and Twill, escape during one of the uprisings and inform Katniss of the theory that District 13 still exists. It is implied that security is strict in District 8 following the uprising and the citizens are desperate for hope. In Mockingjay, Katniss visits a hospital in District 8, which is later bombed by the Capitol. It is thus the second-most targeted district during the Second Rebellion, after District 12. A leader of the District 8 rebels, Paylor, commands fierce loyalty from her soldiers who follow her orders in preference to those of Alma Coin, the president of District 13. Paylor later becomes President of Panem after Katniss assassinates Coin.

In the 74th Hunger Games, the male tribute from District 8 dies at the Cornucopia at the hands of Marvel. The female tribute is attacked by the Careers on the first night and "finished off" by Peeta when she does not die immediately, as indicated by cannon blast. In the 75th Hunger Games, both tributes from District 8, Woof and Cecelia, die in the initial battle at the Cornucopia. Woof is an elderly, senile tribute in his 70s. Cecelia is about thirty years old and has three children. It is later revealed that Cecelia was to be an original member of the arranged alliance to save Katniss and Peeta from the second Arena, but she does not survive the initial bloodbath. Woof also had knowledge of the plot. In the 10th Hunger Games, the male tribute, Bobbin, is killed by Coriolanus Snow, after he attacks him. The female tribute, Wovey, dies from being poisoned by Lucy Gray Baird.

District 9 (Grain)

District 9 specializes in producing grain and salts. It is the least mentioned district in the series; no named character from the district has appeared in the series. It is the only district to lose both of its tributes in the bloodbath of both the 74th and 75th Hunger Games and the only one to have no named characters in the trilogy.

In the 10th Hunger Games, both District 9 tributes, Panlo (male) and Sheaf (female), are killed in the Arena bombing prior to the beginning of the Games.

District 10 (Livestock)

District 10 specializes in livestock. Katniss does not note any major tributes from District 10, except one boy with a crippled leg who is mentioned several times. In the 3rd book and movie Mockingjay, Katniss meets Dalton, a District 10 refugee who tells her about District 13's history. At the 75th Hunger Games, Katniss notes that the District 10 tributes, who are dressed as cows, wear flaming belts that make them look like they are broiling themselves, a poor imitation of Cinna and Portia's techniques in the 74th Hunger Games. In the 10th Hunger Games, the female tribute, Brandy, is shot dead after killing her mentor, Arachne Crane. The male tribute, Tanner, forms an alliance with the District 4 tributes, but he is later betrayed by them.

District 11 (Agriculture)

District 11 specializes in agriculture. It is located somewhere in the South and is very large, possibly occupying nearly all the Deep South. The people live in small shacks, and there is a harsh force of Peacekeepers. Common traits are dark skin and brown eyes. According to Rue, many tracker jacker nests were left there, so the workers keep medicinal leaves on hand. In the orchards, small children are sent into the branches to pick the highest fruit. Sometimes, during the height of the harvest they are given night-vision goggles so that they can work after dark. The district also contains fields of vegetables. The District's electric fences are active 24 hours a day, unlike District 12's. The inhabitants apparently have extensive knowledge of herbs. Overall, the conditions in the district are worse than in District 12. Harsh measures, including summary execution, are implemented to keep people from stealing anything meant for the Capitol.

In the 74th Hunger Games, the tributes from District 11 are Thresh, the tallest and most imposing of all tributes whom the others try to avoid as much as possible, and Rue, a 12-year-old petite girl who can climb and jump between trees and becomes Katniss' steadfast ally until her death. In the 75th Hunger Games, the victors selected as tributes are Chaff, Haymitch's drinking comrade who refused a prosthetic arm, and Seeder, an elderly but healthy tribute who reminds Katniss of Rue. District 11 is one of the first Districts to rebel. In the film, its rebellion erupts during the events of the 74th Hunger Games in response to the way in which Rue was killed and Katniss' tribute to her. Districts 7 and 8 rebel shortly after. In the 10th Hunger Games, the female tribute, Dill, dies of natural causes on the first day. The male tribute, Reaper, exhibits a number of unusual behaviours, such as dragging the corpses of the tributes into a row, and cutting out a piece of the flag of Panem to use as a cape. Reaper is killed by deliriously drinking a puddle of water poisoned by Lucy Gray; he is the last tribute to die in the Games.

District 12 (Coal/Mining)

District 12 specializes in coal mining, replaced by medicine after the Second Rebellion, and is the farthest from the Capitol. Katniss, Peeta and other major characters come from District 12. It is located in the coal-mining region of the Appalachian Mountains and the district itself is split into two distinct housing areas and social classes. "The Seam" is a slum where those who work in the coal mines live, while the mercantile class lives in the town, centered around the "Square". Both classes are easy to distinguish physically and generally socialize amongst themselves. Those from the Seam generally have dark hair, grey eyes and olive skin, and those from merchant families typically have blond hair, blue eyes and fair skin. Katniss and Gale are from The Seam, and Peeta is a baker's son from town. Although she comes from the Seam, Katniss' sister, Prim, has characteristics typical of the town residents because she resembles her mother, who was one of the few town residents willing to move to the Seam to marry Katniss' and Prim's father. It is unclear if this class divide exists in other Districts or is unique to District 12. On the victory tour in Catching Fire Katniss mentions that she cannot see where the well-to-do live in District 11, as it surely is not the square where their speech is being held. She also notes that many members of the crowd during the Victory Tour seem even poorer than the Seam inhabitants in District 12.

District 12 is the poorest district, and starvation is a major issue for the citizens. Due to the lack of food, the local Capitol authority figures – the Mayor and Peacekeepers – often bend the extremely strict Panem laws. The electric fence surrounding the district to prevent access to the woods is usually turned off, and Katniss and her friend Gale often hunt there. The black market, located at an old coal warehouse named the Hob, is where many of the citizens make their money. The Hob is destroyed by the local Peacekeepers after their commander is replaced in Catching Fire. This is followed by the bombing of the entire district after the escape of the tributes during the 75th Hunger Games. However, Gale managed to evacuate about 10% of the population—"a little under 900 people"—to District 13.

District 12's geography is dominated by forests and meadows. The meadow, which is located just outside the community, ends at a long electric fence built to keep wild animals from escaping the forest outside. It has many holes and is usually turned off, giving Katniss and Gale the chance to hunt; however, the fence is fully electrified after Romulus Thread replaces Cray as Head Peacekeeper. The vast forest has a lake and contains enough wildlife to support more than 800 residents of the District stranded after the bombings in Catching Fire. Many do not know where it leads; as revealed in Catching Fire, the forest eventually ends at District 13, located a week away from District 12 on foot. Another feature of the District is a small hill, which is where Victors' Village is located. It contains twelve large villas facing each other in two rows. It is very quiet there since District 12 has few victors, though more people begin to settle there after the war. After the Capitol bombs District 12 at the end of Catching Fire, most of the residency is destroyed, and the meadow is turned into a mass grave of the residents unable to escape. Only Victors' Village is left unharmed. After the Second Rebellion, though, the District 12 refugees begin to return to their home, including Katniss, who states in the epilogue that the mass grave is becoming a meadow again.

District 12 is notorious for having only two Victors in the history of the Hunger Games before the 74th, Lucy Gray Baird (10th Hunger Games), who is dead by the time of The Hunger Games, and Haymitch Abernathy (50th Hunger Games and 2nd Quarter Quell). Because of this, it is the laughingstock of the other districts; volunteering for the Hunger Games in District 12 is seen as suicide since the tributes of the district often perish early in the game.

In the 10th Hunger Games, the two tributes from District 12, Lucy Gray and Jessup, initially form an alliance, but Jessup develops rabies on the second day and dies from a fall while chasing Lucy Gray.

District 13 (Nuclear Weaponry)

Before the Dark Days war, District 13 specialized in nuclear technology and the development of emerging technologies for use by Panem's military. It was also the Capitol's primary military–industrial complex and weapon manufacturer until the rebellion. During the Dark Days, District 13 was one of the major forces of the rebellion. Near the end of the Dark Days, they managed to take control of the nuclear arsenal. District 13 was supposedly bombed and destroyed before the first annual Hunger Games at the end of the Dark Days war, but it was hinted in Catching Fire that it had survived. In Mockingjay, it is confirmed that District 13 became an underground district when the population retreated to bunkers. After the Capitol and District 13 agreed to cease hostilities towards one another under the doctrine of mutually assured destruction, the Capitol spread the story that District 13 had been destroyed. District 13 controlled the primary nuclear weapons stockpile and the Capitol did not want a nuclear war. This underground district maintains concealed livestock and vegetable farms in order to survive, so as not to arouse the suspicion of the other districts. District 13 is a week away from District 12 on foot.

In Mockingjay, District 13 is the center of the new rebellion. It is led by President Alma Coin, who aspires to succeed Snow as President of Panem and has orchestrated the events in books two and three to circumvent District 13's truce with the Capitol. The lifestyle in District 13 is very strict because of the circumstances. When a citizen wakes up, they are given a temporary tattoo of their personalized schedule for the day, though Katniss usually ignores it, wandering around and sleeping. They are very thrifty and ration food carefully. Everyone wears the same grey uniform and sleeps in identical living quarters. Everyone over the age of 14 is addressed as "Soldier" because almost everyone in District 13 is being trained for a military rebellion against the Capitol. Free education is provided, and all refugees can become citizens. This is due to the eagerness of the district to add more genetic diversity to the population after an infection made many of its citizens infertile. Weddings are usually not celebrated, though the wedding of Finnick Odair and Annie Cresta in Mockingjay deviates from this.

The Hunger Games

Every year since the Dark Days, which occurred 75 years before the events of Mockingjay, the Capitol hosts an event called the Hunger Games. The Games consist of a gladiatorial-style battle royal combat fought by twenty-four teenagers (tributes) aged 12–18. One boy and one girl are chosen by lottery from each district (except for District 13). This is known as the Reaping. The Hunger Games are held to remind the citizens of the districts of their failed rebellion and the absolute power of the Capitol while providing entertainment for the Capitol citizens. They are discontinued after the second rebellion, the fall of President Snow and the ascendancy of Commander Paylor. Thus, a total of 1,800 district citizens were reaped as tributes from the start to the end of the games (the 50th Hunger Games had double the number, while the 75th reaped the victors from the previous games). Every 25 years, a special Games is held with a unique alteration of the rules. For example, in the 50th Hunger Games, twice the number of tributes competed, with 4 from each district (two boys and two girls). This is known as a Quarter Quell.

Reapings and preliminaries

On July 4th, all citizens from each district between the ages of 12 and 18 are entered into the "reaping", a lottery system that chooses the tributes. On the day of the reaping, spokespersons from the Capitol, known as "escorts", visit their respective districts (District 12's is Effie Trinket, and Katniss states that she has been the escort for several years before the events of The Hunger Games) and choose one male and one female name at random, selecting the two tributes who will compete. However, any other citizen of the same sex aged 12 to 18 can volunteer to become a tribute, taking the place of the child originally reaped (as Katniss did for Primrose Everdeen in The Hunger Games). In Districts 1 and 2 (and 4 in the book), most children spend years training specifically for the Games and then volunteer to compete, even though this is technically against the rules.

All 12-year-old candidates are entered once in the reaping by default, and older candidates are an additional time each year. The names are written on slips of paper and placed in glass bowls ("reaping balls"), one each for males and females. Since many families live in poverty, a candidate may request one or more additional tesserae (a year's meager ration of grain and oil for one person) in exchange for additional entries in the reaping. One such entry is issued for every tessera that a candidate has requested since turning 12. Thus, a candidate who requests three tesserae every year would be entered four times at age 12, eight times at age 13, and so on, up to 28 times at age 18.

Following the reaping, the tributes are taken immediately to the Capitol, where they are given a makeover by a team of stylists to look appealing for a TV audience. Female tributes are usually waxed to remove all their body hair. One of the stylists on the team designs a costume for them to wear in the tribute parade, which reflects their district's industry. Each District's tributes are then put in horse-drawn chariots and attempt to impress Capitol citizens while they ride down the Avenue of the Tributes. Afterward, they learn strategy with mentors drawn from their District's pool of past victors (Katniss and Peeta's mentor is Haymitch, who is the only living victor from District 12) and are provided basic SERE-training in combat and survival skills with the other tributes. On the last day of training, they demonstrate their skills before a team of judges, including the Gamemakers, who then score them on a scale of 1 to 12. These scores are made public to show who has the best chances of surviving, which can attract Sponsors and influence betting; tributes awarded the highest scores are often targeted first in the arena because they are the largest threats. On the eve of the Games, each tribute dresses formally and appears on television for an interview with the charming Caeser Flickerman, where they attempt to attract Sponsors by being charismatic. In the book and film, Peeta confesses his love for Katniss during his interviews.

Interviews, mentoring, sponsoring and gambling are all introduced for the tenth Hunger Games, the last two on the suggestion of Coriolanus Snow. Initially, final-year students from the Academy, an elite Capitol high school, serve as mentors, but this is discontinued after several students are killed in the lead-up to the games.

Games

On the morning of the Games, the tributes have a tracker chip inserted in their skin so the Gamemakers can locate them. The tributes are then flown to a dedicated outdoor location called the Arena. A new Arena is built every year. Past Arenas become popular tourist attractions for Capitol citizens. Each tribute is given special clothing to wear, depending on the environment, and then confined to an underground room, referred to as the "Launch Room" by the Capitol and the "Stockyard" by the Districts, until game time. The tributes are lifted into the arena by glass tubes, emerging in a circle surrounding a giant, supply-filled horn made of solid gold called the Cornucopia. A sixty-second countdown to the start of the Games begins, during which any tribute who steps off the plate will be killed immediately by land mines planted in the ground around the plates. The power of the landmines is immense, according to Katniss, who mentions that one year, a girl dropped her token, a little wooden ball, and "they literally had to scrape bits of her off the ground".

The Games begin with the sound of a loud gong. Most tributes run for the Cornucopia to find food, water, weapons, tools, backpacks or other useful items; the most valuable and useful items, including weapons, are often placed closest to the Cornucopia itself. The initial competition is called the "Bloodbath" and the scramble for supplies usually results in intense fighting, with a significant number of tributes killed in the first few minutes or hours of the Games. In most Games, a well-stocked, often well-trained group of tributes band together to hunt down other individuals, until they are the only ones left to fight each other. The alliance is generally agreed upon before the Games begin. These tributes are dubbed "Careers" because they are often trained for an extensive portion of their childhood in combat and other survival skills. The "Careers" usually come from Districts 1, 2 and 4 (only 1 and 2 in the films). They are generally disliked and considered brutally aggressive by many of the tributes from the other Districts.

If one or more tributes does not move fast enough, avoids conflict for too long, or is too close to the edge of the Arena, the Gamemakers will sometimes create hazards, such as mutts or a natural threat, to create more entertaining programming or to steer the remaining tributes toward each other. Another common occurrence is a "feast", where a boon of extra supplies or food is granted to the tributes at a particular place and time (usually the Cornucopia). In the first novel, the Gamemakers told the tributes that the feast would provide them with something they direly needed.

It is implied that there are no official rules for the Games except for not stepping off the plate until the conclusion of the sixty-second countdown. In the first novel, Katniss mentions that there is an unspoken rule against cannibalism in the Games. This rule came to be after the 71st Hunger Games, when a District 6 tribute named Titus resorted to cannibalism in the arena, attempting to eat the tributes that he had killed. The Capitol, disgusted and horrified by his actions, had the Gamemakers trigger an avalanche which killed Titus. There is some speculation that it was created to ensure that the victor was not a mad cannibal. During the 74th Hunger Games, the rules are altered during the Games to allow two tributes from the same district to win. However, when Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, both tributes from District 12, are the only two tributes remaining, the rule is revoked to have them fight one another to the death. This fails when they attempt to commit a double suicide by nightlock, a poisonous berry that had killed another tribute nicknamed "Foxface". At the last moment, the rule is reinstated, allowing both to become victors. Though described as an act of love for one another in the publicity after the Games, the establishment in the Capitol sees it as an act of defiance. They believe that the District 12 tributes manipulated and outwitted the Capitol when they refused to follow the rules.

Quarter Quell

The Quarter Quell is an especially brutal edition of the Hunger Games that occurs every 25 years. Each Quarter Quell includes a different twist to the rules, to remind the districts about some aspect of the rebellion. Officially, many Quells were prescribed by the original creators of the Hunger Games at the end of the Dark Days. Each quarter, the current President selects the rule change from a box of numbered, sealed envelopes and reads it aloud on live television.

In the first Quell (year 25), the Districts were forced to choose their tributes by election instead of the usual random lottery, to remind them that they chose to rebel.

In the second Quell (year 50), twice the usual number of tributes were reaped from each District, to remind them that two rebels died for each Capitol citizen during the rebellion. Coriolanus Snow was president that year. The victor was Haymitch Abernathy, who won by discovering the properties of the force field surrounding the arena and using them to his advantage during the final battle with a girl from District 1, causing his attacker's thrown axe to fly back and hit her in the head. Humiliated by Haymitch's actions, Snow retaliated by ordering Haymitch's family and girlfriend killed shortly after.

In the third Quell (year 75), portrayed in Catching Fire, the rule change requires the tributes to be chosen from the surviving victors, as a reminder that not even the strongest can hope to defy the Capitol. Currently, 59 victors are still alive, including the only living female victor from District 12, Katniss Everdeen. In the book, Katniss suspects President Snow made up the rule for this Quell, which conveniently serves his vendetta against her. In the film, it is implied that Snow makes the rule under counsel of his new Head Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee, in order to exterminate the living victors. This Quell has no winner and is the last Hunger Games. Katniss destroys the force field surrounding the arena and becomes one of six survivors. Heavensbee is revealed as the leader of an underground Capitol rebel group, working for Alma Coin, who presides over District 13 and uses the collapse of the Quell to launch a second civil war.

Arenas

In the later years of the Hunger Games, the location of the arena varies for each Game. Past arenas have included volcanoes, avalanche zones, and dams; the terrain has included woods, meadows, scrubland, deserts, and frozen tundra. In the Hunger Games movies, they briefly show one of the previous Games taking place in the ruins of an abandoned city. Upon the conclusion of the Games, the arena is preserved as a tourist attraction for Capitol citizens.

The arena for the 74th Hunger Games is a forested area with a central meadow where the Cornucopia is located, a lake, and a wheat field. Katniss notes that it resembles the forests of District 12, which gives her a slight survival advantage.

The arenas devised for the Quarter Quells appear to be especially spectacular. The second Quarter Quell took place in a beautiful meadow with flowers and a fruit-bearing forest and mountains. However, everything was designed by the Gamemakers to be either dangerous or poisonous, including the food, water, wildlife, and vegetation. The tributes realized that one of the mountains in the arena is a volcano.

In the third Quarter Quell, the Cornucopia is placed on an island in a saltwater lake, with the surrounding shore divided into twelve segments that resembled a clock. Every hour features its own deadly attack, limited only to that slice of the arena during that time of day. For example, at noon and midnight, an hour-long electrical storm takes place in the first segment. Other dangers encountered by the tributes included blood rain, carnivorous monkeys, insects, a tidal wave, a fog-like gas that causes chemical burns to the skin and nerve damage, and a section of the jungle in which tributes are trapped with jabberjays that imitated the screams of their loved ones. The center of the island can also rotate, disorienting those attempting to master the clock strategy.

The Gamemakers have complete control of the arena environment and can create any hazard they wish. In The Hunger Games, they set the forest on fire and switch between day and night at will. In the 75th Hunger Games, the Gamemakers divide the arena into twelve segments, each containing a different terror that only activated at a certain hour.

After the rebellion, the arenas are destroyed and replaced by memorials.

The early Hunger Games take place in an arena on the outskirts of the Capitol that was formerly used for sporting events. For the first nine games, this means that the fighting is confined to the field and the stands. Shortly before the tenth games, the arena is bombed, giving tributes access to tunnels surrounding the arena to use as hiding places. The transition to purpose-built arenas occurs some time after the tenth Hunger Games.

Victors

The last living tribute of the Hunger Games is the victor. After the Games, the victor receives extreme medical treatment in the Capitol to recover from all the injuries during the Games, followed by a final celebration during which they are interviewed and crowned victor by the President of Panem. Once the festivities are over, the victor returns to live in his or her District in an area called the "Victor's Village", where houses are well-furnished and equipped with luxuries such as hot water and telephones. All families in the victor's District receive additional parcels of food and other goods for a year. In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it is revealed that the existence of the Victor's Village and the rewarding of the victor's District are developed by Corionalus Snow during his internship as a Gamemaker between the 10th and 11th Hunger Games, in order to encourage Districts to have a greater stake in their tributes. About six months after the Games, the victor participates in the Victory Tour. In every District, the victor is given a celebration and ceremony, usually accompanied by a victory rally and dinner with senior district officials. In the Victory Tour, the victor speaks publicly in each district, even if they are disliked or hated if the victor was responsible for their tribute's death.

However, the victors' involvement with the games and the Capitol does not end after the Tour. Their lives are under constant surveillance by the Capitol to prevent them from organizing an insurgency or rebellion within the Districts. If they do not behave "properly" within the Games or outside, the Capitol punishes them. To prevent the victors from becoming "martyrs" when they are killed by the Capitol, they punish the victor's loved ones instead. This is exemplified by Haymitch, who loses his family and girlfriend due to his unorthodox way of winning his Game, while it is implied that Johanna lost her family due to her disobedience. This practice seems to have begun later in the games' history, as Lucy Gray Baird, the victor of the tenth Hunger Games, lives with minimal interference from the Capitol afterwards, and is not punished for smuggling in rat poison to kill the other tributes.

Victors who are particularly attractive are sold by the Capitol as prostitutes to the highest bidder. One example of this is Finnick, who serves as prostitute to the Capitol's citizens, both men and women, under the threat of having his girlfriend, the fellow victor Annie, tortured. Johanna's family was killed because she refused to be a subject of such cruelty. The victors also have to mentor the incoming tributes for the next games. This is particularly cruel to Haymitch; since he is the only living victor of District 12 prior to the 74th Hunger Games, he has to personally mentor all the following District 12 tributes and watch them die in the games. Furthermore, although the victors are exempt from further Games (not including the 3rd Quarter Quell) the victors' children can be reaped to serve the interests of the Capitol. Katniss thinks that the reapings are sometimes rigged because victors' children are selected too often for it to be a coincidence. As Haymitch puts it, "Nobody ever wins the games. There are survivors. There's no winners." After participating in the games and mentoring tributes who will ultimately die, most of the victors resort to substance abuse as a coping mechanism.

The victors of the Hunger Games usually form friendships with each other because they share the experiences of brutality. In Finnick and Annie's case, their attraction turns into love. While this leads to the increased pressure on the tributes in the 75th Hunger Games, it also means that the victors can relay information about rebel planning. In the book, it is revealed that half of the tributes are part of a conspiracy to break Katniss from the arena and transport her to District 13 to become the face of the rebellion.

Before the start of the 75th Hunger Games, fifty-nine of the seventy-five victors are still alive. Eighteen of the twenty-four victors die during the events of Catching Fire. Mockingjay reveals that the Capitol conducted the "Victor's Purge" to capture, torture, and execute all remaining victors. At the end of the series, there are only 7 victors remaining: Enobaria from District 2, Beetee from District 3, Annie from District 4, Johanna from District 7, and Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch from District 12. It is unknown if Lyme from District 2 survived the assault on The Nut, or if she participated in or died in the assault on the Capitol.

Victory Tour

The Victory Tour is a trip across all the Districts of Panem to honor the victor of that Hunger Games. The Tour is usually held six months after the Games to keep the horror of the Games fresh in the minds of those living in the Districts. The Victory Tour usually starts at District 12 and then goes in descending order, ending at District 1. The victor's district is skipped and saved for last. In Catching Fire, the tour starts in District 11 because the victors live in District 12. After attending celebrations in the Capitol, the victors return to their home district for celebrations paid for by the Capitol. In Catching Fire, Katniss looks forward to the feast in District 12 during which everyone could eat their fill. Before the tour, the victor's prep team and stylist prepare the victor to just as they did when they appeared in the Capitol before the games.

The Rebellions

First Rebellion

74 years before the events of the Second Rebellion, Panem fell into the First Rebellion, commonly known as the Dark Days. All thirteen districts rebelled against the Capitol and Panem's government. The rebellion was led by District 13, which controlled Panem's nuclear weapons. Near the end of the war, the Capitol dropped chemical bombs on District 13, and the remaining twelve districts surrendered to the Capitol. Although the other districts thought that District 13 had been destroyed, after the rebellion, the leader of District 13 and the President of Panem agreed to never attack each other ever again due to District 13's control of the country's nuclear weapons. District 13 was allowed to secede from Panem and to not participate in the annual Hunger Games.

After the end of the war, the Capitol established the Treaty of Treason that would ensure peace between the Districts and the Capitol. This was the treaty that established the Hunger Games.

Second Rebellion

The Second Rebellion takes place after the 3rd Quarter Quell (the 75th Hunger Games). At the end of Catching Fire, the Head Gamemaker of the 3rd Quarter Quell tells Katniss that they are on their way to District 13. Katniss is one of the leaders of the rebellion: she is the Mockingjay, tasked with convincing the Districts to fight against Capitol. At the end of the war, the rebels capture the Capitol, and Alma Coin, the President of District 13 and acting President of Panem, announces that President Snow will be executed. Katniss is to be the executioner. When Katniss is about to kill President Snow, she fires instead at President Coin and killing her, because she was responsible for Katniss's sister's death. The crowd then charges at President Snow and kills him.

After Katniss executes President Coin, Panem's government announces its first free election. All District and Capitol citizens can vote on who should be the first President of the free Democratic Republic of Panem. When the results come in, Commander Paylor, the leader of the rebellion in District 8, becomes the next President of Panem. At the end of the fourth movie, Mockingjay Part 2, there is a scene where Commander Paylor is sworn in as the first President of the Democratic Republic of Panem. While she is in office, she gets rid of the totalitarian government and police state, and turns it into a democratic republic. President Paylor also ends the Hunger Games and destroys the arenas, turning them into memorials for all who were killed in the Hunger Games.

References

• Collins, Suzanne (2008). The Hunger Games. Scholastic Press. ISBN 978-0-439-02348-1. Search this book on
• Collins, Suzanne (2009). Catching Fire. Scholastic Press. ISBN 978-0-439-02349-8. Search this book on
• Collins, Suzanne (2010). Mockingjay. Scholastic Press. ISBN 978-0-439-02351-1. Search this book on

External links

• The Capitol – fictional website for the Capitol

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