The Hunger Games (novel)/Characters

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Protagonists

Katniss Everdeen

Our Hero, aged sixteen from District 12, the poorest of the twelve (remaining) districts. After losing her father when she was only eleven, she managed to bring her family back from the brink of starvation almost single-handedly by hunting in the woods outside her district. When her little sister Prim's name is drawn in the reaping to join the Hunger Games, Katniss steps up to take her place, unwittingly setting off a chain of events that will soon engulf all of Panem.

She's portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence in the film.

• Action Girl
  • Plays Action Girlfriend to Peeta's Non-Action Guy in the second book.
• Angst Coma
• Animal Motifs: From Catching Fire onwards, she's strongly identified with mockingjays.
• Anti Heroine Type III.
• The Archer
• Arrows on Fire
• Babies Ever After: With Peeta.
• Badass
• Bad Liar: According to Peeta. "Never gamble at cards. You'll lose your last coin." Subverted later on, when she gradually becomes more effective at fooling people--starting with Peeta himself.
• Beautiful Dreamer
• Big Eater: Katniss appreciates good food due to living on such simple fare at home. She deliberately gorges herself before the second Hunger Game to get some energy reserves.
• Big Sister Instinct: A major part of her motivation throughout the series.
• Birds of a Feather: Her and Gale.
• Braids of Action
• Broken Bird: She starts out as one due to her father's death and having to be her family's main source of financial support but after the Games it turns Up to Eleven.
  • Taken to a rather literal extent several times throughout the series, especially in Mockingjay, which even includes a sequence in which Katniss hallucinates herself as a bird whose feathers and wings are burned off.
• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: In the first book, Katniss is blown back by the explosion she sets off destroying the Careers' supplies and is rendered completely deaf in her left ear. Unable to escape, she only survives by hiding right under their noses. However, it's completely outdone in the Quarter Quell, when Katniss nearly kills herself breaking the force field over the arena.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: She gets dizzy from just half a glass of wine in the first book, and a few gulps of white liquor in the second.
• Celibate Heroine: Seeing the horror of the Hunger Games is enough to make her call off marriage and children, because they would just end up in the reaping and possibly as tributes. And this was before she ever participated herself. Later subverted, but it still takes 15 years and a lot love from Peeta to change her mind.
• The Comically Serious
• Cool Big Sis
• Debt Detester
• Despair Event Horizon: Prim's death.
  • She dances on it for quite a while before this, most memorably at the end of Catching Fire where Haymitch only keeps his promise to Peeta.
  • She pretty much crossed it after they nuked her home town and after that just keeps barely recovering only to be pitched back over it again, and again, and again. She's the female American Shinji Ikari!
• Determinator
• Disappeared Dad
• Emotionless Girl
• Empathic Weapon: The Mockingjay bow.
• Fan Service: Yes.
• Food Porn: Katniss's narration includes full descriptions of everything she eats, since she's such a Big Eater.
• Generation Xerox: Katniss' father fell in love with a merchant girl, Katniss herself fell in love with a merchant boy.
  • Not just that, this trope is doubled! Peeta meets Katniss when they are both children, after Peeta's father points her out to Peeta. Turns out, Peeta's dad wanted to marry Katniss' mother but she ended up falling in love with a miner. Peeta promptly falls in love with Katniss.
• Gray Eyes: Type 2 in some ways.
  • Also type 5.
• Heroic BSOD: A minor one towards the end of Catching Fire that starts to resolve during Mockingjay, only to implode and go supernova with Prim's death.
• Heroic Neutral
• The Hunter: After President Snow in Mockingjay.
• Improbable Aiming Skills
• Ineffectual Loner
• Informed Ability: In the film--her archery is hailed as being quite impressive, but of the seven shots she takes during the film, she succeeds in only three, one of them shot at point-blank range, and two of those she misses are large, still targets.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Once she finds out she'll be headed for another Hunger Games in the Quarter Quell
• Interrupted Suicide: Courtesy of Peeta.
• I Will Protect Her: Towards Prim, which sets the plot in motion.
• Jabba Table Manners: She deliberately starts eating with her fingers and wiping them on the tablecloth after Effie makes an insensitive comment about the previous tributes' table manners.
• Jade-Colored Glasses: Most people who grow up in the Seam wear them.
  • Most victors, too.
• Knight in Sour Armor
• Mama Bear: Towards Prim and Rue.
• Meaningful Name: Katniss is a real plant. Its common name? "Arrowhead."
• More Hero Than Thou
• Pitbull Dates Puppy
• Promotion to Parent
• Shell-Shocked Veteran
• Shout-Out: Name serves as one to Batsheba Everdene from Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man
• The Stoic
  • Stoic Woobie
    • Not So Stoic when Rue, and later Prim, dies.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Lamb stew with dried plums.
• Rebellious Rebel: She doesn't exactly agree with Coin on a few matters, to the point where she ends up killing Coin at the end of Mockingjay. When asked to become a mascot for the rebels, she only accepts after setting some terms to keep Peeta safe.
• Straight Man
• Stylish Protection Gear: Her Mockingjay suit - designed by a professional stylist, no less.
• Survival Mantra: In the beginning of Mockingjay.
• Survivor Guilt
• Theres No Place Like Home: In the first book. Inverted in the second.
• Unwitting Pawn: Present, lampshaded, and part of the symbolism. A mockingjay is a powerful symbol to the rebels, but it's also a bird that can't sing its own songs, relying on what others sing to it.
• Wreathed in Flames: Her entire public image is built around fire imagery after her fiery debut at the 74th Games. It backfires on her repeatedly, pun intended.
• You Got Spunk: When volunteering for her sister at the reaping, Haymitch announces drunkenly that he likes how she's got lots of spunk.

Peeta Mellark

Drawn to go along to the arena with Katniss, Peeta is one of the merchant class in District 12. He also happens to be completely head-over-heels for Katniss, which, it would seem, is his bad luck.

He's portrayed by Josh Hutcherson in the film.

• Action Survivor
• Ax Crazy: When he's been hijacked in Mockingjay
• Babies Ever After: with Katniss
• Berserk Button: Just don't mention Katniss to him in the third book. And especially don't leave her in the same room with him.
• Betty and Veronica: An interesting case, as personality-wise, Peeta would be Katniss's Betty, but in terms of relationship with the main character, he'd be the Veronica.
• Blue Eyes
• Brainwashed and Crazy
• Break the Cutie
• The Charmer / Consummate Liar: Arguably Peeta's strongest quality is his ability to win over the audience, and even his fellow tributes, with his magnetic personality and lies.
• Disney Death: Has one of these on the first day of the Quarter Quell
• Dying as Yourself: Kind of. It's what Peeta wanted. If he was going to die in the arena, he didn't want the Games to change who he was, like they often did with other tributes.
• Fighting From the Inside

"How do you think this will end? What will be left? No one is safe. Not in the Capitol. Not in the districts. And you... In Thirteen... Dead by morning!"

• Generation Xerox: The story goes that Peeta's father once fell in Love At First Sight with Katniss' mother, and pointed Katniss out to Peeta.
• Genre Savvy
• Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!
• Good Is Not Dumb: Peeta is kind, patient, and three steps ahead when it comes to manipulating the on-camera narrative.
• Guile Hero: He may be a load physically, but he's saved Katniss a lot of problems by being a big fat liar.
  • As such, he transforms into quite the Magnificent Bastard when he is brainwashed in Mockingjay.
• Hair of Gold
• The Heart
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Viciously subverted for a point, but ultimately played straight.
• Insane Equals Violent
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: His plan in Catching Fire is to get Katniss through the Quarter Quells at the expense of his own life, so she can be with her family and even marry Gale.
• I Will Protect Her: Well, until the Capitol brainwashes him, that is.
• Love Martyr
• Mind Rape
• Mind Control Eyes
• Missed Moment of Awesome: Peeta did stay to fight it out at the cornucopia on the first day of the hunger games and apparently did some serious fighting- enough to get some bad cuts and a limp. Whatever he did, the careers did decide to team up with him after seeing him in action and even Cato compliments his skill with a knife.
  • He also kills Brutus off screen.
• More Hero Than Thou
• Nice Guy
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Although it gets brushed under the rug, he still kills a defenceless girl in the games. It's also implied he's willing to kill almost anyone in the games to try and keep Katniss alive. And this is without going into his Brainwashed and Crazy period in Mockingjay.
• Non-Action Guy

Finnick: No one in this arena was a victor by chance. Except maybe Peeta.

• • Non-Action Snarker
• Self Deprecating Humor: Peeta is said to have this.
• Survival Mantra: Not real, not real, not real, not real...
• Through Her Stomach: Katniss really likes cheese buns.
• Trademark Favorite Food: He takes a keen professional interest in bread.
• What Kind Of Lame Power Is Cake Decorating Anyway
  • Also, Cake Decorating Is An Awesome Power when it helps his camouflage skills.
• Unskilled but Strong: Peeta is the closest character in the series to having Charles Atlas Superpower (due to having grown up lugging massive sacks of flour), but lacks the Killer Instinct to effectively use it.
  • Best seen in the film in his brief fight with Cato. Whenever Peeta could manage to get his hands on Cato (a large, well built guy), he'd be throwing him around. However, Cato easily gets him in a lock once he fights back.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist

Other District 12 Residents

The Everdeens

Katniss' family: her mother, (formerly) her father, and her 12-year-old sister Primrose, aka Prim. As a girl, her mother was a member of the merchant class but fell in love with and married a poor coal miner anyway. Katniss' father was killed in a mine explosion and her mother disappeared under the veil of crippling depression for years, but she's okay now.

Paula Malcolmson and Willow Shields portray Mrs. Everdeen and Prim, respectively, in the film.

• Blue Eyes: Prim and Mrs. Everdeen.
• Broken Bird: Mrs. Everdeen never gets over her husband's death, and after she finally gets over her Heroic BSOD, her youngest daughter dies and her oldest daughter moves back home, leaving her all alone.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Prim is burned alive by a detonating bomb.
• Dead Little Sister
• Disappeared Dad: Mr. Everdeen passed away five years before the story starts.
• Friend to All Living Things: Prim and Mr. Everdeen.
• Generation Xerox: Katniss looks like Mr. Everdeen, has inherited his hunting abilities and talent for singing and, like him, will marry someone from the town. Prim looks like Mrs. Everdeen and has inherited her passion for healing. Also, Mrs. Everdeen was close friends with Katniss' friend, Madge's mother, as a teenager and the father of Katniss' love interest Peeta had a crush on Mrs. Everdeen.
• Hair of Gold: Prim and Mrs. Everdeen again.
• Heroic BSOD: Mrs. Everdeen had one after Mr. Everdeen died that was so bad it left her unable to take care of Katniss and Prim.
• Killed Off for Real: Prim
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: Prim; she simply adores her cat Buttercup, who is utterly nasty to everyone except her.
• The Medic: Mrs. Everdeen and Prim.
• The Messiah: Prim.
• Morality Pet: Prim, for Katniss and Buttercup.
• Nice Girl: Prim, again.
• Parental Abandonment: Though eventually Mom got better.
• Posthumous Character: Mr. Everdeen.
• Sacrificial Lion: Prim.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Prim
• Unnamed Parent: Both of them.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Prim in Mockingjay.

Gale Hawthorne

Katniss' childhood friend, who became the primary breadwinner for his family after his father died in the same accident that killed Katniss' father. She sees him as a big brother/role model due to his proficiency with snares and his loyalty to his family, although there could be something more.

Liam Hemsworth portrays him in the film.

• Anti-Hero: Type IV.
• The Archer: Though Katniss is a better shot.
• Badass: The first time he gets in an actual fight he shoots down two bombers with explosive arrows. Essentially he kicks more ass in his first fight than Peeta does in two books spent as the second most important character.
• Betty and Veronica: An interesting case, as in terms of looks and personality, Gale would fit the Veronica role. However in terms of relationships with Katniss, he'd be the Betty.
• Birds of a Feather: Him and Katniss.
• Combat Pragmatist
• Disappeared Dad: His dad died in the same explosion that killed Katniss's.
• Mr. Fanservice: He maintains quite a healthy amount of fangirls for someone who was a tertiary character in the first book.
• Gray Eyes: He and Katniss are supposed to look so alike they could pass for siblings.
• He Who Fights Monsters
• It's All My Fault: He helped create the bombs that killed Prim, which leads him and Katniss to feel guilty about it.
• Kick the Morality Pet
• Manly Men Can Hunt: Gale is this trope.
• Promotion to Parent: After his father died, Gale took it upon himself to care for his many younger siblings.
• Rebellious Spirit
• The Strategist
• Tall, Dark and Handsome
• A Taste of the Lash: After he's caught hunting in Catching Fire
• Unlucky Childhood Friend: Although he doesn't seem too perturbed by it.
  • Victorious Childhood Friend: For about about a second in Catching Fire, in-between everything going horribly wrong.
• What the Hell, Hero?

Madge Undersee

The mayor's daughter and Katniss's schoolmate, Madge gives the Mockingjay pin to Katniss.

She was not in the movie, her role being taken up by Greasy Sae.

• Bus Crash
• Hair of Gold
• Lonely Together: With Katniss. The two of them would always sit alone together during lunch at school.
• Only Friend: Along with Gale, is probably this to Katniss.
• Pink Means Feminine: She wears a pink hair ribbon with her white dress to the reaping of the 74th Hunger Games.
• Spoiled Sweet: The Mayor's daughter is a surprisingly nice kid.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: She and Prim are the girly girls to Katniss's tomboy.

Tributes, Past and Present

Haymitch Abernathy

Katniss and Peeta's mentor, the only surviving victor from District 12 (the other one is dead), who has to give them tips on how to survive the arena, arrange deals with sponsors to get them potentially life-saving items, and other things for which you generally would prefer someone to be sober, unfortunately not one of Haymitch's better skills. Also it seems a key member of La Résistance.

Woody Harrelson plays him in the film.

• The Alcoholic
• The Chessmaster: In Catching Fire, Haymitch helps orchestrate Katniss's escape from the Quarter Quell.
• Consummate Liar
• Catch Phrase: Sweetheart
• Cynical Mentor
• Deadpan Snarker
• Guile Hero: How he won his Game -- which happened to be the Quarter Quell, where there was double the number of tributes. His tactic was to not only stay away from the majority of the fighting, but to use the properties of the arena itself as a weapon.
• Hidden Depths: And how!
• I Was Quite a Looker
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's jaded and bitter, certainly, but that's because of how many times where he's watched Non-Action Guy tributes get blown up. He becomes a lot more helpful when Katniss gets fed up with his bull and proves herself having more than a snowball's chance in hell.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: In his first appearance, he really didn't seem like he was capable of much. Cue the second book where he actually helps Katniss escape the Quarter Quell, and his method of winning his first Hunger Games.
• Stout Strength
• Xanatos Speed Chess: Either plays this or the Indy Ploy most days, assuming he's sober.

Rue

A twelve-year-old from District 11 and one of the younger arena contestants, who develops a sisterly relationship with Katniss. Her special skills include tree-climbing, extensive knowledge of edible wildlife, and outstanding accuracy with a slingshot.

Amandla Stenberg plays her in the film.

• Ambiguously Brown/Token Black: District 11 has some parallels to the American slave-run plantations.
• Animal Motifs: To an extent, birds.
• Combat Pragmatist: She's the one who directs Katniss towards the trackerjacker hive that gets dropped onto the Careers
• Decoy Deuteragonist
• Flower in Her Hair: After her death, Katniss places a wreath of flowers on her head.
• Fragile Speedster

"I'm very hard to catch. And if they can't catch me, they can't kill me."

• Go Out with a Smile: Katniss sings to her as she dies, and she smiles at Katniss.
• Killed Off for Real
• Kill the Cutie
• Last Request: She asks Katniss to sing for her. Doubles as a Tear Jerker.
• Meaningful Name
• Plucky Girl
• Replacement Goldfish: To Katniss, who can't help but see her little sister Prim in Rue. When Rue is dying, Katniss actually refers to her as Prim in her thoughts, before correcting herself.
• Sacrificial Lion
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Especially played up in the film where the entire fight with Marvel is silent: Katniss takes him down, and then turns around and notices that Rue has been impaled by a spear.
• Weapon of Choice: Shown to be pretty handy with a slingshot during the training sessions.

Thresh

A tall, powerfully-built young man from District 11. Survives on his own in the fields of tall grass on the opposite side of the arena from Katniss. Asked to join the Career pack, but he refuses the offer.

Dayo Okeniyi plays him in the film.

• Ambiguously Brown/Token Black: District 11 has some parallels to the American slave-run plantations.
• Badass
• Curb Stomp Battle: He completely pulverizes Clove until she dies.
• Debt Detester
• Eyes of Gold: Described as a 'strange golden brown'.
• Hulk Speak: Mild example, suiting for a guy of few words like him. "You better run now, Fire Girl."
• Killed Off for Real
• Knight Templar Big Brother: His relationship to Rue is never really given, but he isn't exactly happy after she dies.
• Morality Pet: He seems to be rather protective of Rue.
• Papa Wolf: Towards Rue. Clove learns this the hard way.
• One-Scene Wonder
• Orcus on His Throne: Until Rue dies, then he finally goes on the offensive.
• Pet the Dog: Spares Katniss in return for her making a burial for Rue earlier on.
• The Quiet One
• Scary Black Man
• Wild Card

Foxface

A tribute from District 5. Extremely resourceful and survives in the Games by stealing from the other Tributes.

She's portrayed by Jacqueline "Jackie" Emerson in the film.

• Animal Motifs: Foxes, of course.
• Anti-Villain: The only thing bad about her is that she's Katniss' opponent, and she doesn't do anything bad in the book or the film.
• Cunning Like a Fox
• Eyes of Gold
• In-Series Nickname: Katniss, not knowing her real name, referred to her as "Foxface" in her head.
• Killed Off for Real: Rather randomly, but at least more painlessly than most.
• No Name Given/Only Known by Their Nickname
• Not So Different: In the film, she briefly bumps into Katniss whilst running from the Cornucopia bloodbath, and the look of terror she wears is a reflection of Katniss's own fear.
• One of Us: Her actress Jackie Emerson is apparently a huge fan of the series.
• Too Clever by Half: Unless her death was intentional on her part.
• Trickster
• Weak but Skilled
• Wild Card

Cato

A brutish "Career" tribute from District 2 and one of the deadliest opponents in the arena.

Alexander Ludwig portrays him in the film.

• Arch Enemy: To Katniss in the first book, or at least he seems to consider himself as such. Deconstructed towards the end.
• Ax Crazy
• Big Bad: Of the first book, in a way.

And really, wasn't he always the one to kill? Now it seems the other tributes were just minor obstacles, distractions, keeping us from the real battle of the Games. Cato and me.

• Blond Guys Are Evil
• Blood Knight
• Cruel and Unusual Death
• Eaten Alive: Happens to him because of the twenty-some Mutts that gnaw at his flesh.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: He's got a short fuse, and Heaven help who is in his way when it goes off.
• Hard Work Hardly Works: He and the other Careers spend their entire lives training for the Games, only to be beaten by a relative novice from an outlying district.
• Heel Realization: In the film, Cato realizes before his death that he spent his entire life being bred to be a pawn in the Capitol's scheme and whether he lives or dies he was just a part of the show.
• Human Shield/Taking You with Me: He ends up using Peeta as a human shield in case Katniss tries to kill him with the bow. Unlike most examples of the Human Shield trope, where it's done to discourage someone from killing them, the way he is talking to her when doing so implies that he wants her to kill him, or at least doesn't care whether she kills him or not at this point.
• Killed Off for Real
• Mercy Kill: Courtesy of Katniss.
• Motive Rant: In the film. See Heel Realization.
• Neck Snap: Does this to the District 3 boy after Katniss destroys the supplies.
• Pet the Dog: After Clove died, he took a moment to grieve for her. He was also willing to sleep curled up with Glimmer.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy: Like the other "Career" tributes, he comes across this way to some extent due to his District's practice of training kids for the Games.
• Villainous Breakdown: Completely loses it near the end, savagely attacking Katniss and Peeta like a wild animal.
• Tyke Bomb: Raised from childhood to fight and to kill.
• Villains Prefer Machetes
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Comes across as this in the film, thanks to his Motive Rant.

Clove

Cato's fellow tribute from District 2, who relishes killing her competitors with an array of knives she keeps in her jacket.

In the film, she's portrayed by Isabelle Fuhrman.

• Ax Crazy
• Blood Knight
• Dark Action Girl
• Dirty Coward: She's more than happy to prey upon tributes weaker than her and gloat towards people she's about to kill, but as her reaction to being cornered by Thresh shows, she's quick to cry and whimper the very moment she's faced with someone stronger than her.
• The Dragon: To Cato.
• Evil Gloating
  • Bond Villain Stupidity
  • Tempting Fate: Bragging about how your team killed the little girl while her Scary Black Man of a partner is nearby isn't the brightest of things to do.
• Karmic Death: She really shouldn't have bragged about Rue's death in the presence of Thresh.
• Killed Off for Real
• Knife Nut: In the film, she's shown to even sleep whilst gripping a knife handle.
• Older Than They Look: Thanks to inverted Dawson Casting - the 18-year-old Clove is played by Isabelle Fuhrman, who was 14 during filming.
• One-Scene Wonder
• Proud Warrior Race Girl: Like the other "Career" tributes, she comes across this way to some extent due to her District's practice of training kids for the Games.
• Tyke Bomb: As seems to be the norm in "Career Districts".
• Villainous Breakdown: After Thresh gets his hands on her, Clove immediately goes from smug and sadistic to completely terrified and screaming her lungs out until she dies.

Marvel

The male tribute from District 1.

Portrayed by Jack Quid in the film.

• Asshole Victim
• Ax Crazy
• Blade on a Stick: His preferred weapon is a spear.
• The Brute
• Cruel and Unusual Death
• Karmic Death: He really, really shouldn't have speared Rue in front of Katniss.
• Killed Off for Real
• No Name Given: Subverted. We never find out his name in The Hunger Games, but in Catching Fire, it's revealed.
• Tyke Bomb
• Would Hit a Girl/Would Hurt a Child: He kills Rue.

Glimmer

The female tribute from District 1.

Portrayed by Leven Rambin in the film.

• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Seems to have a little thing for Cato in the film.
• Asshole Victim
• Blondes Are Evil
• Braids of Action
• Cruel and Unusual Death
• Dark Chick
• Death From Above
• Due to the Dead: Nauseatingly averted. It's not made clear exactly what's hallucination and what isn't, but Glimmer's corpse seems pretty desecrated by any standard by the time Katniss gets done prying away those weapons.
• Femme Fatale
• Family-Unfriendly Death: Nearly ties for the most horrific death in the book. The special effects in the film don't skimp on the Nausea Fuel, either.
• Killed Off for Real
• Ms. Fanservice: In-universe, this is her entire gimmick for getting sponsors.
• Ninja Looting: That bow was meant for Katniss, but it doesn't stop Glimmer from claiming it when she gets there first.
• Pink Means Feminine: As the girliest of the named female Tributes, it's fitting that her movie interview dress is this shade.
• She's Got Legs: With its artificially high waist and short, fluffy skirt, her movie interview dress seems calculated to make her legs look as long as possible. It works.
• Tyke Bomb

Finnick Odair

A devilishly handsome former victor from District 4, the fishing district. Best known for being one of the youngest victors (he was fourteen at the time) and for the string of broken hearts he leaves behind him in the Capitol. Won his Games by earning so many sponsors that he earned himself an ornate trident that he used to single-handedly destroy the rest of the competition.

• Casanova
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Getting ripped apart by muttations probably wasn't the best way to go.
• Mr. Fanservice: In-universe example; later Deconstructed.
• Green Eyed Red Head
• Hands-On Approach: How he teaches Katniss how to knot.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold
• Jail Bait Wait: He was fourteen when he won his games, so his fanbase had a couple of years to wait before going after him.
• Ladykiller in Love
• The Lancer: To Katniss in the Quarter Quell.
• Mercy Kill: Katniss drops a bomb in the tunnel to spare him from dying a very, very horrible death by muttation-chewing.
• Pretty Boy
• Prongs of Poseidon
• Retirony: You couldn't have waited until after the war to get married, Finnick?
• Sacrificial Lion
• Sex Slave
• So Beautiful It's a Curse: Justified, as it turns out. Apparently being an extremely attractive victor has a bigger downside than you'd think.
• Someone to Remember Him By: He has a son with Annie posthumously at the end of Mockingjay.
• Survival Mantra: Non-verbal example: his constant knotting in the third book.
• Wartime Wedding: To Annie in Mockingjay.

Johanna Mason

A former arena tribute from District 7, the lumber district, who pretended to be weak and useless before ruthlessly cutting her way to victory.

• An Axe to Grind: Her Weapon of Choice.
• The Big Guy: In the Quarter Quell.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: her gambit in her original Games, but ultimately she turns out to be a...
  • Break the Haughty
• Broken Bird: But then again, aren't all past victors?
• Consummate Liar: And wouldn't ya know.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: How she won her Games. When she actually appears, she drops it.
• Deadpan Snarker
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!
• Early-Bird Cameo: Not really. She's vaguely mentioned in the first book.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold and a Jerkass Facade
• Naked on Arrival: Not exactly, but the first thing she does on-page is complain about her costume and strip down to her slippers. And then get in an elevator with Katniss and Peeta, chatting casually the whole way up.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Again, how she won her Games. She appeared so weak and harmless that everyone pretty much left her alone. Then she started kicking ass.
• Shameless Fanservice Girl: Usually combined with Naked People Are Funny, playing on the awkwardness or absurdity of the situation.
• Why Did It Have To Be Water
  • She wasn't always like this. Her fear of water is because the Capitol tortured her by soaking her, and then shocking her.
• Will Not Be a Victim

Wiress and Beetee

A pair of former victors from District 3, electronics and explosives.

• Ambiguous Disorder: Wiress. She acts a lot like a person with severe autism, but she might just be deeply traumatized - or just generally odd.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Wiress.
• The Cuckoolander Was Right: "Tick tock."
• Gadgeteer Genius: Beetee. See The Smart Guy.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Wiress
• Killed Off for Real: Wiress
• Madness Mantra: Wiress again.
• The Smart Guys: Beetee in particular is described as having managed to win his Games by building an electrified trap for his competitors; he also develops new weapons for the rebellion and helps cut into the Capitol's TV broadcasts so the rebels can spread their own propaganda.

Annie Cresta

A past tribute from District 4, who won her Games by being able to swim to safety when the arena was flooded. Is in love with Finnick.

• Babies Make Everything Better: After Finnick dies, she gives birth to his son.
• Break the Cutie
• Green Eyes: They're described as sea-green, like Finnick's.
• Meaningful Name: Annie Cresta is from District 4, whose main industry is fishing.
• Olympic Swimmer: How she won her games.
• The Ophelia: She's presented as unstable at the best of times.
• Rapunzel Hair: Never specified, but twice her hair is mentioned as voluminous and very long.
• Someone to Remember Him By: She gives birth to Finnick's son after his death.
• Weak but Skilled: We never heard of her killing anyone, but she could swim, so she outlasted everyone when the arena flooded.
• What Does He See In Her: Out of all the rich and powerful lovers that Finnick's had, "the mad girl he left behind him" is the only one he truly loves.
• Wartime Wedding: Her and Finnick in Mockingjay.

District 3

District 3 Tributes

The unnamed tributes of District 3 during the 74th Hunger Games.

The girl died in the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. The boy survives the first day and joins with the "Career" tributes, acting as a supply guard and setting up booby traps around the area. When Katniss blows all of it up, Cato kills him in a fit of rage.

They are played by Tara Macken & Ethan Jamieson respectively.

• Gadgeteer Genius: The boy managed to re-arm the mines around the starting area to be used as booby traps.
• Killed Off for Real
• No Name Given
• Neck Snap: Cato kills the boy this way.
• We Hardly Knew Ye

District 4

District 4 Tributes

The unnamed "Career" tributes of District 4 during the 74th Hunger Games.

The boy died in the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. The girl survives the first day and joins the "Career" pack but is killed shortly after when Katniss drops the tracker jacker nest on the group. 

They are played by Kalia Prescott & Ian Nelson respectively.

• An Axe to Grind: The girl's Weapon of Choice (film only).
• Cruel and Unusual Death: The girl's fate.
• Death From Above: The girl's fate.
• Family-Unfriendly Death: The girl's fate.
• Killed Off for Real: The girl's fate.
• No Name Given
• Tyke Bomb: Raised from childhood to fight and to kill.
• We Hardly Knew Ye

District 5

District 5 Tribute

The unnamed male tribute of District 5 during the 74th Hunger Games. (His partner Foxface has her own section above).

He is killed in the bloodbath at the Cornucopia.

He is played by Chris Mark.

• Cool Sword: His Weapon of Choice (film only).
• Killed Off for Real
• No Name Given
• We Hardly Knew Ye

District 6

District 6 Tributes

The unnamed tributes of District 6 during the 74th Hunger Games.

They are both killed in the bloodbath at the cornucopia.

They are played by Kara Petersen and Ashton Moio respectively.

• The Archer: The girl's Weapon of Choice (film only).
• Girlish Pigtails: The girl has them.
• Killed Off for Real
• No Name Given
• We Hardly Knew Ye

District 7

District 7 Tributes

The unnamed tributes of District 7 during the 74th Hunger Games.

They are both killed in the bloodbath at the Cornucopia.

They are played by Leigha Hancock & Sam Ly respectively.

• An Axe to Grind: The boy's Weapon of Choice. (film only)
• Knife Nut: The girl's Weapon of Choice (throwing knives, film only)
• Braids of Action: The girl has them (film only).
• Killed Off for Real
• No Name Given
• We Hardly Knew Ye

District 8

District 8 Tributes

The unnamed tributes of District 8 during the 74th Hunger Games.

The boy died in the initial bloodbath at the Cornucopia. The girl survives the first day, but due to a lack of supplies, she foolishly starts a fire that allows the "Career" pack to find and attack her. She is mortally wounded, but does not die quickly, so Peeta returns and MercyKills her, Katniss is close by and hears everything.

They are played by: Mackenzie Lintz and Samuel Tan respectively.

• Killed Off for Real
• Mercy Kill: Peeta does this to her.
• No Name Given
• Too Dumb to Live: The girl lights a campfire, at night, which makes her a sitting duck for the Careers, who kill her.
• We Hardly Knew Ye

District 9

District 9 Tributes

The unnamed tributes of District 9 during the 74th Hunger Games.

They are both killed in the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. The boy is the first tribute killed in the 74th Hunger Games in the novel, stabbed by Clove while he was fighting with Katniss over a backpack.

They are played by Annie Thurman & Imanol Yepez-Frias respectively.

• Blood From the Mouth: The boy when he gets stabbed by Clove.
• Killed Off for Real
• No Name Given
• We Hardly Knew Ye

District 10

District 10 Tributes

The unnamed tributes of District 10 during the 74th Hunger Games.

The girl died in the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. The boy escaped with supplies into the forest, but is killed offscreen later.

They are played by Dakota Hood & Jeremy Marinas respectively.

• Bury Your Disabled: The boy had a crippled foot.
• Killed Off for Real
• No Name Given
• We Hardly Knew Ye

The Capitol and Other Associated People

As a Whole

• Even the Capitol Has Standards: This is one of few cases where teenage pregnancy is a good thing because it’s excuses females from becoming tributes.

Effie Trinket

The escort of the District 12 tributes. Though she hates being stuck with the lamest district, Effie still tackles her job (you know, bringing kids to die for the entertainment of the masses) with enthusiasm and gusto, hoping for a promotion to somewhere better.

Played by Elizabeth Banks in the film.

• Feigning Intelligence: She's probably dumber than a jar of mayonnaise, but she certainly doesn't see it that way.

"Everyone has their reservations, naturally. You being from the coal district. But I said, and this was very clever of me, I said, 'Well, if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls!'"

• Genki Girl: A grownup version.
• Schedule Fanatic: A mild example in Catching Fire.
• Skewed Priorities: In the movie, she's more upset that Katniss stabbed the table ("That is mahogany!") than that she almost stabbed Haymitch in the hand.
• Stepford Smiler: Katniss eventually realizes that Effie's shallowness is a defense mechanism which is her way of coping with her role in the Games.
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Or pink, or orange, or gold. Justified in that they're wigs.

Cinna

Katniss' soft-spoken personal stylist for the Games who quickly becomes one of her closest friends in the Capitol. He has a flair for the dramatic which is in part what leads to his downfall.

Portrayed by Lenny Kravitz in the film.

• Costume Porn
• Cultured Badass: Instigates a rebellion with the power of fashion.
• Doomed Moral Victor
• Eyes of Gold: Downplayed - he has golden flecks in his green eyes.
• The Fashionista
• Green Eyes
• Meaningful Name: The original Cinna was a doomed opponent of Sulla the dictator.
  • Also, the word "Cinna" kind of sounds like "cinders."
  • And Cinnamon, further reinforcing how sweet this guy is compare to most of Panem.
• Nice Guy: One of the nicest, sweetest people in the Crapsack World that is Panem, so much that Katniss quickly grew to like him.
• Stylish Protection Gear: The Mockingjay suit he designs for Katniss. Justified in that Katniss the "Mockingjay" is the symbol of the rebellion, and so needs to look suitably iconic.
• Thanatos Gambit

President Coriolanus Snow

The president of Panem. He has puffy lips and smells of blood and roses. He's not very fond of Katniss.

Donald Sutherland portrays him in the film.

• Acquired Poison Immunity
• Animal Motifs: He's been described as "snake-eyed".
• Ascended Extra: In the film, although as he's the Big Bad (and with all the scenes beyond Katniss' perspective), this makes a lot of sense.
• Big Bad: Certainly sitting in this position by the end of Catching Fire.
• Big Brother Is Watching
• The Chessmaster
• Die Laughing Possibly. The jury is out in-universe regarding whether it's this or being trampled that got him killed.
• Even Evil Has Standards: A right bastard he might be, but when he gives his word, he keeps it. This clued in Katniss that he was telling the truth about Coin being responsible for Prim's death.
• Evil Old Folks
• Human Shield: He held Capitol children in fenced outside his mansion in order to keep people from attacking him. It didn't work out the way he wanted
• I Gave My Word: Unlike Coin, if Snow promises to do something, he keeps his word. This is one of the few redeemable traits of his character.
• Killed Off for Real
• Manipulative Bastard
• Meaningful Name: Named after the Shakespearian Tragic Hero in the eponymous play. He shares similar traits - he cares little about the ordinary folk and wants to maintain a totalitarian state.
• Not Me This Time/Frame-Up: He was in fact innocent of the bombing of the Capitol children and then the District 13 medics, even when it seemed as though he did it because the hovercrafts with the bombs (which were really from District 13, as the Capitol had lost all of theirs during the destruction of the Nut) were emblazoned with the Capitol seal.
• President Evil
• Something About a Rose: The smell of blood is natural, thanks to not taking an antidote quickly enough after poisoning both himself and a rival. The smell of roses covers it up.
• Snow Means Death
• Would Hurt a Child: Oh yeah.

Venia, Octavia, and Flavius

Katniss' prep team from the Capitol. Their job is to pretty her up for public appearances.

• Amazing Technicolor Population: Octavia's skin is dyed light green.
• Break the Cutie: In Mockingjay.
• Chatty Hairdresser
• Cloudcuckoolander: All three.
• Facial Markings: The gold tattoos above Venia's eyes.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Venia has aqua hair, Flavius has orange.

Alma Coin

The president of District 13.

• The Chessmaster
• Gray Eyes
• Genghis Gambit: In order to rally the people in the Capitol on her side and end things early, Coin blows up a bunch of children and makes it look like Snow is responsible. It works, initially.
• Iron Lady
• Karmic Death
• La Résistance
• Not So Different: from Snow.
• President Evil
• Shoot the Hostage: She orders a bombing attack on children being used as human shields by President Snow - and makes it appear that the attack was initiated by Snow, in order to destroy any remaining public support for Snow's regime.
• The Uriah Gambit: Tries this. It fails.
• Would Hurt a Child: Her actions lead to Prim's death, among others.

Seneca Crane

The Head Gamemaker of the 74th Hunger Games. He orchestrates everything that happens in the arena except for the actions of the tributes themselves (and even sometimes, he controls that). He ends up executed because of his allowing for two winners instead of one as planned.

Portrayed by Wes Bently in the film.

• Ascended Extra: In the film. In the book, he's not identified by name, let alone singled out by appearance; he was first mentioned as the Head Gamemaker in the second book well after his death.
• Big Bad: Of the film version, though he's still The Dragon to President Snow.
• Beard of Evil
• Damned If You Do Damned If You Don't: He ended up being forced to let both District 12 tributes become Victors because if he didn't, there would be no Victor at all, which would have been a colossal failure on his part. This decision leads to his execution between the first and second books and his implied forced suicide at the end of the movie.
• Driven to Suicide/You Have Failed Me: It is strongly implied in the ending of the film that President Snow forced him to commit suicide in a locked room with nightlock berries as his punishment for his failure to produce one winner instead of two. In the book, he's executed for this.
• Punch Clock Villain: He's not really that evil, just doing his job - he even gave Katniss the top score of 11/12 because: "Well, she deserved it".
• Slave to PR: Most of the decisions Seneca makes regarding the Games is a result of him trying to appeal to what the masses would like. Ends up being his Fatal Flaw when Katniss uses this as a Batman Gambit.
• Villainy Free Villain: Being in charge of the games makes him the bad guy by default.
  • He runs the titular Blood Sport to entertain the people of the Capitol, he isn't that innocent
• You Have Failed Me: Snow orders his execution over the 75th Hunger Games debacle.

Caesar Flickerman

Host of The Hunger Games, famous for dyeing his hair a new color for each iteration. His main concern is keeping the televised interviews light and upbeat. His co-host and announcer is Claudius Templesmith.

Portrayed by Stanley Tucci in the film.

• Eternally Pearly-White Teeth: His grinning mug appears on in-universe toothpaste ads used to promote the film.
• Fun Personified
• The Host
• Older Than He Looks: Although 24 years have passed since the Second Quarter Quell, he looks the exact same when he interviews the tributes for the 74th Hunger Games. This is achieved through massive amounts of cosmetic surgery, common among Capitol citizens.
• Perpetual Smiler