Hunger Games Summary

The hunger games take place in the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem, located in North America.

Main Characters

Katniss Everdeen- she is a sixteen-year-old and the protagonist of the story. The hunger games are told from her perspective.

Peeta Mellark- is the male tribute from District 12. Peeta has quietly loved Katniss for years and is willing to sacrifice himself for her.

Gale- he is Katniss’s hunting companion at home. Gale also lives in the Seam and is responsible for keeping his younger brothers from going hungry.

Primrose Everdeen- she is Katniss’s little sister with blonde hair and blue eyes. Primrose is young, innocent, and not as strong or independent as Katniss.

Katniss’s mother- she is Katniss and Prim’s mother who is from a wealthier merchant class within District 12 but moved to the Seam to marry their father for love.

Haymitch Abernathy- he is the only surviving winner of the Hunger Games from District 12, which makes him the mentor for Peeta and Katniss.

Cinna- he is Katniss’s stylist for the games, earning her the nickname “girl on fire” with the costumes he designs. Cinna becomes Katniss’s friend, instructing her to be herself for the interviews.

Effie Trinket- she is the escort of the tributes from District 12, meaning she steers the tributes through the rituals of the Games.

Plot Summary

When Katniss wakes up on Prim’s first reaping day, she heads to the woods to hunt with Gale, her best friend, and hunting partner. She brings home a feast that will serve as a celebratory dinner after the reaping. At the reaping, the mayor reads a speech about the history of the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are meant as a punishment for the districts that once rebelled against the Capitol. As punishment, one girl and one boy are taken from each of the twelve districts every year and forced to fight to the death until there is only one winner left.

Prim’s name is called despite the odds against it as the female tribute for District 12 to Katniss’s shock. However, Katniss rushes out and volunteers in prim’s place before Prim can mount the stage. Peeta Mellark is called the male tribute, and Katniss is upset because she’s indebted to Peeta from years ago. When Katniss’s father died in a mining accident, Peeta for some reason snuck some bread to her, and this generosity prevented her family from starving.

When it’s time to say goodbye to her family, Katniss promises Prim that she will try hard to win the Games and return. Peeta’s father, the mayor’s daughter Madge, and Gale also come to say goodbye. Madge gives Katniss a mocking jay pin to wear in the arena. Katniss and Peeta take a train to the Capitol, amazed by the luxury of their compartments. They team up to get Haymitch, their drunken mentor, to stay sober enough to give them advice.

When Katniss arrives at the Capitol, she is surprised by how normal-looking her stylist, Cinna, is, in comparison to the other very “artificial” citizens of the Capitol. He designs a remarkable costume made out of fake flames for Katniss to wear in the opening ceremony. Peeta confesses his love for Katniss in a nationally televised interview the day before they enter the arena and Katniss angrily believes that it is all part of his strategy to win the Games.

When they enter the arena the next day, Katniss is able to survive in the woods fairly easily, but soon the Game makers engineer a number of obstacles to bring the competitors together. First, a wall of fire drives everyone away from the edge of the arena, and then a series of fireballs target Katniss. One catches her on the calf, and she is badly burned. When Katniss is cornered by the Career tributes at the top of a tree, Rue helps her locate a trucker jacket nest, and Katniss sets it loose upon the Careers. However, Katniss also gets stung and begins hallucinating, and she vaguely remembers that Peeta who seemed to be allied with the Careers put himself in danger and ends up saving her life and telling her to run.

Rue and Katniss team up, but their alliance is short-lived, as Rue is soon killed. Katniss weaves a wreath for Rue and sings to Rue in her last moments, and Rue’s district sends Katniss a loaf of bread in thanks. The Gamemakers who run the Game announce that the rules have been changed so that there can be two winners from the same district, likely to ratchet up the tension of the Games for the viewing audience by getting Katniss to go and try to help Peeta, who was injured by Cato when he saved Katniss. Katniss immediately sets off to find Peeta. After she finds him, badly injured and not far from death, Katniss realizes that Haymitch wants her to play up the romance for the audience, so she does so, while Peeta is happy just to be with her, he does not seem to be acting at all.

The Game makers announce that all remaining contestants can get something they badly need at the Cornucopia where the games began. Katniss is nearly killed by the career tribute Clover from District 2 but is saved by Thresh who then lets Katniss go to repay her for the kindness she showed to Rue. Thresh then runs off with his package and Cato’s. Katniss returns to Peeta with her package, which turns out to be medicine that soon returns him back to health.