The Districts

I mentioned how each district is unique, and has its own traits; so let's take a closer look into that.
First let's talk a little bit about the Nation of Panem. it is said to have rose up out of the ashes of what was once North America. in Panem you have the Capitol and you have it's twelve districts. in this post we will take a closer look as to what goes on in those districts.

The Capitol. Here lives President Snow and the government that controls the districts and holds the annual Hunger Games. The citizens of the Capitol live far better off than the citizens in the districts. they eat more food than anyone person should be able to eat, and they dress in these outrageous colourful costumes, as their everyday clothing. they also have very bright and colourful hair, makeup, and tattoos.

In District 1 they make special goods (luxury items) for the Capitol. In District 1 the children are raised to like the Hunger Games and train all the lives for it; they are in the alliance known as the "Careers". Marvel and Glimmer and the tributes from this District.

District 2 has a central mountain in the midst of it; this mountain contains the command and control apparatus for the Capitol's defences. Originally District 2 only specialised in stone cutting and mining, but after the Dark Days war it also was tasked with weapons production. District 2 children are also raised to be "Careers" in the Hunger Games. Cato and Clove were the tributes who participated in the 74th annual Hunger Games. They play a big part in the games and do very good in them. especially Cato who made it to the final 3 before he died.

District 3 specialises in electronics. Most people who live there work in factories and are very good with engineering. the district 3 tribute made the mine field, from the starting plates,that surrounded the main alliance`s food supply.

District 4 fishes for the Capitol. District 4 is also home to the "Career" tributes.

District 5's industry is Power. the girl tribute from district 5 was nicknamed "Foxface" because Katniss thought she looked fox-like in her features. the boy from this district was one of the eleven that died on the first day.

District 6 is transportation.

District 7 specialises in lumber and paper.

District 8's speciality is textiles.

District 9 is the industry of grain. The male tribute from this district is described as having Hazel eyes and was stabbed in the back by Clove while fighting Katniss for a  backpack.

District 10 specialises in livestock.

District 11's speciality is agriculture. Rue and Thresh are the tributes from district 11 and they play very important roles in the novel. Rue becomes allied with Katniss and Thresh spares Katniss' life. Rue was the youngest of the bunch and became best friends with Katniss in the arena, she was killed by Marvel, whom Katniss killed right after. Katniss  gave Rue the perfect "funeral" so to speak and unintentionally it was an act of rebellion against the Capitol.  Thresh was a brutal and strong guy. he saved Katniss by hitting Clove in the head with a rock and then spared her life by not killing her himself. Thresh was killed by Cato we assume since it was never truly stated.

 District 12 mines coal for the Capitol. District 12 is very poor and starvation is a major issue for most citizens. District 12 has the most easy going authority because they are so poor. The fences around each district are supposed to be electrocuted but because district 12 is sometimes lucky enough to get even 1 or 2 hours of electricity a day, their fence is usually not electrocuted. This is when Katniss and her best friend Gale go hunting (which is illegal) in the woods. they sell their meat and pelts at the black market in the seam. The Seam is the poorer part of town where the coal miners work and live. the people from this area of town usually are characterised with grey eyes, dark hair, and olive skin. where in the wealthier part of the District the citizens are characterised by blond hair and blue eyes. Haymitch Abernathy is the only one of two victors from district 12 who is still living. He mentors the tributes from district 12 who would be Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. Katniss Everdeen is played by Jennifer Lawrence, Peeta Mellark is played by Josh Hutcherson, and Gale Hawthorne is played by Liam Hemsworth.

And District 13 has been obliterated.

The Characters - Part 2

There's a lot of books where the characters don't seem real or believeable. Well that's certainly not the case for Peeta Mellark. in The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins really bring Peeta Mellark to life, and has him pull on out heart string. Peeta grew up in District 12, he comes from a family of bakers, and he's a well-mannered, respectable young man. at the beginning of the games, Haymitch told Katniss to pretend to be a couple with Peeta. But what he left out was that Peeta is already madly in love with her; since he first klayed eyes on her at age 5. I think that what makes Peeta so real and believeable is that he's so inniocent, a true-hearted. We also connect and relate with Peeta. We see him through Katniss' eyes so at first we don't know much about him, but it makes him more realistic as we learn who this kindhearted stranger is. Some facts about Peeta Mellark that make him seem real: Peeta, like Katiss, is 16 years old. he was born in the richer part of Distric 12. he was wavy blonde hair, and blue eyes; which is an indicator of the wealthier people in the district. he is described as being very strong. he has never had the courage to tell Katniss he loves her until the Games, And he has saved her life multiple times during the Hunger Games, as she has for him.

Government Control

One of the main themes the author uses throughout the entire series is Government Control.
we see this in the Capitol's rules, how they control the districts, and their choice of entertainment. The Capitol enforces rues such as nobody is allowed to leave their district unless it's in account of the Hunger Games. to enforce this rule all districts are surrounded by some type of fencing to keep them inside, and outsiders outside. The Capitol also has a very strong hold on all of the districts. The Capitol uses each district for it's resources, they work the citizens to the bone, and just take those resources from them for very little pay, especially in district 12. And then you have the big one. The one thing that the Capitol forces 24 children to participate in every year. The Hunger Games. "The rules of the Hunger Games are simple. in punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must provide one girl and one boy, called tributes, to participate. the twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland. over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. the last tribute standing wins." - Narrator (Katniss Everdeen), The Hunger Games. So if you are a boy or girl between the ages of 12 and 18, you are forced by the Capitol to be entered into the draw for the reaping, and you MUST participate in the Hunger Games. Although if someone volunteers as tribute in your place, as Katniss does for her sister Prim (Primrose).

The Characters

Characters change so much throughout books. In The Hunger Games we see how the main character takes a drastic leap from who they started as.

We have KATNISS EVERDEEN. Katniss started off as the rebellious teenager, who hunted out of district (2 things of which are illegal in Panem). She never dreamed her name would be picked for the reaping let alone her sister's. When Prim's name was picked and Katniss volunteered for tribute, it was the beginning of the end for her. Katniss needed to develop social skills. She has never been a good people person, especially with people she doesn't like (meaning the Capitol). Katniss uses her hunting skills which she adapted originally from her late father and then later from her best friend Gale.she uses these skills to survive. about halfway through the games Katniss is allied with Peeta. Katniss' mother is a healer (type of doctor), Katniss believes she has inherited nothing from her mother but Peeta counters this. He makes his case by observing how instinctly Katniss is healing Peeta's wounded knee. She uses her new found skill throughout the course of the games. Katniss also plays along with Haymitch's idea of Her and Peeta being a couple; but somewhere along the way did that act turn into reality? By the end of the games Katniss and Peeta are the only two survivors, her final act in rebellion is against the Capitol is to have both tributes die so there is no winner. The viewers believe this is an act of love between her and Peeta; neither wanting to live without the other. But was Katniss acting out of love? or was it out of hatred for the Capitol? all in all Katniss Everdeen goes from being the rebelling, starving, District 12 hunter girl, to becoming, the spectacular, hunter star-crossed lover, that all of Panem now knows her to be.

Can we actually relate to this futuristic novel?

It may seem impossible to think that we in the year 2011/2012 can actually relate to people in a world where our home, North America, has been destroyed, but it's not actually that far of a stretch. We are both run by governments, and have to follow the rules that those governments put in place. Both countries also contain poverty. In The Hunger Games districts such as 12 are in severe poverty. And we all have the same emotions. the citizens of the Capitol are greedy, rude, and selfish people. And in contrast the people of District 12 are humble, caring, and friendly. We all have LOVE in common. The Hunger Games portrays the very common love triangle. We see this in so many books today, an example of a series with a dominant love triangle would be the Twilight Saga. In the Twilight Saga Jacob loves Bella, Bella is undecided ( but love Edward), and Edward loves Bella. As in The Hunger Games, Gale loves Katniss, Katniss is confused (Gale has been her
 best friend for so long, and she is forced to love Peeta), and Petta has always
 loved Katniss. This book, even though it's world is totally different from
 ours, is very easy to relate to in so many ways.

The Unique Setting

In The Hunger Games there is a very unique setting. It takes place in the country of Panem, which is a futuristic version of North America after it was destroyed. The book begins off in District 12, the coal mining district. There are a total of 13 districts all of which have their own unique trait in what they produce. District 13 no longer exists after a fallout with the Capitol they were destroyed. And then you have the Capitol. where the President of Panem lives along with the wealthiest, and most fortunate people. But heading back to district 12; it's the poorest district of all, where many people die from starvation. They have the grubbier part of town called "the Seam", where the poorest off the poor live. Here we find our main character Katniss Everdeen. All around District 12 is a high chain-link fence topped with barbed-wired loops, it's supposed to be electrocuted 24/7 but the people of District 12 are even lucky to get 1 or 2 hours of electricity a day, so the fence is usually not electrocuted.This very unique setting enhances the story greatly. it makes you want to learn more about their Country and how it works. You find yourself paying more attention to what you are reading so that you don't miss out on anything.