An Analysis Of Katniss 'Surviving The Hunger Games'

Katniss Surviving the Hunger Games
“Winning will make you famous. Losing means certain death.” Suzanne Collins’ book, The Hunger Games, illustrates a dystopic future in “the country that rose up out of the ashes of a place that was once called North America.” (pg. 21). Katniss Everdeen the protagonist lives in District 12 of Panem where the totalitarian government, run by the Capitol, separates her district from the 11 other districts and places clear class separations. Katniss is obligated to play in a fight to the death tournament, called the Hunger Games. If Katniss had been on her own in the Hunger Games, she most likely would have died, however, her experience from living in District 12 also contribute to her survival. In the 74th Hunger

Katniss’ stylist, Cinna, makes Katniss stand out over all the other tributes at the opening ceremony by making her costume appear as fire. This helps her because “the best-looking tributes always seem to pull more sponsors.” (pg. 70). Katniss gains confidence that she will gain more sponsors as she sees on the screen that District 12 “are getting way more than [their] share of airtime.” (pg.87). Peeta also helps Katniss secure more sponsors when he confesses he has a crush on her during his live interview; the Capitol “eat [this] stuff up” (pg.165). Katniss realises that she was “made beautiful by Cinna’s hands, desirable by Peeta’s confession, tragic by circumstance, and by all accounts, unforgettable.” (pg. 167). Although this help does not directly save Katniss in the arena, it does help her to secure sponsors who save her life with a simple gift. During the games, a fireball hits Katniss, her right calf scorched severely, and her hands burned. Katniss finds a small pot one night with an ointment inside; it is her first sponsor gift. The cream has an effect on the burns. It is fair to say that without treatment Katniss’ wounds would have made her unable to defend herself, making her an easy target. Subsequently, from the help Katniss gets from Cinna and Peeta, to gain sponsors, her life was saved from her first sponsor

During the games, we best see Katniss use her bow and arrow when she uses only three arrows to shoot a bag of apples open atop of landmines, blowing up the Careers supplies. The Careers had a massive advantage having so many supplies and Katniss’ skills of using bow and arrows put the advantage to an end. Throughout the games, we see Katniss’ quick-witted intelligence. When Katniss shoots the bag of apples the reader also gets to sees Katniss’ quick-witted intelligence. She did not know how she was going to blow up the supplies but it does not take her long to figure out a plan. Another survival skill Katniss has is tracking and trapping food, without this skill she could have starved so getting food is important. One time, Katniss is “rewarded with one fine rabbit.” (pg.199), from one of the snares she sets. Katniss’ survival experience in District 12 all came to be very useful and definitely played a part in her