The Hunger Games Trilogy

Boxed set
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay
Author Suzanne Collins
Country United States
Language English
Genre Adventure
Science fiction
Publisher Scholastic
Published 2008–2010
Media type Print (hardcover)
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games trilogy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Hunger Games trilogy is a series of
young adult science fiction
[1]
adventure
novels by Suzanne Collins. The trilogy
consists of The Hunger Games (2008),
Catching Fire (2009), and Mockingjay
(2010).
[2][3][4]
The first two books in the
series were both New York Times best
sellers, and Mockingjay topped all US
bestseller lists upon its release.
[5][6]
By
the time the film adaptation of The
Hunger Games was released in 2012, the
publisher had reported over 26 million
Hunger Games trilogy books in print,
including movie tie-in books.
[7]
The series
recently ranked second, bettered only by
Harry Potter, in NPR's poll of the top 100
teen novels, which asked voters to choose
their favorite young adult books.
[8]
On
August 17, 2012, Amazon announced The
Hunger Games Trilogy as its top seller,
surpassing the record previously held by
the Harry Potter series.
[9]
Contents
1 Background
2 Structure
3 Plot overview
3.1 The Hunger Games
3.2 Catching Fire
3.3 Mockingjay
4 Origins and publishing history
5 Main characters
6 Critical reception
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7 Film adaptations
8 References
9 External links
Background
The Hunger Games trilogy takes place in an unspecified future time in the
totalitarian nation of Panem. The country consists of the wealthy Capitol located
in the Rocky Mountains and twelve (formerly thirteen) poorer districts ruled by
the Capitol. The Capitol is lavishly rich and technologically advanced but the
twelve districts are in varying states of poverty – the trilogy's narrator and
protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, lives in District 12, the poorest region of Panem,
formerly known as Appalachia, where people regularly die of starvation. As
punishment for a past rebellion against the Capitol wherein twelve of the districts
were defeated and the thirteenth supposedly destroyed, one boy and one girl from
each of the twelve districts, between the ages of twelve and eighteen, are
selected by lottery to participate in the "Hunger Games" on an annual basis. The
Games are a televised event with the participants, called "tributes", being forced
to fight to the death in a dangerous public arena. The winning tribute and his/her
home district is then rewarded with food, and supplies and riches. The purpose of
the Hunger Games is to provide entertainment for the Capitol and to serve as a
reminder to the Districts of the Capitol's power and lack of remorse.
Structure
Each book in The Hunger Games trilogy has three sections of nine chapters each.
Collins says that this format comes from her playwriting background, which
taught her to write in a three-act structure. Her previous series, The Underland
Chronicles, was written in the same way, as Collins is familiar with this structure.
She sees each group of nine chapters as a separate part of the story, and
comments that she still calls those divisions "act breaks."
[10]
Plot overview
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games follows 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12
who volunteers for the 74th Hunger Games in place of her younger sister
Primrose Everdeen. Also participating from District 12 is Peeta Mellark, a boy
who has developed a secret crush on Katniss. They are mentored by District 12's
only living victor, Haymitch Abernathy, who won the Games 24 years earlier and
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has since assumed a solitary life of alcoholism. Peeta confesses his love for
Katniss in a television interview prior to the Games, leading the Capitol to portray
Katniss and Peeta as "star-crossed lovers." This revelation surprises Katniss, who
harbors feelings for Gale Hawthorne, her friend and hunting partner. Haymitch
advises Katniss to play along and feign feelings for Peeta, in order to gain wealthy
sponsors who can gift them supplies during the Games. In the arena, Katniss
develops an alliance with Rue, a young tribute from District 11, and is emotionally
scarred when she is killed because she reminds her of her sister. Katniss devises a
memorial for Rue by placing flowers over her body as an act of defiance toward
the Capitol. More than halfway through the Games, the remaining tributes are
alerted to a rule change that allows both tributes from the same district to be
declared victors if they are the final two standing. After learning of the change,
Katniss and Peeta begin to work as a team. When all of the other tributes are
dead and they appear to win the Games together, the rule change is revoked.
Katniss leads Peeta in a suicide attempt to eat poisonous berries known as
nightlock, hoping that the change will be reinstated and that they will both be
victorious. Their ruse is successful, and both tributes return home victorious.
During and after the Games, Katniss develops genuine feelings for Peeta and
struggles to balance them with the connection she feels with Gale. When it
becomes clear that the Capitol is upset with her defiance, Haymitch encourages
Katniss to maintain the "star-crossed lovers" act, without telling Peeta.
Catching Fire
In Catching Fire, which begins six months after the conclusion of The Hunger
Games, Katniss learns that her defiance in the previous novel has started a chain
reaction that has inspired rebellion in the districts. President Snow threatens to
harm her family and friends if she does not help to diffuse the unrest in the
districts and marry Peeta. Meanwhile, Peeta has become aware of Katniss's
disingenuous love of him, but has also been informed of Snow's threats, and
promises to help keep up the act to spare the citizens of District 12. They tour the
districts as victors and plan a public wedding. While they follow Snow's orders
and keep up the ruse, Katniss inadvertently fuels the rebellion, and the
mockingjay pin she wears becomes its symbol. District by district, the citizens of
Panem begin to stage uprisings against the Capitol. Snow announces a special
75th edition of the Hunger Games—known as the Quarter Quell—in which Katniss
and Peeta are forced to compete with other past victors, effectively canceling the
wedding. At Haymitch's urging, the pair team up with several other tributes,
managing to destroy the arena and escape the Games. Katniss is rescued by the
rebel forces from District 13, and Gale informs her that the Capitol has destroyed
District 12 and captured Peeta and their District 7 ally, Johanna Mason. Katniss
ultimately learns -- to her surprise -- that she had inadvertently been an integral
part of the rebellion all along; her rescue had been jointly planned by Haymitch,
Plutarch Heavensbee and Finnick Odair, among others.
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Mockingjay
Katniss returns home and sees the remains of District 12. Mockingjay centers on
the districts' rebellion against the Capitol. It is revealed that District 13 did
survive The Dark Days by living underground and is led by President Alma Coin.
Katniss, after being brought to 13, agrees to become the 'Mockingjay' to recruit
more rebels from the districts. However, she makes conditions that Peeta,
Johanna Mason, Annie Cresta, and Enobaria, victims captured by the Capitol,
would not be seen as traitors and a condition where Katniss would be able to kill
Snow as an act of vengeance if the rebels won. In the novel, it is revealed that
Peeta has been 'hijacked' (a form of brainwashing using Tracker Jacker venom) to
kill Katniss. He tries to choke her to death upon their reunion. After her healing,
Katniss and a team known as the Star Squad, consisting of Gale, Peeta, Finnick,
camera crew, and various other soldiers, embark on a mission to go to the Capitol
to kill Snow, thus winning the rebellion. Throughout their mission, many members
of the Squad die in various ways, including just-married Finnick. Towards the end
of the book as Katniss approaches Snow's mansion, she sees a group of Capitol
children protecting the entrance to the mansion as a shield and suddenly a
Capitol hovercraft drops bombs, killing the children. However, the rebels send in
medics, including Prim. An unexploded bomb goes off killing Prim instantly as
soon as she notices her sister. Katniss, also injured, wakes up after being in a
coma to hear that the Rebels have won and Snow is awaiting execution, which
Katniss aims to do. After a meeting with Snow, Katniss finds out that it was in fact
the rebels, led by Coin, who hijacked the Capitol hovercraft and killed Prim in a
move to portray Snow as barbaric. At Snow's execution, Katniss instead shoots
Coin as an act of vengeance for her sister and Snow dies by choking on his own
blood while laughing. This leads to Katniss's prosecution but she is deemed
innocent as the jury believed she was not in a fit mental state. In the end,
Katniss's mother and Gale both take jobs in different districts. In the epilogue,
Katniss and Peeta remain together, Peeta's love having won out against the
venom. The pair have two kids, a boy and a girl.
Origins and publishing history
Collins says that she drew inspiration for the series from both classical and
contemporary sources. The main classical source of inspiration came from the
Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. As a punishment for past crimes, Minos
forces Athens to sacrifice seven youths and seven maidens to the Minotaur, by
whom they are killed in a vast labyrinth. Collins says that even as a child the idea
stunned her since "it was just so cruel", as Athens was forced to sacrifice its own
children.
Collins also cites the Roman gladiator games. She feels that there are three key
elements to create a good game; an all powerful and ruthless government, people
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forced to fight to the death, and it being a source of popular entertainment.
[11]
A contemporary source of inspiration was Collins's recent fascination with reality
television programmes. She relates this to the Hunger Games in how they are not
just entertainment, but also a reminder to the districts of their rebellion. On a
tired night, Collins says that while she was channel-surfing the television where
she saw people competing for some prize, and then saw footage of the Iraq war.
She described how the two combined in an "unsettling way" to create the first
ideas for the series.
[12]
The first novel in the trilogy was first published on September 14, 2008. On
March 17, 2009, Lionsgate announced that it had acquired worldwide distribution
rights of the film version of The Hunger Games from the film company Color
Force. Soon after the acquisition, Collins began to adapt the screenplay and the
two companies later went on to co-produce the film.
[13]
Catching Fire was published by Scholastic on September 1, 2009. The film version
of the story – also co-produced by Color Force and Lionsgate – was released in
November 2013.
[14]
Mockingjay was first published in hardcover by Scholastic on August 24, 2010.
Main characters
Katniss Everdeen: The protagonist of the series, Katniss competes in the
Hunger Games in each of the first two novels and constantly battles between
her feelings for both Peeta and Gale. She becomes the face of the districts'
rebellion after she unknowingly defies the Capitol in The Hunger Games.
Peeta Mellark: The male tribute from District 12, who has secretly been in
love with Katniss since they were children. His love for her is evident
throughout the series. In Mockingjay, he is "hijacked" by the Capitol and
turned against Katniss, but he recovers.
Gale Hawthorne: Katniss' best friend and fellow hunter. Gale is fiercely
devoted to Katniss, and their relationship borders on romantic throughout
the series. He is two years older than she is, and lost his father in the same
mine explosion that killed Katniss' father.
Haymitch Abernathy: Katniss and Peeta's drunken friend and mentor for
the Games. He won the 50th Hunger Games and was the only living victor
from District 12 before Katniss and Peeta won the 74th Hunger Games.
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Effie Trinket: Katniss and Peeta's escort for the games. Effie, as a citizen of
the capitol, dresses very oddly and speaks in a distinct capitol accent. She is
very proper and constantly worries about keeping things on schedule. She
helps Haymitch send sponsor gifts to Katniss and Peeta during the games.
President Snow: The main antagonist of the series, President Snow is the
head of the Capitol and all of Panem. Provoked by the survival of two tributes
in a single Hunger Games, Snow demands of Peeta and Katniss to prove the
reason behind it all was just they were madly in love. When the Capitol is
defeated by the rebels, (in the last book) President Snow dies.
Primrose Everdeen: Primrose Everdeen, almost always called just "Prim,"
is Katniss's 12-year-old sister (by Mockingjay, she is 13) who was chosen by
lottery to be in the Hunger Games. Katniss volunteers to take her place. Prim
is a sweet little child whom everyone loves, and she regularly helps their
mother heal the sick. Prim is killed in an explosion late in the third book.
Cinna: Katniss's stylist in both of her Hunger Games, he urges her on to
become the symbol of the rebellion and designs the dresses that she wears
before entering the games, as well as armor she wears in the war. He dies in
the second book when Katniss enters the games.
Finnick Odair: Finnick begins his role in Catching Fire as a tribute from
District 4, he is present in the trilogy until Mockingjay.
Critical reception
All three books have received positive reception. Praise has focused on the
addictive quality of especially the first book,
[15]
and the action.
[16]
John Green of
The New York Times compared The Hunger Games with Scott Westerfeld's Uglies
series.
[17]
Catching Fire was praised for improving upon the first book.
[18]
Mockingjay was praised for its portrayal of violence,
[19]
world building, and
romantic intrigue.
[20]
Criticism has come regarding the reality TV "death game" theme, which is also
present in Battle Royale, Das Millionenspiel, The Running Man, The Long
Walk,
[15]
and Series 7: The Contenders.
[21]
Also, the "romantic dithering"
[22]
and
poor love triangle of the second installment was under criticism.
[23]
The last book,
Mockingjay, was criticized by fans of the book and critics for not tying up loose
ends.
[24]
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Film adaptations
Lionsgate Entertainment acquired worldwide distribution rights to a film
adaptation of The Hunger Games, which is produced by Nina Jacobson's Color
Force production company.
[25]
Collins adapted the novel for film herself,
[25]
along
with Gary Ross.
[26]
The film began production in spring 2011 and ended summer
2011.
[27]
It was released March 23, 2012, with a PG-13 rating.
[28][29]
Gary Ross
directed; the cast includes Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Josh Hutcherson as
Peeta and Liam Hemsworth as Gale.
[30][31][32]
Catching Fire was released on
November 22, 2013, with the main cast signed on to return but director Gary
Ross will not return.
[33][34]
In April 2012, the director's position was offered to
Francis Lawrence.
[35]
Lawrence will also be directing Mockingjay, which has
been split into two parts.
[36]
References
^ "Mockingjay proves the Hunger Games is must-read literature" (http://io9.com
/5622825/the-hunger-games-saga-is-an-important-work-of-science-fiction-
that-everyone-must-read). io9. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
1.
^ Keith Staskiewicz (February 11, 2010). "Final 'Hunger Games' novel has been given
a title and a cover" (http://shelf-life.ew.com/2010/02/11/final-hunger-games-novel-
has-been-given-a-title-and-a-cover/). Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 11,
2010.
2.
^ "Suzanne Collins's Third Book in the Hunger Games Trilogy to Be Published by
Scholastic on August 24, 2010" (http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles
/marketwire/0565512.htm) (Press release). Scholastic. December 3, 2009. Retrieved
December 3, 2009.
3.
^ "Suzanne Collins's Third Book in The Hunger Games Trilogy to be Published on
August 24, 2010" (http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/node/270) (Press release).
Scholastic. December 3, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
4.
^ Cowles, Gregory (December 27, 2009). "Children's Books" (http://www.nytimes.com
/2009/12/27/books/bestseller/bestchildren.html). The New York Times. Retrieved
December 31, 2009.
5.
^ "Mockingjay Tops All National Bestseller Lists with Sales of More Than 450,000
Copies in its First Week of Publication" (http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/node/363)
(Press release). Scholastic. September 2, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
6.
^ Springen, Karen (March 22, 2012). "The Hunger Games Franchise: The Odds Seem 7.
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Ever in Its Favor" (http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-
book-news/article/51167-the-hunger-games-franchise-the-odds-seem-ever-in-its-
favor.html). Publishers Weekly. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
^ "Your Favorites: 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels" (http://www.npr.org/2012/08
/07/157795366/your-favorites-100-best-ever-teen-novels) (Press release). NPR.
August 7, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
8.
^ Bosman, Julie (August 17, 2012). "Amazon Crowns ‘Hunger Games' as Its Top
Seller, Surpassing Harry Potter Series" (http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com
/2012/08/17/amazon-crowns-hunger-games-as-its-top-seller-surpassing-harry-potter-
series/). The New York Times.
9.
^ Collins, Suzanne. Similarities To Underland (http://www.scholastic.com
/thehungergames/videos/similarities-to-underland.htm) (Video). (Interview).
Scholastic Canada. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
10.
^ "Video: Classical Inspiration – The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins"
(http://www.scholastic.com/thehungergames/videos/classical-inspiration.htm).
Scholastic. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
11.
^ "Video: Contemporary Inspiration – The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins"
(http://www.scholastic.com/thehungergames/videos/contemporary-inspiration.htm).
Scholastic. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
12.
^ bones/opk/lionsgate hungergames.pdf (http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/themes
/bare) Press Release: LIONSGATE FEASTS ON THE HUNGER GAMES
13.
^ Terri Schwartz (November 17, 2011). " "The Hunger Games" sequel eyes a new
screenwriter, director Gary Ross will return" (http://www.ifc.com/news/2011
/11/hunger-games-catching-fire-sequel-writers.php). IFC News. Retrieved December
2, 2011.
14.
^
a b
King, Stephen (September 8, 2008). "The Hunger Games review"
(http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20223443,00.html). Entertainment Weekly.
Retrieved November 26, 2010.
15.
^ Goldsmith, Francisca. "The Hunger Games" (http://www.booklistonline.com
/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=2739783). Booklist. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
16.
^ John Green (November 7, 2008). "Scary New World" (http://www.nytimes.com
/2008/11/09/books/review/Green-t.html). The New York Times. Retrieved January 3,
2011.
17.
^ Zevin, Gabrielle (October 9, 2009). "Constant Craving" (http://www.nytimes.com
/2009/10/11/books/review/Zevin-t.html). The New York Times. Retrieved November
26, 2010.
18.
^ " 'Mockingjay' review: Spoiler alert!" (http://shelf-life.ew.com/2010/08
/24/mockingjay-review-spoiler-alert/). Entertainment Weekly. August 24, 2010.
19.
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Retrieved November 26, 2010.
^ "Mockingjay" (http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/reviews/single/59715-
mockingjay-.html). Publishers Weekly. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
20.
^ http://www.salon.com/2012/03/14/what_came_before_the_hunger_games/ 21.
^ Welch, Rollie (September 6, 2009). " 'Catching Fire' brings back Suzanne Collins's
kindhearted killer" (http://www.cleveland.com/bookreviews/plaindealer/index.ssf?
/base/entertainment-1/125213948127050.xml&coll=2). The Plain Dealer. Retrieved
November 26, 2010.
22.
^ Reese, Jennifer (August 28, 2009). "Catching Fire review" (http://www.ew.com
/ew/article/0,,20300507,00.html). Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 26,
2010.
23.
^ Morrison, Kathy (August 30, 2010). "Book Review: 'Mockingjay' completes 'Hunger
Games' trilogy" (http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/30/2991706/book-review-
mockingjay-completes.html). The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
24.
^
a b
Jay A. Fernandez and Borys Kit (March 17, 2009). "Lionsgate picks up 'Hunger
Games' " (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE52H0LK20090318). The Hollywood
Reporter. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
25.
^ Karen Springen (August 5, 2010). "Marketing 'Mockingjay' "
(http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article
/44062-marketing-mockingjay-.html). Publishers Weekly. Retrieved September 4,
2010.
26.
^ Valby, Karen (January 6, 2011). " 'Hunger Games' exclusive: Why Gary Ross got the
coveted job, and who suggested Megan Fox for the lead role"
(http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/01/06/hunger-games-exclusive-gary-ross/).
Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
27.
^ Valby, Karen (January 25, 2011). " 'The Hunger Games' gets release date"
(http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/01/25/hunger-games-release-date/). Entertainment
Weekly. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
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^ Hopkinson, Deborah. "Suzanne Collins Interview-Catching Fire"
(http://www.bookpage.com/books-10012268-Catching+Fire). BookPage. Retrieved
June 30, 2010.
29.
^ "The Changing Objective of the American Film Market"
(http://www.baselineintel.com/research-wrap?detail
/C8/the_changing_objective_of_the_american_film_market). Baseline Intel. November
18, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
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^ Joshua L. Weinstein (March 16, 2011). "Exclusive: Jennifer Lawrence Gets Lead
Role in 'The Hunger Games' " (http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/jennifer-
lawrence-gets-lead-role-hunger-games-25482). TheWrap.com. Retrieved March 17,
31.
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2011.
^ Jeff Labrecque (April 4, 2011). " 'Hunger Games' casts Peeta and Gale: Josh
Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth nab the roles" (http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/04
/04/josh-hutcherson-liam-hemsworth-hunger-games/). Entertainment Weekly.
Retrieved April 4, 2011. Lionsgate announced that the trilogy will be made into 4
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^ Nikki Finke (April 10, 2012). "Gary Ross Decides NOT to Direct "Hunger Games
Two: Catching Fire’: Lionsgate In ‘Shock’' " (http://www.deadline.com/2012/04/gary-
ross-decides-not-to-direct-hunger-games-2-catching-fire-lionsgate-in-shock/).
Deadline. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
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^ "9 Untold Secrets of the High Stakes 'Hunger Games' "
(http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hunger-games-jennifer-lawrence-
josh-hutcherson-liam-hemsworth-gary-ross-twilight-285957). The Hollywood
Reporter. February 1, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
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^ "Access Hollywood" (http://www.accesshollywood.com/hunger-games-sequel-
catching-fire-nabs-director-francis-lawrence_article_63622).
35.
^ " 'Exclusive: Francis Lawrence to Direct Remainder of THE HUNGER GAMES
Franchise with Two-Part Adaptation of MOCKINGJAY′" (http://collider.com/hunger-
games-mockingjay-francis-lawrence/207898/). Collider.com. November 1, 2012.
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External links
The U.S. Scholastic Website (http://www.scholastic.com/thehungergames/)
The U.K. Scholastic Website (http://www.thehungergames.co.uk/)
The Hunger Games Wiki (http://thehungergames.wikia.com/)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org
/w/index.php?title=The_Hunger_Games_trilogy&oldid=606049522"
Categories: The Hunger Games trilogy Novel series Literary trilogies
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