The Hunger Games: Setting and Introduction

• The story is told from Katniss Everdeen's first-person perspective.

Setting and Introduction to Katniss

• It's the day of the reaping, and Katniss wakes up to find her sister, Prim, and mother asleep nearby.
• Katniss lives with her family in the Seam, part of District 12, near a fence she crawls under to enter the woods.
• She hunts and forages in the woods, skills taught to her by her father before he died in a mine explosion when Katniss was 11.
• Trespassing and poaching are illegal but largely ignored due to widespread food scarcity in the district.

Relationships and Survival

• Katniss meets Gale in the woods to discuss running away, but they are both caretakers for their respective families
• They sell gathered strawberries for bread and salt at the Hob, the district's black market.
• They visit the Mayor's daughter, Madge, who is dressed for the reaping.

The Reaping and Tesserae

• At age twelve, a child's name is entered once in the reaping; this increases with age.
• Poor people can get a tessera (grain and oil for one person for a year) in exchange for entering their name again; Katniss, 16, has her name entered 20 times, while Gale, 18, has his in 42 times.
• Prim, 12, has her name entered only once, as she has taken no tesserae.

The Hunger Games History

• The reaping is televised and festive
• The Mayor speaks on the history of the Hunger Games: North America dissolved due to natural disasters, and Panem was formed with a Capitol and 13 districts.
• The districts rebelled, but the Capitol won, destroying District 13 completely.
• The Hunger Games are a punishment and a reminder of the Capitol's power: each district sends a male and female "tribute" aged 12-18 to fight to the death.
• The winning tribute's district gets extra food.

The Reaping Selection

• Haymitch Abernathy, a drunk and one of two District 12 victors (the only one still alive), appears on stage.
• Effie Trinket, the escort to District 12's tributes, draws Primrose Everdeen's name.

Katniss Volunteers

• Katniss volunteers as tribute to save Prim who is selected.
• Volunteering is rare in District 12.
• Katniss subdues her emotions to appear strong.
• The crowd respects Katniss with silence and a gesture.
• Haymitch falls off the stage.
• Peeta Mellark is chosen as the boy tribute.

Flashback to Peeta's Kindness

• After her father's death, Katniss and her mother struggled with starvation.
• Katniss searched for food behind wealthy shops when she was shouted at by a baker woman
• Peeta, her classmate, gave her two burnt loaves of bread, despite his mother's anger and abuse
• This act of kindness gave Katniss hope and helped her family survive.
• Katniss associates Peeta with the dandelions that reminded to forage for food to survive.

Goodbyes and Preparations

• Katniss is escorted to the Justice Building.
• Her mother and sister say goodbye; Katniss asks her mother to stay strong.
• Peeta's father promises to ensure Prim will be fed and gives Katniss cookies.
• Madge gives Katniss a mockingjay pin to wear in the arena.
• Gale advises Katniss to find a bow and promises to help her family.

Journey to the Capitol

• Katniss and Peeta board a train to the Capitol.
• District 12 is in former Appalachia, a coal mining area.
• The Capitol is in what was once the Rockies.
• Katniss learns the mockingjay pin represents rebellion, as the Capitol bred that type of birds to spy on the rebels, but the birds were then used to feed the Capitol false information.
• Katniss and Peeta have dinner with Effie and joke about Haymitch's drinking, but Effie reminds them he is their advisor for sponsors.
• Haymitch arrives drunk and vomits.

Dystopian Society

• The story is a dystopia, set in the future after North America's collapse due to natural disasters and food shortages.
• Panem is a totalitarian country that punishes dissent.
• The Hunger Games exemplify Panem's mercilessness.

Poverty in District 12

• District 12 is impoverished, with widespread malnutrition and starvation.
• Coal mining is dangerous and difficult.
• Both Katniss and Gale lost their fathers in a mine explosion.
• District 12 is in present-day Appalachia, one of the poorest regions.

Wealth Disparity

• The government's wealth contrasts District 12's poverty.
• The poor are more likely to become tributes due to taking tesserae.
• Katniss marvels at the luxury of the Justice Building and the train, including velvet furniture and hot showers.

Katniss's Character

• Katniss is a caretaker and provider for her family.
• She is desensitized to death due to her environment.
• She is practical and unemotional when describing suffering.

Family Relationships

• Katniss admired her father and is still pained by his death.
• She resents her mother's emotional collapse after her father's death.
• Katniss protects Prim and treats her gently.

Peeta's Kindness and Conflict

• Katniss credits Peeta's bread with saving her family.
• She may have to kill Peeta in the Hunger Games.

Suffering as Entertainment

• The Hunger Games is a televised contest where children fight to the death.
• The Games serve as a form of oppression and a reminder of the districts' powerlessness.
• The Capitol and wealthy districts enjoy the Games as entertainment.

Importance of Appearances

• Katniss controls her emotions to appear strong.
• She masks her feelings to gain a strategic advantage.
• Appearances can be as important as reality.