The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins is set in a future dystopian world where the Capitol keeps a tight hold on Panem, the country made up of what is left of North America, and its strictly divided 12 districts. The main trilogy follows Katniss Everdeen on her journey from an average, impoverished girl in a forgotten district to the symbol of resistance. Here's everything you ever wanted to know about Katniss.
Warning: The following article contains spoilers about The Hunger Games series.
How is Katniss Everdeen described in the books?
Katniss is first described in The Hunger Games as a thin young woman with dark hair, olive-toned skin, and grey eyes. In the first book, she is 16 years old. She is unremarkable in District 12, and some make fun of her for being scrawny and underfed. Her father died when she was young, leaving Katniss, her mother, and her younger sister alone in the world. When her mother descended into grief, Katniss was left to provide for her family. As a result, she's learned to be pragmatic, strategic and careful in the risks she takes. She's able to come up with plans in a crunch and she's great at thinking on her feet. While Katniss sometimes makes impulsive grand gestures, it's generally when she's trying to protect the people she loves. She's incredibly loyal, but she's slow to trust new people.
There is a special significance behind her name. Katniss is an edible tuber whose scientific name is Sagittaria, which is taken from Sagittarius, who is known as an archer. This is fitting because Katniss has a special skill with the bow and arrows, which she honed over her long, lean years in District 12. She had to hunt for food to survive, and often wound up sneaking out past the boundary fence with her best friend, Gale. An excellent shot, she can be very quiet and nimble in the forest, thanks to her time stalking wild game. Kat is exceptionally smart. She also has a lovely singing voice and sometimes uses her singing to express emotions and thoughts she finds hard to speak.
Katniss Everdeen’s Key Relationships
Primrose Everdeen
Katniss's most significant relationship is the one she shares with her younger sister, Primrose. Prim, as she's commonly called, is sweet, innocent and not nearly as tough as Katniss. Prim is just 12 at the start of the series, and Katniss is her hero.
Gale Hawthorne
Katniss's next most significant relationship at the start of the series is her friendship with Gale Hawthorne. Gale is her best friend, and he loves Katniss very much. He wants her to run away with him but Katniss is too loyal to her mother and sister to ever leave. What's more, she's not so sure she returns his affections.
Peeta Mellark
Peeta Mellark, a baker's son, is also a tribute from District 12. Over the course of the series, Katniss spends a lot of time with Peeta, whom she distrusts at first because he is seen as her competition. She slowly grows to admire his understated skills, his goodness and his willingness to work with her, despite their technically being enemies.
Haymitch Abernathy
Once Katniss heads to the Games, she meets Haymitch Abernathy, the only living Victor from District 12. At first, Katniss dislikes him; she sees him as little more than a drunk and doesn't expect he'll be able to offer her much in the way of guidance for how to survive the games. At first, Haymitch doesn't appear to like Katniss either. Yet, a grudging respect and sense of trust forms between them, gradually turning into true affection.
Cinna
Cinna is the costume designer Katniss meets at the Capitol. He is kind to the scared new competitor and subtly encourages her to rebel against expectations and go out on her own terms. Katniss considers him one of her only allies in the Capitol.
Rue
Rue is a fellow competitor Katniss meets in her first Hunger Games. Rue saves Katniss by giving her a heads up about the Tracker Jacker nest she is about to disturb, winning her trust. Rue reminds Katniss of Prim because they are the same age and similarly gentle spirits. Katniss worries that Rue won't be able to survive the fierce fight to the death.
Finnick Odair
Katniss's most significant friendship after her first Hunger Games is with Finnick Odair, a career tribute whose flashy style and many lovers make him a popular face at the Capitol. Katniss doesn't trust him at first, mostly because Finnick is very flirtatious and seems to be working an angle. But as they work hard to survive in their second competition, Finnick becomes an ally who joins the revolution.
What happens to Katniss Everdeen over the course of The Hunger Games series?
The first book opens with Katniss working hard with Gale to provide for her family. When it comes time to pick a tribute from District 12 for the next Hunger Games, her worst fears are realised: Prim is chosen. Impulsively, Katniss volunteers to take her sister's place. She is sent to the Capitol along with Peeta and Haymitch, both of whom she distrusts. Katniss makes quite a splash when Cinna costumes her in the Capitol Parade. Despite feeling self-conscious, she realises that the only thing the Capitol cares about is getting a good show – so she delivers during her training session by firing an arrow through an apple on the table of refreshments laid out for observers. Katniss's strategy in the arena is merely to survive and get home to Prim, and it works out fairly well at first. She manages to escape from the cornucopia and stay alive, but soon realises that she can't just hide out on her own until the end. Katniss forges an alliance with Rue, who reminds her of Prim. She is devastated when another tribute mortally wounds Rue while Katniss is creating a diversion. As Rue dies, Katniss sings a traditional song, decorates her body with flowers, and offers her a salute, a sign of respect – unaware that she's sparked a rebellion in Rue's district.
After the death of Rue, Katniss seeks out Peeta and finds him injured and sick. As she nurses him back to health, Katniss realises that she must take a more proactive role in eliminating her competition. She hunts down Cato, the boy who killed Rue, culminating in her first intentional kill. Katniss is hopeful that she and Peeta can both make it out alive and claim victory for District 12. When they're the last two tributes left, however, the Games tell them only one can be declared the winner. Unwilling to fight each other to the death, the two decide instead to eat a handful of toxic berries. At the last minute, the Games allow them both to be crowned Victors.
After being considered a Victor and saving Peeta's life, Katniss should be happy. Yet things are tense between her and Peeta as they're forced to go on a Victory Tour of all the districts to celebrate their win and their fabricated love story. What's more, Katniss is plagued with nightmares and guilt, and she worries that the Capitol will figure out a way to get back at her for outsmarting them. President Snow himself tells her she's inspired an uprising, and he isn't happy. Meanwhile back in District 12, Gale has expressed his love for Katniss, which scares her. When Gale is caught illegally hunting turkey and brutally whipped for his crime, Katniss realises things are getting worse for them all – and even as a Victor, she is powerless to protect anyone she loves as long as the Capitol is in charge. Then she gets the shock of her life when she learns that for the Third Quarter Quell, the Games are going to be picking tributes from all of the Victors. She and Peeta are headed back into the arena.
In the Capitol, Katniss knows she'll be facing the best of the best. She tries to be strategic, learn all she can about her competitors, and formulate her own game plan. She pretends to be pregnant with Peeta's child in her interview in order to gain sympathy from the public, and it works. But the second arena is even more dangerous than the first: there is a killer force field, deadly fog and a peculiar pattern to the arena she can't quite crack. She forms an alliance with fellow Victors Finnick, Mags, Johanna, Wiress, and Beetee in order to crack the clock pattern and break out of the arena. They're successful, but when Katniss comes to, she learns that not everyone made it to safety: Peeta didn't escape with them, District 12 has been bombed in retaliation, and most shockingly of all, the assumed-destroyed District 13 still exists.
At the start of the book, Katniss is in a very tenuous place. She's devastated at the consequences of her actions, although she's relieved to hear Prim survived the bombing of District 12. She discovers that District 13 isn't quite the wasteland she was led to believe. What's more, the people who live there have formed a ragtag army and want her to lead the rebellion. She's reluctant but eventually agrees. Their quest takes her to District 8, where she learns what things are like for the rest of Panem. They're able to rescue Peeta – but to Katniss's horror, he's been tortured and brainwashed into not trusting her or remembering their relationship.
Katniss and her allies know they must infiltrate the Capitol to put a stop to the war, but it's a dangerous journey that sees the loss of some of their closest friends. And to top it all off, Katniss is absolutely devastated when, on the cusp of victory, Prim becomes a casualty in the violence. The rebels successfully overthrow President Snow and establish a leader from District 13. Soon after, Katniss is horrified when the new President Coin begins to talk about retaliation and suggests they resurrect the Hunger Games. During Coin's inauguration, Katniss shoots her with an arrow, killing her. Many of the onlookers believe Katniss to be insane, not knowing the truth about Coin.
The trilogy ends with Katniss and Peeta back together in District 12, trying to build a life with one another and heal from their traumas. Katniss is estranged from Gale. There is no forgetting the past, and she and Peeta both still struggle with the horrors they experienced. Nevertheless, they have children together and appear to be as happy as any two survivors can be. Although the ending has been criticised for being too dark, it is quietly hopeful.
How does Katniss of the books compare to Katniss of the films?
The Hunger Games trilogy was adapted into four feature length films starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. Although her skin tone is a little lighter than described in the book and her eyes are blue, the actress embodies Katniss's quiet strength and grace, and she manages to pull off Katniss's understated and dry sense of humour. While the movies make a few small departures from the books, and the events of Mockingjay are broken up across two movies, the films are fairly faithful adaptations.
Want to relive all of the drama, suspense, and heartbreak? Be sure to check out The Hunger Games audiobooks on Audible. Emmy Award-winning Orphan Black actress Tatiana Maslany narrates the trilogy, capturing Katniss's voice and spirit.
Best Katniss Everdeen Quotes
"At some point, you have to stop running and turn around and face whoever wants you dead. The hard thing is finding the courage to do it." – Catching Fire
"My spirit. This is a new thought. I'm not sure exactly what it means, but it suggests I'm a fighter. In a sort of brave way. It's not as if I'm never friendly. Okay, maybe I don't go around loving everybody I meet, maybe my smiles are hard to come by, but I do care for some people." – The Hunger Games
"If he wants me broken, then I will have to be whole." – Mockingjay
"This was the door to both sustenance and sanity. And we were each other's key." – Mockingjay
"My name is Katniss Everdeen. Why am I not dead? I should be dead." – Mockingjay
