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http://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-hunger-games/quotes
Philosophical Question: What would happen if the film company made “prequel” versions of annual Hunger Games for our viewing entertainment? Read this fascinating article to explore this possibility –
Here are some example exam questions for Level 1:
1. Describe at least ONE important incident which changed the events that happened later in the written text. Explain how the incident changed the events that happened later in the text.
2. Describe at least ONE important quality that a main character or individual had in the written text. Explain how the quality affected at least one other character or individual OR events throughout the text.
3. Describe at least ONE important idea that is relevant to young people in the written text. Explain why the idea, as shown in the text, is relevant to young people.
To prepare for the external exam, have some strong, versatile “go-to” quotes memorised that can be used in whichever question best suits your knowledge. The quotes matrix below shows how a quote can be used as evidence to prove either an important aspect of an event, a character, an idea or a symbol.
QUOTES MATRIX
Specific examples (quotes) are the gold you can spin into a great essay.
Remember to use PEEPEL (Point, Example(quote), Explain, Purpose, Extension, Link) for your paragraphs to answer the question.
| EXAMPLE (Quotes) | EVENT | CHARACTER | IDEA | SYMBOL |
| “Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen.”“So I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts.”“Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds ever be in your favour!” “The camera crews, perched like buzzards on the rooftops, only add to the effect.”“I volunteer!” I gasp. “I volunteer as tribute!”“So instead of acknowledging applause, I stand there unmoving while they take part in the boldest form of dissent they can manage. Silence. Which says we do not agree. We do not condone. All of this is wrong.””“almost every member of the crowd touches the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and holds it out to me.”“It means thanks, it means admiration, it means goodbye to someone you love.” | Katniss and Gale sometimes discuss the problems of their country, Panem.The Reaping for the Hunger Games and the Hunger Games themselves are dreaded by the people but the Capitol forces them to treat it as a festivity.Katniss volunteers to take the place of Prim who has been chosen as a tribute for District 12 at the reaping. She does it to save her sister. She is not doing it to purposely rebel against the Capitol. But straight away her actions cause a stir with Effie wanting to stick to the protocol, Haymitch reacting, the event being televised and the silent honouring response of the crowd. | Katniss has learned to cope with the oppressive state by hiding her feelings and repressing them.The Capitol, represented by President Snow, is controlling and cruel.Effie represents the out-of-touch people from the Capitol who do not fully understand the suffering of the people in the districts.Katniss loves Prim dearly.Katniss is brave and willing to sacrifice her life for her sister.The people of District 12 become unified in supporting Katniss and in condemning the Capitol. | People can be trapped under evil governments through fear and manipulation.All it can take to overthrow/disturb a regime is one person willing to stand up and make a stand.Unity of purpose strengthens the power of the people. | Symbolic of myth of the Minotaur.Silence is symbolic of the voice they cannot raise in rebellion.Three finger salute is symbolic of community, unity and rebellion against the oppressive Capitol. When used personally it is also symbolic of love. |
| EXAMPLE (QUOTE) | EVENT | CHARACTER | IDEA | SYMBOL |
| “Because of the bread, because of the red weal that stood out on his cheekbone.”“Still, just throwing me the bread was an enormous kindness that would have surely resulted in a beating if discovered.”“To this day, I can never shake the connection between this boy, Peeta Mellark, and the bread that gave me hope” | Peeta throwing Katniss the bread is Katniss’ first strong recollection of her relationship with Peeta. She remembers it in a flashback when Peeta’s name is called in the Reaping. This event sets up the idea that Katniss and Peeta have a connection – one where Peeta acting with bravery and kindness, was in a position to save Katniss’ life. | Peeta is kind.Peeta is courageousKatniss feels indebted to Peeta.Katniss felt hope thanks to Peeta’s bread. | Doing the right thing/Helping others sometimes takes courage.Small acts of kindness can inspire hope in others/make a big difference. | Bread is used as a symbol of hope for Katniss’ survival both as a child and then later in the arena (she receives Rue’s bread).The bread is symbolic of the kindness of people.It is a symbol of simple grass roots goodness.Peeta’s decision to burn and throw the bread is symbolic of any heroic person who faces danger or opposition in their quest to do the right thing. |
| “Only…I want to die as myself.”“Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to..to show the Capitol they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their games.” | Peeta talks secretly to Katniss on the roof about his feelings of not wanting to be controlled by the Capitol. Katniss is surprised by Peeta’s integrity and feels ashamed of her own preoccupations. But his idea plants a seed in her mind about the possibility of standing up to the Capitol somehow. | Peeta has integrity and desires to maintain it – even in the face of exploitation and death.Katniss is surprised by Peeta’s integrity and feels ashamed of her own preoccupations. But his idea plants a seed in her mind about the possibility of standing up to the Capitol somehow. | Even when most of our freedoms are taken away – we can still choose how we will react.An idea can be more powerful than weaponry or muscle. | Peeta’s desire to demonstrate his integrity inspires Katniss to make a stand later with Rue. |
| EXAMPLE (QUOTE) | EVENT | CHARACTER | IDEA | SYMBOL |
| “Rue’s death has forced me to confront my own fury against the cruelty, the injustice they inflict upon us.”“I want to do something, right here, right now, to shame them, to make them accountable, to show the Capitol that whatever they do or force us to do there is part of every tribute they can’t own.”“That Rue was more than a piece in their games. And so am I.” | Rue is killed and Katniss decides to decorate her body with beautiful wild flowers.She also gives her the special three finger salute.Just as the Reaping was the catalyst to make Katniss volunteer, Rue’s death is the moment when Katniss finds her anger and focus against the Capitol. | Katniss can be gentle, loving and tender.Katniss is stirred up to see more clearly the injustices of the Capitol and to begin thinking more creatively about how to defy them. | People, no matter how obscure or weak, can have incredible power when they choose to be true to what they know is right. Eg: Rosa Parks, the tank man in Tiannemen Sq, Mother Theresa, Hong Kong protesters.Sometimes great causes are crystallized by a moment of tragedy/suffering. Eg: the Anzacs, Vietnam, Restoring of Israel. | Rue’s death is symbolic of the meaningless horror inflicted on the children of the districts.Her smallness, gentleness, helpfulness, love of music and bright smile are symbolic of the innocence of children being murdered by the oppressive hand of the Capitol. |
| EXAMPLE (QUOTE) | EVENT | CHARACTER | IDEA | SYMBOL |
| “I stare at Peeta in disbelief as the truth sinks in. They never intended to let us both live.”“You’re not leaving me here alone,” I say. Because if he dies, I’ll never go home, not really. I’ll spend the rest of my life in this arena, trying to think my way out.”“ Trust me,” I whisper. He holds my gaze for a long moment, then lets me go. I loosen the top of the pouch and pour a few spoonfuls of berries into his palm. Then I fill my own. “On the count of three?”“The berries have just passed my lips when the trumpets begin to blare.”“The frantic voice of Claudius Templesmith shouts above them. “Stop! Stop! Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victors of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games,” | After a retracting of the rule change allowing 2 victors, Katniss and Peeta decide to risk suicide rather than be forced to kill each other. They are stopped from eating the poisonous berries just in time by the Gamemaker. This creates a significant problem for Pres Snow as it has made a mockery of their rules and power. | Katniss is daring and clever to concoct the plan to save both herself and the boy she has grown to love.Peeta is also daring and clever to realize Katniss’ plan. He also trusts her completely | At the end of the day those in power need someone to rule over. Are regimes just as dependent on followers as the followers are upon the regimes? | |
| EXAMPLE (QUOTE) | EVENT | CHARACTER | IDEA | SYMBOL |
| “It was all for the Games,” Peeta says. “How you acted.”“Not all of it, I say tightly holding on to my flowers.“ I want to tell him that he’s not being fair. That we were strangers. That I did what it took to stay alive, to keep us both alive in the arena.”“ I see Peeta extend his hand. I look at him, unsure. “One more time? For the audience?” he says. His voice isn’t angry. It’s hollow, which is worse. Already the boy with the bread is slipping away from me.” | Once the Games are finished Peeta and Katniss prepare to go back to their old lives. Katniss is unsure of her feelings for Peeta and stops showering him with the attention she gave in the arena. | Peeta obviously had deep feelings for Katniss. His words of love throughout the book were true and unfiltered by the spectacle.Katniss is so used to masking her feelings and denying them that she is now unsure as to how she feels. She is also naturally conflicted about her friendship with Gale. | The regular difficulties of love are compounded for Katniss and Peeta because the audience is always in attendance in their lives. Do people behave differently when they are being watched, judged and feted or preyed upon if they act a certain way?What roles do reality TV and selfies play in today’s society? | The joint suicide ending is reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet – except that they don’t die. But in an echo of Romeo and Juliet, there is some misunderstanding – in this case as to how much of their love is real and how much is feigned. This misunderstanding is experienced by Katniss as she unthinkingly seeks after Peeta and his welfare but then admits to pretending for the cameras. |
| The Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsTOPIC:Eg: Describe at least ONE important idea that is relevant to young people in the written text. Explain why the idea, as shown in the text, is relevant to young people.Intro uses TAKO (Title, Author, Key words from the topic, Outline your 3 key points)Eg: In The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, one important idea that is relevant to young people is having enough courage to stand up for what is right. Both Peeta and Katniss exemplify this idea throughout the text by showing compassion even when risking harm, by showing they could not be owned by the Capitol, and by refusing to kill each other. | |||||
| POINT | EXAMPLE | EXPLAIN | PURPOSE | EXTENSION | LINK |
| Para 1:Use key words to answer the question for you first pointEg:Early in the book we see Peeta as a young boy willing to risk the anger of his mother in order to help a starving Katniss. He stands up for what he believes to be right by deliberately burning bread and then throwing it in her direction. | Use a quote from the text as a specific example of what you mean.Eg: It is only later that Katniss realizes that this action would have taken great courage from Peeta. She realizes, “Still, just throwing me the bread was an enormous kindness that would have surely resulted in a beating if discovered.” | Explain the quote.Eg:Peeta did get hit on the face for burning the bread but Collins is showing how Peeta used the options available to him, to do what he felt was right – to help a fellow human in need of food. This idea of doing the right thing, even when it risks us harm is relevant to young people because sometimes it is easy to think that adults have all the power. This example shows us that all it took for Peeta to make a difference was enough courage to take action and a determination to do the right thing. | Identify Author’s purposeEg:Collins gives us this backstory of Peeta helping Katniss when she was in a desperate time , to help us understand how kind and brave Peeta is. It is also to build up the reality of Katniss’ conundrum of not wanting to kill Peeta – even though she knows that that will most likely be required. | Link to text as a whole, wider worldEg:By showing us an initial example of how Peeta stood up for his principles, Collins prepares us to face the even bigger questions of right and wrong as Katniss and Peeta are thrown into the arena. This applies to the wider world because there are so many instances of suffering and situations where young people may feel that they cannot stand up for the right. Malala Yousef is a good example of a young person who chose to risk reprisals in her native Pakistan for attending school. She, like Peeta, suffered bodily injury. In Malala’s case she was almost killed. The fact that she is still determined today, to improve the opportunities for education for children, shows not only how relevant this idea is for young people but also how much of a contribution young people can make in the course of history when they have the courage to do so. | Link back to the questionEg: Peeta’s example of being brave and compassionate in the face of harm is an important idea that is relevant to young people and it also turns out to be an inspiring idea for Katniss in the novel. She gradually comes to understand how she can not only stand up for herself, but for others too. |
| Para 2:The idea of having courage to do what is right ……by showing they could not be owned by the Capitol… | “I keep wishing I could think of a way ..to show the Capitol they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their games.” | …Relevant to young people because… | |||
| Para 3:The idea of having courage to do what is right …..by refusing to kill each other… | “I stare at Peeta in disbelief as the truth sinks in. They never intended to let us both live.” | …Relevant to young people because… | |||
| Conclusions: TAKS (Title, Author, Key words, Summary of points) | |||||
Chapter 1 Quotes
“District Twelve. Where you can starve to death in safety,” I mutter. Then I glance quickly over my shoulder. Even here, even in the middle of nowhere, you worry someone might overhear you.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Related themes: Appearances, Hypocrisy
Leave? How could I leave Prim, who is the only person in the world I’m certain I love? And Gale is devoted to his family. We can’t leave, so why bother talking about it?
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Gale, Primrose Everdeen
Related themes: Love, Loyalty, and Compassion
Gale knows his anger at Madge is misdirected. On other days, deep in the woods, I’ve listened to him rant about how the tesserae are just another tool to cause misery in our district. A way to plant hatred between the starving workers of the Seam and those who can generally count on supper and thereby ensure we will never trust one another.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Gale, Madge Undersee
Related themes: Division and Control, Societal Inequality
I protect Prim in every way I can, but I’m powerless against the reaping. The anguish I always feel when she’s in pain wells up in my chest and threatens to register on my face. I notice her blouse has pulled out of her skirt in the back again and force myself to stay calm. “Tuck your tail in, little duck,” I say, smoothing the blouse back in place.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Primrose Everdeen
Related themes: Love, Loyalty, and Compassion
The square’s surrounded by shops, and on public market days, especially if there’s good weather, it has a holiday feel to it. But today, despite the bright banners hanging on the buildings, there’s an air of grimness. The camera crews, perched like buzzards on rooftops, only add to the effect.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Related themes: Appearances
Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch—this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Related themes: Division and Control
The result was Panem, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace and prosperity to its citizens. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the thirteenth obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave us the new laws to guarantee peace and, as our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Related themes: Division and Control
Chapter 2 Quotes
Maybe if I had thanked him at some point, I’d be feeling less conflicted now. I thought about it a couple of times, but the opportunity never seemed to present itself. And now it never will. Because we’re going to be thrown into an arena to fight to the death. Exactly how am I supposed to work in a thank-you in there? Somehow it just won’t seem sincere if I’m trying to slit his throat.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Peeta Mellark
Related themes: Hypocrisy
But a shift has occurred since I stepped up to take Prim’s place, and now it seems I have become someone precious. At first one, then another, then almost every member of the crowd touches the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and holds it out to me. It is an old and rarely used gesture of our district, occasionally seen at funerals. It means thanks, it means admiration, it means goodbye to someone you love.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Primrose Everdeen
Related themes: Love, Loyalty, and Compassion
Chapter 3 Quotes
“At least, you two have decent manners,” says Effie as we’re finishing the main course. “The pair last year ate everything with their hands like a couple of savages. It completely upset my digestion.” The pair last year were two kids from the Seam who’d never, not one day of their lives, had enough to eat. And when they did have food, table manners were surely the last thing on their minds.
Speakers: Effie Trinket, Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Peeta Mellark
Related themes: Societal Inequality
Peeta Mellark, on the other hand, has obviously been crying and interestingly enough does not seem to be trying to cover it up. I immediately wonder if this will be his strategy in the Games. To appear weak and frightened, to reassure the other tributes that he is no competition at all, and then come out fighting.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Peeta Mellark
Related themes: Appearances
Chapter 4 Quotes
I realize I detest Haymitch. No wonder the District 12 tributes never stand a chance. It isn’t just that we’ve been underfed and lack training. Some of our tributes have still been strong enough to make a go of it. But we rarely get sponsors and he’s a big part of the reason why. The rich people who back tributes—either because they’re betting on them or simply for the bragging rights of picking a winner—expect someone classier than Haymitch to deal with.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Haymitch Abernathy
Related themes: Societal Inequality
The people begin to point at us eagerly as they recognize a tribute train rolling into the city. I step away from the window, sickened by their excitement, knowing they can’t wait to watch us die. But Peeta holds his ground, actually waving and smiling at the gawking crowd. He only stops when the train pulls into the station, blocking us from their view.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Peeta Mellark
Related themes: Appearances, Hypocrisy
The basket of rolls they set before me would keep my family going for a week.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Katniss’s mother, Primrose Everdeen
Related themes: Societal Inequality
The mountains form a natural barrier between the Capitol and the eastern districts. It is almost impossible to enter from the east except through the tunnels.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Related themes: Division and Control
A kind Peeta Mellark is far more dangerous to me than an unkind one. Kind people have a way of working their way inside me and rooting there. And I can’t let Peeta do this. Not where we’re going. So I decide, from this moment on, to have as little as possible to do with the baker’s son.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Peeta Mellark
Related themes: Love, Loyalty, and Compassion
Chapter 5 Quotes
Cinna has given me a great advantage. No one will forget me. Not my look, not my name. Katniss. The girl who was on fire.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Cinna
Related themes: Appearances
Days of hunting and gathering for this one meal and even then it would be a poor substitution for the Capitol version. What must it be like, I wonder, to live in a world where food appears at the press of a button?
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Related themes: Societal Inequality
Chapter 6 Quotes
The Capitol twinkles like a vast field of fireflies. Electricity in District 12 comes and goes, usually we only have it a few hours a day. Often the evenings are spent in candlelight. The only time you can count on it is w hen they’re airing the Games or some important government message on television that it’s mandatory to watch. But here there would be no shortage. Ever.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Related themes: Societal Inequality
Rebellion? I have to think about that one a moment. But when I remember the other couples, standing stiffly apart, never touching or acknowledging each other, as if their fellow tribute did not exist, as if the Games had already begun, I know what Haymitch means. Presenting ourselves not as adversaries but as friends has distinguished us as much as the fiery costumes.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Haymitch Abernathy, Peeta Mellark
Related themes: Division and Control, Love, Loyalty, and Compassion, Appearances
“…but I’ve done my best with what I had to work with. How Katniss sacrificed herself for her sister. How you’ve both successfully struggled to overcome the barbarism of your district.”
Barbarism? That’s ironic coming from a woman helping to prepare us for slaughter.
Speakers: Effie Trinket, Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Primrose Everdeen
Related themes: Hypocrisy
Chapter 7 Quotes
Almost all of the boys and at least half of the girls are bigger than I am, even though many of the tributes have never been fed properly…The exceptions are the kids from the wealthier districts, the volunteers, the ones who have been fed and trained throughout their lives for this moment.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Related themes: Societal Inequality
Chapter 8 Quotes
I can’t help comparing what I have with Gale to what I’m pretending to have with Peeta. How I never question Gale’s motives while I do nothing but doubt the latter’s. It’s not a fair comparison really. Gale and I were thrown together by a mutual need to survive. Peeta and I know the other’s survival means our own death. How do you sidestep that?
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Gale, Peeta Mellark
Related themes: Division and Control, Love, Loyalty, and Compassion, Appearances
Chapter 10 Quotes
“He made you look desirable! And let’s face it, you can use all the help you can get in that department. You were about as romantic as dirt until he said he wanted you. Now they all do. You’re all they’re talking about. The star-crossed lovers from District Twelve!” says Haymitch.
Speaker: Haymitch Abernathy
Mentioned or related: Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark
Related themes: Appearances
“…Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to…to show the Capitol they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their Games,” says Peeta.
Speaker: Peeta Mellark
Related themes: Appearances
Chapter 15 Quotes
It’s interesting, hearing about her life. We have so little communication with anyone outside our district. In fact, I wonder if the Gamemakers are blocking out our conversation, because even though the information seems harmless, they don’t want people in different districts to know about one another.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Rue
Related themes: Division and Control
Chapter 18 Quotes
I can’t stop looking at Rue, smaller than ever, a baby animal curled up in a nest of netting. I can’t bring myself to leave her like this. Past harm, but seeming utterly defenseless. To hate the boy from District 1, who also appears so vulnerable in death, seems inadequate. It’s the Capitol I hate, for doing this to all of us.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Rue
Related themes: Division and Control, Love, Loyalty, and Compassion
As usual, it’s the thought of Prim’s anxious face as she watches me on the screens back home that breaks me from my lethargy.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Primrose Everdeen
Related themes: Love, Loyalty, and Compassion
Chapter 19 Quotes
Peeta, who’s been wounded, is now my ally…it just makes sense to protect each other. And in my case—being one of the star-crossed lovers from District 12—it’s an absolute requirement if I want any more help from sympathetic sponsors.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Peeta Mellark
Related themes: Appearances
Chapter 21 Quotes
I understand that if Thresh wins, he’ll have to go back and face a district that has already broken all the rules to thank me, and he is breaking the rules to thank me, too. And I understand that, for the moment, Thresh is not going to smash in my skull.
Speaker: Katniss Everdeen
Mentioned or related: Thresh
Related themes: Love, Loyalty, and Compassion
Chapter 26 Quotes
“Listen up. You’re in trouble. Word is the Capitol’s furious about you showing them up in the arena. The one thing they can’t stand is being laughed at, and they’re the joke of Panem,” says Haymitch.
Speaker: Haymitch Abernathy
Mentioned or related: Katniss Everdeen
Related themes: Appearances
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