The Hunger Games Hero Journey

Works Cited

By Gabriela Caldera

Status Quo

The status quo is the hero's normal or ordinary life before embarking on their hero journey.

Resolution

Call To Adventure

A resolution occurs when all the plot lines are straightened out.

The hero's call to adventure is something that spurs the hero to action. This call to adventure forces the hero out of their ordinary world.

Status Quo Within "The Hunger Games"

Katniss Everdeen lives with her mother and sister, Prim, in district 12 within Panem, a nation made of 12 districts and a capital. District 12 suffers from extreme poverty and citizens struggle to make ends meet. To provide an income for her family in such an impoverished community, Katniss regularly goes hunting with her best friend, Gale.

Katniss with Prim.

Symbol For District 12.

Katniss with Gale.

The Call to Adventure Within "The Hunger Games"

Katniss has her call to adventure when at the annual Reaping, the choosing of two tributes to send to the 74th Hunger Games, her sister's name is pulled in the lottery drawing. To protect her sister, she volunteers to go to the games in place of Prim. Her decision to take her sister's place in the games forces her to leave her status quo and embark on her hero journey.

The Reaping Scene

48 seconds

Resolution Within "The Hunger Games"

There is no resolution in Katniss' hero journey as all the plot lines have not been straightened out. She is still left to face with the anger of the captial which is bound to give her issues in the future.

Assistance

New Life

The hero's new life is their life after the journey. The hero is changed creating a new life for them.

Assistance refers to the people who mentor and look after the hero. They may do this by giving the hero guidance and wisdom to help them successfully complete their journey.

Katniss' New Life

When Katniss returned home to District 12, she had a new life. This new life involved Peeta romantically and a new title, victor of the 74th Hunger Games. She would no longer live in poverty as she would live in the prestigious victor village. Although her new life includes these great aspects, she is also left with the anger of the Capital after she won.

Katniss' Assistance

Peeta

Cinna

Katniss receives assistance from multiple characters within the movie. The character who gave Katniss the most assistance was definitely Haymitch. Before the games, Haymitch mentored Katniss and gave her the training and mentality to enter the games. During the games, he often sent her gifts that she desperately needed. Along with Haymitch, Peeta, the other tribute from her district, assisted her in portraying a fake relationship which ultimately got the support of the viewers of the games. With Peeta's help, they defeated Cato in one of the last scenes of the movie. Before the games began, Cinna, her stylist helped her have the confidence and strategy to win the games. He mentally prepared her for what was ahead and was often seen caring for Katniss in times of distress. Without Cinna, Katniss would have lacked confidence in herself which would have ultimately changed the outcome of the game. Lastly, Katniss received assistance during the games from her fellow ally, Rue. The young girl helped Katniss defeat a strong alliance that had formed during the games. Without Rue, Katniss would have had little to keep fighting for and would have not survived.

Rue

Haymitch

The Changed Status Quo

Bonner, Mehera. "10 Reasons Why Katniss Should Have Chosen Gale Over Peeta In the 'Hunger

Games.'" Digital Image. Teen Vogue. Teen Vogue, 2016. Web. 19 Nov. 2016.

Sirikul, Laura. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 Dedicates Trailer to Prim. Digital image.

Nerd Reactor. N.p., 16 Sept. 2016. Web. 19 Nov. 2016.

District 12. Digital image. The Hunger Games Fanon Wiki. N.p., 2016. Web. 19 Nov. 2016.

"Rue." Digital Image. The Hunger Games Wiki. Ed. TheViralSorceress. N.p., 10 Aug. 2016. Web.

19 Nov. 2016.

Dibdin, Emma. Why Haymitch Is the Real Hero of The Hunger Games. Digital image. Digital Spy.

N.p., 24 Nov. 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

Doyle, Sady. In Defense of Peeta Mellark. Digital image. In These Times. N.p., 6 Dec. 2013. Web.

20 Nov. 2016.

GotIvr87. Cinna. Digital image. The Hunger Games Wiki. N.p., 4 Nov. 2016. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

Published at 1572 × 801 in Hunger Games Movie Images. Digital image. Hunger Games Down with

the Capitol. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

Pete, and Brigette. Pete and Brigette Review The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Digital image.

Chapters & Scenes. N.p., 06 Apr. 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

"Which Catching Fire Character Are You?" Playbuzz. N.p., 26 Mar. 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

Departure

Return

The return is the hero's arrival back into the ordinary world.

A hero's departure occurs when they take the first steps of their adventure, prompting them to leave the ordinary world.

Katniss' status quo after completing her hero journey is living with her mother and sister, Prim, in District 12. It has changed due to the new relationship she has with Peeta, the title of victor enabling her to live a luxorious life, and the anger of the capital which will eventually harm her and send her on another hero journey.

Katniss' Return

Just as she came, Katniss returned home on a train with Peeta. She leaves the capital and her journey to return back to her status quo.

Katniss' Departure

on the train

The primary departure Katniss makes is on a train to the capital with Peeta. The train takes her from her ordinary world and sends her on her journey. Another departure Katniss makes is in a tube up to the game's arena. She is taken from the ordinary world and is put into an unfamiliar and challenging world where she will face obstacles and successfully go on her hero journey.

in the tube

Result

Trials

The result is the outcome of the accomplishment.

Trials are the obstacles the hero must fight and overcome in order to successfully complete the journey.

Result

Katniss' clever plan with the berries ruined the capital's plan for one victor. She undermined the capital which ultimately led to anger from the game makers and President Snow. This anger was extreme and could have terrible outcomes.

Katniss' Trials

1:45

One of the first trials that Katniss is faced with is within herself. She struggles to not let her fearlessness waver. She must fight the impulse of weakness. Another large trial she is faced with is trying to gain the approval and love of the audience for sponsors. She also struggles to deal with the death of Rue. She mourns and is forced to move on from the tragic event and win for Rue.

Treasure

Approach

A hero's treasure is what the hero claims for overcoming the trials and crisis. This could be special recognition for overcoming an obstacle.

A hero's approach is their biggest fear and facing it.

Crisis

Katniss' Treasure

Katniss' Approach

Katniss' treasure was winning the games with Peeta as she had hoped for due to the final change in the rules. The fact that she was going to safely return home was her ultimate treasure.

At the end of the movie, Katniss was faced with killing the last tribute to win. The last tribute standing was Cato, a strong opponent. She successfully kills him but is then left in a crisis.

The hero's crisis is the lowest point of the journey. These are often near death experience.

Katniss' Crisis

After killing Cato, it should have appeared that both Peeta and Katniss won the games due to the rule change. Shortly after Cato died, the rules changed once more leaving it so that Peeta and Katniss would have to fight each other. To avoid this, Katniss suggests that they both eat poisonous berries so that there is no victor.

"The Hunger Games" Hero Journey