Katniss Everdeen

Katniss is the protagonist of the novel. She is a tough, self-sufficient, extremely loyal girl whose childhood was cut short by responsibility. After her father died, her mother sank into despair, so it was up to Katniss to feed the family. One evening, she was going through others' trash in desperation when Peeta Mellark purposefully burned bread from his family's bakery and gave it to her. She feels a debt to him for that action, because after that she realizes the forest will be how to feed her family. She and her friend Gale regularly hunt wild game and gather food, selling some and keeping some for their families. Katniss dearly loves her younger sister Prim, so much so that she volunteers to go to the Hunger Games in Prim's place. Though Katniss could very easily feel bitter toward her more sheltered sister, instead she is fiercely...