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Kaila Clover
Ms. Hoogewerf
Writing for College Success
27 October 2015
Fiery Differences Within The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
I. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a thrilling sequel to the original Hunger Games.
Written by Suzanne Collins, and later directed by Francis Lawrence, this novel-turnedlive-action-film is a continuation of the struggles of Katniss Everdeen, a teenage-girl
providing for her family, and Peeta Melark, the son of a local baker.
A. The story continues for Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Melark, who were co-victors in
the Hunger Games of the prior year.
B. The wave of radical action that Katniss helped to kindle is now threatening to blaze up
and destroy the Capitol, leaving the country of Panam to abide in the charred remains.
C. Even though the Hunger Games: Catching Fire is based off the book of the same
name, there are differences between these two versions that make them unique and
interesting.
II. Differences in setting throughout The Hunger Games: Catching Fire add drama and keep
the audience entertained.
A. Throughout the book, the setting changes from hostile to benign, and from slow and
interpersonal to fast paced and dramatic.

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1. The setting in the beginning of the book is in the victors circle, a sector of
housing reserved specifically for the victors of the Hunger Games. This is set
within District 12, then in the main square where the citizens learn of the
requirements for the third Quarter Quell.
a. Katniss, her mother, her sister, and Peeta have gotten used to living in
the luxurious housing within the victors circle, a private residence
reserved only for the winners of the Hunger Games.
b. A whole year has passed since the last Games, and to mark the end of
the third twenty-five year period, a quarter-quell is held. Each quarterquell has a distinct theme, and the theme of the third requires that all
previous and most recent victors return to the arena to face one another in
a battle of survival.
2. The setting later on in the book is within the Quarter-Quell arena, and then in
the District 13 hovercraft at the end of the book.
a. The Victors must face each other in the Quarter-Quell arena, which is
shaped like a clock.
b. After shooting an arrow through a weak spot in the energy field
surrounding the arena, Katniss is rescued by a hovercraft from District 13.

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B. The setting in the beginning of the movie is quite tense to reflect Katnisss posttraumatic stress resulting from her involvement in the Games from the previous year,
though it mellows down some before it becomes as tense and quick paced as before.
1. In the beginning of the movie, the audience is shown some of the nightmares
that Katniss has been plagued by ever since she won the games alongside Peeta.
a. The audience is shown a nightmare-flashback to the first movie, when
Katniss was stung by genetically-modified wasps called tracker jackers
and suffered horrifying hallucinations.
b. Peeta hears her distress and comes to wake her up out of her dream. He
reassures her and volunteers to watch and wake her if she starts having
nightmares again.
2. Katniss believes that things are going to get better, until she and Peeta are told
that they must return to the arena to participate in the upcoming seventy-fifth
Hunger Games.
a. As required by law, a special Hunger Games is to be held every twentyfive years, known as a Quarter Quell, to serve as a reminder of the
Capitols victory over the Districts.
b. The seventy-fifth games, or the third Quarter Quell, requires that the
most recent victors return to the games to fight against one another. The

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Quell is held to remind the Districts that no one can overcome the power
of the Capitol.
III. The personalities and characteristics of the characters in The Hunger Games: Catching
Fire vary from the movie to the book.
A. Other characters are introduced, while older characters, such as those introduced in the
first book, change as their personality changes.
1. Peeta is a prime example of how a character who was considered more of an
anti-hero and side-protagonist changes as he forms a stronger bond with Katniss.
a. Peeta is now the center of attention for both Katniss and Haymitch, who
want to insure his survival, and for President Snow, who is beginning to
realize how great of a speaker he is...
b. Katniss screams when Peeta accidently walks right into the arenas
force-field, which stops his heart and almost kills him.
2. The intentions of Katniss and her coach, Haymitch, are more thoroughly
questioned.
a. The Mockingjay, like the one on Katnisss gold pin, becomes a secret
symbol of ones alliance with the Rebellion.
b. Haymitch urges both Katniss and Peeta to make friends with other
victors, telling them that they will survive longer if they work together. He

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especially wants them to get to know Beetee, who is revealed to be a member of
the Rebellion at the end of the book.
B. Katniss is a bit more emotional in the movie than she is in the book. She cares more
about others and is more vocal about her feelings.
1. Katniss becomes grief-stricken after she is powerless to stop her stylist from
being beaten and killed by Peacekeepers right before her eyes.
a. The President of Panam, President Snow, is blackmailing Katniss into
following the rules in an attempt to stop the Districts government
rebellion that she helped to begin during the first movie.
b. President Snow threatens to hurt everyone Katniss loves until she backs
down from her new role as a symbol of rebellion, and does so by having
her stylist killed before her. This is her punishment for wearing the
Mocking Jay dress designed by her stylist as a homage to the pin she wore
in the previous Hunger Games, which became a symbol of the Rebellion.
2. The characters are older in the movie than they are described as in the book.
a. The actors who play Katniss and Peeta are in their late teens and
twenties, even though the basis of the Hunger Games is that all tributes be
children and teenagers.

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b. The horror that is invoked by children being forced to kill other children
is lessened when they appear older, such as teenagers or young adults
instead of young kids.
IV. The individual events leading up to the finale in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire differ
in significance from the book to the movie.
A. There is more suspense leading up to the climax of the story, when Katniss fires the
arrow at the arenas force field.
1. The process of stringing a wire to the lightning tree, the largest tree in the arena
that marks noon and midnight by getting struck by lightning, is elaborated and drawn out
for suspense.
a. Additional information b. Additional information
2. Detail or example
a. Additional information
b. Additional information
B. Movie, aspect 3
1. Detail or example
a. Additional information

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b. Additional information
2. Detail or example
a. Additional information
b. Additional information
V. The book has its differences from its respective movie, which make reading and watching
both a more fulfilling experience.
A. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has settings, characters, and events that differ from
the story told in the book to the action in the movie.
B. The settings in both the movie and the book are relatively consistent with one another,
though there are some parts added and others removed within the movie.
C. While there are consistencies in plot, theme, and character relationships, the books
representation of these topics are more open to personal reflection and representation.
The movie does have its strongpoints as well; visual effects and actor portrayals of
characters, with credit to the director and screenwriters, add another dimension to the
story told throughout the Hunger Games trilogy.