Katniss Everdeen is a fictional character and the protagonist of Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games trilogy. Her name comes from an edible plant called katniss. Jennifer Lawrence portrayed Katniss in the movie The Hunger Games, directed by Gary Ross. She will reprise her role as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on November 22nd, 2013.
Katniss and her family come from District 12, a coal-mining district that is the poorest and least populated district in the dystopian fictional autocratic nation of Panem. In the course of the first book, The Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to replace her sister, Primrose "Prim" Everdeen, after she is called forth during Reaping Day, a day in which, annually, one male and one female tribute in the age bracket of 12 to 18 are called forth from each district to fight to the death in an arena in what are known as the Hunger Games. Katniss, after an alliance with Rue from District 11 (who reminded Katniss of her own sister), a 12 year old who had a very touching death, she joins up with fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark to compete in the Games together. She uses her knowledge of hunting and archery to survive, and the two become the victors after defying the Capitol's attempt to force one to kill the other. Throughout the next two novels, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, Katniss becomes the symbol of a rebellion for the twelve districts against the Capitol's oppression, and ultimately decides the final balance of power in Panem by killing the aspiring president of District 13, the vanguard of the rebellion, for attempting to oppress the defeated Capitol itself and presumably ordering the final bombings that resulted in Prim's death.
The idea for the trilogy was based in part on the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, in which seven boys and seven girls from Athens are sent every nine years against their will to be devoured by the Minotaur, a cycle that doesn't stop until Theseus kills the Minotaur. Collins, who heard the story when she was eight years old, was unsettled by its ruthlessness and cruelty. Collins said, "In her own way, Katniss is a futuristic Theseus." Collins also characterized the novels with the fearful sensations she experienced when her father was fighting in the Vietnam War
In the novels, Katniss is extensively knowledgeable in foraging, wildlife, hunting, and survival techniques. Collins knew some of this background from her father, who grew up in the Great Depression and was forced to hunt to augment an extremely low food supply, although Collins saw her father bring home food from the wild during her own childhood as well. In addition, Collins researched the subject using a large stack of wilderness survival guidebooks.
Katniss and the other tributes are, in their time before participating in their Hunger Games, compelled to compete for the hearts of sponsors who donate money that can be used to buy vital supplies for them when they are in the arena. The concept of how the audiences carry nearly as much force as actual characters is based on how, in reality television and in the Roman games, the audience can both "respond with great enthusiasm or play a role in your elimination," as Collins said.
Katniss's first name comes from a plant that is more commonly known as Sagittaria or arrowhead, which is a tuber plant usually found in H2o. The root of this plant can be eaten, as Katniss does in the book. Her father once said: "As long as you can find yourself, you'll never starve." The plant also shares its name with a constellation in the Zodiac called Sagittarius, or "The Archer", which may also reference Katniss's skills in archery.
Her last name comes from Bathsheba Everdene, the central character in Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. According to Collins, "The two are very different, but both struggle with knowing their hearts".
