Primrose Everdeen

"Quack!"

- Primrose Everdeen

Primrose "Prim" Everdeen was Katniss Everdeen's younger sister. Unlike her sister in many ways, Prim's heart is full of compassion and has not experienced the pain Katniss has untill Mockingjay.

Work
Prim had a goat, named Lady, whose cheeses and milk she sold at the Hob to help support her family. Katniss rescued the goat and gave it to Prim on her 10th birthday after having shot and sold a young buck in the woods with Gale. Having so much money, they first thought to get Prim a hairbrush or cloth for a dress, but decided instead on a goat that had been injured. Prim loved animals, and was soon able to heal Lady with her mother's help. The sustenance provided by the goat helped Prim and her family to survive in the poor region of District 12.

Other than her animals, Prim also has household chores and helps to take care of patients that people bring to her mother. Later, after Katniss escapes from the Quarter Quell, she turns out to become a very skilled doctor while living in District 13. During the war she would work with her mother in the hospital and then go out to help the injured in the midst of battle, although this ultimately leads to her death. She dies while covering up an injured Capitol child with her coat, exploding parachutes sent by a hovercraft going off before Katniss can reach her.

Early life
Not much is known about Prim's early life, but it is said that she was a compassionate young girl.

She was born in late May, although the exact date is not said. It is quite obvious from the beginning that Prim loves all living creatures. She saved a stray cat (who Katniss promptly tried to drown) and named him Buttercup. Katniss once took her out to teach her how to hunt, but after successfully shooting a creature, Prim broke down and wanted to help the dying animal.

Prim was also a good healer at an early age, often helping her mother with patients. Katniss noted that she never appeared to be fazed by wounds or nudity.

The Hunger Games
At the reaping, it was not Katniss's but Prim's name that was pulled out of the girls' reaping ball. Katniss desperately volunteered for Prim, for she was so protective of her sister that she would die for her. She had not allowed Prim to take any tesserae and did everything she could to prevent Prim being thrown into the 74th Hunger Games, as she knew her little sister would not have lasted long in the competition, but in the end it hadn't mattered. In the hour of farewells before travelling to the Capitol, Prim fiercely makes Katniss promise to win the Games and return home safely.

Catching Fire
Prim is a more prominent character in this sequel, helping her mother with patients and keeping off the Capitol's toes. She does her best to comfort Katniss when she is reaped for the 75th Hunger Games. When District Twelve is bombed, Gale saves her and her mother.

Mockingjay
Prim is a larger character in Mockingjay than any of the two previous books. She lives in District 13 with her mother, sister, and Buttercup in Compartment E for most of the book. Like before, Katniss is always trying to protect her. Prim surprises Katniss with how mature and strong-willed she has grown. She dreams of becoming a doctor and shows her proficiency at healing as she helps the injured during her time in District 13. When District 13 is attacked by the Capitol, Prim nearly gets trapped out of the safe quarters because she goes back to rescue Buttercup, but makes it with Gale just in time. She is allowed to go to the Capitol during the final battle as a nurse, which Katniss doesn't know until she sees Prim in the barricade in front of Snow's mansion with the children being used as a guard. Before Katniss can reach her and bring her to safety, Prim is killed by the double-exploding parachutes (created by Gale and Beetee) dropped by Coin's forces (according to Snow). After the war, Peeta brings a series of Evening Primrose bushes to Katniss and they plant them around their home in District 12 as a memorial to her.

Physical description
Prim had fair skin, blond hair and blue eyes, unlike the majority of the residents of the Seam in District 12, and looked very much like her mother. She had a small stature, partly due to being underfed for the majority of her life. Katniss describes her as having a face "as fresh as a raindrop, as lovely as the primrose for which she was named." When she wore clothing, from her Reaping gown to her medic uniform, Prim continuously had a "duck tail", one that earned her "little duck" as a nickname. This duck tail was how Katniss could identify her while she was assisting the injured Capitol children.

Personality
Prim loved all living creatures, even the most unsightly ones. She has a pet goat that Katniss gave her as well as a gruesome, ugly cat she named Buttercup. Starving and swarming with parasites, Prim brought the wretched creature home one day. Katniss intended to drown him, but Prim begged so hard for Katniss to let him live that she decided to allow the cat to stay. She, like her mother, had a passion and talent for healing. Prim stayed at her mother's side with even during the most horrid cases, even though she was "scared of her own shadow."

Prim's goat, Lady, was first adopted into her family when Katniss was browsing and trading in the Hob on Prim's birthday. An old goat herder had a sick nanny goat, mauled by a dog, the wound swollen with infections, and after much haggling and bargaining, Katniss bought the goat and a pink ribbon for her neck. Upon presenting the weak, near-dead nanny to Prim, medical attention was given to her immediately. Eventually, Lady healed well. Though purchasing the goat on a whim, Katniss does not regret her decision, for Lady pays her stay well with goat's milk and cheese to eat and to sell. Lady died in the bombings of District 12 but Buttercup managed to survive, much to Katniss's disappointment.

Family
Prim was the youngest of the Everdeen family; her sister is Katniss. Her father, Mr. Everdeen, died in a mine explosion four years before, leaving her mother, sister, and herself alone. The three of them lived in the Seam with Lady the goat and Buttercup the cat.

Film portrayal
Prim will be played by newcomer Willow Shields in The Hunger Games film.

Trivia

 * If Katniss didn't volunteer for her sister,Prim, there would have been two 12 year old girls (Prim and Rue) in the 74th Hunger Games, from very poor districts.