Thresh

"I always respected him. For his power. For his refusal to play the Games on anyone's terms but his own."

- Katniss on Thresh Thresh was the male tribute from District 11 in the 74th Hunger Games. Strong and resourceful, he posed a serious threat, along with Cato, to the other tributes participating in the Games.

The 74th Hunger Games
Thresh was reaped into the 74th Hunger Games, along with the female tribute from his district, Rue. Viewed as the physically strongest tribute in the entire Games, the Career Tributes attempted to recruit him for their alliance during the training sessions, but he refused to join them. In training, he scores a 10, but in the film, he scores a 9. During Thresh's interview, Caesar Flickerman tries to help him to be more comfortable and talk. However, Thresh only answers in curt single word answers and remains surly. This, coupled with his physical appearance, causes him to become a favorite amongst the Capitol for the games. Katniss is extremely impressed with this, and envies Thresh as he shows such silent, deadly physical power and has no need to make the Capitol like him with an angle, though this may have been his angle all along.

Bloodbath
Thresh participates in the Cornucopia bloodbath. In the film, after retrieving a curved sword, a blue backpack, and a water container from the Cornucopia, Thresh is confronted by the District 7 male who tries to stab him with his spear. Thresh knocks it away with his backpack, and then hacks the District 7 male's throat open with his sword, knocking him dead into the Cornucopia. He quickly flees and looks back at the scene while the District 7 female and District 3 male push each other. He found a field of wheat, which he uses to his advantage by using the wheat for food and also as a source of cover so he could easily hide. The Careers knew where he was, but saw the field as a threat as Thresh would be at a major advantage if they attacked, so they avoided him.

The feast
He comes out of hiding during the feast to claim his backpack with what he needed the most, and overhears Clove's threats to Katniss and taunting her about Rue's death. Furious, Thresh attacks Clove, pulling her away from Katniss and yelling at her, and holds her a foot above the ground. Due to Clove's words, Thresh accuses her of killing Rue, which Clove truthfully denies. When Clove sees Thresh holding a large rock, she screams for Cato. In the book, Thresh smashes the rock into her temple, cracking and denting her skull while in the film, he smashes her head against the Cornucopia twice. She dies of this injury a short while later. Thresh then asks Katniss what Clove meant about Rue being her ally. Katniss tells him that Marvel killed Rue, and that she sang to her as she died. To honor Rue and to repay Katniss for protecting her, Thresh spares her life and tells her to run, as Cato will be there soon. As he leaves, he takes not only his own backpack, but Cato's as well, forcing Cato to chase him instead of Katniss, putting her in less danger to repay her further.

Death
The cause of Thresh's death was not directly revealed in the book. Katniss and Peeta assume that he was killed by Cato after taking his backpack and killing Cato's district partner, Clove. Katniss and Peeta see Thresh's distorted picture in the sky from their cave, and it can also be assumed that he was killed during the thunderstorm, created by the Gamemakers, as the cannon that announced his death was inaudible. There is a discrepancy between the film and the book in the manner that Thresh was killed.

In the book, Thresh is killed 5th, before Foxface but in the movie, Thresh dies after Foxface, resulting in finishing 4th place, which is a very high score for a tribute from a poor district like 11. In the movie, you can hear the wolf mutts howling and Thresh screaming, followed by the sound of a cannon, implying that he might have been killed by the wolf mutts

Muttation
Thresh's muttation was said to be the biggest of them all, once again referring to his massive build. Katniss can tell it was Thresh because of his powerful back legs and that no other tribute could have leapt that high. His mutt was killed by Katniss when it tried to leap on top of the Cornucopia as Cato, Peeta and Katniss tried to stay away from the rest of the pack.

Tactics
In the Hunger Games, Thresh only had one known tactic; to occupy a portion of the arena and to seldom leave its boundaries. In the film, Thresh is seen participating in the Cornucopia bloodbath. Thresh chose to enter a field of wheat that was as tall as Peeta's shoulders, seeing the area as both a threat and a source of food, shelter and safety. He saw it as a place of safety particularly because it resembled his home District 11.

Peeta stated that the Careers didn't want to attack Thresh while he was there since he would have a major advantage.

Victims
During the feast in the book, Thresh kills Clove, the female tribute from District 2, by denting her skull with a rock since he hears Clove taunt Katniss about Rue; though in the film, he kills Clove by pinning her against the Cornucopia and then slamming her into it, cracking her skull.

In the film, it is shown during the Cornucopia Bloodbath that Thresh killed the District 7 male by knocking away the attacker's spear and cutting open his throat with his curved sword before running off. It is likely that he only did this because the tribute was trying to kill him, and if he didn't attack Thresh, he wouldn't have killed anyone in the bloodbath.

Catching Fire
When Katniss and Peeta go to District 11 on their Victory Tour, Katniss gives a speech about Thresh. She says she only spoke to him once, but respected him for his strength and refusal to play the Games on anyone's terms but his own (the Careers wanted him to join their alliance, but he refused), and thanks him for sparing her life. Katniss and Peeta thank District 11 for their Tributes.

Peeta then rewards each of the families from District 11 with one month of their victor gifts every year for the rest of their lives.

Personality
Thresh shows mercy towards Katniss when they met in the arena, even at a time when he had the advantage in terms of combat, as he believed that he owed her for being in alliance with and avenging Rue, the female tribute from his district. Through this action, Thresh is shown as having a certain degree of honor and dignity. By attempting to avenge Rue, Thresh also showed a side of kindness, which, in this case, is directed towards an innocent twelve-year-old girl. Another aspect of Thresh's personality is that he is vengeful. Other of Thresh's actions that reveal his personality include his choice of solitude throughout the duration of the Games, demonstrating his preference to work alone.

Thresh was one of the main competitors in the 74th Hunger Games. Being as strong and huge as he was, it was obvious from when you first saw him, Thresh would pose a problem if you were to face him. He commanded respect and was feared by virtually everyone in the arena, even the whole Career pack. Being from District 11, his knowledge of plants helped him in the field, where no one else dared to go, and it became a hide-out as well as a potential food source. Katniss herself had thought that if she were a sponsor, Thresh would be who she would sponsor. He was defiantly someone not to be underestimated. Thresh's physical aptitude was often complimented by Katniss. It is also revealed in training that when the Career Tributes asked him to join their pack, he refused, probably knowing they would eventually have to betray one another.

Family
Thresh had only two known family members, an old hunchbacked woman, presumed by Katniss to be his grandmother, and his sister, whom Katniss referred to as bulky and strong looking like Thresh.

Rue
"Just this once, Twelve. For Rue."

- Thresh to Katniss about Rue

Thresh liked Rue and took pity on her since she was so young and nice and felt she did not deserve this. He cared about her because when she died, he became sad and infuriated by her death. During the feast, Thresh overheard Clove taunting Katniss about Rue's death. Thresh grabbed Clove off Katniss, strangled her while holding her one foot off the ground, and yelled at her about Rue. He then killed Clove by denting her temple (novel)/cracking her skull (film) with a large rock, to avenge Rue.

Katniss Everdeen
"You better run now, fire girl."

- Thresh to Katniss

During the feast, Thresh saved Katniss from being killed by Clove. Katniss was shocked at his sudden appearance. After Thresh avenged Rue's death by crushing Clove's skull with a rock, he asked Katniss in a gentle way about Rue. In the film, all he said was, "Just this time Twelve. For Rue." Thresh was touched that Katniss took care of Rue and tried to protect her from the other tributes and felt that he owed her. He spared Katniss' life and told her to run as Cato would be there soon, as he had heard Clove's screams before she died. Thresh also took Cato's backpack, as it would force Cato to chase him instead of Katniss, allowing her to escape. This act may have resulted in Thresh's death, which shocked and saddened Katniss, as she liked him and wanted him to win if she or Peeta did not.

During the Victory Tour, Katniss honored Thresh by including him in her speech. She stated that she didn't know him, but deeply respected him for his strength and his refusal to play the Game on anyone's grounds but his own. Katniss also thanks Thresh for sparing her life.

Physical appearance
Thresh had dark skin and very cropped dark hair. He is described as being the tallest tribute, having strange golden brown eyes and muscles like an ox. He was larger and more muscular than Cato. Katniss often thought of Thresh as a "physical wonder".

It was noted that Thresh looked even bigger and well fed since the games had begun. (He was from District 11, a poor district, where no one gets enough to eat). In the film, Thresh is shorter than both Marvel and Cato and smaller/less muscular than the latter, but still bigger and somewhat taller than the other tributes.

Etymology
Like many other characters in the Hunger Games series, Thresh's name has an actual meaning. "Thresh" is a method of harvesting grain that involves flailing the plant around.

Film portrayal
Thresh is portrayed by Dayo Okeniyi in The Hunger Games film.

Trivia

 * His odds of winning change in the movie, decreasing from 10-1 to 11-1. Thresh is one of the few tributes shown with changing betting odds. It is unknown why they dropped, but it could have been when he rejected the offer to be a part of the Careers.
 * In The Hunger Games: Tribute Guide, his height is 6'0.

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