- "And she's very clever, Peeta. Well, she was. Until you outfoxed her. "
- —Katniss Everdeen to Peeta Mellark on Foxface[src]
"Foxface" was the female tribute from District 5 in the 74th Hunger Games[2]. Katniss Everdeen nicknamed her "Foxface" because of her sly, fox-like appearance[3][4]. Her true name has never been made official in English.
Biography[]
74th Hunger Games[]
Reaping[]
Foxface was reaped into the Hunger Games as the female tribute from District 5 in the 74th Hunger Games. She was one of the few tributes Katniss took note of at the Reaping.[2]
Tribute Parade[]
In the Tribute Parade, Foxface waved nervously to the audience from her chariot, while representing her district's main export (power) to the Capitol.[5]
Training[]
In the novel, Foxface is never mentioned during training, nor was her training score given. In the film, she could be seen testing her knowledge of plants in a fast-paced matching test. Foxface received a score of 5 during her private training session with the Gamemakers.
Interview[]
During her interview with Caesar Flickerman, Foxface was nervous and quiet, only speaking one line in the interview, which was “I will always analyze the situation and apply myself”. In the bonus features of The Hunger Games film, Foxface says that she is very smart, and that "no weapon can match a brain".[5]
For her interview, she wore a light blue strapless dress with a ruffled skirt. She answered her questions fast and short. Katniss described her as being "sly and elusive"[6]. Later Katniss said that if all the tributes had took a test, she thinks Foxface would've been the smartest[7].
Bloodbath[]
Like Rue, Foxface ran away from the Cornucopia bloodbath when she entered the arena as she had no weapons or supplies to help her. In the film, a scene was added where she and Katniss bumped into each other while fleeing the Cornucopia, but stared at each other in shock for a moment before going in opposite directions.[5]
The Games[]
Later on during the Games, she was spotted by Katniss at the Cornucopia near the Careers' camp. After skulking around to make sure she was unidentified by any of the other tributes, Foxface made a variety of movements, which Katniss described as a dance sequence. Foxface had a close encounter with death as she landed wrong in the Careers' minefield and squealed, but she kept going. Foxface demonstrated her cleverness by figuring out the path into the Careers' pyramid of useful supplies, reaching the bulk of supplies, taking a small, unnoticeable amount of supplies, and then running back to the safety of the woods.[8]
Katniss noticed a bag of apples hanging on the pyramid, which could well be some of the apples Foxface took from a burlap sack, and fired three arrows at it; the bag of apples ripped apart, fell, and set off the land mines. It caused a huge explosion after and destroyed all of the supplies.[8] This resulted in the destruction of the Careers' supplies, and the District 3 male's death by Cato's hands. In the ruins of the explosion, Katniss saw Foxface laughing as she was able to find a knife blade and a metal pot. At first, she didn't understand why but later came to the conclusion that with the Careers supplies destroyed, Foxface realized that she might actually stand a chance of surviving. At one point, Katniss considered letting Foxface into her alliance with Rue, but quickly dismissed the idea, suspecting Foxface would backstab her.[9]
The Feast[]
After several days in the arena, all the remaining tributes needed something desperately. Due to this, Claudius Templesmith announced that there would be a feast.[4] Foxface, as well as the other tributes, prepared herself for the upcoming event.
When the other tributes arrived at the feast, Foxface was already well hidden within the Cornucopia. When the table rose from the ground with the bags containing each of the tributes' items that they "desperately needed," Foxface didn't waste her time with battle; instead, she sprinted out, took her bag, and quickly evacuated the area. She was not attacked, as the other tributes feared to confront each other, and she was very quick. Katniss was both impressed and angry that she had not come up with a plan so risky and devious. Katniss pulled out one of her arrows to shoot at Foxface, but let her grab her backpack and flee back into the woods.[10] Foxface's green pack most likely contained food, as her strategy was to stay hidden and avoid any confrontation between any of the tributes. Throughout the games, she managed to survive by scavenging, foraging and occasionally stealing from other contestants[8]. This strategy worked until she unwittingly stole and ate poisonous nightlock berries from Katniss and Peeta[7].
Death[]
Foxface placed 4th in the Games. Katniss and Peeta found her body holding nightlock berries Peeta had collected, which she stole and ate.[11] Katniss believed that if Peeta had known about the poison and was attempting to trick Foxface, she would have known not to eat them and could have won.[7] Katniss questions the circumstances of her death. When her body was then taken away by a hovercraft, Katniss mentioned that her body was emaciated, so she would've died sooner or later from her lack of food supplies.[11]
Tactics[]
Foxface avoided confronting the other tributes and kept a reasonable distance between her and anyone else. She intelligently observed other tributes from afar, which allowed her to understand their plans. She took an unnoticeable amount of food from others without their knowledge, and was careful when she was in the Careers' camp, for she knew that it contained mines[8]. She was clever enough to trace a path through the mines where she could step without being blown to pieces[8]. She had no alliances with other tributes and kept completely to herself.
She also demonstrated the attribute of being wily, when she deciphers a path through the explosives to reach the Careers' pyramid of food and supplies, making sure to take enough to survive, but not so much that it would be noticed by the others when they arrived back at their camp[8]. She was independent, always working alone and was sly, elusive, and probably untrustworthy[9].
Another one of her clever ideas was demonstrated at the feast. Foxface hid in the Cornucopia, waiting for the others to come[11]. She didn't waste time with a battle — she ran up, snatched her bag, and quickly evacuated the area. No one would follow her in fear of not getting their own bags, containing something they "desperately needed", taken away by another tribute. Katniss was also envious of her plan, how strategic and risky it was, and how it trapped the other tributes.[10]
Foxface was careful not to make enemies[9][10] or even to make herself noticed[8]. Remarkably, she managed to get through to the final four tributes without making a single kill, showing either her morals, luck, or her intelligence.
Physical description[]
Foxface had sleek red hair, and Katniss compared her face to that of a fox, inspiring her nickname.[2] Katniss later recognized the wolf mutt that resembled her based on its small size, red coat, and amber eyes.[12] In the movie, her eyes were green, and she wore her hair in two animal ear-like braids (also known as "fox ears") in the arena.[5]
Personality and traits[]
Foxface proved to be one of the smartest, trickiest, and stealthiest tributes in the Games. She demonstrated this several times throughout the book by doing various things, such as stealing supplies from other tributes, letting herself to become a forgettable tribute in order to not draw attention to herself[8], and she could find things that others didn't look hard enough for[9].
Trivia[]
- In alternate language versions of the film, including Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, her name is given as Finch or Fynch; however, in English, no name has ever been officially given.
- In the film, Foxface's odds of winning were 7–1, the same as Glimmer.
- Foxface is often confused with the District 9 female because they are around the same size and both have red hair.
- Foxface, Katniss, and Peeta are the only known tributes to receive training scores that matched the number of their district (12 in the 75th Hunger Games for both of them, and 5 for her in the 74th).
- Foxface was the last female tribute to die in the 74th Hunger Games, and she was the lowest scoring tribute in the final eight. She finished fourth in the novel and fifth in the movie.
- Foxface is from District 5, received a training score of 5, placed 5th in the movie, and is 5'5" in height.
- Foxface's actress, Jacqueline Emerson, has said she made up a little story in her mind for Foxface so it wouldn't bother her that her character rarely spoke.
- A common source of fan speculation is whether Foxface's death was an accident or an intentional act of suicide.
- At the Los Angeles premiere of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes on November 13, 2023, Jacqueline Emerson was asked to share her opinion on the theory. She said that director Gary Ross told her Foxface's death was accidental; however, Emerson personally believed it was suicide because the film showed the character quizzing herself on plants.[13]
- In an early draft of the film script, Caesar mentioned in his interview with Foxface that her name was Marissa.[14]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 File:Full stats board.png
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 The Hunger Games, Chapter 3
- ↑ The Hunger Games, Chapter 11
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Hunger Games, Chapter 20
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 The Hunger Games (film)
- ↑ The Hunger Games, Chapter 9
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Hunger Games, Chapter 24
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 The Hunger Games, Chapter 16
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 The Hunger Games, Chapter 17
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 The Hunger Games, Chapter 21
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 The Hunger Games, Chapter 23
- ↑ The Hunger Games, Chapter 25
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1724229263875063989
- ↑ https://assets.scriptslug.com/live/pdf/scripts/the-hunger-games-2012.pdf