50th Hunger Games arena

"It's the most breathtaking place imaginable."

—Katniss Everdeen's first thought upon seeing the arena

The 50th Hunger Games arena is where the 50th Hunger Games or second Quarter Quell took place. Following the abolition of the Hunger Games, this and all other arenas were destroyed and replaced with memorials. It is the main antagonist of Sunrise on the Reaping.

The arena was built in the shape of an eye, with the Cornucopia acting as the pupil, the meadow making up the iris, and the mountain and forest terrain narrowing to points on the north and south sides to form the whites of the eye. This reflected how the Capitol was always watching.

Terrain

The tributes were launched on their pedestals in a ring around the Cornucopia, which sat in the middle of a green meadow dotted with colorful flower patches. The sky was azure blue, and the arena had a pleasant smell. The meadow went on for miles, with woods in one direction and a snowcapped mountain in the other. On the fourth day, the mountain turned out to be a volcano that spewed lava, killing a dozen tributes and forcing the surviving ones to take cover in the woods. The ash wasn't real or hot, but was made of a gel that inflicted chemical burns. It dissolved like sugar crystals by a light rainfall which returned to arena to the same pristine condition as it was at the start.

To the far north just outside the woods, the arena contained a dense hedge maze shaped into a v, that prevented tributes from traveling too close to the end of the arena. Haymitch Abernathy and Maysilee Donner were only able to break through using a blowtorch, revealing flat, dry earth on the other side. A cliff was found at the end, beneath which were jagged rocks. The cliff was surrounded by a force field that would bounce back anything thrown at it—a characteristic that Haymitch later exploited to secure his victory.

The bushes were full of fruit that contained a lethal poison. The scent produced by the flowers was also deadly when deliberately inhaled. The berms which led to Sub-A featured their own poisonous flower identified by a small brass plaque. Known flowers are buttercups, crocus, tiger lily, pansy, bee balm, a gas plant, a butterfly bush and holly.

Food and water sources

While there were crystalline streams in the arena, the water they carried was poisonous, with the only drinkable source being the rainwater. Similarly, the food found in the Cornucopia was the only safe source of food.

Muttations

Main article: Muttations#50th Hunger Games

• Fluffy, golden, carnivorous squirrels that attacked in packs
• Electric stinging butterflies
• Bats with transparent, colorful wings and four-inch curved claws
• Baby deer with spiked hooves
• Fox mutts with sunset-orange fur
• Blood-sucking ladybugs disguised as holly berries
• A bear-sized porcupine with poisonous quills
• Candy pink birds with long, thin beaks

Trivia

• The arena being in the shape of an eye may be an allusion to George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984, where the eyes of Big Brother were used in propaganda to represent constant surveillance and control.