Merchant

Peeta Mellark, one of the most notable merchants in the series.

A merchant is a small business owner. In District 12, this specifically referred to a small merchant class that, unlike most professions in Panem, also doubled as an identity— one that was often contrasted with the people of the Seam.

Description

Merchants lived above their stores in the town square, and they had gated yards like residents of the Seam. Their dwellings were located about a half-mile walk from the Victors' Village.

The bakery from The Hunger Games (film).

Bakery

Main article: Bakery

The most notable merchant business was the bakery, owned and operated by Mr. Mellark, the father of Peeta Mellark.

Other businesses

• Apothecary shop - once owned by the parents of Mrs. Everdeen; still in operation during Catching Fire.
• Butcher shop - owned by Rooba.
• Grocery
• Shoe shop - owned by the parents of Delly Cartwright.
• Sweet shop - once owned by the parents of Maysilee Donner and Mrs. Undersee.

History

Shortly after the 10th Hunger Games, the bakery was owned by an unknown "beet-faced woman" who had "little interest in providing directions to nonpaying customers". The butcher's daughter also got married around that time, hiring the Covey to perform live music at the wedding. Since the event was held in town, her new spouse was most likely another merchant.

Hunger Games period

As District 12's wealthiest citizens, merchant children did not typically need to take out tesserae, so their names were not entered into the reaping extra times in exchange for grain and oil. This could partially explain why out of District 12's known Hunger Games tributes, only two were merchants. The first was Maysilee Donner, the daughter of the sweet shop owners, friend of Mrs. Everdeen, and twin sister of Mrs. Undersee. She was reaped to participate in the 50th Hunger Games, and she formed an alliance with Haymitch Abernathy, who ended up becoming the victor.

In their youth, Mr. Mellark had wanted to marry Mrs. Everdeen, but she fell in love with Mr. Everdeen, a coal miner from the Seam. Mr. Mellark married a woman who would become Mrs. Mellark, and they had three sons together, the youngest of which was Peeta. Mr. and Mrs. Everdeen married, so she moved to the Seam. The same year that Peeta was born, the Everdeens had Katniss, and their second daughter Primrose was born four years later. After Mr. Everdeen died and Katniss took charge of the household, Mr. Mellark traded generously with the Everdeen daughters.

Peeta Mellark was District 12's second known merchant tribute in the 74th Hunger Games. Like Maysilee, he also had his name called in the reaping rather than volunteering, and he allied with Seam tribute (and later co-victor) Katniss Everdeen. The following year, Peeta would volunteer in place of Haymitch Abernathy for the 75th Hunger Games.

Second Rebellion

Like most parts of the district, the merchant sector was destroyed in the bombing of District 12, and most of its people were killed. Fewer than a dozen merchants escaped, so the vast majority of survivors were from the Seam. The only known merchants that survived the bombing were Delly Cartwright and her younger brother, as well as Peeta, who had not been in the district at the time. Gale Hawthorne led refugees to the lake in the woods outside District 12, and upon discovery and rescue by rebels, they were all granted citizenship in District 13.

Culture

People belonging to District 12's merchant class usually had blond hair and blue eyes. Since their families were wealthier than their Seam counterparts, merchant children rarely had to take out tesserae. However, merchants were also poor compared to other districts, and especially compared to the Capitol. Peeta Mellark's family often had to eat stale bread because they couldn't afford their own expensive bakery goods.

Merchant and Seam children attended school and learned about their district's coal trade together, preparing them for the possibility of employment in the mines after their last reaping at 18 years old. But while Seam children grew up unemployed, merchants worked in their parents' shops well before the age of 18.

Merchant goods were far too expensive for most Seam residents to buy, so their businesses were probably patronized most often by other merchants. Victors were also known to use their winnings to buy from merchants, but since District 12 had so few victors, this likely did not make up a substantial portion of their income.

Known merchants

Mrs. Everdeen at the reaping in The Hunger Games (film)

• Mrs. Everdeen (originally) and her parents
• The Mellarks - Mr. Mellark, Mrs. Mellark, first Mellark son, second Mellark son, and Peeta Mellark
• Rooba
• Maysilee Donner, Mrs. Undersee, and their parents
• Delly Cartwright, her parents, and her younger brother
• Unnamed baker woman

Tributes

• Maysilee Donner - One of two female tributes in the 50th Hunger Games.
• Peeta Mellark - Co-victor of the 74th and tribute in the 75th Hunger Games.

Presumed merchants

Characters who were not merchants by trade, but were likely counted among the merchant class due to their wealth and status.

• Mayor Lipp, Mayfair Lipp, and Mrs. Lipp
• Mayor Undersee and Madge Undersee

Trivia

Lily Elsington's District Hero portrait

• Mrs. Everdeen is the only member of the merchant sector known to have moved to the Seam.
• Peeta Mellark is District 12's only merchant victor.
• Katniss mentioned seeing run-down storefronts in District 11's town square, but commented that "Wherever the well-to-do live in District 11 live, it's not [there]." This suggests that District 11 may not have a merchant class in the same way District 12 does, or at least that the class dynamics manifested differently.
• In the films, Haymitch Abernathy was portrayed with blond hair and blue eyes, which could potentially point to him being a merchant. This would be inconsistent with the books, where Haymitch is established as being from the Seam.
• Lily Elsington, a character created as part of the District Heroes ad campaign, was dressed up as a coal miner in a portrait promoting The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1. However, her blonde hair and blue eyes suggest that she may actually be from a merchant family.