Pliny "Pup" Harrington was a male resident of the Capitol and a student of the Academy. He was one of 24 top-performing seniors at the Academy selected to be a mentor for the 10th Hunger Games. He was assigned the female tribute from District 7, Lamina.
Biography[]
His father was a naval commander who watched the waters off District 4. Though his nickname "Pup" was given to distinguish him from his father, his father had nevertheless given him a crew cut and shined shoes to try to mold him in his own image. Even so, Pup was a natural slob who would do things like picking a piece of ham out of his braces and flicking it to the floor.
He did not think much of his tribute, and was unable to get anything out of Lamina during a mentor-tribute session, revealing that she cried for fifteen minutes straight and that he didn't think that District 7 had prepared her for a hangnail, let alone the Games.[1] He also failed to prepare her for the interviews.
However, Lamina took the first kill of the day, and Pup gave a fist pump before giving her a bottle of water as a sponsor gift. This was the first attempt to deliver a gift to a tribute in the arena, and the bottle crashed, to be replaced with a new one ten minutes afterward. Coriolanus Snow invited Pup to join him and Lepidus Malmsey in an interview later that day, and Pup rattled off every detail he could remember about Lamina, including some possibly fabricated ones as well. He later sent Lamina a slice of bread after she sent Marcus's corpse tumbling to the ground.[2]
When the Plinth Prize, a full ride to the University to the mentor whose tribute won the Games, was announced by Strabo and Sejanus Plinth, Pup let out a whoop.[3]
The third day of the Games, Lamina was approached by Coral, Mizzen and Tanner, the pair from District 4 and the male tribute from District 10 respectively. Pup kept shouting out his thoughts and advice, getting on the other mentors' nerves. When Lamina was killed, Pup cried out in shock. He left the mentor section, slammed his chair down and strode out of the hall, attempting not to cry.[4]
Physical description[]
Pup had a crew cut and shined shoes, but was still a natural slob. He also wore braces around the time of the 10th Hunger Games, which often had bits of food stuck in.[1]
Etymology[]
His name is likely referencing Pliny the Younger, whose father, Pliny the Elder, was a Roman naval commander.