The meadow is a place on the ouskirts of District 12, it lies just outside of the fence and before the woods, where Katniss Everdeen hunts. It is described as a scruffy field. There are also other meadows that are mentioned in the trilogy.
Uses
The meadows have many uses; plants can be found there, which healers can use to make medicines, people can forage for food there, and it also serves as a place for animals to be kept. It is described in the The Hunger Games when Peeta and Katniss were in the cave and Peeta asked Katniss to tell him a happy story, Katniss told one about getting Prim's goat Lady, and she said the meadow would be an excellent feeding place.
A meadow was built underground in District 13, where Beetee would study hummingbirds.
Some of the arenas for the games have featured meadows, such as the 74th and 50th Hunger Games, the 74th had meadows in, and the 50th had the Cornucopia in the middle of one.
Appearance
The meadow in District 12 is described as a scruffy field. It is also said that flowers grow there, such as Rue flowers. This could've been part of the inspiration to cover Rue in flowers as she died, since the flowers there were in the meadow. Katniss also said that she sees Rue in the flowers that grow in the meadow.
Many wild flowers grow in the meadow, and at the beginning of the trilogy, it's unlikely that it's well kept, because the citizens of District 12 are not allowed into the meadow, since it lies beyond the fence. The fence should be zapping people if they touch it, but it is never on, save for a few hours in the evening occasionally, and is safe to cross.
History
In District 12, following the firebombing and it's reconstruction, the area became a mass grave, the grave of everybody who died in District 12 during the Second Rebellion. However, the grave gradually turned into a meadow.
The meadow features in the epilogue of Mockingjay, when Katniss and Peeta Mellark's children, a son and a daughter, play together in it. Neither of the children are aware of what it used to be.
Mentioned meadows
- District 12
- District 11
- Underground in District 13
- In the 74th Hunger Games arena
- In the 50th Hunger Games arena
It is argued that the District 12 meadow features in the song 'Deep in the Meadow', which Katniss would sing to Prim as a lullaby, and which she also sang to Rue as she died during the 74th Hunger Games.