- "And this moment here... this is a moment that you never forget. The moment when the tribute becomes a victor."
- —Caesar Flickerman[src]
Victors are tributes who have won previous Hunger Games. Because of this, they receive income from the Capitol for life, are given a special status in their districts, and are allowed to live in the wealthiest part of their district called the Victors' Village with their families. Despite the privileges they enjoy, their involvement in the Hunger Games lasts for a lifetime, and they are placed under strict surveillance to ensure that they do not encourage rebellion against the Capitol. Their primary duty as victors is that they must mentor future tributes from their district through the Hunger Games.
Life as a victor[]
1st to 10th Hunger Games[]
During the 1st to 10th Hunger Games, victors were not given any specific importance or care by the Capitol. After winning and surviving their individual Games, they were generally sent back to their home districts and left to resume their old lives. It was only during and after the 11th Hunger Games that victors were put into the Capitol's spotlight, forcing them to take a bigger role in future Games. These new changes also gave victors compensation and rewards for their victories, in an attempt to entice a better crop of tributes to volunteer for future Games.[1]
Public image[]
Katniss wearing a wedding dress in her interview for the 75th Hunger Games to keep up the star-crossed lovers image.
Victors are often forced to put on false personas for the Capitol audience, such as Finnick Odair's flirtatiousness, or Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark's inseparable love. They also adopt hobbies or talents they can be interviewed about by the Capitol media. Peeta's talent was painting, but Katniss's skill at hunting was illegal and she was unwilling to sing, so she tried several alternatives from a list provided by Effie Trinket: cooking, flower arranging, and playing the flute. Katniss eventually settled on faking a passion for fashion design. Her stylist, Cinna, made things himself for her to pass off as her work.[2]
Victory Tour[]
The Victory Tour, first implemented for the 11th Hunger Games,[3] occurs almost midway between the annual Hunger Games, and is held to keep the memory of the year's Games fresh in everyone's mind.[4] They start in the highest numbered district and count down, skipping the victor's district and saving it for last. In each district, the victor gives a speech commemorating said district's fallen tributes, followed by a dinner with the district's leaders. Prior to returning to their resident district, the victor stops in the Capitol for an interview following up on their life after the Games, with the night concluding with a lavish party at the president's mansion. The Victory Tour concludes with the Capitol throwing a huge feast for the victor's district where all the residents attend.
Trauma[]
Most, if not all, of the victors suffer from some form of post-traumatic stress as a result of their experiences in the Games. For example, both Katniss and Peeta endure nightmares,[5][6] and Annie Cresta is notably mentally unstable even for a victor.[7]
Substance abuse[]
Many victors turn to alcohol or drugs after they have won their Games as a means of coping. Some examples can be seen with Haymitch Abernathy or Chaff and their heavy drinking, and the pair from District 6 with their addiction to morphling. These addictions stem from the traumatic experiences and memories of the Games, the demands that the Capitol continues to impose on them, the death penalty on them or their families, and, for those who become mentors, having to train new tributes every year which more likely will end up dying in their Games.
Sex trafficking[]
Highly attractive and desirable victors are often sexually trafficked by President Snow to citizens of the Capitol.[8]
Family[]
The families of victors can be used as leverage to force them to bend to the Capitol's will.[8] Katniss also mentioned that the children of victors are reaped to participate in the Hunger Games suspiciously often.[9]
Mentorship[]
While a victor is not obligated to work as part of their district's industry, one of their primary duties is to serve as a mentor for future tributes. In this role, the mentor is to provide tactical advice on how to survive the Games, assess their pre-existing skills and talents and how best to display them during training and their interview, and serve as a lifeline for their tributes once the Games have started by attracting sponsors to finance sponsor gifts in the arena, such as food, medicine, supplies, and weapons. This last duty is one of the most crucial to their mentorship duties, as their relative success (or failure) at attracting sponsors is dependent on the impression their tributes make during training and interviews and their performance in the Games themselves, which can have an enormous impact on whether their tribute dies or survives long enough to be crowned victor themselves.
The main 11 victors in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Third Quarter Quell[]
While victors are exempted from further eligibility in the reaping, this changed for the 75th Hunger Games. The special rule for the third Quarter Quell stipulated that, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them could not overcome the power of the Capitol, the tributes would be selected from the existing pool of victors. Thus, twenty-four victors across twelve districts were forced to participate in the Hunger Games for a second time.[10]
Gallery[]
District 1[]
District 2[]
District 3[]
District 4[]
District 5[]
District 6[]
District 7[]
District 8[]
District 9[]
District 10[]
District 11[]
District 12[]
.jpg "Katniss (2).jpg (6 KB)")
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Epilogue
- ↑ Catching Fire, Chapter 3
- ↑ MAGS, THE 11TH VICTOR - Capitol Couture
- ↑ Catching Fire, Chapter 1
- ↑ Catching Fire, Chapter 5
- ↑ Catching Fire, Chapter 6
- ↑ Catching Fire, Chapter 24
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Mockingjay, Chapter 12
- ↑ Catching Fire, Chapter 4
- ↑ Catching Fire, Chapter 12