Ewon Chang
Ms. Costa
ENG3U
6th November 2012
Three characters who have influenced Katniss Everyone in society must have been influenced by others around him. Think about it; a person can always find several people who have influenced him deeply in his life, such as his parents and teachers. More specifically, the person can be directly influenced by their words and actions; he can also be unconsciously influenced by their minds and moods. However, these influences can be positive or negative for a man. Katniss, the protagonist in The Hunger Games, has been influenced in both positive and negative ways by three characters: Gale, Cinna and Cato. Gale teaches Katniss hunting skills like a big brother and promises to take care of Prim.
Cinna designs a fantastic costume to help her get sponsors and gives her decent suggestions about the opening interview so that she is popular among the audience.
Katniss’s number one adversary in the Games is Cato, a career tribute from District 2, and there is no one who can deny that he has influenced Katniss in a negative way by hunting Katniss and maiming her companion, Peeta. At the beginning of the Games, Cato allies all career tributes with a team to trace Katniss. Trapped, Katniss has to drop the wasp nest down and almost dies of tracker jackers. Katniss is “wounded and trapped… That nest may be the sole option [she] [has] left. If [she] can drop it down on them, [she] may be able to escape” (Collins 186). Because of Cato’s hunting, Katniss has to risk her life completing such a dangerous procedure. Even though she finally disperses the Career Pack, she gets stung and a hallucination makes her sleep for two days. Following this, Cato also badly hurts Peeta’s leg. In order to save Peeta, Katniss has to risk her life again fighting in the feast at Cornucopia to gain medicine. The damage that Cato does to Peeta is serious: “The deep inflamed gash oozing both blood and pus. The swelling of the leg. And worst of all, the smell of festering flesh” (Collins 256). For the new rule that two tributes from the same district are allowed to win, Katniss has to face the challenge that Cato makes to heal Peeta and fight with him shoulder to shoulder. Cato hinders Katniss