The arena takes several days for a tribute to cover on foot. It consists of several natural sources of food and water including the lake and other water bodies present in the woods. The 74th Hunger Games arena features several Capitol-made muttations including tracker jackers and the deadly wolf muttations.
Description of 74th Hunger Games Arena
The 74th Hunger Games arena spreads across a large area of land that would take several days to cover on foot. The center of the arena contains the Cornucopia which is in the middle of a flat and open stretch of ground. This is where the tributes are first launched into the arena on equidistant spokes from the Cornucopia. The ground underneath is full of hard-packed dirt. The land under the pedestals of the tributes contains landmines that are deactivated after 60 seconds of the tributes being launched into the arena.
On one side of the circle is a field that slips downward out of sight. The field is full of grasses as high as one’s shoulder and contains several patches of grasses that are colored differently. Some of the grasses are possibly edible grains. Peeta Mellark speculates that the field might have contained sinister elements such as rabid animals, snakes, and quicksand. Thresh, the male tribute from District 11 uses this field as his place of refuge for most of the Games.
Next to the field is a lake that acts as a natural source of water for the Career Tributes. The arena also consists of large woods that are described by Katniss as “sparse” and “piney.” The woods contain evergreen trees, pine trees, and several other trees that are familiar to Katniss from her days of hunting in the woods of District 12. Within the woods are several pools of water, a stream with rocks, and a marshy land. At the edge of the woods is a copse that overlooks the Cornucopia.
“We’re on a flat, open stretch of ground. A plain of hard-packed dirt. Behind the tributes across from me, I can see nothing, indicating either a steep downward slope or even a cliff. To my right lies a lake. To my left and back, sparse piney woods. This is where Haymitch would want me to go. Immediately.”
‘The Hunger Games’
Climate of the 74th Hunger Games Arena
The climate in the 74th Hunger Games arena is strictly controlled by the Gamemakers. It is warm and sunny during the day with the hottest weather occurring in the afternoons.
The temperature drops at night to cold and even freezing temperatures. During the last few days of the Games, the Gamemakers introduce a thunderstorm that swells the water bodies with excess water. Later, the Gamemakers introduce extreme heat and dryness, thereby drying up all of the sources of water except the lake. This forces the remaining tributes to gather at the lake for a confrontation.
Sources of Food and Water
The arena offers several sources of food and water to the tributes. The first and easiest source of food and water is the Cornucopia, which is the site of the initial bloodbath. However, the arena also offers natural sources as well. The sources of water include a big lake, a small pond, and several streams that run along the woods.
The sources of food include the woods, which are filled with edible plants and wildlife. The field of grass also consisted of edible grains such as wheat. Hunting and foraging are, therefore, one of the primary methods of obtaining food in the arena.
Cornucopia of the 74th Hunger Games Arena
“Sixty seconds to take in the ring of tributes all equidistant from the Cornucopia, a giant golden horn shaped like a cone with a curved tail, the mouth of which is at least twenty feet high, spilling over with the things that will give us life here in the arena.”
‘The Hunger Games’
The Cornucopia in the 74th Hunger Games arena supplied weapons, food, and water. It also provided several tools for survival such as ropes, tents, hooks, etc. The Cornucopia is situated in the center of the arena in the middle of the plain hard ground.
As soon as Katniss Everdeen is launched into the arena, she notes how the bounty is spread across the Cornucopia. The mouth of the Cornucopia contains a huge pile of the most valuable items. The pile is almost 20 feet high and contains items such as medicine, clothes, weapons, containers of food and water as well as tools to start fires. The pile also contained a tent that could be useful protection against almost any kind of weather in the arena.
The farther one gets from the mouth of the Cornucopia the lesser the value of the items that are strewn about. For instance, right next to where Katniss Everdeen stands at the beginning of the Games is a three-foot square of plastic that could be used as protection against the rain.
From the Cornucopia, Katniss obtains a backpack that contains a water bottle, iodine to purify water, crackers and dried beef, a coil of wire, wooden matches, night-vision glasses, and a heat-reflecting sleeping bag.
Muttations Used
The muttations that were used in the 74th Hunger Games arena include tracker jackers and wolf muttations.
Tracker jackers are wasp-like insects whose stings are venomous. They are genetically engineered to track the person who disturbs their nest and sting them. The venom causes pain and swelling in the area of the sting as well as vivid hallucinations. Getting stung by several tracker trackers at once can also prove to be fatal.
Wolf muttations are gigantic wolf-like creatures, capable of standing on their hind legs and leaping to great heights. The fur of each wolf muttation resembles the hair of a dead tribute and the eyes of the wolf muttations are extremely similar to the eyes of the dead tributes. The wolf mutts kill the District 2 male tribute, Cato.
FAQs
What was the arena for the 74th Hunger Games?
The arena for the 74th Hunger Games was DuPont State Forest in North Carolina in the film. Bridal Veil Falls, Triple Falls, and Pisgah National Forest were also featured. The Victors of the 74th Hunger Games were Katniss Everdeen and her district partner, Peeta Mellark. Their mentor was Haymitch Abernathy. Katniss (the only living female tribute from District 12) and Peeta are reaped once again next year to participate in the Third Quarter Quell, where they compete against Wiress, Beetee, Mags, Enobaria, Finnick Odair, Johanna Mason, Blight, Brutus, Cecelia, Chaff, and Gloss.
Where did the 74th Hunger Games take place?
The 74th Hunger Games took place in an arena that consisted of a lake, a field of wheat, and sparse and piney woods. Where this arena is located in the nation of Panem is unknown. It is possible that the arena was built on uninhabitable land (outside the districts of Panem) that was previously destroyed by an ecological disaster. Rue and Clove are some of the tributes in these Games.
How big is the 74th Hunger Games arena?
The 74th Hunger Games arena is quite large. It takes several days to cover the breadth of the land on foot. It is difficult to measure how big the arena is as we do not know the exact pace at which Katniss walked. However, one can guess that the arena is anywhere between 80 to 200 km wide. It is enclosed by a forcefield. The famous Feast takes place at the Cornucopia.
What happens to the arenas after the Hunger Games?
After the annual Hunger Games, the arenas are turned into tourist attractions for Capitol citizens. Thus, the citizens of the Capitol could visit the arenas where they could rewatch popular clips from the Games, visit the site of the tributes’ deaths, and take part in reenactments. After the Second Rebellion all of the arenas were turned into memorials for the fallen tributes.
