Primrose is the person Katniss loves the most in the world, and as such, she is extremely protective of Prim. Prim is one of Katniss’ main reasons to live, and she provides Katniss with much-need care and comfort during difficult times.
Primrose Everdeen Character Profile
- Name: Primrose Everdeen
- Age: 12
- Gender: Female
- Place of origin: District 12
- Physical appearance: Fair-skinned with blue eyes and blonde hair
- Height: 5′ 2″
- Skills: Gentle personality, talent for healing
- Strengths: Resilience
- Weaknesses: Physically weak, not skilled in any particular weapon
- Loyalties: Rebel
Personality and Physical Description
Katniss Everdeen’s younger sister, Prim, is a young 12-year-old girl (in the first book) with fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes, much like her mother. She looked like a merchant’s daughter and as such, looked very different from everyone else in the Seam, including her sister, Katniss Everdeen. Prim is shown to have hazel eyes in the movies.
Prim was very different from her sister in personality as well. She was extremely gentle and compassionate towards all living creatures. She had a passion for healing, which she honed alongside her mother to become a doctor during the Second Rebellion. Due to her benevolent nature, Prim was unable to learn to hunt like Katniss, breaking down in tears at the sight of wounded animals.
Prim is said to be “scared of her own shadow” before the 74th Hunger Games. However, the events of the trilogy shape her into a mature and confident young girl, unfazed by the most gruesome injuries, as seen in the last novel, Mockingjay.
History and Background
Prim comes from the Seam in District 12. Her family consists of her sister, Katniss Everdeen, and her mother. Her father passed away in a mining accident when she was around 7 years old, and ever since then, she has been looked after by her older sister.
Prim and her family also had two pets: Buttercup (a mangled old cat that Prim rescued when it was starving and crawling with parasites) and Lady (a bitten and infected goat that Prim and her mother healed back to life).
Not being old enough to work at the mines yet, Prim attended the school in District 12 and trained with her mother to become a doctor during the Second Rebellion.
Prim and the Hunger Games
Prim was reaped as the female tribute from District 12 for the 74th Hunger Games. However, her sister, Katniss, volunteered in her place, as she knew that Prim would not last long in the competition. While saying goodbye to each other before Katniss was taken to the Capitol, Prim tells Katniss that she does not care if they are rich or not, all she wants is for Katniss to come back safe and sound.
Prim is over the moon when Katniss wins the Games and comes back home. She and her family move into the Victor’s Village, where they no longer have to struggle for food and survival.
President Snow threatens Prim’s life when he asks Katniss to convince him and the rest of the world that she was in love with Peeta during the Victory Tour. It is also implied that Prim was tortured so that the Jabberjays could mimic her screams in the 75th Hunger Games arena.
Prim and the Second Rebellion
Prim (along with Buttercup and her mother) was rescued by Gale Hawthorne during the bombing of District 12. She escapes to District 13, where she begins her training as a doctor. Thus, during the Second Rebellion, Prim played an active role, in healing those who had been injured in the war.
Prim lived with her family in Compartment E in District 13. During the bombing of District 13, Prim almost got locked out of the underground bunkers as she went back to her compartment in search of her cat. She makes it in time, however, with the help of Gale and bonds with Katniss while waiting for the bombs to clear.
Despite being only 14 years old during the Battle of the Capitol, Prim was sent out with the other rebels to the battlefield as a nurse.
Death and Legacy
Next time we see each other, we’ll be free.
Prim to Katniss in Mockingjay
Prim dies in the Battle of the Capitol during the Second Rebellion. Katniss witnesses her death.
A hovercraft carrying a parachute drops a bomb on the children who are barricaded in President Snow’s mansion. Primrose rushes in along with the other medics from District 13 to help the injured when a second bomb goes off, killing her and severely burning Katniss. Prim’s last word before she passes away is her sister’s name, “Katniss”.
Katniss is so disturbed by her sister’s death that she loses her voice for several months. She begins to mull over the bomb that killed her sister and comes to the realization that the bomb was sent in by President Alma Coin to make it look like President Snow was bombing children. She also recognizes the two consecutive bomb strategy as one of Gale’s designs. When she asks Gale whether it was one of his bombs that killed her sister, Gale replies, “I don’t know”.
Katniss is haunted by the memory of Prim until Peeta Mellark plants some evening primroses by her house. Seeing the flowers gives Katniss new life, and she begins to build a life for herself with Peeta.
FAQs
What does Primrose symbolize in The Hunger Games?
Primrose symbolizes love and life in The Hunger Games. Katniss volunteers in place of her sister, Primrose, in order to protect her from the savages of the Games. Throughout the trilogy, Katniss gains the strength to continue fighting and continue surviving because of her sister. Even after Prim’s death, it is the evening primroses that motivate Katniss to build a life for herself with Peeta.
Why is Katniss so protective of Prim?
Katniss is so protective of Prim because she loves her sister more than anyone else. After their father’s death, Katniss raised her sister almost fully by herself and therefore developed an almost maternal instinct toward her.
Why did Katniss give Prim a goat?
Katniss gives Prim a goat (whom Prim names “Lady”) as she realizes that Prim would gain happiness from healing the infected goat and caring for it. She also realizes that the goat would be an investment for the future as they could both consume and sell the milk it produces.
Why was Katniss scared of the White Rose?
Katniss is scared of the white rose as it is strongly reminiscent of President Snow. Snow always reeks of the smell of roses, and he never appears in public without wearing a white rose on his lapel.
Why did Katniss drown Buttercup?
Katniss attempted to drown Buttercup when Prim (played by actress Willow Shields in the films) first brought the cat home, as she felt that it would be one less mouth to feed with the cat gone. As the main provider for the household, she was thinking practically to increase their chances of survival.
Who are the actors in the Hunger Games franchise?
The key figures in the Hunger Games trilogy, Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, are played by Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth, respectively. Other characters, such as Haymitch Abernathy and Cinna, are played by Woody Harrelson and Lenny Kravitz.
