The Hunger Games: Figures of Speech

The Hunger Games
Literary Devices (fact sheet)
FIGURES OF SPEECH
 I take a bite of stew to show I don’t really care, but it’s like glue in my mouth and takes a lot of effort to swallow
it. (Simile, p. 308)
 My legs, arms, torso, under-arms, and parts of my eyebrows have been stripped of the stuff, leaving me like a
plucked bird, ready for roasting.(Simile, p. 61)
 I’m glad now I have Peeta to clutch for balance; he is so steady, solid as a rock. (Simile, p.70)
 The woods became our savior, and each day I went a bit further into its arms. (Metaphor, p.51)
 “You know your mentor is your lifeline to the world in these Games.” (Metaphor, p.46)
 Since all of this is being televised, right now District 12 is the laughingstock of Panem, and he knows it.
(Metaphor, p.19)
 I tell myself this is a good thing and bite the inside of my cheek hard because my breakfast is threatening to
make reappearance. (Personification, p.257)
 That’s how I feel now, trying to remember how to breathe, unable to speak, totally stunned as the name bounces
around the inside of my skull. (Personification, p.21)
 He tells of the history of Panem, the country that rose up out of the ashes of a place that was once called North
America. (Personification, p.18)
 Or has she already started to slip away, leaving the weight of the world on my sister’s fragile shoulders?
(Hyperbole, p.53)
 Kids from wealthier districts, where winning is a huge honor, who’ve been trained their whole lives for this.
(Alliteration, p.36)
 We always wait to trade with him when his witch of a wife isn’t around because he’s so much nicer.
(Alliteration, p.37)
 There are so many deaths to show the first day that a tribute trekking through the woods isn’t not much to
look at. (Alliteration, p.152)
 R-i-i-i-p! I grit my teeth as Venia, a woman with aqua hair and gold tattoos above her eyebrows, yanks a strip of
fabric from my leg, tearing out the hair beneath it. (Onomatopoeia, p.61)
 Snap! Snap! I judge it to be several hundred yards to my right. (Onomatopoeia, p. 158)
 IRONY: a. Peacekeepers of District 12
b. The Careers
c. “May the odds be ever in your favor”
IMAGERY
VISUAL IMAGERY:
• Because my dress, oh, my dress is entirely covered in reflective precious gems, red, yellow, and white with
bits of blue that accent the tips of the flame design. p120
• Larger than regular wasps, they have a distinctive solid gold body and a sting that raises a lump the size of a
plum on contact. p185
• She pulls a necklace woven out of some kind of grass from her shirt. On it, hangs a roughly carved wooden
star. Or maybe it’s a flower. p212
AUDITORY IMAGERY:
• Suddenly, the birds fall silent. Then one gives a high- pitched warning call. p163
• I try to drag him, but despite the fact that I know he’s doing all he can to keep quiet, sharp cries of pain escape
him. p253
• Our lips have just barely touched when the clunk outside makes us jump. p302
TACTILE IMAGERY:
• This bread came from District 11. I cautiously lift the still warm loaf. p238-239
• The icy air blowing across the plain reminds me that the Games are not over and may not be for who knows how
long, and there is still no guarantee of victory. p337-338
• It’s the first time I’ve ever kissed a boy, which should make some sort of impression I guess, but all I can register
is how unnaturally hot his lips are from the fever. p261
OLFACTORY IMAGERY:
• Stinking and scorched, at least a foot of the back beyond repair. p180
• An acrid smoke fills the air, which is not the best remedy for someone trying to regain the ability to breathe.
p222
SYMBOLISMS
• Dandelions- hope, new beginning

• Bread- life, brotherhood
• Katniss’ bow and arrow- fighting spirit, success
• Mocking jay- defiance
• Nightlock- rebellion, revolution
MOTIFS
• Fire- plays different roles throughout the story, but most often it represents Katniss. Notably, fire is the element
that gives various outfits Cinna designs for Katniss. Fire was also compared to her temper during the individual
assessment that made her a score of 11. During the games, fire takes on a literal meaning when the game makers
set part of the arena on fire.
• Hunting- from the beginning of the book, Katniss was mentioned to hunt in order to feed her family. Hunting
connects to Katniss’ life; to her father, how she met Gale, how she managed to get a goat for Prim and how she
was able to survive the Games. Peeta also refers hunting as how career tributes search for other tributes to kill.
• Real vs. Fake- the line between what’s real and what’s farce in Katniss and Peeta’s relationship is heavily blurred
through the entire book. The misunderstanding causes a strain between the two Victors when their differing
feelings come to light.

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The Hunger Games

Literary Devices (fact sheet)

• Dandelions- hope, new beginning

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