Katniss Everdeen plant can be eaten, as Katniss does in the book. Her father once said: "As long as you can find yourself, you'll never starve." The plant also shares its name with a constellation in the Zodiac called Sagittarius, or "The Archer", which may also reference Katniss's skills in archery. Her last name comes from Bathsheba Everdene, the central female character in "Far from the Madding Crowd" by Thomas Hardy. According to Collins, "The two are very different, but both struggle with knowing their hearts". "The Hunger Games" takes place in the ruins of North America: a country called Panem (in
Katniss Everdeen of rich merchants. The baker's son, Peeta, whom she did not know, took a beating from his mother for intentionally burning two loaves of bread, knowing that he would be told to throw them out. He was told to give the two loaves of bread to the pig, but instead gave them to Katniss. Katniss took them home to her family, who had not eaten in days. The bread gave them hope and kept them motivated, leaving Katniss feeling resentfully indebted to Peeta. A few days after the incident with the bread, Katniss decided to go into the woods surrounding