The Hunger Games: Chapter 11 Summary & Analysis

The tributes are forced to stand on their mounds for sixty seconds before they may enter the arena—otherwise, a bomb will detonate and blow off their legs. In the center of the arena lies the Cornucopia, a giant golden horn that contains survival tools like tents and weapons. Haymitch had advised Peeta and Katniss to avoid the Cornucopia and instead run for safety, but Katniss hesitates when she sees the bow and arrows that lie in the Cornucopia.

Just as she prepares to run for the weapons, she catches Peeta’s eye, and he seems to be shaking his head at her. When the gong rings out, Katniss misses the moment to dash for the Cornucopia and instead grabs a nearby sheet of plastic and a loaf of bread. She’s angry about missing the moment and dashes farther in to grab a backpack, but another boy reaches it at the same time, and they grapple before another girl kills him. The girl aims another knife at Katniss, but Katniss runs and hitches her pack over her head, where the knife lodges itself. Katniss jogs and walks farther into the woods for the next few hours, putting distance between herself and her competitors.

Katniss begins to feel better as she walks farther into the woods, even though there’s no sign of water yet. In the late afternoon, canons sound to signal the tributes who have died in the morning. There are eleven dead, leaving thirteen to play. In a few hours, the Gamemakers will project images of the dead in the night sky so that everyone can know who died. Katniss finds herself overwhelmed by the thought that Peeta might already be dead, though she tells herself it might be better, since it means that she won’t be the one to kill him herself.

Katniss examines the contents of her pack, finding a sleeping bag and some crackers and dried beef. She also finds an empty water bottle, which reminds her of how dire her water situation might become. For the moment, she sets a couple snare traps before settling into a willow tree for the night. Soon, the anthem that precedes the death recap begins to play, and Katniss notes with relief that Peeta is still alive. She tells herself that if she loses, it will be most beneficial to her family if Peeta wins.

Katniss dozes off only to be awakened a few hours later by the sound of branches snapping below her. Another tribute has started to make a fire, which infuriates Katniss because it is sure to reveal their destination. As dawn arrives, Katniss thinks that perhaps the fire-starter has gone unnoticed, but then she hears the footsteps of the Career Tributes, and the pleading of a girl before she’s killed. The Career Tributes often band together at the start of the Games, before the tension becomes too great and they start to turn on each other

The pack starts to walk away, but they pause beneath Katniss’s tree, worried that the girl they left behind isn’t dead yet. One voice says that he’ll go finish her off, and Katniss is shocked to recognize the voice as Peeta’s.