How The Reaping Works In The Hunger Games & Why Katniss’ Name Was Entered So Much

In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen’s story begins when she volunteers to take her sister’s place during the annual Reaping, a tradition that doesn’t get too much explanation in the iconic movies. After becoming District 12’s female tribute, Katniss embarks on a journey to the Capitol and then the Hunger Games arena, alongside her fellow tribute Peeta. The pair face countless lethal challenges during the Games, but end up miraculously surviving and winning together, making the Reaping feel like it happened ages ago. However, the mysterious lottery system is where everything began, and therefore, deserves further explanation.

In total, there are two Reapings in the original The Hunger Games franchise timeline. The first is the most iconic, wherein Effy Trinket calls out, “Primrose Everdeen,” and Katniss promptly runs through the crowd and yells, “I volunteer as tribute.” Though this moment is dramatic and unforgettable, it doesn’t exactly dive deep into the rules or regulations of the actual Reaping. Katniss is simply hurried off to the upcoming games. Then, the second Reaping that occurs in Catching Fire is completely different due to the Quarter Quell. Therefore, the Reaping is something of an unanswered question for movie fans.

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The Reaping’s Rules In The Hunger Games Explained

Though The Hunger Games movie leaves the Reaping somewhat unexplained, Suzanne Collins’ book gives some insight into the ritual. According to her 2008 novel, the Reaping is an annual tradition that occurs throughout Panem, in Districts 1 through 12. During the Reaping, two children are picked to become tributes for the upcoming Hunger Games. There is one boy and one girl. As shown in The Hunger Games, another person can volunteer to become a tribute. This happens often in richer districts, where children are trained for the Games, or in situations where a person is protecting another, like Katniss.

In terms of numbers, those who qualify for the Reaping are children ages 12 to 18. This fact is true throughout all the districts.

For example, Prim had just turned 12 in The Hunger Games, so her name was only entered once, making the odds of her being picked slim but not impossible. Every year after that, the child is entered another time. So, at 13, they are entered twice and so on. By 18, their last year of eligibility, they are entered seven times.

Katniss Had Extra Entries In The Reaping To Help Her Family

However, there is one additional rule for the Reaping entries. In places like District 12, food is especially scarce, and winters can be particularly difficult. Therefore, the Capitol offers the districts bundles called tesserae. A tesserae includes a year’s supply of grain and oil for one person. For Katniss, the tesserae were invaluable for keeping her family alive. But, to get tesserae, an individual had to put an extra entry into the Reaping. Therefore, if Katniss wanted to get a tesserae for herself, her mother, and Prim, she would have to put her name into the Reaping three extra times.

Ultimately, the tesserae rule is a cruel and neverending cycle for Katniss and District 12. In order to survive, Katniss needed to get tesserae, however, to get the one thing that would keep her alive, she had to put her life into even more peril. In many ways, this system means that the poorest people in Panem were the most likely to be chosen for the Hunger Games. Katniss was not the only character put through this either. Gale, who had several siblings and a mother to take care of, was entered into the Hunger Games more than anyone.

How Many Times Katniss, Prim, Gale, & Peeta’s Names Were Entered In The Reaping

In The Hunger Games book, Katniss got tesserae for herself and her family every year she was eligible for the Games. Therefore, when she was 12, she was entered once per the law, then three extra times for the tesserae. By the present day of the novel, when she was 16, she was entered 20 times. In the movie, Katniss was aged up to 18, so she would have been entered 28 times on-screen. The same could be said for Gale, however because of his extra siblings, his entry count topped out at 42 entries when he was 18.

Peeta’s number of entries is something of a mystery in The Hunger Games. Although Peeta had sisters, his family was much better off than Katniss or Gale’s. With the local baker as his father, he likely did not need to get tesserae. This would leave his entries at the general number for his age. So, in the book, when Peeta was 16, he likely had five entries, and on-screen, when he was 18, he probably had seven. Therefore, it makes sense that his name was called in The Hunger Games first Reaping.