Primrose Everdeen

* 74 ATT
* 75 ATT

"*I don't care if we're rich. I just want you to come home. You'll try, won't you? Really, really try?*"
―Primrose Everdeen to Katniss Everdeen**Primrose "Prim" Everdeen** was Katniss Everdeen's younger sister whom Katniss volunteered for in the Hunger Games. Unlike her sister in many ways, Prim was the opposite of Katniss in both looks and character; having blonde hair like their mother, a gentle personality (unlike Katniss' prickly one) and a talent for healing, as opposed to Katniss' talent for hunting. Despite this, they were very devoted to each other. She also had a pet cat named Buttercup, and a goat named Lady. Katniss cared about Prim above anything else in the world, and when Prim died, she was devastated to the point that she lost her voice temporarily. Several months later, Peeta Mellark planted primrose flowers in front of Katniss' house in memory of Prim.

## Biography

### Work

Prim had a goat named Lady who provided milk and cheese. Katniss, her older sister, bought the goat and gave it to Prim on her tenth birthday after having shot and sold a young buck in the woods with Gale Hawthorne. Having so much money, they first thought to get Prim a hairbrush or cloth for a dress but decided instead to buy a goat that had been injured. The goat could easily have died, making the spent money a waste, but Prim and her mother healed it with home remedies.

Although Katniss was unsure if the goat would survive, Prim loved animals and was soon able to heal Lady with her mother's help. The sustenance provided by the goat helped Prim and her family to survive in the poor region of District 12 called the Seam.

Other than her animals, Prim also had household chores and helped to take care of patients that people brought to her mother, the local healer. Later, after Katniss escaped from the Quarter Quell, she turned out to be a very skilled doctor while living in District 13. During the war, she would work with her mother in the hospital and then go out to help the injured in the midst of battle.

### Early life

She was born on May 11th, and it was obvious from the beginning that Prim loves all living creatures. She saved a stray cat (whom Katniss tried to drown the second Prim brought him home) and named him Buttercup, insisting his muddy yellow coat matched the bright flower. Because of her love for animals, when Katniss once took her out in the woods beyond District 12 to teach her how to hunt and after successfully shooting a creature, Prim broke down in tears and wanted to help the dying animal.

Prim was also a good healer at an early age, often helping her mother with patients. Katniss noted that she never appeared to be fazed by wounds or nudity, even though she was "scared of her own shadow".

When alarms sounded in Prim's school after the mining incident that killed her father occurred, Katniss went to Prim's classroom and found her waiting for her. Katniss and Prim used to make "necklaces of rope" in reference to the song "The Hanging Tree", as they weren't aware of the morbid subject matter of the song.

### 74th Hunger Games

It was Prim's name that was originally pulled out of the girls' reaping bowl, but Katniss volunteered to take Prim's place, to Prim's horror. She had not allowed Prim to take any tesserae and did everything she could to prevent Prim from being thrown into the 74th Hunger Games, as she knew her little sister would not have lasted long in the competition, but in the end, she was reaped. Prim tried to stop Katniss, but Gale Hawthorne held her back and carried her away as she yelled *"No, Katniss! No! You can't go!"*. In the hour of farewells before traveling to the Capitol, Prim made Katniss promise to win the Games and return home safely. Prim watched the Games with her mother and hoped Katniss would survive. A twelve-year-old District 11 female tribute, Rue, reminded Katniss of Prim. With some help from Peeta Mellark, her fellow District 12 tribute, and Rue, she accomplished this goal. Prim was overjoyed to see Katniss return home.

### 75th Hunger Games

She started helping her mother with healing injured patients. Prim continued to go to school and lived in her new house in the Victor's Village with her mother and Katniss. Prim was one of the people President Snow threatened to kill if Katniss didn't prove that she was insanely in love with Peeta and that the suicide threat was an act of love and not rebellion. Katniss kept her mother and Prim out of her issues between her and Snow. When Katniss was about to give up and let things happen with Snow in control, she thought of Prim, which gave her the strength to go on. When Gale was whipped, along with Katniss having an injury from blocking a lash of it, Prim and her mother treated Gale and Katniss' injuries. When Katniss was stuck in the woods due to the electricity starting to be on permanently, the Peacekeepers went to her house to arrest Prim and her mother to take in for questioning, but Katniss made it there after being forced to jump over the fence. The Capitol had arranged for a showy wedding to Peeta, complete with a contest to decide her wedding dress, decided by voting residents of the Capitol. Prim made Katniss promise not to try on any dresses until she got home from school. When she arrived home, she helped Katniss with her dresses and kept Katniss calm since she didn't like that type of thing. During the reaping, Katniss was chosen since she is the only living female victor of District 12. After she was reaped, Katniss wasn't able to say goodbye to Prim because of a new procedure. In the arena, jabberjays imitated Prim's screams, which sent Katniss into a state of anxiety. Beetee and the others explained to her that it wasn't the real Prim. When District 12 was bombed, Gale saved Prim and her mother.

### The War and Death

Along with the other surviving residents of District 12, she was rescued by District 13. She lived with her mother, sister, and Buttercup in Compartment E. Like before, Katniss was always trying to protect her. Prim surprised Katniss with how mature and strong-willed she had grown. When Katniss was conflicted by the idea of being the Mockingjay, Prim woke up from her sleep and asked her what she would do and told her that she knew how much her mother could hear. Prim told her what she would do if Katniss became the Mockingjay and promised to keep this a secret from their mother before going back to sleep with Buttercup. At this moment, Katniss realized that the little girl who she had volunteered for at the reaping was gone. Prim dreamed of becoming a doctor and showed her proficiency at healing as she helped the injured during her time in District 13.

When District 13 was bombed by the Capitol, Prim nearly got trapped out of the safe quarters because she went back to rescue Buttercup, but she made it back with Gale just in time. Gale went to check the Everdeen family compartment to make sure it was clear and found Prim with Buttercup. After Mrs. Everdeen left for the first aid station, Prim and Katniss bonded together. Prim relayed to Katniss the information she was taught during orientation for new citizens and surmised that it was probably just a bunker missile.

She visited Katniss in the Hospital after Peeta strangled her. Before Katniss went to the Capitol with Squad 451, Katniss said her final goodbye to her family. Prim said, *"Next time we see each other, we'll be free."*

Although she was not yet 14, Prim was allowed to go to the Capitol during the final battle as a nurse, which Katniss was unaware of until she saw Prim in the barricade in front of Snow's mansion. Katniss only noticed Prim when she saw her plait down her back and her untucked shirt at the back, just as it was on the day of the reaping. Katniss also noticed Prim giving her coat to a small child.

After the Capitol children barricaded at President Snow's mansion were injured by explosions caused by a hovercraft dropping parachutes (identical to the ones used by tributes' sponsors during the Games) carrying bombs that the rebels made, Prim ran in with other District Thirteen medics to help injured children and heard Katniss calling her name. Before Katniss reached her and brought her to safety, the second wave of bombs exploded, killing Prim and other medics and badly burning Katniss. Prim's last word ever was "*Katniss"*.

### Legacy

Katniss became so unhinged after Prim's death that she lost her voice for several days. She wondered why Prim was sent in, due to her young age. She later realized, after a conversation with the imprisoned President Snow, that President Alma Coin sent Prim to her death (which was caused by a hovercraft by the rebels) both to sway the Capitol citizens to Coin's side by making them think Snow was bombing the children, and to swing Katniss to her side through the death of her sister, as Katniss disliked Coin and was a threat to her power base. Katniss also realizes that, even though Gale had nothing directly to do with Prim's death, the bombing trap that killed her was based on one of his designs, which makes both him and Katniss feel he is somewhat responsible.

She avenges her sister by shooting President Coin when she is supposed to publicly execute President Snow. Later, after the execution, Katniss asks Gale if it was his bomb that killed Prim. He responded with *"I don't know."* After the war, Peeta brought evening primrose bushes to Katniss, and they planted them around their home in District 12 as a memorial to Prim. When Prim's cat Buttercup came back to District 12 looking for her, Katniss finally let out her grief for her sister and started to recover. She and Peeta wrote about Prim in their memory book on those who died in the Hunger Games and the Second Rebellion.

## Physical description

She had a merchant's child look, much like her mother, with fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes, unlike the majority of the residents of the Seam in District 12. She had a small stature, partly due to being underfed for the majority of her life. Nevertheless, in 75 ATT, Primrose was nearly Katniss' height. Katniss described her as having a face "as fresh as a raindrop, as lovely as the primrose for which she was named." When she wore clothing, from her reaping outfit to her medic uniform, Prim continuously had a "duck tail," one that earned her "little duck" as a nickname. This duck tail was how Katniss could identify her while she was assisting the injured Capitol children.

## Personality

"*I look at my little sister and think how she has inherited the best qualities our family has to offer: my mother’s healing hands, my father’s level head, and my fight. There’s something else there as well, something entirely her own. An ability to look into the confusing mess of life and see things for what they are.*"
―Katniss, on PrimPrim loved all living creatures, even the most unsightly ones. She had a pet goat, Lady, that Katniss gave her as well as a gruesome, ugly cat she named Buttercup. Starving and swarming with parasites, Prim brought the wretched creature home one day. Katniss intended to drown him, but Prim begged so hard for Katniss to let him live that she decided to allow the cat to stay. She, like her mother, had a passion and talent for healing. Prim stayed at her mother's side even during the most horrid cases, even though she was "scared of her own shadow." According to Johanna Mason, after Katniss Everdeen won the 74th Hunger Games with Peeta Mellark, all of Panem adored her.

Prim's goat, Lady, was first adopted into her family when Katniss was browsing and trading in the Hob on Prim's birthday. An old goat herder had a sick nanny goat, mauled by a dog, the wound was swollen with infections, and after much haggling and bargaining, Katniss bought the goat and a pink ribbon for her neck. Upon presenting the weak, near-dead nanny to Prim, medical attention was given to her immediately. Eventually, Lady healed well. Though purchasing the goat on a whim, Katniss does not regret her decision, for Lady pays her stay well with goat's milk and cheese to eat and to sell. Lady died in the bombings of District 12, but Buttercup managed to survive, much to Katniss's disappointment.

Prim was also very smart and supportive of her sister. She even gave Katniss the idea to require District 13 and President Coin to agree to some things Katniss wanted before she became the Mockingjay. She was very delicate and every morning she would clean off the layer of coal dust on her dead father's shaving mirror because he hated the dust. She also braided her motionless mother's hair every morning before she went to school.

## Relationships

* Gale Hawthorne (protector)
* Katniss Everdeen (sister)
* Mrs. Everdeen, Mr. Everdeen (parents)
* Buttercup, Lady (pets)

## Trivia

* Primrose is named after the plant "evening primrose," which is a plant that grows yellow perennial flowers in the early spring. Where it grows wild it is often one of the very first flowers of spring and is plucked before others even appear. Evening primrose is a healing herb, and Prim was a healer.
* Katniss said that Rue reminds her of Prim and that the two share alike traits such as their demeanor.
* In the book, it is said by Katniss that neither Prim nor Rue could "tip the scale at seventy pounds soaking wet", suggesting that she weighed less than seventy.
* Primrose was the only named District 12 citizen who was a part of the rebellion that died.