‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ Character Breakdown
The MBC community is not only excited to dive into Iron Gold and Iron Flame for November, but we are very happy that another fantasy series is making a comeback. If you didn’t know there was a prequel to The Hunger Games series, well, you do now.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins is about Coriolanus Snow and him being assigned a female tribute for the 10th annual Hunger Games. It is a completely different perspective than we are used to because it’s more focused on Snow and the impression of Lucy Gray Baird from District 12.
Whether you’re new to the franchise or gearing up to watch the film adaptation, we’re here to give you a full character breakdown to refresh your memory. If you love The Hunger Games, join our discord to discuss with other book lovers!
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capital, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined -- every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favour or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.
MAIN CHARACTER LIST
Coriolanus Snow: Many know him as President Snow in The Hunger Games, but before he became President, he had to undergo different training. He lived a tough life as a Snow because his parents were no longer with him, and he had to live with his grandmother and cousin, Tigris. Before becoming President, he attended the Academy in the Capitol, where he mentored the winning tribute of the 10th Hunger Games, Lucy Gray Baird. He then became a Peacekeeper and studied advanced military at the University.
Lucy Gray Baird: She is the female tribute from District 12 and a Capitol favourite. She later became the victor of the 10th Hunger Games with Coriolanus Snow as her mentor. She is part of the nomadic group known as the Covey. Her whole family used to travel throughout the country of Panem amidst the First Rebellion (a war between the Capitol and the 13 districts). A few years before the events in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Lucy’s entire family, except for Maude Ivory, were all killed. The two of them were raised by an unnamed man who let them do as they pleased. The new Covey made their living doing musical performances. At one point, she entered a relationship with Billy Taupe Clade, though it ended when she was also dating Mayfair Lipp, the District 12 mayor’s daughter, whom she developed a rivalry with. Lucy Gray was purposely reaped by Mayor Lipp at the request of his daughter.
Tigris: She is the cousin of Coriolanus Snow and an old acquaintance of Cressida and Plutarch Heavensbee, who resides in the Capitol. She was a prized stylist in the earlier editions of the Hunger Games. Tigris was born into the affluent Snow family, a part of an old guard of the elite from the Capitol, including other prominent families such as the Cranes. She and her family were very privileged until her family was affected by the First Rebellion. Her parents died during the Dark Days, forcing her to live with Coriolanus and her grandmother. Going from riches to rags changed Tigris’s perspective and made her softer. After ditching school to become a fashion designer, she used the pseudonym Fabricia Whatnot as her designer name. The Snows had too much pride and would never give away their financial situation.
Sejanus Plinth: He was the only child of Strabo and Mrs. Plinth, a wealthy couple from District 2. He went to school with Marcus, whom he later mentored in the 10th Hunger Games. Since Senjanus’s father was in weapons manufacturing, he trained him how to shoot a gun. They became wealthy during the First Rebellion because of his father’s industry. As Sejanus grew older he had a different perspective than his father and wanted to help the less fortunate. He had a heart and wanted to help the tributes during the reaping. He wanted to rebel against the Capitol because he was completely against the Hunger Games, while Coriolanus understood it. Even as a mentor, his ethics remained intact and spoke against everything Dr. Gaul had done.
Dr. Voluminia Gaul: She is the one who created the Hunger Games. She is an instructor at the University and assigned a project to her students: to create punishment for one’s enemies so extreme that they would never be allowed to forget how they had wronged them. It was Crassus Snow and Casca Highbottom who worked together on the project, one drunk evening they were throwing ideas around, dark ideas, and created the Games. Coriolanus was a descendant and had fallen into step with the legacy before him, but he still challenged the morality of the game. Dr. Gaul used Highbottom as a cover and introduced her as the creator. Dr. Gaul is a sadistic professor and goes to disturbing lengths to prove that humans can destroy each other.
Arachne Crane: She became wealthy in the Capitol because her parents worked in the travel industry, having developed luxury hotels in vacation destinations. The industry did take a hit during the First Rebellion causing them to live differently. People thought that she had Coriolanus were great friends because of their status and what happened to them. But they weren’t and he had to sing at her funeral. Even though they grew up together, they weren’t close at all, they just attended the same family events. Arachne was killed by her own tribute because she dangled a sandwich in front of them only to take it away. He tribute used a knife that Crane had sliced for cheese for the sandwich.
Clemensia Dovecote: She was selected to be a mentor for the 10th Hunger Games and was assigned the male tribute Reaper Ash from District 11. Clemensia was completely against betting on tributes and disputed the idea of them implementing it to gather more viewership. Clemensia and Coriolanus were tasked with writing up an essay, but after Arachne’s death, she couldn’t stomach doing anything. So Coriolanus wrote it that night without telling her and she was devastated. They both lied to Dr. Gaul and say they wrote it together only for Dr. Gaul to test them with snakes to get the truth. Clemensia and Coriolanus had to put their hands in a snake mutt enclosure to retrieve the only available copy of the essay. Since the snakes didn’t recognize Clemensia’s scent, they attacked her. She was injected with anti-venom before it got out of hand but she was still sent to the hospital. It was here that Coriolanus found out that Dr. Gaul was capable of inflicting pain and lying to everyone about it.
Do you have a favourite character in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins? Let us know in the comments below!
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