History Characters / TheHungerGamesLiteratureTheCapitol

* PrefersRawMeat: It goes along with her tiger-like characteristics.

* TheMole: [[spoiler:He's actually a rebel agent and helps orchestrate the escape of Peeta, Finnick, Johanna, Katniss, Beetee and Wiress. Unfortunately, Wiress is killed and only Katniss, Beetee and Finnick are saved.]]

%%* CharacterDevelopment: During the 74th reaping, she's excited and completely oblivious to how terrified and beaten down everyone else is.
%%* CompositeCharacter: The film versions of [[Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjay Mockingjay]] combines her with Fulvia.
%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* CostumePorn

%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* GenkiGirl: A grownup version.

%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance
%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* ImpossiblyTackyClothes

%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* LargeHam
%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* ScheduleFanatic: A mild example in ''Catching Fire''.
%%* SkewedPriorities:

%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* TeamMom: To an extent.

** He's named after the Shakespearian TragicHero in the [[Theatre/{{Coriolanus}} eponymous play]]. He shares similar traits - he cares little about the ordinary folk and wants to maintain a totalitarian state.

* NotMeThisTime: [[spoiler:He was in fact innocent of the bombing of the Capitol children and then the District 13 medics, even when it seemed as though he did it because the hovercrafts with the bombs (which were really from District 13, as the Capitol had lost all of theirs during the destruction of the Nut) were emblazoned with the Capitol seal.]]

* PragmaticHero: While he does a number of heroic things over the course of ''The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'', few of them are truly altruistic. He just knows that [[ImpoverishedPatrician his position]] is so precarious that he can't afford to alienate anyone or [[SlaveToPR look bad in any way,]] since even the smallest setback could spell his ruin. Of course, by the time of the main trilogy, he's become powerful enough to no longer have to bother.
* PragmaticVillainy: When he tells Katniss that [[spoiler:he didn't bomb Prim and the Capitol children,]] he says that he would be willing to do so and it isn't a matter of moral squeamishness on his part. He just doesn't subscribe to committing atrocities ForTheEvulz. For similar reasons he also decides against [[spoiler:pulling off a TakingYouWithMe with District 13 and by extension the rest of humanity using his nukes after it becomes clear he's been completely beaten]], stating that doing so would be pointless.

* SingleTargetSexuality: Was never in love with anyone before Lucy Gray, and never loved anyone after her. Somewhat enforced on his part, since after Lucy Gray leaves he decides that loving someone is a weakness.

* SocialClimber: And how. All of his actions in the prequel are influenced by his desire to secure a position of affluence.

* UsedToBeASweetKid: When he's shown during his much younger years in ''Literature/TheBalladOfSongbirdsAndSnakes'', while he's still rather selfish, he's not the totally irredeemable tyrant we see in the rest of the series - he clearly loves his cousin and [[spoiler:grows to love Lucy Gray]]. Then he catches the attention of [[TheCorrupter Volumnia Gaul]], and it all goes down hill.

* NecessarilyEvil: His conversation with Katniss at the beginning of Catching Fire indicates that he sees himself and the Capitol as this. [[spoiler:''The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'' reveals that he genuinely believes this, though it required some manipulation by [[TheCorrupter Volumnia Gaul]] for the idea to sink in]].

* RichInDollarsPoorInSense: Coriolanus grew up in a very wealthy family and was determined to restore their fortunes. [[spoiler:His belief in the power of money leads him to make a colossal mistake when deciding to betray Sejanus to the Capitol for colluding with rebels, since he assumes Sejanus' father will be able to buy his freedom as he's done in the past...clearly not considering that wealth and influence only go so far when it comes to being charged with treason]].

* UptightLovesWild: Coriolanus is the uptight to Lucy Gray's wild.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: If his relationship with Lucy Gray had worked out and they [[spoiler:went ahead with their plan to elope to the North together]]...

-->'''President Snow:''': I think we'll make this whole situation a lot simpler by agreeing not to lie to each other.

* TheFashionista: Has been wearing fancy dresses in all her appearances. When she had to wear jumpsuits after she defected to District 13, she's obviously pissed off.

* FlowerMotifs: Is associated with roses.

* AcademyOfEvil: The Academy in ''The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'', where Panem's elite are groomed to serve the Capitol and press the Districts (although the place isn't as hard on the students as most examples).

** He's perfectly willing to lie to someone, but will never break a promise; once he's given his word, he keeps it.

* IGaveMyWord: For all his evils, he is a man of his word. Across all four of the book, he never once directly breaks a promise or commitment. Snow takes his promise to Lucy Gray to help her win the Games seriously and does ''everything'' he can to make sure she does, including slipping her poison and risking Dr. Gaul's wrath by tampering with the snake mutts sent into the Games arena. He promises Katniss early on that he will never lie to her which is something that clues her into the fact that it was [[spoiler:Coin who was responsible for Prim's death]].

* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: Downplayed. Coriolanus starts off the prequel selfish and haughty to begin with, but still above murder and the kinds of horrible crimes he commits in the original trilogy. ''The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'' covers his descent into the kind of villainy that defines him as President Snow.

* UptownBoy: During his relationship with Lucy Gray Baird, he, an aristocratic boy from the Capitol, dated Lucy Gray, a girl from District 12 (the poorest district). Billy Taupe even refers to him as Lucy's "fancy man from the Capitol".
* UsedToBeASweetKid: Amazingly, when he's shown during his younger years in ''Literature/TheBalladOfSongbirdsAndSnakes'', while he's still rather selfish, he's not the totally irredeemable scumbag we see in the rest of the series - he clearly loves his cousin and [[spoiler:grows to love Lucy Gray]]. Then he catches the attention of [[TheCorrupter Volumnia Gaul]], and it all goes down hill.
* VillainousCrush: His love for Lucy Gray Baird is toxic and control-based.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: If his relationship with Lucy Gray had worked out and they [[spoiler:went ahead with their plan to elope to the North together]], Panem would have been a very different place.

* WouldHitAGirl: Tries to kill Katniss. He also tries to kill his ex-girlfriend in the prequel.

* {{Tyrannicide}}: [[spoiler:He ends up being on the receiving end of this, being lynched by a mob at the end of ''Mockingjay''.]]

* OppositesAttract: Snow is aristocratic, straight-laced, believes that humanity is inherently evil, desires a powerful, bureaucratic job in the Capitol, supports the oppressive regime of Panem, and values orderliness above all else. Lucy comes from a family of nomadic musicians, is creative and artistic, believes people are born good but are driven to cruel acts by their unfortunate circumstances, and wants to escape Panem to seek freedom.

* FauxAffablyEvil: He can smile politely and say all the right words but then he will make a remark or threat that reminds you of the pure evil lurking beneath. Even before JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, he's a manipulative, controlling backstabber.
* {{Foil}}: To Sejanus Plinth in ''Literature/TheBalladOfSongbirdsAndSnakes''. They are both teenage Hunger Games Mentors from influential families who study at the prestigious Academy. But whereas Sejanus is NouveauRiche (and ''incredibly'' wealthy at that), originally from the Districts, sympathetic to the rebels, and is sensitive and sweet, Snow is Capitol-born, comes from an OldMoney family who lost their fortune and are struggling to make ends meet, is pro-Capitol, and is cold-blooded and calculating.

* HeroOfAnotherStory: He is the protagonist of ''The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'', which explains his backstory and rise to power.

* IOweYouMyLife: Is very grateful to Lucy Gray after she saves him from burning to death during the tour of the Arena.

* CloseToHome: Implied to be the reason he was so vindictive toward the victors from District 12 - they remind him of District 12's only other victor, Lucy Gray Baird, [[spoiler:who he personally mentored and led to victory (in one instance through outright cheating). It's also possible that Snow sees Katniss, in particular, as not only a dangerous icon of rebellion, but also the embodiment of a life that Snow willingly threw away, as she is implied to be related to Katniss in some way]].

* DarkAndTroubledPast: ''The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'' goes into detail about the hardships he faced during his childhood. Both of his parents died when he was little, his family's money was lost due to most of it being invested in District 13, he often went hungry, had to wear tattered clothing, and he and his cousin had to take care of his senile grandmother even though they were only teens themselves.
* ADayInTheLimelight: The prequel ''The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'' stars a young Coriolanus Snow and how he got to his current position.

* AffablyEvil: She's very cheerful and friendly, even though her job is, you know, to choose kids to send to their deaths.

* NeverMyFault: In ''Literature/TheBalladOfSongbirdsAndSnakes'', he makes excuses for all his terrible actions, trying to justify them to himself.

* RichInDollarsPoorInSense: Coriolanus grew up in a very wealthy family and wass determined to restore their fortunes. [[spoiler:His belief in the power of money leads him to make a colossal mistake when deciding to betray Sejanus to the Capitol for colluding with rebels, since he assumes Sejanus' father will be able to buy his freedom as he's done in the past...clearly not considering that wealth and influence only go so far when it comes to being charged with treason]].

* InnocentlyInsensitive: The Capitol’s privileged citizens are wildly out of touch with how the rest of the nation lives, and they often make offhand comments about food, money, or appearances that really rub Katniss the wrong way.

* FashionDesigner: She works as an assistant for a Capitol fashion designer, though Coriolanus complains that she is treated more like a slave. She later goes on to become a stylist.

* BodyHorror: In the process to become an Avox, she had to get her tongue cut out.

* NoNameGiven: In ''The Hunger Games'' and ''Catching Fire'' she is simply known as the Avox girl. In ''Mockingjay'', Peeta says her name was Lavinia.
* TheSpeechless: Getting your tongue cut out does that... [[spoiler:However, before she was taken by the Capitol, she screamed the boy's name that she was with.]]

* {{Bishonen}}: Is called a "pretty boy" InUniverse in the prequel. The narration talks about his "blond curls" a lot.

* ALighterShadeOfBlack: President Snow is a cruel leader who breaks and disposes of his enemies while keeping Panem under an iron rule, but Katniss realizes that [[spoiler:President Coin leading the rebellion is worse because she's wasteful and seeking to create a near-identical regime]]. Snow, for all his evils, disdains killings that don't accomplish anything, and Katniss [[spoiler:decides to assassinate Coin instead of Snow.]] Additionally, he's nowhere near as bad as his EvilMentor, [[MisanthropeSupreme Volumnia Gaul]].

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Lost his mother at a young age, and misses her terribly, keeping her rose scented powder as a reminder of her.

!Defectors

[[folder:Cressida]]
A director from the Capitol assigned to document Katniss once the rebellion begins.

* DefectorFromDecadence: She defects from the Capitol sometime before the events of ''Mockingjay''.
%%* IntrepidReporter: Has shades of this, although her main job is to create propaganda.
* MeaningfulName: Named after the female lead of Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, who's also a defector.
%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* OlderAndWiser: And she uses this knowledge to try and help Katniss any way she can.
* SoleSurvivor: [[spoiler:Of her original camera crew, only her and Pollux survive.]]

[[folder:Messalla]]
Cressida's assistant. He is described as a young man with multiple piercings.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:Practically had his skin melted off before he died.]]
* DisasterScavengers: This was his most useful ability, to scavenge food in abandoned houses, mainly because as a former Capitol resident himself, he knew how Capitolites thought and thus where they would stash spare food supplies.
* DefectorFromDecadence: Defects from the Capitol along with Cressida.
* NumberTwo: Cressida's second-in-command.

[[folder:Castor and Pollux]]
Cressida's cameramen who are both brothers. Pollux is also an Avox.

* DefectorFromDecadence: They both defect from the Capitol along with Cressida.
* MadeASlave: Pollux worked in the Capitol's underground sewer system during his time as an Avox.
* MeaningfulName: Castor and Pollux are in Roman and Greek mythology. Similar to their tale, Castor [[spoiler:dies in ''Mockingjay'']] while Pollux [[spoiler:survives]].
* TheSpeechless: Pollux cannot speak due to having his tongue cut out.

[[folder:Fulvia Cardew]]
A rebel and Plutarch Heavensbee's right hand woman.

* FacialMarkings: She has tattoos of silver flowers on her cheeks.
* ImpliedLoveInterest: Katniss makes no comment beyond reporting it, but in one scene Fulvia massages Plutarch's shoulders, which implies they might be closer than their working relationship would suggest.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: She shows signs of being sheltered in her talks with the District people she works with.
* NumberTwo: Plutarch's right hand woman.
* WhiteSheep: The prequel novel implies that she's distantly related to President Snow in some way, given his MaybeEverAfter moment with another member of the Cardew Family at the end of the book.