The book Catching Fire takes place in a futuristic nation called Panem. Panem is located in what we know today as North America. Panem is controlled by the Capitol which is where the president, goverment and higher class citizens are located. The other citizens are split among twelve districts and live under the control of the Capital. The main character, Katniss Everdeen, lives in District 12 which is where most of the story takes place. Being a victor of the 74th Hunger Games, she travels from each district throughout the novel too. She becomes a contestant in the 75th Hunger Games and this causes the story to change its setting as she is moved to the Capitol, and then to an arena where she will fight to stay alive. The citizens live in poverty because the Capitol uses them to benefit itself. If the Capitol hadn't have been so cruel to the rest of Panem then there would have been no need for rebellion. In the arena, innocent children and teenagers were forced to try and survive deathly obstacles and the rest of the citizens became tired of watching the constant deaths. Without the setting and conditions of where they lived, there would be no story to tell. The setting caused the characters to grow up strong and self- reliant.