Melody Fraeder

Bring on the questions!

Name: Melody (Mel) Fraeder

Age: 13

Member of: District 11

Appearance: Melody is a normal height for her age and is rather thin due to a frequent lack of food. She has long blonde hair that she usually wears in a long braid. Mel has fair skin, although it is usually a dark tan color by the end of the summer as a result of working in the Orchards of her district. Her eyes are a bright green, and though they are usually bright and full of life they have recently been dull. Also recently, she has taken on a grim expression and rarely smiles, though this was not always the case; before her brother’s reaping, Mel could almost always be seen wearing a grin, and hopefully this quality will return to her in time. All of Mel’s clothes were previously worn by each of her four older sisters, so they are very worn out.

Personality:Melody is a very kind, caring person. She can’t stand seeing people in pain, and whenever she does she will do everything she can to help that person. Mel is full of determination, and because she spent most of her childhood working in her district and surrounded by peacekeepers, she is very strong and resilient. Due to her upbringing in District 11 and her work in the Orchards, Mel feels most comfortable surrounded by trees, and she is a great climber with a lot of knowledge about plants. Before her brother was reaped for the Hunger Games, Mel was a very energetic, happy girl. Now, however, Mel is much more subdued. She rarely smiles, and she has become a very quiet person. The normally patient girl is now very quick to anger and keeps to herself because she can't stand being around happy people when she is so upset. Eventually she will probably regain some of her old characteristics, but she will never be the same happy, energetic person she was before.

History: Mel was the fifth of six children in her family, as well as the last of five girls. Her father died of a sickness that was never identified less than a year after the birth of her youngest, and only, brother. Growing up in District 11, Mel and her family have always had to work extremely hard, and are always under close watch by peacekeepers; she has been working in the Orchards since the time she could walk. Melody, like the rest of the children in her district, attends school whenever she isn’t needed to help with the harvest. She is fairly smart and does well in her classes, and she has lots of friends, although she hasn't spent a lot of time with them recently.

Mel has a close relationship with all of her siblings, but she was the closest both in age and relationship-wise to her little brother, Donta. Although he was less than a year younger than she was, Mel, like the rest of her sisters, felt very protective of Donta. She was always there for him, and vice versa. They grew up together, playing together in their younger years and then, when they were old enough, working side by side in the Orchards.

Recently, Donta was reaped for the Hunger Games, and this has had a huge effect on Mel. Because he was born less than a year after she was, Melody can’t even remember her life without Donta in it. She feels responsible for his being in the Games; if she had been a boy, she could have volunteered in his place, but seeing as their family was all girls, there was nothing they could do once Donta’s name was called. Her family has watched the games together, hoping Donta would survive, but they all knew deep down that he never really had a chance; they had tried so hard to protect him, not letting him take out any tesserae even though his name was only entered in the reaping once, but they had failed and Donta died. Mel has had an awful time dealing with her brother’s death, and now hates the Capitol more than she ever did before. She always hated the Hunger Games and the harsh peacekeepers in her district, but now Melody is determined to see the Capitol destroyed, and would not hesitate to join the rebels were she offered the chance.

What is Mel's relationship with her friends now?
Since she's been rather depressed and rarely hangs out with them, does she even have any real friends anymore?

Great questions, thanks!

What is Mel's relationship with her friends now?

Well, now that Mel is on the train (which I should probably add to her sheet…), she doesn’t get to see any of her friends. Up until that time, however, she was still very distant to them. Her relationship with her friends was pretty much nonexistent, though she did have a few friends who would make an effort to sit with her, even if she was quiet. Mel was beginning to become a little more of herself and spend some more time with her good friends just before she left to join the railway, but now that she was on it she's gone back to being quiet. This will most likely change as she becomes more comfortable with her new life and begins to get closure for Donta's death now that she is fighting the Capitol.

Since she's been rather depressed and rarely hangs out with them, does she even have any real friends anymore?


Yes, Mel still has some real friends. Some of her old acquaintances have given up on her, but Mel has a couple of best friends who have always been there for her, so even when Mel became distant they still did everything they could to support her. Mel knows that even though she was shutting them out, she still has a few real friends that will welcome her back with open arms should she ever return to district 11.

Along with her best friends, Mel also has her 4 older sisters. She’s not as close to any of them as she ever was to Donta, but she still considers them true friends. Even though sometimes they don’t exactly like each other (as most siblings do), they were all affected by Donta’s death the same way and are always there for one another.


Aaaand I'm ready for round 2!

What were Melody's feelings when Donta was reaped? Was she shocked? Scared? Hurt?

All of the above. The first thing Mel felt was complete shock. Donta was only 12, so his name was in the reaping once. She had been slightly scared for him, but deep down Mel had not really been afraid of his getting reaped.

Her next emotions, and the strongest ones at the time, were helplessness and failure. Mel and her sisters had done everything in their power to keep Donta from getting reaped, but they had failed. Since he was the only boy in the family, no one was able to volunteer in his place.

The helplessness naturally gave way to fear. Mel was so scared for Donta. She knew he was small and innocent, and would never be able to kill anyone. She also knew he didn't have many useful skills and had been dependent on his older sisters his whole life. Even though she refused to admit it to herself, Mel knew Donta barely had a chance of surviving the Games, so she felt a sense of loss and fear, as well as guilt for even thinking that her brother probably wouldn't survive.

Finally, Mel felt angry. Angry at the Captiol and angry at herself for not being able to do anything.

1. How does it feel like for Melody and the rest of her family not have the man of the house with them? Did they have a sense of security when he was around?

2. What does Melody do in her free time? What exactly does she enjoy about District 11.

3. Now that Melody is on the rebel train, what does she miss about District 11 and her family?

1. How does it feel like for Melody and the rest of her family not have the man of the house with them? Did they have a sense of security when he was around?

Mel's dad died when she was very young, so she doesn't really remember him. She often wishes he was still alive, because she thinks Donta may have been stronger and a tougher competitor in the Games, and because she probably would feel more secure with someone else there to care for her and her sisters. She also misses the chance she could have had to know her dad. There's not necessarily a lack of security, since Mel's family is so large, but she would certainly have felt safer at home with her dad around.

2. What does Melody do in her free time? What exactly does she enjoy about District 11.

Mel didn't have very much free time in District 11, nor does she have much now. Back home, whenever she had free time Mel would hang out with her friends or her siblings. She enjoyed running around and playing sports, particularly soccer (though it was always played with a makeshift soccer ball). Mel's favorite things about District 11 were the trees and fresh air, and being near her family and friends.

3. Now that Melody is on the rebel train, what does she miss about District 11 and her family?

The thing Mel misses the most is absolutely her family. It was hard enough losing Donta in the games, and then she had to leave her whole family behind. They have always been her support system, people she could tell anything to without being judged. Mel misses them like crazy, but she knows that they would support her decision to help stop the Capitol. She's not sure if she'll ever see her family again, but Mel tries to stay positive. She also misses her friends, though she had been distant with them ever since Donta's death, so that helped her to not miss them as much.

As for District 11, Mel misses knowing everyone and where everything was. She misses being able to walk the streets freely without worrying about getting caught by peacekeepers and having to lie about her identity. Sometimes she even misses working in the Orchards, just because it was so familiar to her, and she had grown to like spending time high up in the trees.

1. We know that Melody was devastated after loosing Donta.. Did Donta have any friends? How did they cope with his reaping and death?

2. How well does Melody get along with her siblings? Do they ever fight?

3. Does Melody ever regret being with the rebels? If she had a chance, would she want to go back home?

1. We know that Melody was devastated after loosing Donta.. Did Donta have any friends? How did they cope with his reaping and death?

Donta had plenty of friends, and they were all extremely sad to see him get killed. They probably talked to each other about it, but they really had no impact on Mel because she was blocking them out. A couple of them tried to talk to her, but she was not ready to listen to what they had to say.

2. How well does Melody get along with her siblings? Do they ever fight?

Mel gets along very well with her siblings. They get into the occasional argument, as all siblings do, about things like whose turn it is to do chores, etc., but they are usually very peaceful and know they can count on each other for anything.

3. Does Melody ever regret being with the rebels? If she had a chance, would she want to go back home?

I wouldn't say that Mel ever regrets being with the rebels, though there are certainly things she doesn't like about it. Besides all of the things she misses from home, Mel also doesn't like the sneaking around (which she's come to learn she isn't very good at) and the lying involved. She would go back home for a visit if given the chance, but she would not permanently leave the railway. Knowing that she is doing something to fight the Capitol has given Mel a sense of purpose and is helping her return to her old energetic self, though she is far less carefree than she used to be. Mel also could not go back to life in District 11 after learning how different all the districts are from her own, and how ignorant each district is about the others.