In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins describes many examples of the strategy and planning necessary for self-preservation to survive during the games. These events span numerous characters in many situations who all take different approaches to the tasks at hand. The main characters around which situational survival strategies revolve are Peeta, Katniss, Rue, Cato and Haymitch and are present throughout Collins' novel. Gary Ross's 2012 adaptation is fairly accurate in these scenes, but includes minor changes due to artistic license. In The Hunger Games Collins strongly uses the emotional characteristics of sympathy and deception while Ross is able to visually represent the ability to communicate beyond words, communicate silently and in secrecy and use clear images to show the strategy involved in the games and how it is accentuated or understated in the transition from text to film. Peeta Mellark introduces one of the most important strategies in the plot by playing with the audience for sympathy during his interview with Caesar before the games begin. Peeta's actions on stage were all an effort to keep the limelight for him and Katniss. When Caesar asked Peeta about the women he was attracted to back home in District 12, Peeta announced that even if he won it wouldn't be any help “because… she came there with him” (Collins 130). Haymitch is aware of the plan and incorporates it because he understands that Peeta knows he doesn't have what it takes to win on his own, but if he strategized and everything went well he could add sympathy and hopefully get the sponsors so important to the star-crossed lovers. Ross's film follows this scene almost exactly. Ross also stays true to the dialogue... at the center of the card... to improve their chances of survival. The story was adapted into film by Gary Ross and modified according to his wishes. The adaptation is a complement to the original story and most of the changes were aimed at compressing the film to meet time constraints. The focus on strategy had to be changed as the perception of the story changed and could not follow all of Katniss' thoughts. Therefore, Ross could not include details like Collins since the novel was told from Katniss' point of view. The limiting details force Ross to focus more on visual representations of strategy than Collins, who had the ability to describe and utilize emotional character bonds in his strategies. In short, the similarities between text and film support the strength and value of the work, while the differences in the film adaptation cause small deficiencies in details that do not affect the overall meaning of the work..