Welcome to the Hunger Games read-along! Beginning July 1st, 2010, we will be reading and chatting about one chapter a day of both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins in anticipation of the release of Mockingjay on August 24th.

In the unlikely event that this is your first read of these amazing books, welcome! And more importantly, beware of spoilers! There will be spoilers.







Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Hunger Games Chapter 6

In which Katniss enjoys riding the crystal elevator to her floor (12th...do you think the tributes from District 1 and 2 are mad that the crappier districts get the better floors?), her third time in an elevator.  Effie trills on about how much everyone loved them at the opening ceremonies, and how she's been working the potential sponsors, and declares that putting enough pressure on coal makes pearls!  J'adore Effie.  PS, how does Katniss know where pearls come from?  And how does she know that graphite can be turned into diamonds?  Also, according to the interwebs, graphite isn't mined in the US, but it IS mined in Canada.  Ergo, District 13 was in Canada.  The same interwebs tell me that there are graphite mines from Vancouver to Toronto, so that's not a big help in locating the district.  Anyhoo, only Haymitch can seal the sponsor deals, even though Effie is working them.

Katnitss's room is amazing, and I totally want a machine that runs a current through me to dry my hair.  Also, a closet to "program an outfit to my tastes."  Call me despicable, but Capitol life sounds okay to me.  (I just whispered "movie popcorn" to see if it would appear.  It didn't.)

Katniss has her first wine, and doesn't like the taste, or the effect.  She's a sharp-minded little gal.  I adore how SC writes about food.  Can we get her a Food Network show?  And THEN a-little-bit-tipsy Katniss exclaims that she knows the avox!  AND SHE DOES.  Peeta covers for her, phew!  While watching TV, Haymitch declares the handholding a "perfect touch of rebellion."

Peeta obvs wants to know how Katniss knows the avox, and so takes her up to the roof, which has a forcefield all around it, so no jumping.  Katniss wishes she could tell Gale.  Sigh. Here's a question:  why did Cinna take Peeta to the roof?  Hmmm. These savvy kids go over to the area filled with windchimes, in case their convo is being monitored.  Smarties.  Katniss starts to tell her story, and Peeta asks if she was hunting with her father.  So he knows she hunted with her father.  I guess that's an open secret.  Also:  hovercrafts are totally silent which is super creepy.  The redhaired girl and the boy were from the Capitol, Katniss is sure.  The girl yelled once, the boy,s name (I'm sure it doesn't matter, but it sounds like his name was one syllable).

Peeta asks about Gale, he thought he might be Katniss's cousin.  Katniss is interested to find out that his father and her mother knew each other growing up (both were Merchant class).  When Katniss gets back to her room, the avox is there, and Katniss can't bring herself to apologize, because it wouldn't feel significant enough.

You know what does feel significant, though?  This entire freaking chapter.  Another one loaded up with information just tossed out, but when you read closely, there are loads of crazy things going on here!  What do you think the importance of the avox girl is?  I hadn't noticed on previous reads that they were from the Capitol, and that feels really, really heavy.  What does Cinna know?  What's he telling Peeta?  Your thoughts?  And don't forget to scroll down for a bonus post!  Huzzah!

5 comments:

  1. Does the avox girl really recognize Katniss as someone she saw hunting on the day she was taken? Or does she just recognize Katniss as someone from district 12? And why does it matter if Katniss recognizes her? Because she shouldn't have been hunting? Or because the avox are supposed to be silent and invisible?

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  3. Are we told where Effie’s from? I’m assuming the Capitol, because she’s District 12’s liaison, and unlike Haymitch, not a games winner. As if she could even imagine being from such a “barbaric” district as 12. Plus she has some crazy Capitol style going with that pink hair. Her pearls/diamonds confusion suggests you don’t learn much about geology or biology in the Capitol schools. I suppose you only really need to know which district provides them.

    Speaking of what each district provides, here’s what we know so far (let me know if I’m missing anything):
    First, the districts the Careers come from:
    Dist 1: makes luxury items
    Dist 2: ??
    Dist 4: fishing
    And, then the poor districts:
    Dist 3: factories
    Dist 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10: ??
    Dist 11: agriculture
    Dist 12: coal mining
    Dist 13 (listing this one, even though it’s obliterated): graphite mining

    Looking forward to filling in the holes!

    Yeah, killer closet, and how about that view! What’s up with these windows that zoom in and out of different parts of town? Sounds like they’re digital screens, not real windows, meaning the training center is in all likelihood completely closed in. The façade must look boring and blocky. I wouldn’t be surprised if the building exteriors are covered in advertisements.

    Mmm, dinner. Why is Haymitch allowed to say the R-word? K and P choose their words so carefully to not seem like dissenters. Is Haymitch just too valuable for the Capitol to knock off? Or does he just not give a flip? And do you think that Avox recognized K, and perhaps took the task of lighting the cake on fire to ensure she got K’s attention?

    Yes yes yes, whyyyy does Cinna take Peeta to the roof? Maybe to have a secret chat about K? Squeee! And then Peeta gives K his jacket! Thxu, Peeta (c;

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  4. Allison, I think yes, the Avox recognizes Katniss for sure. And I think it matters that Katniss knows her/saw her because the Avox was/is a criminal of some sort, and Katniss would be guilty by association. At this point, we don't know what the punishment for anything is, except that the Avox from the Capitol had her tongue cut out for God knows what. It's not like a Capitol resident would have just shown up in District 12.

    Sarah, I'm using your compilation there on the left, so we can keep track of people and Districts. Thanks for putting it together!

    And, no, I don't think Haymitch is valuable to the Capitol. I think he just doesn't give a shizzz.

    Any other theories on the windows? I assumed they were real windows with telephoto capabilities, more like a lens with zoom than a window as we know them.

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  5. And by left, I mean right...under the counter. :)

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