Catching Fire Chapter 10

And so begins Part II, The Quell in which Katniss spends the day with Twill and Bonnie, runaways from District 8, the textile district, who are on their way to District 13.  (It seems that my previous assertion that there were no graphite mines in the US was shortsighted.  Further research indicates that much of the East and Southeast United States have some graphite mining, and Cleveland and Georgia both have some nuclear development, but uranium mines don't seem to line up.  Where do we think District 13 is, and 8, for that matter?  Are Twill and Bonnie going through 12 on their way to 13, or are they going out of their way to stop by Katniss's place?)  I think that we may need to start adding in where districts are located in our comprehensive list to the right.  And I'm adding Bonnie and Twill to the tributes list, even though they aren't tributes.

Katniss teaches the gals how to hunt ("She's got a weapon that if necessary can convert solar energy into deadly rays of power" and yet, they still use TAPES for video), skin things, make fires.  She gives them food and extra socks and makes Bonnie a new crutch to hobble through the snow for (presumably) hundreds of miles.  They tell her about the resistance in 8, which seemed very well planned.  No cowards, those textilers. 

Katniss understands that President "Blood-Breath" Snow has been playing her for the fool, and that "the wedding is just a necessary extension of that."  Does she feel free to call it off, now?  I know what's coming, but I choose to pretend I don't.

Firestarters!
Katniss cuts Twill off at one point after Bonnie says, "She doesn't know.  Maybe not about any of it."  Katniss feels the need to appear on top of things, and she says "I know you had an uprising in Eight."  What do you think makes Katniss feel like she has to know what's going on?   How do you think this affects how much she can find out from other people?  Meaning, would Bonnie and Twill have told Katniss more if she'd played dumb?

Twill's theory is that everyone moved underground after District 13 was blown up, and that the Capitol leaves them alone because before the Dark Days their primary industry was nuclear development.  What do you think this means, and why do you think District 13 has not reared its nuclear head in 75 years?

Extra Bonus!

Suzanne Collins has given a very intelligent and thought provoking interview to SLJ, which made me both contemplative and freaky-outy. See below!

First, how did I miss that jabberjays are all male? Is it important? SC's comparison of Katniss to a mockingjay is most enlightening and makes me want to dig a little deeper all around.

BUT the most important exchange in the whole interview is THIS!:
R.M: Why does President Snow’s breath smell like blood?
S.C.: [Laughter] Well, I absolutely cannot tell you. No, I really can’t. But you’re right. That will be answered in book three. I’ll tell you that, OK? That can be your header.

OMG, President Snow is a MUTTATION! It says so right here!

And also, THIS!:
I actually would say that the historical figure of Spartacus really becomes more of a model for the arc of the three books, for Katniss...He caused the Romans quite a bit of trouble. And, ultimately, he died.

Katniss is going to DIE! And then we'll never know anything! Or else Gale is, because he said he was going to cause trouble. And Peeta said that, too. OMG, they're ALL going to die!

(Regaining composure) Stay tuned for a new poll tomorrow, and maybe another bonus!

Catching Fire Chapter 9

In which Peety wakes Katniss who has been holding Gale's hand all night.  Ouch.  She also wakes ready to "face this new life" of not running, but facing.  "I have chosen Gale and the rebellion."  Yay!  Also she realizes that "deciding not to run away is a crucial first step."

She gathers Peety and Haymitch to try to figure out how to organize District 12 into a proper uprising, and Haymitch starts talking about how he has to organize their wedding, sounding very mom-like.  The square has transformed into a medieval torture chamber, and they see what they're up against.  The Hob's been burned down.  "Thread's a quick worker."

Katniss heads out into the woods in her awesome Capitol gear.  A few yards from the house, she's confronted by...a CRACKER!  With a MOCKINGJAY ON IT.

Firestarters!
Is it possible for Katniss to choose a life with Peeta in a way that isn't the Capitol's design?

Do you think Katniss's new hope for a rebellion is just youthful dreaming, or do you think the older people in District 12--who've clearly lived through something before, maybe the last Quarter Quell?--will get behind her with some good advice?

Catching Fire Chapter 8

First, lookit this book, which looks an awful lot like the HG style, non?  J'adore that YA cover style (no matter how icky) is influencing adult books.  As I'm reading CF on the train, I notice a lot of eyes turned my way (and I know it's not because of what I'm wearing).

So-sies.  See-eff-ate.  Gale is horribly wounded!  Katniss catches one across the face!  Haymitch steps in and sounds rather effeminate when he throws a hissy fit about a photo shoot!  BUT he and this Purnia shut Thread down with a few words.  Clothing-Stall-Woman sells her countertop after extracting a promise that they not tell on her, and the Stars and Gale's mining buddies are off to Katniss's mother.  We find out that Purnia was more official than our pal Darius, who has a Looney Toons style lump growing out of his head.  Mrs. Everdeen fixes up Gale as best she can while Katniss gets ill and angry that he's not feeling better.  Mrs. E and Haymitch talk about the good ol'days.

Madge shows up with vials of opiate goodies, morphling (at which point I have to say, really?  Why not morfish or morpleez?  Morph-or-mee?).  Katniss really looks at her sitch, putting Gale and an unknown gal in her place.  She's pissed.  Gale's hers, and she's Gale's (yay!) and Katniss finally understand she's selfish and a coward (only sort of, Love.  Don't be too hard on yourself).  Gale promises to make all kinds of trouble with Catnip, and I'm about ready to set predictions for Book Threeeeee (but not yet).

Firestarters!  (Kindling?  A future popular name within the Districts?)
Katniss wonders what her actions mean, and whether what she was thinking at the time of the action means more than a. how her actions were perceived and b. what her actions mean to her now.  What do you think?

What do you think Haymitch meant when he said Madge was a "Crazy girl" for ringing the doorbell?  (And two-bee:  WHO DO YOU WANT TO CAST AS HAYMITCH?  I'll be a little heartbroken if it's not Paul Giamatti.)  Why do you think Haymitch thinks Madge is crazy?  Do YOU think she is? 

Katniss gets jealous and angry thinking people think there might be something between Gale and Madge.  Why do you think Madge made the risk you said she did in the last question?

Catching Fire Chapter 7

Sorry for the lateness!  Let's get on with it then.

In which Katniss waits for Gale to come to the (totally not-believable) secret lake house, which he does.  She asks him to run away with her, which makes him giddy and he tells Katniss "I love you."  I faint dead away, the scent of oranges lingering all around me.  When I come to, Katniss has blown it and the couple are in the middle of a fight, because Romantic Gale thought Katniss meant run away with him, but what she meant was run away with all of District 12 in tow, including Gale's favorite friend, PEETY!  Katniss tells him about the uprising, and suddenly, everything's different for Gale.  He wants to stay and fight (because he's a foxy rebel), and he's all bitter at Catnip, who is, as usual, all confusled about her emotions.

Gale takes off with his turkey in tow, but not Cinna's gloves (can I have them?) and Katniss heads back after a time where she runs into Peeta in the Victor's Village.  She asks him to run away, and he says, "Sure, Katniss" but he knows she'll never do it.  They get to the square and there's Gale, all meaty-backed, getting whipped by Not-Cray.  Eep!  Hang on Gale, I'll save you!

Firestarters! 
Explain to me again why you like Peeta better than Gale?  I'm still not getting it. 

Seriously, though, this chapter is an emotional roller coaster (to state it as a cliche).  We're in love, we're angry and jealous, we're confused, we're rebellious, and after all of that, there is major pity and fear.  What do you think SC had in mind for us in this chapter?  Are we meant to be this confused?  Is she trying to hide something from us in all this turmoil?

Madge says "But mockingjays were never a weapon.  They're just songbirds.  Right?"  Do you agree or disagree?  Are mockingjays the perfect symbol they're set up to be?

Catching Fire Chapter 6

In which Katniss sees the end of hope, and figures out that desperate times call for desperate measures, meaning she can act as desperately as she wants.  I can't wait to see this!  Katniss and Peeta are at the next-to-final party, the big one in the Capitol where the people eat themselves sick again and again and it makes Katniss and Peeta sick again and again.  It's also where Katniss meets man-in-the-punchbowl, new Gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee (what do you think we can read into the connection to the Oracle at Delphi?).  "It starts at midnight."  Who wants to punch Katniss for chalking this up to knockoff watches?  I do/did/will.

Katniss and Peeta head back to District 12 with their entourage, and Katniss finds herself wandering around the mayor's house unescorted, looking for her bestie Madge.  She feels free enough to poke her head into Mayor Undersee's office, where she sees an announcement by a "woman with graying hair and a hoarse, authoritative voice" (she doesn't sound like Capitol material, does she?) giving an UPDATE ON DISTRICT 8 (which we find out makes textiles).  It's an uprising, for realsies.  Hooray!

Firestarters!
Peeta's offhandedly sweet about his nightmares being about Katniss.  Katniss wonders if she's been using Peeta, and feels immoral about having him in her bed.  What do you think, given Katniss's unreliable narrator status?  Is she using him, or perhaps being dishonest with us?

Katniss at the feast is having an unimaginably good time tasting innumerable dishes prepared in her honor.  She finds out that there are tiny glasses of ipecac or somesuch to make people vomit in order to let them eat more.  Peeta starts wearing his rebellion on his sleeve when he realizes what is going on, and Katniss feels nothing but cold anger.  Imagine yourself as a Capitol resident and back up their partying ways.

Plutarch Heavensbee goes out of his way to show Katniss the mockingjay symbol on his watch.  What did this make you think (especially first-readers!) and how did you react to Katniss's reaction?

Catching Fire Chapter 5

HooooowwwwDIE!  I'm just so proud to be back!  Holy schpilkes, Narwhal!  Everyone, let's give Andrew a long and loud round of applause because he kicked my arse as blogger.  Too bad for y'all (I learned things in the South!), I'm back to stay (crazy laugh).  Sursly, thanks a jillion.  AND thanks for the new format!  I'm a big fan, and I think it will save me days in typing!  Hoorah!

So!  Here we are in the middle of the first section of Catching Fire already!  Smokies!  We were still in the arena when I left.  How did the time pass so fast?  Oh, I remember, I was in Appalachia, in the Smoky Mountains, trying to buy legal moonshine without an ID (it didn't work.  Does Haymitch have this problem in the Hob?)  I'll jot down separately a few of the thoughts I had, and if I feel up to it, share with you a "District 12/Arena vs. Great Smoky Mountains National Park as Visited by a Capitol Resident" post.

Anyhooooo, let's get on with it, shall we?  Chapter 5, in which Katniss watches the old farmer man crumple to the ground.  Haymitch, Portia, Cinna, and Effie don't know what happens, although the latter seems the only truly clueless one.  Two more shots.

Haymitch hustles the kids through the D11 Justice Building (justice, ha!) to the dome, which he may remember from when he was there what, 30 years ago?  Katniss finally tells them about blood/roses Snow, and Peeta sees his role clearly, as the speaker of the rebellion whether he wants it or not.  Katniss and Haymitch promise not to keep anything from him anymore, and Peety promises the same.

They rush through the other districts, dinner, ceremony, train.  Districts 8, 4, and 3 seem to roil with anger (see sidebar...known rebel districts will appear in blue).  Katniss suggests a public marriage proposal, then goes to her room to think about Gale.  P. Snow says "not good enough" with the slightest of head shakes.

Firestarters!  (I hope I can carry this off, y'all.  The Narwhal is just sooo smarter.)
Haymitch says that Katniss will see "the choices you have to make...If we survive this, you'll learn."  What do you think Haymitch means by this?  Do you think Katniss (and therefore, we) should have been paying a lot closer attention during history class?  Haymitch lives a really sad, solitary life.  What choices do you think he had to make?

Katniss and Peeta start sleeping together (not like that, you guys).  It seems that Katniss is agreeable because it's comfortable and good, and Peeta, seemingly, came to her room out of his desire to make her feel better.  But do you think Peeta (specifically) continues it because he likes it, or because he sees that they're feeding the gossip mill for the better?

Peety wanted the proposal to be real, according to Yaymitch (awwww, Peeta's a little pathetic, non?), but it was Katniss's suggestion.  She readily accepts it, as she says, of course.  Do you think a. that she would have agreed so readily if it had been sprung on her?  And b. that she thinks of this as protection and a real proposal, or false and merely an out with Snow?  She's a terrible liar, yet both options are lies, in different sorts of ways.  Thoughts?

Extras:
Effie got poked with a gun.  Teehee.
Katniss acknowledges killing Glimmer!

Also, I wanted to bring this up, but the chapter belonged to Andrew.  At one point at the end of The Hunger Games, Katniss is looking for Peeta (banging on the window?  Later?  I'll have to go find the reference) and SPOILER ALERT BUT JUST THE NEXT EIGHT WORDS it comes up later in this book, too:  Katniss says something about the Games being on TAPE.  She can whisper movie popcorn (okay, maybe that's just me) and have it arrive within seconds, and Octavia can dye her skin blue, and Katniss can be rendered entirely perfect, and the muttations and all, yet she's worried about being captured on TAPE, a long-obsolete 20th century device.  As an older-ish person (meaning I know how to make high-speed dubs of mix-tapes), I often find myself saying "let's tape that!" when what I really mean is "let's record that digitally!"  Do you think the tapes were an oversight by the author and editor, who, undoubtedly, are a bit older than (gasp!) even me?  Or do you think this was a conscious decision by the team and will come up as something important in Mockingjay?