Peeta decorating wedding cake in 13.
Foreshadowing 102
[Catching Fire, Chapter 4]
“Let’s start with something more basic. Isn’t it strange that I know you’d risk your life to save mine…but I don’t know what your favorite color is?” he says.
A smile creeps onto my lips. “Green. What’s yours?”
“Orange,” he says.
[Mockingjay, Chapter 5]
Beetee sits motionless in a wheelchair at the center of the meadow, watching a spring-green bird hover in mid air as it sips nectar from large orange blossom.
Note: Katniss = mockingjay = GREEN bird
Peeta = dandelion = ORANGE flower/blossom
The Pin – Part 2
There was quite a list of curious coincidences stemmed from the mockingjays. It surely meant a lot on so many different levels. The first significance we learned came in the form of Katniss’s father who was particularly fond of the birds. Katniss reconnected to her past after examining the pin and telling us how his father used to sing to the birds, how they recreated the songs and how beautiful his voice was. By that point, we agree that she associated some meaning to the pin. That’s the first step for us to buy this idea. There was no mention if her voice was just as beautiful but that was how the birds – and Peeta noticed her. Even Plutarch offered her to sign in a singing show. I guess the hints are there.
The next one is Rue. It triggered trust on her part. The back story was simple. Back in District 11 the mockingjays were her friends.
“They carry messages for me.” [The Hunger Games, Chapter 16]
She’d sing a 4 note run and the birds would spread it around the orchard. That was how everyone knew when to take a break. In the Games, it was the same song that Katniss learned from Rue so that they can communicate with each other (she then taught a simple 2 note whistle to communicate with Peeta inspired by the tragedy.) Rue’s death had a strong impact on Katniss that she can no longer tolerate the Capitol. When requested, she sang and all of Panem got the message. It was like the ultimate calling telling them that it is time. Actions must be taken for a better tomorrow.
This is not the first message. Katniss realized later that the image inspired the rebels in so many ways. Be it stamped on crackers from District 8 or the disappearing bird in the pocket watch of the Head of Gamemaker. The bird tells her who to trust.
The next incident was not deliberate too, when Katniss met Twill and Bonnie who escaped from their rebelling district. They had their hopes in District 13, a district known to be obliterated and damaged for the past 75 years. They told a story about the same mockingjay footage that has been reused every time on national television and Katniss knew in her heart that the Capitol has been lying about District 13. That was one of the ways the mockingjay proved to be the perfect symbol to defy the Capitol.
And the most obvious was the transformation of Katniss’s tragic wedding dress (intended to humiliate her) to the ever so legendary Mockingjay plumage dress on national television live through out Panem.
That must have been a kick right in Capitol’s nuts.
Peeta vs Gale: A Look in Panem’s Future
By chapter 2 in the first book, you should have seen it coming. That moment when Collins mentioned ‘the first dandelion of the year’ right after Katniss avoided looking at Peeta. You know, when she thought of the hours spent in the woods and then a bell rang in her head. She knew exactly how they were going to survive. That is a BIG deal. She was almost dead and was hoping to die. This moment made her hesitate to kill Peeta and was quite panicked when Effie picked him in The Reaping. This little bread tossing moment made her trust him.
Also it was her first connection with a person and decided that Peeta=dandelion=hope.
Meanwhile in Mockingjay, Gale had this prophecy. “Katniss will pick whoever she thinks she can’t survive without.”
Very clever. She survived because of hope and hope is dandelion and dandelion is Peeta.
It’s funny how Gale wished that he could have volunteered in the First Games. He didn’t, of course because he had more important things to do; welfare of his family, Katniss’s family, etc. Let’s just imagine him volunteering for a second. Is there any chance that they would alter the course of the Games? Would they still have 2 victors? There’s a big chance that Gale and Katniss would be a strong ally from the very beginning. They might win too given the particular skills that they developed through out the years; trapping and hunting. Still this won’t change the fact that the nightlock berries were in abundance in the arena, Katniss might figure the same trick to save both of them. She’s smart and we know that she won’t be able to kill Gale.
There would be some problems there. Can you detect it?
Firstly Katniss won’t realize the big picture. She had a conversation on the roof with Peeta and he planted a seed in her thoughts about not wanting to be a piece in the Games. She might not meet Rue (who probably would be killed by the Careers anyway but her death would have gone unnoticed, insignificant, meaningless just like other tributes) because Katniss was in a stronger position. Rue’s death (in the book) was important because it made Katniss realized that Peeta’s words made sense. With an ally like Gale, she’d just kill without remorse and focused on going back home, to Prim. In the mean time, she’ll hate the Capitol more by the minute.
Then assuming that Snow went through the same road and put them both in the Quarter Quell, we can see that they would kill others, just like the first Games. They’re strong but they might have Finnick and the rest as allies and later rescued to District 13. It’s obvious that at this point Coin won’t resist keeping her nose out from their business.
Say Gale was kidnapped by the Capitol (it’s very unlikely but can we just imagine?) and was hijacked and sent back to District 13. Will he get better? We will never know. I think he’d be worse than Peeta and if we could replace Peeta with him, he would be the guy that will be by Katniss’s side. We can say that he would not try and invent bombs or ensnare a mountain. That’s just not his style. He will not even agree to any kind of violence and would serve as a better speaker to move the crowd.
Maybe. If he step up, put aside his timid self and open up to the crowd but I doubt it. He’d be the baker at District 13 or maybe won’t even make it there since all of his family couldn’t. He’d just die like the 90% population of District 12. His unrequited love burned with his ashes.
Too many probabilities! All bad ones!
Panem surely have uprisings because two rebels won the first Games but in the end, it’s Coin that would win. Unfortunately, Prim would live and so does revenge in their fiery hearts. They will agree on the next Hunger Games exclusively using Capitol’s children and the history repeats itself. This, of course will trigger another revolution in the future because it’s never fair to punish people with such barbaric act. The war would never ends.
And as for Katniss, there’s a possibility that she will end up alone, drunk as a skunk, unable to sleep due to recurring bad dreams. She won’t be able to forgive herself with all that killing. She never did. Even if she end up with Gale, it would be more of friends but there is no way in her right mind that she would have children with him. She even said it ‘was just a mistake’ in Catching Fire.
She would never be happy with Gale. There was too much hatred, blood and fire. Keep in mind from the very beginning that this book will not have a pretty ending but with Gale, the very reason the writer writing this kind of book is not being satisfied.
More war? More killing? More hatred? This will not do.
End of our long imagination. Back to the books.
Apart of me thinks that Gale wished to volunteer because he saw how much pain Peeta was in and that somehow got Katniss’s attention. Remember he used to make her felt guilty with this excuse? He is willing to be in such position of pain in exchange for Katniss’s love. He was even jealous when he saw Peeta’s antics, as if Peeta did that on purpose. I don’t think he ever understand the kind of love that Katniss and Peeta shared.
Who else would put Katniss first? Nobody had treated her the way he did, not even her own mother, not even Gale. Peeta won’t think twice to achieve this objective. He lied on national television, tortured, lost his mind. Everything he did was for Katniss. He even wanted Gale to be with Katniss, sacrificing his life and love at the same time. Do you know how much pain he was in, never been loved by anyone at all? Not even by his own mother? And who else would put Peeta first? No one except Katniss. Can you imagine how it must feel? He was angry at first and more frustrated by her determination. He thought that it was his job to die since he thought no one needed him. Both are committed to be dead just to put the other first. She is willing to be the Mockingjay to save Peeta. And why would you put yourself in such a position? Why die for another person without anything in return? All they knew that they had to protect each other, while awake or sleeping. I can think of no one more deserving of each other but those two.
Katniss subsconsciously thought that it was Peeta she always knew would be a great parent and vice versa. Why would you freak out at having baby with a guy while quietly enjoy pretending to be pregnant with another’s?
Because the boy with the bread gave her hope and she made it through the rain.
Can’t you see?
Peeta vs Gale: A Look in Panem’s Future
By chapter 2 in the first book, you should have seen it coming. That moment when Collins mentioned ‘the first dandelion of the year’ right after Katniss avoided looking at Peeta. You know, when she thought of the hours spent in the woods and then a bell rang in her head. She knew exactly how they were going to survive. That is a BIG deal. She was almost dead and was hoping to die. This moment made her hesitate to kill Peeta and was quite panicked when Effie picked him in The Reaping. This little bread tossing moment made her trust him.
Also it was her first connection with a person and decided that Peeta=dandelion=hope.
Meanwhile in Mockingjay, Gale had this prophecy. “Katniss will pick whoever she thinks she can’t survive without.”
Very clever. She survived because of hope and hope is dandelion and dandelion is Peeta.
It’s funny how Gale wished that he could have volunteered in the First Games. He didn’t, of course because he had more important things to do; welfare of his family, Katniss’s family, etc. Let’s just imagine him volunteering for a second. Is there any chance that they would alter the course of the Games? Would they still have 2 victors? There’s a big chance that Gale and Katniss would be strong allies from the very beginning (no public love confessions. Gale don’t do feelings out loud) They might win too given the particular skills that they developed through out the years; trapping and hunting. Still this won’t change the fact that the nightlock berries were in abundance in the arena, Katniss might figure the same trick to save both of them. She’s smart and we know that she won’t be able to kill Gale.
There would be some problems there. Can you detect it?
Firstly Katniss won’t realize the big picture. She had a conversation on the roof with Peeta and he planted a seed in her thoughts about not wanting to be a piece in the Games. She might not meet Rue (who probably would be killed by the Careers anyway but her death would have gone unnoticed, insignificant, meaningless just like other tributes) because Katniss was in a stronger position. Rue’s death (in the book) was important because it made Katniss realized that Peeta’s words made sense. With an ally like Gale, she’d just kill without remorse and focused on going back home, to Prim. In the mean time, she’ll hate the Capitol more by the minute.
That’s not a dynamic character. She is just as the same before and after the Games.
Then assuming that Snow went through the same road and put them both in the Quarter Quell, we can see that they would kill others, just like the first Games. They’re strong but they might have Finnick and the rest as allies and later rescued to District 13. It’s obvious that at this point Coin won’t resist keeping her nose out from their business.
Say Gale was kidnapped by the Capitol (it’s very unlikely but can we just imagine?) and was hijacked and sent back to District 13. Will he get better? We will never know. I think he’d be worse than Peeta and if we could replace Peeta with him, he would be the guy that will be by Katniss’s side. We can say that he would not try and invent bombs or ensnare a mountain. That’s just not his style. He will not even agree to any kind of violence and would serve as a better speaker to move the crowd.
Maybe. If he step up, put aside his timid self and open up to the crowd but I doubt it. He’d be the baker at District 13 or maybe won’t even make it there since all of his family couldn’t. He’d just die like the 90% population of District 12. His unrequited love burned with his ashes.
Too many probabilities! All of bad ones!
Panem surely have uprisings because two rebels won the first Games but in the end, it’s Coin that would win. Unfortunately, Prim would live and so does revenge in their fiery hearts. They will agree on the next Hunger Games exclusively using Capitol’s children and the history repeats itself. In maybe 100 years there will be more revolutions, the same as the failed first (The Dark Days) and second one (Katniss’s spark) because punishing people in The Hunger Games is not the most original or smart way to calm the districts. Fear will not repress hope, not for long.
And as for Katniss, there’s a possibility that she will end up alone, drunk as a skunk, unable to sleep due to recurring bad dreams. She was kinda like Haymitch. She won’t be able to forgive herself with all that killing. She never did. Even if she end up with Gale, it would be more of friends but there is no way in her right mind that she would have children with him. She even said it ‘was just a mistake‘ in Catching Fire.
She would never be happy with Gale. There was too much hatred, blood and fire. Keep in mind from the very beginning that this book will not have a pretty ending but with Gale, the very reason this kind of book is written is not being justified.
More war? More killing? More hatred? This will not do.
End of our long imagination. Back to the books.
Apart of me thinks that Gale wished to volunteer because he saw how much pain Peeta was in and that somehow got Katniss’s attention. Remember he used to make her felt guilty with this excuse? He is willing to be in such position of pain in exchange for Katniss’s love. He was even jealous when he saw Peeta’s antics, as if Peeta did that on purpose. I don’t think he ever understand the kind of love that Katniss and Peeta shared. Who else would put Katniss first? And who else would put Peeta first? Both are committed to be dead just to put the other as their priority. Not even Gale measured up to this level.
On the other hand, it was Peeta that she always knew would be a great parent and vice versa. Why would you freak out at having baby with a guy while quietly enjoy pretending to be pregnant with another’s?
Because the boy with the bread gave her hope and she made it through the rain.
Can’t you see?
The Hogwarts Professor – First 30 Discussions
Hello there!
Now I would like to introduce to a renowned blogger, The Hogwarts Professor. He is quite a methodological writer and analyze the topic quite profoundly. As the name suggested, he is quite a fan of The Harry Potter series.
The link will bring you to his 30 discussion prompts. I cannot say I agree with most of the opinions but it does make you think below the surface.
The list of discussion topic are as listed below.
What would you say?
Mockingjay Discussion 1: Team Peeta?
Mockingjay Discussion 2: District 13
Mockingjay Discussion 3: War and Television
Mockingjay Discussion 4: The Pearl Plot?
Mockingjay Discussion 5: The Three Sure Things
Mockingjay Discussion 6: Series Continuity
Mockingjay Discussion 7: Gale Hawthorne
Mockingjay Discussion 8: Blood and Roses
Mockingjay Discussion 9: The Assassin
Mockingjay Discussion 10: Predictions Scorecard
Mockingjay Discussion 11: Review Revue
Mockingjay Discussion 12: Real or Not Real?
Mockingjay Discussion 13: President Hillary Coin?
Mockingjay Discussion 14: The Hunger Games Formula
Mockingjay Discussion 15: The Hanging Tree
Mockingjay Discussion 16: Katniss’ Meadow Song
Mockingjay Discussion 17: Books vs. Broadcast
Mockingjay Discussion 18: Harry Potter’s Shadow
Mockingjay Discussion 19: Shadows of Twilight
Mockingjay Discussion 20: A Children’s Book?
Mockingjay Discussion 21: What the Votes Tell Us
Mockingjay Discussion 22: Ring and Mirror Composition
Mockingjay Discussion 23: What Have I Unleashed on My Students?
Mockingjay Discussion 24: So Whatever Happened to…?
Mockingjay Discussion 25: A Week Later
Mockingjay Discussion 26: Getting to the Ballad Roots of ‘Hanging Tree’
Mockingjay Discussion 27: The Meaning of Prim’s Cat and Kat-niss
Mockingjay Discussion 28: Was Peeta Right about the Revolution?
Mockingjay Discussion 29: Is Mockingjay an NRA Advertisement?
Mockingjay Discussion 30: Hunger Games and the Lord of the Rings
I had serious trouble following the Pearl Plot. I don’t know what you guys would think. Also I cannot seemed to put into my head that Mayor Undersee’s wife is the mastermind behind all the things that ended up Katniss being the Mockingjay. Well that’s my opinion. What do you think?
Chapter 1 – Part 1
There is a lot of things to discuss and I might as well start the ball rolling on the very first page.
3 things.
1) I have read in certain website discussing the same matter that Katniss waking up not finding her sister close by is foreshadowing something already. I don’t know if it’s the reaping or someday she will leave her (dead) along with her mother (to District 4)
2) Buttercup was mentioned very early in every book. Surely the author meant something. There might be no love between Katniss and Buttercup but surely he is important. There is an interesting theory that Buttercup was Katniss’s alter ego (link provided) Well the name already suggested cat-like, also she was nicknamed ‘Catnip’ by Gale and remember who provided shelter for Katniss in the Capitol in Mockingjay? Tigris, the cat. It’s Buttercup’s presence that made Katniss came to terms with Prim’s death.
3) I always have this impression that The Meadow is deemed as a beautiful place by Katniss. A place she was able to play and be a child for once.The story started with a picnic with Gale overlooking the Meadow (last look on her childhood) This is also the place where she hid (a place for refuge) when her mother was angry when she sang The Hanging Tree (her father knew exactly where she was), a safe place for the people from District 12 to be when Capitol brought the bombs, for a tiny moment the author mentioned the tiniest detail about a place Meadow-like, where the hummingbirds were studied at Beetee’s work place in 13. Note the color mentioned. She saw a spring-green (her favourite colour) hummingbird (a bird, she’s the mockingjay) feeding an orange (Peeta’s favourite colour) blossom (a flower, as represented by dandelion) That was how the bird survives. At the same time, Gale was putting on an idea how to snare hummingbirds and playing up to their instincts. Here she find some of his ideas conflicted with hers.
The Meadow Song was sang to Rue, the same song she sang to Prim. Both very innocent, loved and dead, under different circumstances and both affected her differently. One towards the Capitol and another towards the Rebels/Coin. This simple song actually started her fire, made her act upon her hatred towards the Capitol (wreathing Rue in flowers)/Rebels (shooting Coin) and also when she realized what Peeta said suddenly made sense after all.
And of course, The Meadow was also the place where her children play in the Epilogue, happy like her many years ago. The epilogue would not happen if she chose Gale and Panem would still have The Hunger Games.
What do you think?
[bisa] 