{"id":111,"date":"2010-12-30T07:00:49","date_gmt":"2010-12-30T15:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=111"},"modified":"2010-12-30T10:22:22","modified_gmt":"2010-12-30T18:22:22","slug":"mark-reads-catching-fire-chapter-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2010\/12\/mark-reads-catching-fire-chapter-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘Catching Fire’: Chapter 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixth chapter of Catching Fire<\/em>, the effects of failing to convince President Snow of her romance with Peeta become much, much clearer to Katniss. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Catching Fire<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This is moving awfully fast. I know I said I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like chapter five (I still don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t), but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m willing to concede that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not seeing the full picture here, that when I reach the end of Catching Fire<\/em>, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll understand why all of this was so rushed. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to seem as if I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m writing this all off with no hope of ever enjoying it. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m reading this book unnaturally. No author intends for their book to be chopped up so much and I understand that. But right now, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still a bit bothered by the frantic pace this moves at. JUST A BIT. NOT A WHOLE LOT. But the pacing is throwing me off of the book, which I am enjoying so far.<\/p>\n

Chapter six jumps right into the action after Katniss gets confirmation that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s failed to convince President Snow.<\/p>\n

In that one slight motion, I see the end of hope, the beginning of the destruction of everything I hold dear in the world. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t guess what form my punishment will take, how wide the net will be cast, but when it is finished, there will most likely be nothing left.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Ok, Ms. Hyperbole. Calm down. I realize that this is incredibly serious and that President Snow will most likely do something completely ridiculous, yet this language still bothers me. That being said, I would probably say the exact same thing so this is probably just me being hateful because I HATE MYSELF.<\/p>\n
So you would think that at this moment, I would be in utter despair. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strange. The main thing I feel is a sense of relief. That I can give up this game. That the question of whether I can succeed in this venture has been answered, even if that answer is a resounding no. That if desperate times call for desperate measures, then I am free to act as desperately as I wish.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This section ends poetically, but was anyone else bothered by, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strange\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? It sounds so out of place, as if Katniss is disconnected from the situation. Which\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6well, she just might be as a way to cope. I mean, after all she and Peeta did, they still didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t convince him.<\/p>\n
After mentally nothing who she should take with her to escape upon returning to District 12 (THAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S A REALLY, REALLY BAD IDEA, FYI), we get\u00c2\u00a0 some more of Katniss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brilliant sarcasm.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Maybe if the whole country puts its mind to it, we can get you married before you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re thirty.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll probably have to pass a new law,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I say with a giggle.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what it takes,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says the president with conspiratorial good humor.<\/p>\n
Oh, the fun we two have together.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
HAHAHA WHAT. Ok, stick to just being serious, Katniss. Please.<\/p>\n
I was talking to a friend on AIM today (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that Collins has cleverly disguised these books as YA thrillers because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re really just a chance for her to create food porn:<\/p>\n
But the real star of the evening is the food. Tables laden with delicacies line the walls. Everything you can think of, and things you have never dreamed of, lie in wait. Whole roasted cows and pigs and goats still turning on spits. Huge platters of fowl stuffed with savory fruits and nuts. Ocean creatures drizzled in sauces or begging to be dipped in spicy concoctions. Countless cheeses, breads, vegetables, sweets, waterfalls of win, [AUTHOR EDIT: That should be “wine” but the typo is so hilarious that I am going to leave it in] <\/span>and streams of spirits that flicker with flames.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I just ate dinner and now I suddenly want to eat again.<\/em> I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever stopped to truly consider how much food is a integral part of these series, which is silly because CLEARLY THE NAME OF IT REFERS TO IT. The Capitol exploits the hungry, which is just another way to be an oppressor. So it would stand to reason that there would be an overabundance of food in the place where people need it the least: the Capitol.<\/p>\n
Collins takes this up a notch with a scene that I am really impressed with precisely because she could have royally fucked it up, and yet she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s able to elaborate on it without sounding ridiculous. As Katpee make their way around the ballroom, eating as much as they can, they become full pretty quickly. Neither is that used to having food available to them in this manner, even after winning the Games. When Katniss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s prep team shows up and asks why they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not eating, they say what any of us would say: they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re simply too full. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s when Flavius offers them a very specific drink that things take a turn for the grotesque.<\/p>\n
Peeta picks one up to take a sip and they lose it.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Not here!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d shrieks Octavia.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You have to do it in there,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Venia, pointing to doors that lead to the toilets. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Or you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get it all over the floor!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Peeta looks at the glass again and puts it together. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You mean this will make me puke?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
My prep team laughs hysterically. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Of course, so you can keep eating,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Octavia. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been in there twice already. Everyone does it, or else how else would you have any fun at a feast?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In direct contrast to the life Katpee have known, the citizens of the Capitol purposely waste food for enjoyment<\/em>. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not letting off the trio this time. This is revolting. But I worried that Collins was treating this as some sort of commentary on eating disorders being terrible in and of themselves, as if she looked down on them. For me, sometimes it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the small things that matter.<\/p>\n
And here in the Capitol they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re vomiting for the pleasure of filling their bellies again and again. Not from some illness of body or mind, not from spoiled food. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what everyone does at a part. Expected. Part of the fun.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I appreciate the distinction made here. There could be a justifiable reason for this behavior, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not. They do it simply because they can.<\/em> So. Fucked. Up.<\/p>\n
Are you ready for some very obvious foreshadowing wrapped in a ball of weirdness? Then let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talk about the strangest scene in the series yet: Katniss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conversation with Plutarch Heavensbee, the new Head Gamemaker. Portia introduces them and Katniss is immediately revolted by him. (Understandably so. I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to be touched by a Gamemaker either.)<\/p>\n
We chitchat about the party, the entertainment, about the food, and then he makes a joke about avoiding punch since training. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get it, and then I realize he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the man who tripped backward into the punch bowl when I shot an arrow at the Gamemakers during the training session.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
WELL HOLY SHIT. This isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to be awkward, right???<\/p>\n
Strangely, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not really that awkward. They talk about Plutarch\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new job as the Head Gamemaker, the stress that comes with that position, and the work being done to design the Quarter Quell Games. That<\/em> is when things get weird.<\/p>\n
As Plutarch talks about how the Quarter Quell arena has been in the works for years, he mentions that he has a strategy meeting that night at midnight. He pulls out a gold watch from his vest and shows the face of it to her.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That seems late for\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 I say, but then something distracts me. Plutarch has run his thumb across the crystal face of the watch and for just a moment an image appears, glowing as if lit by candlelight. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another mockingjay. Exactly like the pin on my dress. Only this one disappears. He snaps the watch closed.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very pretty,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I say.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153OH, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more than pretty. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of a kind,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he says. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If anyone asks about me, say I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gone home to bed. The meetings are supposed to be kept secret. But I thought it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be safe to tell you.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
OH MAN, WHAT JUST HAPPENED??? The mockingjay was a sign of dissent in the past, so WHY ON EARTH IS A GAMEMAKER SHOWING HER THIS? Even better, the fact that he tells her to lie about where he is and the way he emphasizes that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all a secret\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6holy shit, man. Is this some sort of hidden way for him to tell Katniss he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on her side? (By side, I mean her inadvertent rebellion against the Capitol.)<\/p>\n
I respond, but really I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thinking about Plutarch showing off his pretty, one-of-a-kind watch to me. There was something strange about it. Almost clandestine. But why? Maybe he thinks someone else will steal his idea of putting a disappearing mockingjay on a watch face. Yes, he probably paid a fortune for it and now he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t show it to anyone because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s afraid someone will make a cheap, knockoff version. Only in the Capitol.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m done whining about Katniss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cluelessness. Now it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just funny. I thought it was a clear sign from Plutarch that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something more to his secret meeting, but this point flies right over her head. Oh, Katniss. Your naivete after all this time is just so precious.<\/em><\/p>\n
They finally leave the epic party at the Capitol and hop aboard a train back to District 12. Katniss goes to sleep and awakes the next afternoon with Peeta in bed with her. The first thing he says to her is that she didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a nightmare for the first time. Katniss relates the details of a dream she had about Rue and mockingjays; I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thinking that the relief she felt about knowing the finality of her actions with Snow probably contributed to this, though on a subconscious level, I feel she is still thinking about the image of the mockingjay on Plutarch\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s watch.<\/p>\n
Katniss does realize that Peeta is always the one to comfort her after awaking from nightmares and not the other way around.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You should wake me,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I say, thinking about how I can interrupt his sleep two or three times on a bad night. About how long it can take to calm me down.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not necessary. My nightmares are usually about losing you,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he says. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m okay once I realize you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re here.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Really?<\/p>\n
Ugh.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
EXACTLY, Katniss. Look, I empathize with Peeta a great deal, but only to an extent. I mean, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such an intentional thing to say and he knows it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to hurt her. Basically, dude, IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S NOT HELPING. AT ALL.<\/p>\n
Moving on. They arrive in District 12 just after this and we learn that Katniss is to head to the mayor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s house for preparation and the Victory Tour celebration. She makes a point to state that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s glad it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not going to be at the Justice Building, which reminds her of her father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death and the reaping. On top of that, she gets to see Madge Undersee!<\/p>\n
We haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really heard much about her since the beginning of The Hunger Games<\/em> and here we learn that they are actually becoming better friends than they already were. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know why I thought this, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nice to know that she is making other friends. Perhaps I realize how lonely all of this is for Katniss and I feel bad for her. She doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deserve it.<\/p>\n
We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get to see much of what their relationship is like because Effie rushes Katniss upstairs to get started on her preparation. Katniss stops in the mayor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s study to say hello, but he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not there. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just the sounds of the television that was left on.<\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m leaving the room when a beeping noise catches my attention. I turn back to see the screen of the television go black. Then the words \u00e2\u20ac\u0153UPDATE ON DISTRICT 8\u00e2\u20ac\u009d start flashing. Instinctively I know this is not for my eyes but something intended only for the mayor. I should go. Quickly. Instead I find myself stepping closer to the television.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I have goosebumps right now. Oh man.<\/p>\n
An announcer I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never seen before appears. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a woman with graying hair and a hoarse, authoritative voice. She warns that conditions are worsening and a Level 3 alert has been called. Additional forces are being sent into District 8, and all textile production has ceased.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
OH MY GOD WHAT??????<\/strong><\/p>\n
They cut away from the woman to the main square in District 8. I recognize it because I was only there last week. There are still banners with my face waving from the rooftops. Below them, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a mob scene. The square\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s packed with screaming people, their faces hidden with rags and homemade masks, throwing bricks. Buildings burn. Peacekeepers shoot into the crowd, killing at random.<\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never seen anything like it, but I can only be witnessing one thing. This is what President Snow calls an uprising.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jesus god up above, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening RIGHT NOW. We are barely getting to chapter 7 and THE UPRISING HAS ALREADY STARTED?<\/p>\n
Oh god, I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t prepared. Like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6the image of Katniss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face waving in the main square will people are dying is just horrendous.<\/p>\n
MUST KEEP READING. Brb.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the sixth chapter of Catching Fire, the effects of failing to convince President Snow of her romance with Peeta become much, much clearer to Katniss. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Catching Fire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,5],"tags":[32,28,24,27],"class_list":["post-111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catching-fire","category-hunger-games","tag-catching-fire-2","tag-katniss-everdeen","tag-mark-reads-the-hunger-games","tag-suzanne-collins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}