{"id":146,"date":"2011-01-13T07:00:35","date_gmt":"2011-01-13T15:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=146"},"modified":"2011-01-10T22:43:59","modified_gmt":"2011-01-11T06:43:59","slug":"mark-reads-catching-fire-chapter-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2011\/01\/mark-reads-catching-fire-chapter-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘Catching Fire’: Chapter 19"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the nineteenth chapter of Catching Fire<\/em>, Katniss enters a Hunger Games arena for the second time in her life, where she discovers that there is no end to the violent, sadistic imagination of the Gamemakers. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Catching Fire<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I think Collins is aware that she is retreading the same ground as The Hunger Games<\/em>, because she tries wonderfully at making sure this all has a new dynamic and a fresh context. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s immediately different is the pace of this all. I suppose that goes for the entire book and not just chapter 19, which is the beginning of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Part III, The Enemy.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no slow, dramatic build up like last time. Katniss is thrust into the arena immediately after watching Cinna get beat into unconsciousness.<\/p>\n

Where are you?<\/em> I can still make no sense of my surroundings. Where are you?!<\/em> I demand an answer from myself and slowly the world comes into focus. Blue water. Pink sky. White-hot sun beating down. All right, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the Cornucopia, the shining gold metal horn, about forty yards away. At first, it appears to be sitting to be sitting on a circular island. But on closer examination, I see thin strips of land radiating from the circle like the spokes on a wheel. I think there are ten twelve, and they seem equidistant from one another. Between the spokes, all is water. Water and a pair of tributes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I DIDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T EVEN KNOW THIS WAS POSSIBLE. Though, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a silly thought. The Gamemakers can do whatever they want. But an arena that opens completely in water? Forcing them to swim right off the bat is totally scary. What if you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t swim? Are tributes going to drown in the rush to the Cornucopia?<\/p>\n
Katniss tastes a drop of the water and figures it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just saltwater and when the gong sounds, she wastes no time heading straight for the Cornucopia. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what completely weirded me out, though:<\/p>\n
I pull myself, dripping, onto the land strip and sprint down the sandy stretch for the Cornucopia. I can see no one else converging from my side, although the gold horn blocks a good portion of my view. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let the thought of adversaries slow me down, though. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thinking like a Career now, and the first thing I want is to get my hands on a weapon.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to be a mad dash like the year before, in part because of the water, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also weird based on the fact that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still clinging to the idea that there are going to be tributes who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t play the Games like they should be played.<\/p>\n
The first true example of this is Finnick, who is the second person to arrive at the Cornucopia. After exchanging a few words and briefly commenting on the arena, both of them poised to attack each other, Finnick states, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Lucky thing we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re allies. Right?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Sensing a trap, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m about to let my arrow fly, hoping it finds his heart before the trident impales me, when he shifts his hand and something on his wrist catches the sunlight. A solid-gold bangle patterned with flames. The same one I remember on Haymitch\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wrist the morning I began training. I briefly consider that Finnick could have stolen it to trick me, but somehow I know this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the case. Haymitch gave it to him. As a signal to me. An order, really. To trust Finnick.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So now Katniss has an ally. Did Haymitch speak with Finnick? Why did he arrange to do this beforehand? There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no real point to thinking about this, though, because Finnick instantly proves that he means it.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Duck!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Finnick commands in such a powerful voice, so different from his usual seductive purr, that I do. His trident goes whizzing over my head and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a sickening sound of impact as it finds its target. The man from District 5, the drunk who threw up on the sword-fighting floor, sinks to his knees as Finnick frees the trident from his chest. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t trust One and Two,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Finnick says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Well, the first person has died at the hands of Finnick. Just like that. The two of them discover there is nothing but weapons at the Cornucopia. After grabbing a few, Katniss shoots an arrow at Enobaria and misses, but manages to put one into Gloss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s calf. When Finnick calls out that Brutus is about to attack, Katniss fires an arrow at him.<\/p>\n
I shoot at him and he manages to block the arrow with his belt before it can skewer his liver. Where it punctures the belt, a purple liquid spews forth, coating his face.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Ok, I want to know what is in these belts. Now.<\/p>\n
Katniss notices that Peeta is STILL ON HIS METAL PLATE. Well, apparently he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t swim, so, again, proving that his ally-status is very real (for the time being), he actually goes after him. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talk about Mags, though:<\/p>\n
A quick survey of the rest of the arena shows that most of the tributes are still trapped on their plates. Wait, no, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s someone standing on the spoke to my lfet, the one opposite Peeta. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Mags. But she neither heads for the Cornucopia nor tries to flee. Instead she splashes into the water and starts paddling toward me, her gray head bobbing above the waves. Well, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s old, but I guess after eighty years of living in District 4 she can keep afloat.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
MAGS FOR PRESIDENT. Oh my god, I love her. I have a feeling we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see a lot more of her living inside the world in her head and loving her forever. I mean, as Katniss points out, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the best person to make fishhooks. SHE IS THE VERY BEST ALLY POSSIBLE.<\/p>\n
With one hand he reaches into the water and scoops out Mags like she weighs no more than a puppy. She makes some remark that I think includes the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bob,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d then pats her belt.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Look, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right. Someone figured it out.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Finnick points to Beetee. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s flailing around in the waves but managing to keep his head above water.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I say.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The belts. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re flotation devices,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Finnick. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I mean, you have to propel yourself, but they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll keep you from drowning.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Ahhh! That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty neat, but does that mean this is going to work against Brutus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s advantage, since he now lost the belt? I suppose not, since it seems he was able to swim to the Cornucopia.<\/p>\n
The four of them (Katpee, Finnick, and Mags) head out into the arena, where we learn that the giant body of water is just one part of the place. I imagine it might have all ended too<\/em> quickly if the entire arena was water and the Gamemakers want it to last a good amount of time, right?<\/p>\n
A good portion of the arena is a jungle, which is a foreign concept to Katniss, who would have never seen one in District 12. They move quickly through the jungle and they even go a mile before resting. Oh, and Finnick is CARRYING MAGS THE ENTIRE TIME. BAMF FOREVER.<\/p>\n
Katniss takes the time to climb a tree to get a better view of the arena:<\/p>\n
Around the Cornucopia, the ground appears to be bleeding; the water has purple stains. Bodies lie on the ground and float in the sea, but at this distance, with everyone dressed exactly the same, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tell who lives or dies. All I can tell is that some of the tiny blue figures still battle. Well, what did I think? That the victors\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 chain of locked hands last night would result in some sort of universal truce in the arena? No, I never believed that. But I guess I had hoped people might show som\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.what? Restraint? Reluctance, at least. Before they jumped right into massacre mode. And you all knew each other<\/em>, I think. You acted like friends<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Ha, I sort of feel Collins wrote this section specifically for my brain. I mean, how many times so far have I mentioned that I felt that the tributes would act against the normal rules of the Games? I feel a bit embarrassed. I suppose it was a bit foolish of me to expect that everyone would just start an uprising in an arena designed to murder people. If there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s any place where I should expect people to play by the rules, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in the arena.<\/p>\n
Finnick is much more perceptive than I am:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Because whatever happened in the past is in the past. And no one in this arena was a victor by chance.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He eyes Peeta for a moment. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Except maybe Peeta.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Oh shit, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good point. Is Peeta the only<\/em> victor who never killed anyone? Katniss, realizing this, suddenly is inspired to kill Finnick, right then and there, because, as she puts it, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The people in this arena weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t crowned for their compassion.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She weights the risks, but Peeta unknowingly blocks her from doing so, and it causes her to think that maybe she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s being too premature. He has<\/em> been doing some good for them, so maybe she can use him in the future.<\/p>\n
But this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the Hunger Games without some shockingly violent plot twists. As they come to the crest of a hill, Katniss hopes that there will be something on the other side to drink.<\/p>\n
But there is no other side. I know this before anyone else, even though I am farthest from the top. My eyes catch on a funny, rippling square hanging like a warped pane of glass in the air. At first I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the glare from the sun or the heat shimmering up off the ground. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fixed in space, not shifting when I move. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s when I connect the square with Wiress and Beetee in the Training Center and realize what lies before us. My warning cry is just reaching my lips when Peeta\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s knife swings out to slash away some vines.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Holy shit, they found the edge of the arena already? I figured this wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t happen until much, much later. Also PEETA WATCH OUT.<\/p>\n
There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a sharp zapping sound. For an instant, the trees are gone and I see open space over a short stretch of bare earth. Then Peeta\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s flung back from the force field, bringing Finnick and Mags to the ground.<\/p>\n
I rush over to where he lies, motionless in a web of vines. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Peeta?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a faint smell of singed hair. I call his name again, giving him a little shake, but he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unresponsive. My fingers fumble across his lips, where there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no warm breath although moments ago he was panting. I press my ear against his chest, to the spot where I always rest my head, where I know I will hear the strong and steady beat of his heart.<\/p>\n
Instead, I find silence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
No. No, you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do that. The Games just started. Are you seriously killing him off right now? <\/em>Oh my god, what the fuck. \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the nineteenth chapter of Catching Fire, Katniss enters a Hunger Games arena for the second time in her life, where she discovers that there is no end to the violent, sadistic imagination of the Gamemakers. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/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":[32,28,33,24,27],"class_list":["post-146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catching-fire","category-hunger-games","tag-catching-fire-2","tag-katniss-everdeen","tag-mark-reads-catching-fire","tag-mark-reads-the-hunger-games","tag-suzanne-collins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146","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=146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}