Mark Reads ‘Mockingjay’: Chapter 16

In the sixteenth chapter of Mockingjay, we learn what happened to Katniss after the shocking end to chapter fifteen. Then there’s a wonderful wedding and a surprise from Haymitch. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Mockingjay.

Well, that was certainly unexpected, wasn’t it? I’ve said more times than I can count that I love when authors/writers are willing to take huge risks with their characters and Collins might be one of the most brutal of those. How many people has she killed off? How many times had Katniss gotten hurt? I can’t count that either. But goddamn, I love that Collins is not afraid to make this realer and realer and realer.

After waking from yet another drug-induced sleep session (I don’t know if this counts as a “stupor” or a “coma” or whatever, but man, District 13 really loves giving people drugs), Katniss discovers that the one and only Johanna Mason is up and out of bed. Oh, Johanna, you are so ~fierce~. And kind of rude, but we’ll get to that.

“I’m alive,” I say rustily.

“No kidding, brainless.” Johanna walks over and plunks down on my bed, sending spikes of pain shooting across my chest. When she grins at my discomfort, I know we’re not in for some warm reunion scene. “Still a little sore?” With an expert hand, she quickly detaches the morphling drip from my arm and plugs it into a socket taped into the crook of her own. “They started cutting back my supply a few days ago. Afraid I’m going to turn into one of those freaks from Six. I’ve had to borrow from you when the coast was clear. Didn’t think you’d mind.”

And so Johanna sets the stage with ferocity and awkwardness. Katniss makes a point to acknowledge that Johanna has suffered far more than she because of the Quarter Quell, and I’m glad she does. I think this would have turned out far worse had she fought Johanna on this. Still, Johanna is reveling in the chance to rub this in Katniss’s face.

“They’ve got this head doctor who comes around every day. Supposed to be helping me recover. Like some guy who’s spent his life in this rabbit warren’s going to fix me up. Complete idiot. At least twenty times a session he reminds me that I’m totally safe.” I manage a smile. It’s a truly stupid thing to say, especially to a victor. As if such a state of being ever existed, anywhere, for anyone. “How about you, Mockingjay? You feel totally safe?”

“Oh, yeah. Right up until I got shot,” I say.

“Please. That bullet never even touched you. Cinna saw to that,” she says.

I began to quickly ascertain a more subtle reason that Collins may have had for this section: to remind us that no matter how bad Katniss has it, there are people who got it far worse from the Capitol. Hell, I think most of this chapter is a reminder not to idolize people, not to assume that everything is puppies and rainbows, not to assume perfection, not to get caught up in the moment and ignore context and history. (And yes, that applies to me, too.)

For Katniss, being the Mockingjay is difficult and terrible a lot of the time, but Johanna makes sure to point out that there are benefits to it.

“The impact ruptured your spleen. They couldn’t repair it.” She gives a dismissive wave of her hand. “Don’t worry, you don’t need one. And if you did, they’d find you one, wouldn’t they? It’s everybody’s job to keep you alive.”

“Is that why you hate me?” I ask.

“Partly,” she admits. “Jealousy is certainly involved. I also think you’re a little hard-to-swallow. With your tacky romantic drama and your defender-of-the-helpless act. Only it isn’t an act, which makes you more unbearable. Please feel free to take this personally.”

Holy shit, SICK BURN, BRO. No, but seriously, I know it must be hard for Katniss to hear it, but she has to realize that she has a team of people ready to defend her to the death. Johanna suffered alone in the Capitol. Johanna suffered alone in the Capitol for Katniss and the rebellion. That isn’t meant to diminish Katniss’s experience, but she has to realize that she is protected in ways other citizens can only dream of.

To continue the theme of EVERYTHING IS DIFFICULT AND EXISTS IN A GRAY AREA, Collins wastes no time having Gale and Katniss confront each other about the events in District 2. Their philosophical strife is interesting to me because of the context of their experiences: both are the victims of violent oppression, yet Katniss has experienced the arena twice. She’s been forced into a situation where she has had to kill people herself. I think that perspective makes all the difference, though it’s still not a clear-cut situation at all.

Gale is fairly quick to justify the attacks in a simplistic way: attacking those people in the Nut was the same as shooting the hoverplanes out of the sky. The ends are identical, the means are what differ.

“I don’t know. We were under attack un Eight, for one thing. The hospital was under attack,” I say.

“Yes, and those hoverplanes came from District Two,” he says. “So, by taking them out, we prevented further attacks.”

“But that kind of thinking…you could turn it into an argument for killing anyone at any time. You could justify sending kids into the Hunger Games to prevent the districts from getting out of line,” I say.

It’s not a bad point, really. Gale’s reasoning does create a sort of slippery slope. If the goal is to prevent further attacks with pre-emptive strikes, doesn’t it stand to reason that you could justify virtually anything as long as that’s the end result?

THIS IS ALL SO COMPLICATED, THANK YOU FOR WRITING IT THIS WAY, COLLINS.

“Fine. We know how to disagree,” he says. “We always have. Maybe it’s good. Between you and me, we’ve got District Two now.”

Well, that certainly makes this situation even harder. So Gale’s planned worked. WERE HIS ACTIONS JUSTIFIED?

“Was there fighting after I was shot?”

“Not much. The workers from the Nut turned on the Capitol soldiers. The rebels just sat by and watched,” he says. “Actually, the whole country just sat by and watched.”

GODDAMN IT. Not only did it work, but it appears those in District 2 genuinely switched sides. UGH THIS IS SO HARD.

Plutarch certainly doesn’t make things much clearer, though he does provide some historical context to the Capitol and its brand of tyranny. With the Capitol cut off from all of the districts, it’s not going to be long before they can no longer sustain themselves. “…all they’ve known is Panem et Circenses,” he tells Katniss.

“It’s a saying from thousands of years ago, written in a language called Latin about a place called Rome,” he explains. “Panem et Circenses translates into ‘Bread and Circuses.’ The writer was saying that in return for full bellies and entertainment, his people had given up their political responsibilities and therefore their power.”

It’s heavy-handed, sure, but it’s still a powerful representation of how hunger and poverty work into the system that the Capitol designed. How the privileged lived with full bellies and created a form of entertainment that exploits that very dichotomy between power and hunger.

On to much lighter things. FINALLY. Like Katniss, when Plutarch announced that the next propos would be a wedding, I, too, thought he meant between Katniss and Peeta and my instant reaction was NO NO NO NO WHAT NO THAT IS AN AWFUL IDEA. Instead, Plutarch’s idea is to marry Finnick and Annie and THIS IS A FANTASTIC IDEA. I’ve been begging for a momentary reprieve from all the depression and awfulness and Collins finally gives us a scene deserving of quite a few smiles. The thing that’s so refreshing about the wedding is that the entirety of District 13 transforms from the drab and dark place we’ve come to be familiar with to something magical and hopeful. Hopeful. God, I haven’t typed that word in any of these reviews in this context. I feel hope for the first time, that despite all of the deaths and Peeta’s condition, there is something at the end of this that will make it all worth it.

There’s something evocative and poetic about Finnick and Annie being dressed in the leftover outfits of Peeta and Katniss, outfits that Cinna designed long ago. I can’t imagine knowing that Cinna is rumored to have been killed and having to see his work on other people, but Katniss appreciates that they’re finally being used for something beautiful and brimming with love.

And beyond being a propo, the wedding is a chance for District 13 to feel again, to smile and dance and cheer and believe in things like love and friendship. The world is crumbling down around them and it’s hard to think of anything else. The few hours they get to put those concerns aside are some of the most emotional in the entire book.

Plus, who knew those in Distrcit 12 could dance?

Dancing transforms us. We teach the steps to the District 13 guests. Insist on a special number for the bride and groom. Join hands and make a giant, spinning circle where people show off their footwork. Nothing silly, joyful, or fun has happened in so long. This could go on all night for the last event planned in Plutarch’s propo. One I hadn’t heard about, but then it was meant to be a surprise.

WELL, GREAT. Moment ruined! But wait…ruined by cake? Is that possible?

As surely as the embroidery stitches in Annie’s gown were done by Cinna’s hand, the frosted flowers on the cake were done by Peeta’s.

This may seem like a small thing, but it speaks volumes. Haymitch has been keeping a great deal from me.

OH. MY. GOD. Peeta is well enough to FROST A GODDAMN CAKE.

Haymitch says he did it under guard, but that he was actually able to have a conversation with him without trying to hurt him.

“Pretty angry with me, but for all the right reasons. Not telling him about the rebel plot and whatnot.” Haymitch pauses a moment, as if deciding something. “He says he’d like to see you.”

THIS IS WHAT I AM DOING RIGHT NOW!!!!!!

oh my god oh my god PEETA HAS MADE PROGRESS I AM SO EXCITE. EXCITE FOREVER.

I’m on a frosting sailboat, tossed around by blue-green waves, the deck shifting beneath my feet.

HAHAHA I’M SORRY BUT FROSTING SAILBOAT. That is one of the most unintentionally hilarious lines I have ever heard.

Ok, but seriously, Katniss isn’t necessarily as excited as I am, because she’d resolved to write Peeta off forever, expecting him not to heal. Annnnnnddd she’s already sort of chosen Gale in a way and now Peeta is getting better? DRAMA AHEAD, FOLKS.

To say that Katniss and Peeta’s first real conversation did not go as expected is an understatement. Collins uses this moment not to create a portrait of unicorn butterflies and puppy dog pillow cases. Instead, Peeta’s conversation is so brutal, biting, and vicious…and acts as mirror to what Katniss has done. That’s not to say that everything he says is correct or that some of what he says isn’t really fucked up. But I think Katniss went into this conversation and forgot what Peeta went through while in the hands of the Capitol.

“You’re not very big, are you? Or particularly pretty?”

I know he’s been through hell and back, and yet somehow the observation rubs me the wrong way. “Well, you’ve looked better.”

Haymitch’s advice to back off gets muffled by Peeta’s laughter. “And not even remotely nice. To say that to me after all I’ve been through.”

KATNISS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING. Oh god, THAT IS A HORRIBLE START TO THIS CONVERSATION. Realizing that she’s already messed this up, she tells Peeta that she’s going to leave and come back the next day, but Peeta stops her as she is at the door.

“Katniss, I remember about the bread.”

WHAT. WHAT. THIS IS A DEVELOPMENT, RIGHT?

Are you ready for the H.M.S. Sad to come crashing into your Glacier of Despair? Nope. No, you are not.

“We were outside at the end of the day. I tried to catch your eye. You looked away. And then…for some reason, I think you picked a dandelion.” I nod. He does remember. I have never spoken about that moment aloud. “I must have loved you a lot.”

OH MY CREYS WHAT THE FUCK. He literally cannot remember being in love with Katniss can you hear my heart shattering from where you are

“And did you love me?” he asks.

I keep my eyes on the tiled floor. “Everyone says I did. Everyone says that’s why Snow had you tortured. To break me.”

WHY ARE YOU SAYING IT LIKE THIS oh my god this is a disaster.

“That’s not an answer,” he tells me. “I don’t know what to think when they show me some of the tapes. In that first arena, it looked like you tried to kill me with those tracker jackers.”

And now the real shit begins. Peeta, having his memories stolen and altered, can now watch footage from The Hunger Games and see how Katniss was unsure of her feelings, how she “faked” being in love, and he can take those moments out of context and use them against her. Fucked. Up.

“What about Gale?” he continues.

My anger’s returning. I don’t care about his recovery—this isn’t the business of the people behind the glass. “He’s not a bad kisser either,” I say shortly.

SHIP IS SINKING SHIP IS SINKING ABORT ABORT ABORT

“And it was okay with both of us? You kissing the other?” he asks.

“No. It wasn’t okay with either of you. But I wasn’t asking your permission,” I tell him.

Peeta laughs again, coldly, dismissively. “Well, you’re a piece of work, aren’t you?”

SHIP SUNK NO SURVIVORS. This could not have been anymore of a disaster.

All those months of taking it for granted that Peeta thought I was wonderful are over. Finally, he can see me for who I really am. Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly.

I don’t know. Part of me thinks Katniss is being way too hard on herself, given the context. But I also know that her actions may have been damaging to both Peeta and Gale and possibly disrespectful, too.

I’d like to avoid wandering into a problematic discussion and recuse myself from talking about how women should relate to men and whatnot, but I’m curious to know: Do you think Katniss has been too hard on herself or is what Peeta said a valid complaint?

About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
This entry was posted in Mockingjay, The Hunger Games and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

238 Responses to Mark Reads ‘Mockingjay’: Chapter 16

  1. daniellekittens says:

    finally a mostly happy chapter!

    I love finnick and annie so much!

  2. bell_erin_a says:

    OMG Johanna you are ~fierce~. And kinda mean, but I really have no room to speak, since I'm pretty mean and sarcastic some of the time myself…

    Another roller coaster chapter, wow. I'm happy to see Johanna, then really confused (and still upset) about what happened in D2, if the results justified the actions, etc., and then FINNICK AND ANNIE YAY! 😀

    And then everything gets sad again. It's really interesting to see how Peeta can now see Katniss's actions in the first of their Games without his feelings for her. Alright, it's really terrible and sad, too. Again, there's a lot of gray area here. Katniss wasn't necessarily aiming for Peeta with the tracker jacker nest, but she wasn't trying to save him, either. She was trying to save herself, just like everyone else in the arena with the exception of Peeta–until the rules changed. Had the rules not changed, of course everything would have been different, but Katniss wouldn't have had to pretend, I don't think. She has been manipulative, but I would argue most of it was justified in the context of self-defense. I'm not even sure how much of the ~star-crossed lovers~ angle was suggested by Haymitch in the first place. Would Peeta have brought it up in his interview if it weren't his strategy? And Peeta got mad at her towards the end of the first book for "faking it," but I guess you could say they more or less worked that out, AND Katniss and Haymitch made a plan that Peeta was going to be the one to get out (although even looking back now, I guess we really don't know if Haymitch meant to keep that promise, meant to keep the one he made with Peeta, or if everything just went to hell because of the plan to bust out of the arena…). Has Peeta seen footage from the Quell? Finnick didn't think Katniss cared for Peeta until she freaked out after he not-died, so maybe that would be a good thing to show him, now that she's realized she does have feelings for him. So I'm not really sure what all I've just typed out, but. I do think Katniss has been manipulative, but she is also being a bit too hard on herself. Poor girl's been through a lot (actually, I don't know why I'm only putting this here now, but I would argue that the Capitol has forced her hand in much of the deception), and how many of us are hard on ourselves for much more minor things that don't matter? I know I am.
    She could still be a bit nicer to Peeta, though, at least for me, because this hurts my poor heart.

    • peetniss says:

      i totally agree. she could've been nicer and the fact that people were watching behind the glass is a poor excuse. all of panem was watching you make out for TWO hunger games. and now you're suddenly aware of people watching you? especially knowing what peeta has suffered recently! katniss deciding to go in for the kill was very harsh.

      i can't imagine it was harsh for katniss to hear the truth – that she lied about her feelings during the first games. she already acknowledged that. but i suppose it was a bit heart breaking to know he didn't love her anymore. still, considering how she seems to forsake her feelings often times for the other person, i find her behavior bang-out-of-line. she wound up hurting both of them.

      that said, perhaps it really is memory loss but if peeta does remember anything, he will realize that it WAS an act on katniss' part. therefore, her kissing anyone really isn't any sort of betrayal.

      this is such a mess.

  3. Andrew says:

    I love that Panem translates into the word 'Bread'. It never occurred to me before that it could mean something, but after all the symbolism and importance of the bread throughout the books, I think it feels very appropriate.

    • Katarina says:

      Before this chapter, I always assumed it was a shortened form of Panamerica – i.e. that the country covered the whole Americas or at least the whole Northern continent.

      • knut_knut says:

        oooo! I never thought of that! Maybe it's a mix of both? (As in, Collins chose it because of both those reasons, not she meshed Panem and Panamerica to make Panem…that makes no sense)

    • theanagrace says:

      I had spent the whole time up until then thinking it was some sort of word to imply the country spanned the whole continent or remaining world, taken from pandemic. The connotations of comparing the Capitol to a widespread disease was what I liked. But when Plutarch explained it, I was like "Ohhhhh, okay, that's kinda cool."

    • Maggie says:

      THIS. I don't think this little fact gets much attention. But being that it's the Hunger games and as you say, the importance and symbolism of bread, that's pretty significant. I spent the first two books wondering why she chose Panem and now she reveals it. I suppose if I knew Latin, I could have figured that out sooner though!

  4. cait0716 says:

    I love the wedding scene so much. Such a great little bright spot in the middle of all the horror and despair. And the dancing! As V tells us: "A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having".

    I agree that the bit about Panem et Circenses is a bit heavy handed. But at the same time, I wouldn't have picked up on it at all by myself if I hadn't been reading Hunger Games along with these reviews and looked it up on Wikipedia because of your very first HG review. So I certainly appreciate the background information being in the book.

    Also, I <3 the Despicable Me gif. Such a cute movie.

  5. stellaaaaakris says:

    Fannie is now married! They're an official portmanteau-y couple, sailing off into the sunset on a frosting cake! I would totally find a way to sneak into their wedding ceremony.

    The ceremony and reception actually seemed like a really fun time. I'm one of those people who like to dance whenever an occasion gives me an excuse, so I really enjoyed this bit. When was the last time we had a scene in this trilogy that was as pure, uplifting, and just plain happy as this one? The only times I can think of are when Katpee are becoming friends again in CF and when Finnick and Katniss wake up Peeta by staring over him, but those don't have the same level of hope as this one. Collins, can we just enjoy this feeling for the rest of the chapter? No, of course not.

    Seeing Peeta in this state hurts. He's almost himself, but he's still so fundamentally different from the boy with the bread that I adore from the past two books. Oh, Katniss. *hugs* It must suck to be in her position. No one likes to have their faults spelled out so clearly. Peeta obviously knew her faults before; it's not as if she tried to hide them. But he doesn't have the love goggles that let him appreciate or at least tolerate her flaws anymore. 🙁 His certainty that she was a good person meant so much to her and now that he's no longer in a terrorized state, he seems rational and is convinced of his lucidity and he still doesn't think she's human or worth anything. How that must hurt. He was one of the people who truly made her special, and she most certainly loved him in some capacity, though she chose the most terrible way to tell him.

    Where is that pearl? Go give it to him. Clearly it has healing powers and I'm willing to accept that at this point if it will fix him.

  6. aurorabora says:

    Okay, can we talk about how "He frosted under heavy guard" is maybe the BEST LINE OF ANY BOOK EVER? PEETA ILU.

    And Finnick and Annie make me all <3 <3 <3 <3

    • Baz says:

      And what was it from HG? "Frosting, the last defense of the dying" or something like that. Clearly, frosting is magical and life-saving and the best part of every cake.

  7. pennylane27 says:

    I think it's a bit of both. Katniss is being hard on herself. I mean, Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly. COME ON. She may be all those things, but that's not all she is. She did what she did out of mostly the right reasons or her own survival, as well as Peeta's and those she loved.

    And yet, it is kind of wrong to be kissing two people, but you can't really expect her to be that considerate when she has so much to worry about. Like when she kissed Peeta during the Quarter Quell, she thought she was going to die, she wanted to die, she had left Gale behind, so then she was free.

    What is really wrong is for Katniss to be so brutal to Peeta. It's not his fault, is it? Or maybe that will help him? I don't know.

    On to happier notes. FINNICK AND ANNIE ALL THE HAPPINESS EVER
    And they dance! Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I imagine a typical southern dance, with people in lines and a lot of fiddle. I LOVE IT.

    • Frianna says:

      Yeah, I think too that Katniss is being a bit hard on herself. 'Cause, well, her personality doesn't have ONLY flaws 😀 But I think I even like Peeta more now that he can see Katniss's flaws also. To me he was a little to perfect in the beginning. I love to see him make progress 🙂

  8. daniellekittens says:

    also on the katpee drama I think its a kind of gray area because she isn’t technically cheating on him, which would be completely unexcusable and imo unfogivable! but how could she not realize how switching back and forth would make them feel? and I get that she’s still making her choice but I really think she could do it without all the physical affection she gives both of them who are both sort of…waiting for her?
    and I think what she says about just like always assuming peeta would think she’s wonderful and amazing and love her was right too. and I know he doesn’t right now because of his torture but eventually if she keeps playing this game there’s no reason for him not to feel like gale about it, you know?
    idk I hope this ramble makes sense!

  9. Arione says:

    I think I love that of all three of them, Katniss seems the least interested in the romantic aspect of their love triangle. Yes she is complicit, but she has always made it clear that she has bigger priorities than deciding who her true love is… It does make her seem a little callous, but then again she has always been open about the fact.that she cares very much about both of them, and neither of the boys has really engaged with her about romance in a non-emotionally manipulative way. It’s a very difficult situation, all three are complicit, and have various aspects of dependence on eachother (co dependence scares me a little.) Katniss (perhaps because we’re in her head) seems to be the most aware of the fact that their are bigger things going on. It seems in her nature to beat herself up, and the sudden loss of Peeta’s support is damaging.

    Can’t they all just be kind to one another?

  10. Julia says:

    I think Katniss is being too hard on herself, though I can totally understand her massive guilt trip. Being in the arena forced her to make a lot of hard decisions for her own survival – and for Peeta's. She dropped the tracker jackers before she could trust Peeta, and once she started pretending to be in love it she worked hard to keep BOTH of them fed and medicated and alive. Katniss was put in a bad situation. She definitely could have handled it better, but she could also have done a lot worse.

  11. monkeybutter says:

    Oh god, frosting sailboat AND the return of the dandelion? Collins, you just can't help yourself.

    Blowing up the hovercraft killed soldiers, sealing off the nut would have killed civilians and soldiers alike, so they're not exactly the same. And if they had gone through with Gale's plan instead of Boggs' alteration, the workers from the Nut wouldn't have been around to turn on the Capitol troops. I think this a good argument for minimizing death and destruction.

    Anyway, I'm tired of talking about the battle plans. I'm so happy for Finnick and Annie! I especially adore their woven net chuppah and the sea water. It's such a sweet scene!

    I think Katniss is being to hard on herself and Peeta is making a valid complaint. She's not a terrible person, but she has problems seeing her good attributes. And until his hijacking, Peeta has been pretty oblivious to Katniss's faults. I think some people have complained about how unrealistic or silly it is for him to love her despite not knowing anything about her, so this bit seems to be addressing that. He's been tortured into thinking that she's evil, so he's focusing on her negative characteristics. When he loved her (or was infatuated with her, whatever), he focused on the positive. His frame of mind shapes how he interprets Katniss's behavior.

    • Inessa says:

      I think in this sort of war, the definition of soldiers and civilians is blurred. The only real soldiers are the peace keepers. The rebels are all civilians turned into soldiers. The hovercrafts were bombing civilians and injured civilians at that. The people in the Nut were, for the most part, soldiers and people of district 2 who chose to sequestrate themselves in the Nut to fight alongside the soldiers, and against the rebels of district 2, and by extension, to fight in defence of the Capitol.

  12. bibliotrek says:

    I’m on a frosting sailboat

    SHE'S ON A BOAT

    <img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/qq23ja.jpg"&gt;

  13. lisra says:

    I can't seem to make a good comment today so I just say "SHIP SUNK NO SURVIVORS" was terribly funny to me.

    Otherwise.. while very unpleasant, apart from the wedding (YAAAAAY!), there's this now familiar Collins feeling that the next firestorm is about to commence.

    • theanagrace says:

      Yeah, it's like she sits you down, and brings you a cup of cocoa and a slice of wedding cake, and gives you a shoulder massage saying, "You're really tense, just sit back and relax, everything is shiny and pretty and nice," but the whole time, in the back of your head, you're just waiting for her to sucker-punch you right in the feelings.

      Oh Collins, you sneaky, sneaky woman.

  14. pennylane27 says:

    Also, all of this made me laugh. Thanks.

    Are you ready for the H.M.S. Sad to come crashing into your Glacier of Despair? Nope. No, you are not.

    SHIP IS SINKING SHIP IS SINKING ABORT ABORT ABORT

    SHIP SUNK NO SURVIVORS. This could not have been anymore of a disaster.

    Mark you are hilarious in a very not hilarious situation. ILU

    • zuzu says:

      It's funny that "ship" can refer to shipping too. Was that an intended pun? I'd like to think so.

    • Treasure Cat says:

      I was going to say the same thing, couldnt stop lol'ing during discussion of ~tension~ and ~sadness~. Methinks he has been a bit affected by Voyage of the Damned no? 😛

  15. Karen says:

    This chapter is like a roller coaster- so many ups and downs.It starts out with a bit of "aww…" as Katniss remembers what Peeta said to her that time she was sicks. "Stay with me.." "Always." And yet at the same time this is profoundly sad because that Peeta is lost to her.

    And we have that awkward conversation with Gale in the hallway. I AM STILL FIRMLY TEAM KATNISS, BTW. I don't buy into the "ends justify the means" mindset. I'm too idealistic, maybe. But whatever. I still don't like it.

    And then you have the happiness of Finnick and Annie's wedding.

    But then. THEN you have the utter hart break that is the conversation between Katniss and Peeta. Katniss has never really been good at reading people or situations and responding appropriately. That was Peeta's former area of expertise. That conversation didn't have to be the disaster that it ended up being. Like, if Katniss had actually verbalized her feelings for Peeta (which she's spent the first half of Mockingjay coming to terms with), I think the conversation would have gone in a different direction than it did when she said, "Everyone says I did. Everyone says that’s why Snow had you tortured. To break me." in response to Peeta asking if she loved him. WHY DID YOU DO THAT KATNISS? I know that it is vulnerable to admit your feelings, but by saying that other people thought you loved him, instead of actually saying that you love him, you're feeding into his belief that everything between you was a lie. GAAAAAH.

    "I don’t care about his recovery—this isn’t the business of the people behind the glass. “He’s not a bad kisser either,” I say shortly."
    Like I think that if this were a completely private conversation, things might have gone differently, but Katniss's awareness of the people watching alters her behavior. (Again we return to the theme of being watched and how the awareness of that affects you- seen also in the idea of the Hunger Games themselves, the role of stylists, and the propos that Katniss has to film for District 13.) Katniss is a private person. She's not going to admit to these strangers that she loved Peeta and was a wreck when he was gone and still held onto the pearl he gave her. Instead she distances herself from her emotions and says that other people said that she loved him.

    Katniss isn’t necessarily as excited as I am, because she’d resolved to write Peeta off forever, expecting him not to heal. Annnnnnddd she’s already sort of chosen Gale in a way and now Peeta is getting better?
    I don't know if it's fair to say that she's chosen Gale, so much as she's resigned herself to probably being with Gale because she doesn't ever expect Peeta to recover which is profoundly unfair to both Peeta and Gale.

  16. andreah1234 says:

    WAIT. Something else happened in this chapter other than FINNICK AND ANNIE BEING AWESOME AND JOHANNA!!!!!!!!!!?????…Oh yeah, our hearts were crushed in a million tiny pieces.

    And I do think Katniss was being too hard on herself. But after all of the horrible things Peeta told her I can't say I blame her. And PEEEEEETAAAA?!?!?!? Y R U SUCH A BASTARD!?!??!? I WANT MY PEETA NOW.

    AND JOHANNA YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I'VE MISSED JOHANNA. AND SHE'S JUST AS BITCHY AND FIERCE AS USUAL. I LOVE HER. BUTTERCUP MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE WHEN MAKING HER HIS SECOND IN COMMAND.

    The dancing thing was cool. It made me fell back in District 12 and all it's greatness. And Kat mocking (ha!) Snow by dancing and being happy with Prim? OWN.

    FINNICK IS FINALLY HAPPY!!!! WE SHALL ALL BE HAPPY. BE HAPPY I SAY

    • theupsides says:

      I agree that Peeta said horrible things–but he's not a bastard. I mean, his memories have been altered. He's been tortured. He's not himself. He's trying to put his life back together, piece by piece. I can't even imagine how scary that is.

      • cait0716 says:

        Also not a bastard because he knows who both of his parents are…

        I agree with your points.

      • andreah1234 says:

        Yeah,it probably wasn't my best word choice. And I know he's not himself, but that doesn't give him the right to be so rude and cold to Katniss. I think you explained it better that I did ^_^ . I still want MY Peeta though. Not this cold, blunt and not-so-nice Peeta.

        • Unpopular opinion: I giggled when you called him a bastard. SORRY I AM A TERRIBLE PERSON I KNOW!

          • andreah1234 says:

            YOU ARE NOT. THE SUPREME LORD OF EVERYTHING BUTTERCUP GIGGLED TOO. AND THEN STOPPED BECAUSE HE DOES NOT DO THAT.

            And now he might poop in MY bed for saying that. And I might feel honored. B)

  17. So let's start a band and call it Frosting Sailboat. Debut album: Waterfalls of Win.

    Hey, Mark, I met Dave Eggers last night. He's pretty cool.

  18. potlid007 says:

    In my opinion both Katniss and Peeta are at fault. I mean, Katniss is sort of toying with both his and Gale's emotions as she's trying to figure her shit out. It's a little unfair (and by a little I mean A LOT). Honestly, I just hate them both at the moment, but Peeta's situation is far more understandable than Katniss. She should know that nobody deserves to be toyed with, and instead of getting all angry and up in his BSNS she should be helping him, because that's what he would do for her. GAWD KATNISS BE A DECENT HUMAN BEING FOR ONCE.
    *rant over*
    <img src="http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb385/potlid007/tumblr_lc0mgrV2el1qa47c3.gif&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket">

    • theupsides says:

      I agree that normally, in their right minds, they are both at fault and responsible for this situation. But Peeta is not in his right mind. He's totally messed up and doesn't even know what's going on most of the time. So Katniss should have chilled out and been more understanding.

    • peetniss says:

      i think katniss is a decent human being often. i also feel that both are at fault.

      katniss hasn't been toying with them – i think willful intent would be needed for that. but i do think that despite having a revolution to worry about, she could have come to some decision regarding these guys. or totally thrown her hands up and said "no boys". but she doesn't. she just goes along with whatever's thrown at her. might be a reuslt of years of conditioning from the capitol "you have no control over anything so accept what we say to." idk

      but peeta is being an ass to call her out for kissing gale. by now he knows about they came up with the "strategy" of being in love used for the first games. the only excuse for his behavior would be if he doesn't remember the talks he and katniss had about her pretending all along. which i don't believe for a second. he knows.

  19. finnickodair says:

    Uhhh. Why must Collins curb-stomp my Fannie-wedding joy with Katpee fighting?

    And Katniss and Peeta are totally the Titanic, about to crash into a big-ass glacier. And I mean that on every level.

    • lebeaumonde says:

      Even the ass glacier part?
      Because that would be pretty cool.

      "Oh shit there's a glacier out there!"
      "Oh no what should we d– wait, is it just me, or does that look like an ass?"
      "Like a butt? OMG YES."
      *lolz until everyone dies*

  20. theupsides says:

    I think Katniss really messed up here.

    Peeta has just been tortured, had all his memories messed with, and doesn't know what to believe. He's seeing her for the first time again, and he has to re-evaluate everything he ever thought about her. So of course he says some things that she'd rather not hear. What does she expect? He is really struggling to understand! The poor boy. He would have never acted this way before. He never did act this way before. I think the things he says are valid, although he says them a little harshly, but that's due to his current condition.

    Katniss is being too hard on herself, but she should have realized how hard this is for Peeta. I know it's hard for her, too, and that seems to be what was preventing her from doing the right thing and helping him in this situation. I think the reality of his situation is also such a shock to her. She really does love Peeta, and how much he loved her, and to see that's changed is too much for her to handle. He was a constant for her, and now that's another thing that's been taken from her by The Capitol.

    Also, I don't think Katniss had chosen Gale at this point. She had given up hope of being with Peeta. She made out with Gale that one time because she was so sad. I think she had just decided to let Peeta go, that doesn't necessarily mean she was choosing Gale. She just couldn't hold on to Peeta anymore, it was hurting her too much.

  21. mugglemomof2 says:

    THIS IS ALL SO COMPLICATED, THANK YOU FOR WRITING IT THIS WAY, COLLINS.
    Yes it is. Isn't this the dilemma leaders everywhere face everyday? What actions are justified and what aren't?
    God I love this series!

    OH. MY. GOD. Peeta is well enough to FROST A GODDAMN CAKE.
    Where's my cake….I want a cake!

    FWIW- "Ship sinking, abort, abort"…..LMAO
    ___________

    My thoughts on your question: Of course Katniss is being too hard on herself. Yes, she has feeling for both of them but she has been honest about that (as much as she could with what she understood) from the beginning. We all have to remember- she is just a teenager! Part of growing up is the heartache and making mistakes!
    I think she acted like many teenage kids would act in this situation. All her actions (good and bad) being thrown at her and instead of handling Peeta with grace and finesse, she lashes out to make her points. Then regrets it.

  22. fizzybomb says:

    This is kinda off-topic, in that it doesn't have anything to do with this chapter, but here goes.
    (Pictures by Regendy)

    First, something in memory of dear old Cinna – always the voice of reason in a harsh and confusing world.

    <img src="http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/364/9/9/so_i_herd_u_liek_fires_by_regendy-d2zu3du.png"&gt;

    Yup, good old Cinna. 😉

    Okay, moving on.

    If you’ll recall, Cinna once mentioned fire-watching with Portia so they could get a feel for how they were going to do KatPee’s outfits. Let’s take a look into the creative process, shall we?

    <img src="http://th00.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2010/227/3/3/Research_Ki_Aag_by_Regendy.png"&gt;

    Rest in peace, you two.

  23. SusanBones says:

    Do you think Katniss has been too hard on herself or is what Peeta said a valid complaint?

    I didn't expect this scene to go this way, but I love that it did, because it feels so real. Peeta does have a valid complaint, in my opinion, because Katniss did pretend to love him during the games. She did a lot of acting back then, especially once she discovered that certain actions brought the little silver parachutes.

    And Katniss, to her credit, isn't trying to sugar-coat things, either. And she certainly isn't trying to treat Peeta like a fragile patient, either. I don't know if it helps Peeta or not to hear her tell the brutal truth, but further lies would have been worse. But I do think that Katniss is being too hard on herself. She really didn't know if she loved him.

    I loved Joanna in the hospital. She is such an interesting character. Her reappearance makes the story so much more colorful. Thank goodness Collins brought her in.

    One of the things that really struck me about the wedding was that district 13 didn't know how to have a good time. The comparison with 12 was very interesting. It almost makes 12 look like the better place to have lived than 13.

  24. leenwitit says:

    I think Katniss didn't know how to react and reacted in the way that I probably would have (which is not to say that reaction was appropriate). But you come in and see this person who was basically dead to you and you have no idea how to interact with him. And he starts off by completely crushing any hope you might have left of the person he once was coming back to love you and appreciate you and make you feel like you are a good person. Because let's face it, Peeta is one of the only people in this series besides maybe Prim who tries to make Katniss feel like she is a good person.

    So she gets immediately defensive because emotions are already high. And it is not like Katniss to sugarcoat anything for anyone. As we have seen time and again, she is horrible at being anybody but herself. And then Peeta comes out with all this stuff. And it's hard to take, especially from someone who once loved you and was once this wonderful person. I mean, when you are in love with someone, it is so easy to overlook their faults and/or fold them into a coherent picture of the person you love. But considering what Peeta has gone through, there is no desire or framework anymore for justifying/excusing/accepting/loving her faults. He just sees them and brings them out.

    I do think Katniss is being a little hard on herself. But I mean, I would be too. After hearing all those things from one of the only people left who thinks you're a good person. To hear those things when you are already questioning what kind of person you are is awful. Maybe she is manipulative at times, but none of those attributes she mentioned define her. They are only part of who she is as a person and those traits come out in circumstances where they help her to survive.

    Anyway, those are my thoughts. Poor Katpee. YAY ANNIE AND FINNICK I LOVE YOU FOREVER.

  25. zuzu says:

    What's that Collins? We can have nice things?
    FANNIE WEDDING??!!!
    PEETA CAKE???!!
    YAY!!!
    Oh… it comes with Peeniss fighting? *sigh*shrug* I'll take it.
    ~COMPROMISE~

  26. fizzybomb says:

    Oooo, right, this is the chapter where Katniss goes back to D12 with Annie. In that case, have this absurdly cheerful (considering the tone of this book) fanart.

    <img src="http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2011/034/0/1/chibi_comic__dress_up_by_regendy-d38or7d.png"&gt;

    (It's from here.)

  27. bendemolena says:

    “No. It wasn’t okay with either of you. But I wasn’t asking your permission,” I tell him.

    THREE SNAPS IN A Z FORMATION ON THE ASTRAL PLANE!

    No, for real though. FINALLY Katniss isn't talking about doing something because she had to or didn't have to, or because she owed anyone anything or had to save anyone's life. I don't know, I love this line so much.

    And Johanna.. &lt;3

    • erin says:

      DAMN STRAIGHT. I love this line! You go, Katniss!

    • attack_womb says:

      YES. THIS.

      seriously – way to own your sexuality, katniss! i like this, it acknowledges that she has agency, without discounting that she is also human, flawed and conflicted and that her choices impact others. i like that she isn't doing the typical girl thing of putting others before herself though. good on ya, K!

  28. shortstack930 says:

    I think Peeta's complaint is somewhat valid. He definitely has a right to call Katniss out on the whole messing with two guys' feelings at once thing. Even though Katniss really hasn't been invested in romance, she still kissed both of them and entertained the idea of being with each of them. During the first Games she was concerned with saving herself and protecting her family so Peeta can't really call her manipulative in that respect. But I can definitely see where he's coming from given the situation and what he's been through at the Capitol. I also think Katniss is being a little bit hard on herself too. After everything she has gone through also she didn't really want to deal with the whole love triangle business and frankly, who can blame her?

  29. shortstack930 says:

    Also, I'm glad Johanna is back and it was interesting to see her give Katniss a little reality check. Even though Katniss has gone through hell she has at least had people on her side trying to keep her alive. Poor Johanna was all alone at the Capitol being tortured and the only reason she was rescued is because they were going there to rescue Peeta anyway. Yet she was still willing to risk everything and die for Katniss and the rebel cause, which really says something about her character.

    And Finnick and Annie's wedding was so wonderful. It was so great to finally have a happy moment that gave everyone hope, even if (knowing Collins) it is probably short lived.

    • L_Swann says:

      "Poor Johanna was all alone at the Capitol being tortured and the only reason she was rescued is because they were going there to rescue Peeta anyway."

      …and the only reason they were going to rescue Peeta is because Katniss couldn't function unless he was out of Snow's reach. I mean, Katniss was sad about Peeta not being there and always wanted him back, but it wasn't until Katniss could no longer function as a Mockingjay that D13 decided, hey, let's go get him. If they'd just gone and got him to begin with, the whole trackerjacker thing could have been avoided. SEE D13 YOUR SELFISHNESS GOT YOU IN TROUBLE.

  30. Do I think I think Peeta has a valid complaint? Sort of, because Katniss could have handled her situation a lot better then she did. But likewise, I also think Katniss is being a bit hard on herself. Honestly this was one of those things where everyone (with maybe the exception of Peeta) sort of handled things badly. At least Katniss is acknowledging she messed up though which is a nice change. Usually in these YA love triangles no one acknowledges that maybe the female/male in the center shouldn't have been kissing two people.

  31. ldwy says:

    Written out while I was reading. <span class="idc-smiley"><span style="background-position: 0pt 0pt;"><span>:) </span></span></span>

    What a sad memory. I was surprised to find it wasn't the man in the square, that it was someone from more far off. That sort of makes sense. Even then, though, how is Katniss alive? I guess the medics must have moved fast. Ahhh, I see, she had on AMAZING CINNA ARMOR yesssssss. But oh my god, a ruptured spleen? I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

    I'm so glad Johanna is back. But I feel so terrible for her. I'm more and more amazed as I read that anyone in this book (at least our main character buddies) is functioning at all. I like that it's Johanna, the fearsome one that Katniss has always been wary of, who is the one to explain to Katniss that she's not just a symbol, the people of the Capitol are afraid of her and what actions she can do/inspire.

    I really love this exchange:

    "You've got to stop running straight into trouble."
    "I know. But someone blew up a mountain," I answer.
    Instead of pulling back, he leans in closer, searching my face. "You think I'm heartless."
    "I know you're not. But I won't tell you it's okay," I say.

    I feel like back in the beginning of The Hunger Games, even before Katniss went to the games, when she would talk to Gale and he would rant, she didn't quite agree, at the very least didn't feel as strongly or as violenty as him. But she didn't speak up. Now she is. Gale and Katniss are trying to learn to be close friends who can disagree. It's tough. But I think maybe they're getting there.

    Ah, we've got that lovely explanation of the name of the book. Oh wait, I mean the name of the country. I didn't mind the explanation as part of the story, since Katniss didn't know and it made the point about the Capitol citizens not doing well during wartime because they've never been used to hardship. But here's the thing. It really only explains the name of the book, not the literal name of the country. So it sort of didn't fit in the narrative, for that reason?

    Awww, I'm so so so happy there's going to be a wedding for Finnick and Annie. Now that they're out of reach of the Capitol and their manipulation and hold, they can do something they've maybe wanted to do for a while! So nice. So sweet that Annie can wear one of Katniss' dresses (and are they going to televise this? Kind of a slap in the face to Snow, yes?) I love the image of Greasy Sae dragging Gale onto the dance floor. And Katniss and Prim dancing is so sweet and cute.

    As soooooon as I heard wedding cake, I though, OMG PEETA HAS MADE A CAKE THERE IS HOPE YET!!!! I'm glad this can bring hope to the readers, to Katniss, joy to Finnick and Annie who deserve all the joy in the world. I'm really nervous about Katniss seeing Peeta, but so so so hopeful by what Haymitch has said. The meeting was very good. I like the way Collin's writes it. How Katniss reacts with defensiveness, even though the rational half of her brain knows she can't blame Peeta (once again, who's the enemy? the Capitol). It's sad, but real. And I'm not without hope. Despite that Katniss feels rather hopeless at the end of the chapter, I don't. I feel like being able to talk like that, and have a true memory, means maybe they'll be able to go forward. Recover more memories, at least learn which ones were tampered with, make new ones. I'm on the edge of my seat, but I am hopeful.

    • ldwy says:

      Hmm, I've read Mark's review now, and the comments. And it seems I am rather alone in feeling any hope from Katpee's conversation.
      I agree that it went horribly. Katniss was an idiot for not telling Peeta how she felt. I mean, that phrasing really could not have been any worse, given that his whole problem is having been fed lies and manipulation. Even if she couldn't say, "yes, I love you" she could still have told him she cared about him!

      But basically, a week ago he was trying to murder her. This week, he is rude to her in conversation and she is pretty rude back. He has a good enough grasp of reality to point out her flaws like they are (he's always known them, but as someone said, his "love goggles" are gone). He thinks she's a "piece of work" but he doesn't think she's a mutt. I don't know. That's still a sad, hard scene that didn't go well, but it is so much progress I can't help but feel some hope.

      • L_Swann says:

        Ooh, was it a week? Really? Perhaps this is totally wrong, but Peeta tries to kill her, Katniss goes to D2 for a while, then Gale & Beetee show up, they devise how to crack the Nut, and then she gets shot?

        I might be COMPLETELY wrong on this, but I read it as being a span of a few months, at least. Maybe a month or two with Katniss by herself in D2 and then a month or two once Gale & Beetee show up.

        • ldwy says:

          Oh wow, really? I don't know, I read it as being a fairly short amount of time, maybe a few weeks, but not months…
          I did read quickly and a few days ago, though, I'll have to go reread.

  32. Flamefire123 says:

    This was the one part of Mockingjay, Katness reaction to Peeta, that bothered me. Not in the fact it's poorly written or a bad choice on the author. (In fact I think this strengthens the chance for romance between them because Peeta's always been too open, too ready, this shifts the balance and makes Katness have to try, not just decide to accept or not accept.) But her actions bothered me and I had to ask my best friend (Male) what he would do in this situation and his answer was exactly what Katness did. Give up, walk away, never come back. He's very logical (too logical in my mind but I'm very emotional) and that's the logical thing to do. Someone hates you, leave.

    But for me, while nothing even remotely close to this has happened to me, I can't help but feel I'd BE THERE. If my best friend got like this, then I'd have to be there. It doesn't matter if he think he hates me, I'd need to help, to know, to act. I can't say I'd say the right thing or not. Katness actions make a lot of sense for her because she's always this volatile thing and quick to use anger to mask pain. And she does have a strong habit of taking everything onto herself. She took over her family when her father died, decided to keep things from Peeta to 'protect him' and runs into being the Mockingbird to have more power in her life. She rarely thinks of her mother, or even others. These are flaws but they don't make her a bad person. But these are exactly the flaws that work against her with Peeta right now. If she could calm down, be more empathetic and see the world in a bigger view, I think it'd be easier for her to win Peeta back. (Another major flaw of hers is her pinpoint viewpoint. She's definitely a survivalist, which is dangerous in this unsteady times.) But that's not Katness, she's honest, and always says just what she means; for better or for worse.

    Peeta has a point-ish, because Katness has never treated them right but I don't think he's giving Gale enough of the blame. (I'm not Gale/Katness you can tell.) Gale's problem is that even when it became obvious, no matter her feelings, Katness had to be with Peeta, he kept pushing. Katness has NO self-awareness. It's impossible for her to dissect what she's feeling and put it into words. Gale uses that and Peeta always accepted it. He was bothered but he never push while Gale was always pushing. Both of these weren't the exact right response, but their nature to do so.

    Over all, yes, Katness is being too hard on herself but I don't think it's that weird. It's easy, horribly easy, to see all the negatives to yourself and none of the good. Katness has very few honest people telling her what her positives are in a way that would stick. She's hard because she doesn't flatter easily. And most of the people trying to build her up are Distict 13 people trying to use her. Everyone else is dismissive at best or tears her down to keep her from getting a big head. She's 17 (I think) year old girl, which all of us can remember how awful that stage of life is, and she has to save the goddamn world. I think she's just starting to crack. peeta was going to break her, his torture and death and now that he's back, she expected the support she has needed since book one. That support isn't there and worse (for her) Peeta needs HER support. She doesn't know how to give it. It's hard for her to reverse what she doesn't want to reverse and technically doesn't need to reverse. Gale is there, healthy and ready, but he's not the support she needs (or else she'd be with him now).

  33. Shanella says:

    the exchange between Peeta and Katniss was hard to read, but in a way I'm glad they went thru that. The biggest reason being that Peeta can see Katniss without rose coloured glasses. He's been infatuated with her in some for since they were kids, to have that taken away and to see who she really is, if he can love her that way then it's really true and good.. imho.

  34. Lana says:

    Eh. I can see both sides of the story here. I mean, Peeta (and Gale!) both have extremely valid complaints — nobody likes feeling used or manipulated in matters of the heart. On the other hand, Katniss is a teenage girl thrust into situations beyond her control. To a large extent, the Capitol (whether directly or indirectly) and the rebellion shaped and guided her decisions. She’s as much a pawn as they are. This isn’t a cut-and-dried situation, where you’re gossiping with your friends and judging some guy or girl in your group for playing and two-timing people.

    Although, personally, I don’t think that’s necessarily right, either. I mean, we never really know why someone makes the decisions they do. We have no idea of the experiences/ possible trauma someone has been through, the nature/nurture that has shaped their personality to come to a point where they are regularly perceived as manipulative, cold-hearted jerks. Plus, I also tend to be leery about judging girls for “slutty” behaviors. There’s another series I really like, by Sarah Rees Brennan. It’s the Demon’s Lexicon series, and each book in the trilogy is written by a different character’s pov. Apparently Mae (the narrator of Book 2) is getting a ton of flack in the blogosphere right now because she *gasp* kissed three boys in one book. Honestly, I had to laugh when I read about this “issue.” I mean, seriously? A teenage girl kissed three different guys over the course of a story that spans several months? Color me shocked! It just plays into the whole slut-shaming mentality of, “Well a guy is a virile, masculine man if he can have three ladies in love with him, but a girl . . . oooh, slut.” And sometimes for no more than just having guys like her!

    Of course, I may be oversensitive, too. I mean, I tend to have guy friends instead of female friends, and I have frequently been labeled as a slut throughout my life for maintaining predominantly male (platonic) friendships. So I tend to get up in arms about this kind of baseless judgment.

    Oh, side note. I was talking to my husband about how homophobia relates to women’s rights issues, because homophobia is often based in anti-feminist, sexist beliefs (women are inferior, and I perceive this man to be acting like a woman, ergo he is inferior). So I’m wondering, if anyone is willing to answer, whether or not there are any gay people who have experienced slut-shaming as a direct result of their sexual orientation.

    • erin says:

      I can't answer your question, but I just wanted to say I think this comment is fabulous. Okay, that's all. Carry on…

    • monkeybutter says:

      I think there are two sides to the Gale/Katniss/Peeta mess. On the one hand, Peeta, especially after having his mind warped by the Capitol, is right to question whether or not Katniss's feelings are genuine because for a time she was pretending to care about him. But you're right, she's young and her emotions are confused by what the Capitol has put her through. She's only a teenager! It's okay to kiss multiple boys or not know what the hell you're doing in a relationship. And from what you say, I don't think you're being oversensitive to slut-shaming in that fandom. It sounds pretty ridiculous.

      I think if you look to the shrieking jackasses who oppose gay marriage, you'll have your answer. I'm not saying marriage is awesome and everyone should be in longterm monogamous relationships, but one opposition is that gay people are supposedly incapable of monogamy and will ruin the institution of marriage. There's also a lot of pigeonholing bisexual people as simply confused, in denial, or just slutty. And then there's the stigma about the immorality of gay sex (i.e., that gay men have lots of unprotected sex with lots of partners) that led to HIV/AIDS being ignored or improperly addressed for most of the 1980s, helping to kill thousands of people. Because it was tied to gay men and promiscuity (and drug use — yay, marginalized groups), there wasn't a lot of sympathy for people infected with HIV. Now, homophobia wasn't the only reason HIV/AIDS spread rapidly, because there was a lot of misinformation all around, but I'd still like to take this opportunity to extend a hearty FUCK YOU to Ronald Reagan's corpse.

      So, while I wouldn't say homophobia is solely rooted in sexism, living outside of a monogamous, heteronormative relationship is a good way to be branded a slut and suffer for it.

    • Lurker Dee says:

      I love this comment, too. I often feel like my defense of Katniss in Mockingjay may be about the fact that I'm just sick of people acting like it's such a horrible thing to be confused about your feelings and kiss multiple people (none of whom you're committed to in any way)… especially when I feel like that judgment is more aimed at women than men. If Katniss had lied to Gale or Peeta about her feelings for the other, or at any point indicated to either of them that she'd chosen him, it would have been different and I'd have been irked at her. But she doesn't, and both guys know she's on a slippery slope romantically with the other. It's touchy, and all three of them are hurt by the conflict, but Katniss is no more or less to blame than Gale or Peeta for that awkwardness and hurt.

      And… let me tell you does being bisexual invite slut shaming. It's not in the way that you're talking about necessarily, because I am a woman I was already used to slut-shaming before the whole bi thing – not always directed at me, but friends. The attitude that I can kiss/sleep with/hold hands with/what have you with whom I want, when I want, where I want, how I want etc. as long as I'm being completely honest with the person about whether or not there's any commitment there has gotten me into quite a few arguments… but mostly more with other women than with men. The men I know seem much more able to accept and respect the choices I make more than most women, with exceptions for a select few friends. :/

      And I completely agree with the idea that homophobia relates to women's rights issues, if not for the reason you've pointed out (which I agree with, but again, no personal experience to account for it), then because women's rights issues are more about the discrepancies between gender and sexual behavior than about women specifically, and homophobia is based on the idea that yet another set of people should be/are shamed by certain populaces for their sexual behavior. (Then, I also tend to loop trans-rights, gay-rights, and women's-rights and maybe even men's rights if those weren't already such a set and sure thing in my culture into one large category like this for that reason… )

  35. Katherine says:

    It’s not a bad point, really. Gale’s reasoning does create a sort of slippery slope. If the goal is to prevent further attacks with pre-emptive strikes, doesn’t it stand to reason that you could justify virtually anything as long as that’s the end result?

    Is this a pre-emptive strike, though? I think of pre-emptive strikes as situations where you initiate a war with someone because you expect they are about to attack you and want to beat them to the punch. What we're talking about here is a strike on an enemy military centre in the middle of a war.

    Maybe I'm just sensitive to the lack of distinction between these things due to intense irritation with the Star Wars: New Jedi Order books that seemed incapable of understanding the difference between starting a war with someone and attacking enemy positions as part of an ongoing war.

  36. theresa1128429 says:

    OHHHHHHH WIFEY HOW I MISSED YOU!!!! I love how Katniss feels so indebted to her and shares the morphling. Poor Johanna needs hugs!!!
    "Feel free to take this personally" I was reading so fast the first time that I missed this line. LOVE IT!
    And the wedding was amazing. Finally some happy moments! I hope Johanna and I can have such a great celebration.
    HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAP-
    Oh, and another sad Katpee scene. WTF? Just wanted one happy chapter. Well, I will bring all the happy!!!!!!

    Finnick & Johanna!
    <img src="http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/5097/chibisfinnickmeetsjohan.png"&gt;

    Katniss & Finnick!
    <img src="http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/8489/chibisidkmybfffinnickby.png"&gt;

    And, of course some happy dancing!!!
    <img src="http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/6255/297459o.gif"&gt;
    <img src="http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/3475/tumblrl2z0m01i9v1qahhxw.gif"&gt;

  37. Katherine says:

    Do you think Katniss has been too hard on herself or is what Peeta said a valid complaint?

    Peeta is clearly being affected by the Capitol manipulating his memories, and is interpreting everything Katniss has done in the most uncharitable way, but he is largely correct about what Katniss was like – she was highly self-interested for most of the first Hunger Games and not deeply concerned with the lives or feelings of others. By Mockingjay she seems to have changed to some extent.

    I don't like her behaviour with regards to Peeta and Gale. With Peeta at first, she really had very little choice when it was the only thing keeping them alive, and she was honest with him about it being a charade as soon as she could once they were out of the public eye. But after she got back to District 12, she should have been honest with Gale about what that was going to mean. And as of Mockingjay, I think it's fairly emotionally hard on both of them for her to be kissing anyone until she's worked out for good what she actually feels. She's been stringing them both along, even if it's unintentional and due to her having a poor understanding of her own feeling. In that kind of a situation it's generally best to stay out of a relationship with anyone until you work things out in your own head.

    At the same time, we need to take into account that she's been through a lot, has been suffering from PTSD, and is is likely grasping for anything that promises emotional support, so it's hard to blame her too much.

  38. Many Rainbows says:

    Do you think Katniss has been too hard on herself or is what Peeta said a valid complaint?

    this is a tough one. through almost the whole series, Katniss has been afraid- afraid to love, afraid to live, afraid to trust anyone. From the very first book, I had the impression of her sort of guarding herself against getting too close, in terms of love, to anyone. She saw what life in District 12 was like. she knew how the Capitol had a hold over everyone. She had decided she never wanted children, never wanted to have to worry about them having to go to the Hunger Games.
    Then she was faced with Peeta declaring love for her, and having to maintain the "relationship" in order to get the expensive gifts in the arena, and after, to keep Snow from killing her, killing Peeta, killing their families. When faced with a second Hunger Games, she was starting to have genuine feelings towards Peeta, and was struggling to figure out what her heart wanted, despite knowing what her head wanted.
    When Peeta was kidnapped and tortured, Katniss' emotions were all jumbled up, she was confused, dealing with PTSD and survivor's guilt.. and Gale was mostly good to her. so she allowed herself to feel something for him, even if it wasn't fully genuine.
    However, she is what, 16? 17? old enough to understand that her actions affect more than just her, that her kissing either (and both) of them could be taken the wrong way.. i think Peeta is being a little too hard on her, but considering all he has gone through, and how he has been manipulated, I really do not hold it against him.

  39. bookling says:

    Nope, I have to say I think Peeta is being totally unreasonable here. And really, of course he is, he's been brainwashed to hate Katniss. But this whole conversation about Katniss kissing both of them smacks of slut-shaming to me. I understand that both Peeta and Gale had feelings for her and were hurt when they found out about the other, but it's not all about them. What about Katniss? They both imposed their feelings on her without regard to how hard it would be ON HER to have to make that decision. And she didn't want any sort of romance in the first place! She never wanted it.

    Fuck Peeta and Gale, Katniss doesn't have to ask permission to kiss other boys – she was never in a proper relationship with either of them anyways, never promised either of them exclusivity. I don't think they had any right to claim Katniss as theirs, and I don't think Katniss should have to apologize for the way she's acted.

    • theupsides says:

      I totally agree with you, that in any other situation, I would say this is totally fucked up and slut-shaming. But because Peeta has been brainwashed, I don't see this as coming from him, really. He's not himself. It's like The Capitol has planted these things in his mind and he's just asking her, because he's confused. The old Peeta would never have said these things.

      • bookling says:

        I actually don't think it's entirely Not Peeta. It feels to me like the things he says about Katniss are things he might have been thinking before, but never would have said. It's like the Capitol managed to take the worst things Peeta ever thought, things he might even have been ashamed of thinking, and amplified them and justified them in his head. And that makes it worse in a way.

    • nanodragora says:

      THANK YOU! I was really working myself up to a good rant here, but you said it all. Katniss was only "playing with their feelings" as much as they were "playing with hers." Which is to say…not at all! They're teenagers. They have feelings. Feelings are confusing. We can't expect them to have their shit worked out, or to be able to look at the situation objectively when they're in it. We have put the standard too high.

      For me it's all about intention. Did they mean to hurt each other? No! All of the drama and angst is situational. It's no one's fault, so we shouldn't blame them either.

    • Baz says:

      THANK YOU!!! I was honestly starting to think I was the only one who thought this way, and it was making me wonder if I had made up parts of the book or missed things!

      The whole time, I've been thinking that Katniss has been manipulated so much–by Peeta, Gale, and the Capitol–and I think she's handled it really well for a 16/17 year old. In hindsight, I'm sure she would look back on this and think "Well, maybe I should have opened up to Peeta here or told Gale there," but that's part of growing up. You say ridiculous shit and you learn from it. Katniss has made really quick judgments that frequently wind up with her getting injured and/or really angry this whole series, but I think she's growing a lot and learning from it. Do I think she could have been a little more understanding and nicer to Peeta? Sure, but he was a total asshole (and I get it, the brainwashing, and I wouldn't have expected him to act any differently, either) and she reacted the way she always does.

      But as for the kissing both of them….She didn't ask Peeta to profess his love to her before the Games, and she certainly didn't ask for the whole of Panem to believe they were star-crossed lovers. But you know what, she kissed him because she thought it would save her life, and he's not a bad guy. And that is totally ok. I for one, have definitely kissed people for much worse reasons, and that's nothing to be ashamed of. And Gale, I get why he was bent out of shape about it when she got back to 12. I'd be pretty crushed, too, if I saw the person I like snogging someone else on TV, but then he went and kissed her without any concern for whether or not she had feelings for him, or if she was actually in love with Peeta. After that, as Snow and Haymitch pointed out so clearly, she had to stay with Peeta after that OR DIE. So, I mean, what are you going to do there? Choose Gale and everyone dies. Choose Peeta, and poor Gale feels sorry for himself. That is an impossible situation to be in, and having either of the guys be so vocally jealous of the other does not help anything. I feel so bad for Katniss. I am pretty confident that I could not even begin to handle a situation like that if I were in her place.

      I don't blame Peeta at all, though. He's had his whole world turned upside down and all of his thoughts twisted and distorted in a terrifying and painful way. If you've been made to believe someone is a Mutt who has been trying to kill you, I think it's only natural that you would question why you ever loved that person. I understand why he said everything he did during their brief conversation, but Katniss is being way too hard on herself.

    • monkeybutter says:

      Eep, I never meant to imply that I thought Peeta was right to call out Katniss for being manipulative for kissing both him and Gale, just that she has at times been distrustful and manipulative (especially to the viewing audience, which is how Peeta now remembers her) to survive. These are aspects of her personality, mostly arising due to tragedy, that have been skewed by the Capitol tampering with Peeta's memories. Those negative aspects aren't all there is to Katniss, but they're still there, and until now Peeta has been ridiculously sunny about someone he's mostly encountered in Murder Fest.

      I liked seeing how the warping Peeta's brain has fundamentally altered how he interprets her behavior. I've NEVER liked the way Gale and Peeta add their feelings to her already huge burden, and I don't want to seem like I'm okay with the way they've both guilted her in the past.

    • Clare says:

      "Fuck Peeta and Gale, Katniss doesn't have to ask permission to kiss other boys – she was never in a proper relationship with either of them anyways, never promised either of them exclusivity. I don't think they had any right to claim Katniss as theirs, and I don't think Katniss should have to apologize for the way she's acted. "

      Yes! This is what I see. All of this is just trying to make an exclusive relationship with one or the other boys without her actual consent or choice. She doesn't even want romance, reacts to both situations with Gale and Peeta because she's human, because she's trying to figure things out, because she's trying to survive herself whichever way she can.

    • notemily says:

      Yeah I'm totally with Katniss on "I wasn't asking for your permission." She never promised anything. I feel bad for her here because Peeta was one person who made her feel safe and loved, and now that safety is gone.

    • bendemolena says:

      FOUR FOR YOU, BOOKLING COCO.

      and none for you peeta or gale bye

  40. Penquin47 says:

    Katniss is being too hard on herself, but that doesn't make Peeta's complaint invalid.

    Katniss was doing what she had to do to survive, and with whatever part was left of her brain after considering her survival issues, she was genuinely confused because both boys were so much a part of her life and she had feelings for both of them and wasn't sure if they were real or manufactured. Also, she's a teenager, and teenagers are notoriously bad about knowing their minds with romance in the best of situations.

    That doesn't mean that Peeta doesn't have a right to feel hurt. Looking at the situation from outside, it is VERY easy to draw a picture of "Katniss + Gale, all Peeta ever was to her was a survival ticket, nothing was real" – especially when your mind is telling you that Katniss is evil and deserves to die.

  41. Integrity1584 says:

    "Are you ready for the H.M.S. Sad to come crashing into your Glacier of Despair?
    SHIP IS SINKING SHIP IS SINKING ABORT ABORT ABORT"

    Mark, you are my favorite. This is making the list of the top most hilarious things on this blog. Glacier of Despair… *snickers*.

    ANYWAYS in response to your question, I think Peeta does have a point but that Katniss is also too hard on herself. She isn't as good as Peeta thought she was (pre-hijacking), however I don't think the words "violent, distrustful, manipulative, and deadly" would be the first thing that came to mind if I were asked to describe Katniss.

  42. HungryLikeLupin says:

    I am fully prepared to be in the minority here, but I really sort of loved how the interaction between Katniss and Peeta went.

    OKAY WAIT HEAR ME OUT FIRST.

    I love Katniss, I really do. It may have taken me a while to get there, but love her I do. I think we all have to admit, though, that her default mode is rather caustic. Defensive. Sometimes sort of a brat. (Tough love, kitten, tough love.) Now, maybe it's not the best idea for her to behave this way when Peeta's gone through so much, but . . . maybe it is? The times that she was nice and sweet and gentle with him were when they were in the arena, when she was pretending to be in love with him because it would help keep them both alive. It was nice, but it wasn't real. Now, when Peeta is having trouble separating reality from what's been planted in his head, it seems like a painful reality would be preferable to–and more helpful than–a comforting lie.

    They've tried the sunshine-and-puppies sugarcoated approach with Delly. They've tried gentle and careful and so far none of that has worked. Yes, Katniss is being a bitch in this scene. But she's also being herself. She's being the girl that–whether we as readers fully understand why or not–Peeta fell in love with.

    I also feel like this has finally put them on more equal footing. It's clear by how Katniss self-describes at the end of the chapter that she's never really understood why Peeta loved her. His view of her and her view of herself never really seemed to match up, and I feel like if they had actually gotten together she always would have had that kernel of doubt, that expectation that someday Peeta would "wake up" and see her for what she really is. Right now he believes the worst of her, and perversely, it almost seems like it could lead to a healthier relationship. Peeta did, in the past, seem a little too willing to overlook most of Katniss's flaws, in the sort of willing blindness that's so common in young love. Now he's forced to deal with them turned up to eleven; even if he manages to get better, that knowledge isn't going to go away. It feels to me like all of this, from the arena to what they did to him at the Capitol, is designed (by Collins, not the Capitol, clearly) to force Peeta to see Katniss as a real, whole person instead of just the idealized image he's carried in his head for so long.

    My dad used to say that almost all stories can be boiled down to this one basic theme: Boy meets Girl, Boy loves Girl, Boy loses Girl, Boy gets Girl back. What I find sort of wonderful about this relationship is that, so far, it's following that progression–only in this case, "Boy" is Katniss. It also makes me pretty confident that this whole thing is going to end with her and Peeta together. Unless he dies, which I'm not willing to rule out, because Collins is mean like that sometimes.

    And while a part of me does feel like Katniss is being needlessly cruel in pointing out how she's kissed both Peeta and Gale, a larger part of me was cheering for her when she said that. Because she clearly wasn't trying to toy with either of them; aside from her actions with Peeta in the first arena (again, when she was using their romance to stay alive), every time she's kissed one of them it's been because of her own confused feelings. She hadn't promised either one of them anything, and in fact they were both well aware of the fact that she didn't know if she actually wanted either of them. It would be one thing if she'd let Peeta keep thinking she loved him and then kissed Gale, or vice versa. But Katniss has been up-front and honest about her feelings this entire time. I feel like her telling Peeta that she wasn't asking either boy's permission to kiss the other is Collins acknowledging that Katniss is her own person, that she doesn't need to get permission from a boy who likes her before she tries to figure out if she likes someone else. A boy doesn't get to dictate a girl's actions simply because he's told her he likes her (and, of course, vice versa), and Katniss was under absolutely no obligation to keep her lips to herself. Again, it might not have been exactly politic to mention that right now, but if there's one thing Katniss has never been, it's a diplomat. And I still feel pretty confident in saying that her being herself will be much more beneficial than trying to play a part for Peeta. Again.

  43. Kaci says:

    All I really have to say about this chapter is that Finnick is my hero and it means so much to me to see someone who survived what he has to get married and be happy and in love. <3

  44. theupsides says:

    This is a beautiful comment and I fully support it 100%. You win all the awards.

  45. embers says:

    I never felt that any of the romance (either with Peeta or Gale) was anything Katniss had ever done: they both fell in love with her when she was trying to keep herself and her family alive. They kissed her when she was thinking about other things. Peeta announced his love without ever discussing his feelings with her. Frankly I don't see how she could have prevented any of it. The love triangle always felt imposed upon this story, to me anyway.

    But Johanna was hysterically funny in a very dark disturbed way. She always brightens up any scene even when she is giving Katniss a hard time (particularly when she is giving Katniss a hard time! lol).

    • Val says:

      You're not the only one. The love triangle never felt necessary to the story and, as the book went on, got me perilously close to hating the 3 main characters.

      Thank god for Johanna and Finnick.

      • bendemolena says:

        OH GOD. I thought it was just me! 😯

        Honestly the more I read the more I seriously just started to mentally shut out the romance as I was reading.

    • bendemolena says:

      Yes to romantic plot tumor. ]:

  46. Susan W. says:

    In my opinion, I think Katniss was so sure that Peeta wasn't going to get better and even though she wants him to, she's almost afraid of that because that will mean facing insecurities she has about herself. Striking out at Peeta was her subconscious way of not facing her fears about their relationship and what she perceives as her faults. Even if she is unsure of her own feelings for Peeta, she has always had the comfort of knowing that Peeta loves her and that he can't ever seem to see her faults. Now she's terrified that he can see them clearly and that he will never love her again. Striking out was a way of insuring a self fulfilling prophecy.
    I'm pretty sure none of this made sense. I can't really explain what I mean, but it made much more sense in my head.

  47. O. Rodríguez says:

    I don't know if it's been said already, but here goes my two cents:

    I think that, in a real-life context, what Peeta did in this chapter could be seen as a huge step into the relationship. Previously, he kind of idolized Katniss and chose to overlook all her flaws because he was in love with her. But now, that haze of willing ignorance has disappeared and Peeta is now able to see Katniss as she really is, the good, the bad, and the ugly. As I said, this is a very important step in a relationship, because it is here when the disilussioned one can choose whether it's convenient for him to continue the relationship with the full knowledge of his significant other or call it quits there and then. Of course, that's not taking into context that Peeta's been hijacked and psychologically programmed to hate Katniss's guts. But if his recovery continues the way it seems to be, their relationship could turn out to be more meaningful, deep, and sincere than it ever was–That is, if Collins doesn't kill off one of them or finds some other brutal way to keep them apart.

  48. arnenieberding says:

    Mark. You and your commentary during the Peeniss showdown made me think of only one thing:
    <img src="http://i661.photobucket.com/albums/uu340/Aere145/mark-aladdin.png"&gt;
    Was I the only one?

  49. Sarah says:

    “And it was okay with both of us? You kissing the other?” he asks.

    “No. It wasn’t okay with either of you. But I wasn’t asking your permission,” I tell him.

    I dunno, dude, that will always be my favorite line of the entire book. Because it says so much about Katniss as a person and a survivor, that she wasn't worried about your effing feelings, she was too busy trying to SAVE EVERYONE'S ASSES, MMKAY? I know she is majorly flawed, and yeah, she really should have been a little more gentle with Peeta, but really, she's always been the least invested in this love triangle. Arena: "Oh if I'm in love with Peeta we can live". Victory Tour: "WATCH HOW MUCH I CAN LOVE HIM OKAY DON'T MURDER MY FAMILY". After: "If Gale and I are together he can help my family escape." Everything she does, she does to ensure not only her survival, but their survival. Putting on the act with Peeta to save Peeta and Gale (and Prim and her mother). So to me, the fact that she sassily bites back, "I wasn't asking your permission to kiss whoever I damn well want to kiss" is just…perfectly Katniss.

    Also there is a deeper underlying strain of "YOU GO GIRL" because of double standards about boys kissing whoever they want but girl being "sluts" and the slut-shaming in our culture. Probably that is a big motivator in the fact that while I pity Peeta, and I wish he and Katniss could talk like normal people, I am totally Team Katniss.

  50. Saber says:

    I laughed so hard at Finnick's face. And then I felt bad.

  51. RainaWeather says:

    “No. It wasn’t okay with either of you. But I wasn’t asking your permission,” I tell him.

    This is one of my favorite Katniss lines. I know Peeta's all fragile and shit, but I'm glad that she said this. Peeta and Gale may like her, but she is not their property. She doesn't need permission from either of them to kiss whoever the hell she wants to kiss. I feel like Collins put this in to remind the readers that Katniss is a woman in control of her own mind and body.

  52. RainaWeather says:

    You said this so much better than I did.

  53. RainaWeather says:

    I totally agree with your second paragraph! That was my exact reaction.

  54. zuzu says:

    Annie starts with A…

    🙁 🙁 🙁

  55. RainaWeather says:

    More on this chapter.

    Once again, I love that Katniss and the people of D12 are Appalachian. I imagine them teaching the D13 people how to have a proper hoedown.

    Johanna Mason, I love you forever and all your rude slightly sadistic ways. Don't ever change. I started to ship her and Katniss after this chapter. Of course, she and Peeta were my main ship, but I think she and Johanna could have an interesting relationship.

    D13: What is this thing called fun?

    Mark, it's weird that you say Katniss has already sort of chosen Gale. Like, what makes you think that (especially after all their ideological differences being put on the table)?

  56. andreah1234 says:

    Awwwww Finnick. I don't know if being 😀 or 🙁 for him.

    Also, HAYMITCH.

  57. Quizzical says:

    yay for johanna, yay for collins not backing down from the hard stuff.

    this includes things that we have criticised her characters for along the way – how katniss seems not to be able to choose etc. but thing is she was thrust into that. peeta put her on the spot with the in love thing right from the start. and then made her survival rely on her ability to fake being in love when she was never good at faking anything. so i don't really think that criticising her ambiguous feelings is really, well, fair.

    as collins keeps on bringing down our assumptions all over the place it's like she is saying 'anything you think you can see to call me on, i have already realised and i'm going to call myself/my characters on it anyway!'. it's an interesting approach!

  58. Silverilly says:

    THE WEDDING IS SO FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC. LOVE THIS WEDDING. I WOULD SO GET MARRIED LIKE THIS.
    Also, every time someone says something like "you won't need your spleen" I'm like OH FUCK SHE'S GONNA NEED HER SPLEEN.
    Bad feelings.

  59. celinagabrielle says:

    Honestly, I remember reading the Peeta/Katniss part i this chapter and just thinking that Katniss was being a whiny little brat who was trying to blame everything on herself so she could have some reason to feel pity for herself.

    I mean, I understand what she's been through, and re-reading it, that's not the way I see it exactly, but I'm fully team Peeta on this one because I did think it was fucked up that she pretended to be in love with him without actually letting him in on that little fact.

    • Annalebanana says:

      Yes, but she did everything she did to ensure the survival of BOTH of them. She never pretended to be in love with him after the games, she was just confused. Peeta was the one who was imposing love on her. If someone loved me for no reason (Well, I never saw a single reason anyway) and got freakishly jealous and petty while I was just trying to figure out how to survive and dealing with such horrible things, I would say the exact same thing. In fact, I would probably take Peeta and Gale together in the room and yell such things as "Who the hell do you think you are, blaming me when I really have had the worst lot (all together, anyway) of all of you? I don't know what the hell I want and if you two would stop freaking acting like two year olds fighting over a toy you could realize that there is something bigger going one here, and even if there was not, I WILL DECIDE FOR MYSELF. I control my own life SUCKAS!"

      Going back to my original point, Peeta used Katniss just as much, or more likely far more by not making it better for her to choose. In my opinion, Peeta and Gale are both in the wrong for that, and if either of them truly had loved her, they would have learned to let go.

  60. StargazerLilies says:

    Ugh, what this chapter does to me. Johanna’s back and FINNICK AND ANNIE GET MARRIED which is the best thing ever and just as I’m thinking this chapter will be nothing but joy all of a sudden Katniss is talking to Peeta and everything crashes and burns.

    <img src="http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp20/Reverie24/GIFs/cookemonster.gif&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket">

    <img src="http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp20/Reverie24/GIFs/2nvfp1w.gif&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket">

    <img src="http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp20/Reverie24/GIFs/mike2.gif&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket">

    <img src="http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp20/Reverie24/GIFs/tumblr_lgstwyRFx41qclt2so1_400.gif&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket">

    <img src="http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp20/Reverie24/GIFs/tumblr_lgsyewsnCX1qayxuq.gif&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket">

    It’s probably one of my deepest fears, that the people who love me will come to their senses one day and see me for what I really am. Seeing it actually happen to Katniss was devastating. I can’t say I blame her for handling it so badly. Ideally, she would have been able to be genuine and caring at once, but you can’t be good at everything and being nurturing has never been natural for her. Peeta or Prim could manage it, but they would both be dead by now if it weren’t for her so I hope she can stop being so hard on herself. Since it is an either/or thing for Katniss, I’m glad she acted like herself rather than trying to coddle him, because she would be bad at it, he’d see right through it, and it’s not what he needs right now. He needs to know what’s real, to learn who he can trust, to figure out why he used to feel the way he did. He must be thinking Old Peeta was kind of a dumbass right now though, so that’s not exactly motivating.

    • monkeybutter says:

      I'm going to ignore all of your very excellent points and just say "YOU CAN'T DISAPPOINT A PICTURE!"

      Community and Parks and Rec were sooooo good last night! And If I met Levar Burton, I would totally end up hiding in the bathroom and cry-singing the Reading Rainbow theme.

      • StargazerLilies says:

        Oh that would absolutely be me. Several years ago I got to meet Aron Ralston (the guy 127 Hours is about, he got stuck in a canyon and cut his own arm off and all that) and I pretty much had the exact same reaction, except that I managed to paste on a smile and get out a "thanks" when he signed my book. I wanted to say so many things! Ah well, he was the nicest guy though. I don't know what I'd do with myself if I ever met somebody more famous than that. And I can't imagine how they're going to redeem Pierce after what he did to everybody, but especially poor Troy.

    • Simone says:

      THIS. Those last two gifs are perfect! I can't get over seeing two of my favorite characters from two of my favorite shows right next to each other in such awesomeness and it's just so awesome. Just so awesome.

      • StargazerLilies says:

        😀 I think I've adored Troy ever since he said that there was an episode of happy days where a guy literally jumped over a shark and it was the best one! I THOUGHT SO TOO TROY. It's such a mystery to me why more people don't watch these shows.

    • Gabbie says:

      I upvoted this for the gifs, and then I read it, and I wanted to upvote it again. 😀 Just thought you should know!

      • StargazerLilies says:

        Thank you! That happens to me all the time when people use gifs and it's sweet that you would think to say something. I almost used "sweetheart" but Haymitch has ruined that word!

  61. Lynn says:

    I like your views on this. It all makes sense the way you say it. But I am afraid to hope for Peeta recovering because like you say Collins does not mind bringing down the sadness on her characters.

  62. ladylarla says:

    The way I see it Katniss has been manipulative pretty much right from the start. But that manipulation has been what has made her survive, all this time. She's done things – like pretend to fall in love with Peeta – to ensure food, medical supplies, their families survival and it obviously hasn't been pretty with rainbow coloured unicorns along the way. While Peeta has a point to see her this way- his memories aren't exactly his own anymore. He might be shown all the old footage – and from that it would be pretty easy to see himself in love with this manipulative girl. What he sees is subjective as well, he can't remember his own motivations as far as I can see, Peeta has enough manipulation in him to ensure his and Katniss survival- he just can't recall it in my opinion.
    I can't blame Katniss for feeling devastated she puts a lot into making sure the people she cares about are safe from harm and doesn't always think it through, this time around the person she's so keen gets saved, just has many many issues of his own to deal with.

  63. Kal says:

    I think Peeta's comment is a totally valid one. I think he's starting to see her as a person now, instead of some idealized and romanticized image of Katniss he'd had built up in his head. And Katniss isn't exactly miss princess–she /is/ a piece of work. (Frankly, I would be much worse than her if I'd had to go through half of what she did.) We know she's distrustful, and she did manipulate him. But she was also really confused, and I don't think Peeta truly appreciates that.

    So this was a complete disaster of a conversation, I like how both Katniss and Peeta are calling each other out on all the shit they've put each other through. Because while Katniss manipulated Peeta, he manipulated her as well.

  64. cinnafan says:

    About the Peeta/Katniss/Gale

    I agree with others that I did not get the vibe at all that Katniss had chosen Gale. So far there has not been some passionate love filled kiss between them like she has had with Peeta; she has kissed Gale when she is sad. To me, it's really obvious that she loves Peeta and doesn't realize it fully.

    As heartbreaking as the Katpee scene was, I was really impressed Collins went there. Really powerful and I felt burned by Peeta just reading the book lol! i can't blame Katniss too much for being inappropriate with messing with both boys feelings, but she definitely just made her situation worse in this scene. I think it's really in character for her to just shut down emotionally and focus on actions.

    As someone who has a lot of guy friends, so far i have only gotten the friend vibe from Katniss with respect to Gale. I think she has kissed Gale because she trusts him, they have a close relationship and she has been broken by all the events of the series. Thus she is in a suuuuuuper vulnerable state and needs comfort, and occasionally turns to a familiar comforting presence. The fact that so far Gale has been trying to be a bit manipulative with her really rubs me the wrong way. She's gone through psychological torture and 2 Hunger Games while Gale……..escaped a bombing and was whipped. I'm not saying he hasn't been through shit, but Katniss has had the lion's share, and to not be more understanding and supportive of her apart from his feelings is really unappealing to me. If she chooses him in the end I'll be really disappointed unless he starts acting more unselfishly with her.

  65. Lynn says:

    I think it is interesting how on this blog a lot of people did not seem to like Katniss all that much back at the beginning of the series. People thought she was cold calculating and some of the things she called herself. But we have gotten to know her better and seen a little deeper and now realize there is so much more to her. She just holds so much internally. Plus we have seem some fantastic character development from her.

    Now we have poor hijacked Peeta. He still has so much lingering effects from being brainwashed. She had counted on him to see the best in her. Part of what may have held her back with him is knowing if he truly knew and understood her bad qualities as well as her good. And now all he is able to see or focus on is her bad qualities. And the best parts of Katniss she often tried to hide afraid that it would make her look weak. So this is what Peeta sees. So I understand why he says what he does and why it appears that way to him. But it just isn't the truth. It is only a small part of the things and it is taken out of context.

    And Katniss' need for Peeta or identifying with old Peeta has been very present in this novel. She really seemed as if she was accepting her love for him. Now Peeta is broken and she is devastated. Katniss never does well when having to confront her innermost feelings. So she runs and hides and feels completely rejected. But I am glad that she did not just stand there and take his comments. I am glad that she stood up for herself even if she was not very tactful. I don't think she has allowed herself to grieve for the Peeta she has lost and that is part of the problem.

  66. Alanna says:

    This line in the chapter reminded me of something: "When Coin says 'wedding', she means two people signing a piece of paper and being assigned a new compartment."

    That sounds pretty gender-neutral, though the original description of toasting in CF was definitely a woman and man. Does the HG universe contain any explicitly gay characters? I've always assumed Cinna was, but then that could be my own prejudices since he's a fashion designer. I suppose some of the other characters could be gay since their significant others are never mentioned. Even so, non-hetero sexuality never comes up, to my recollection. Doesn't mean that everyone in Panem is 100% straight (which is unlikely anyway), but it does make me curious.

  67. vampira2468 says:

    I tend to not agree with Katniss at all, for what ever reason

  68. canadadian says:

    I don't think we should be too hard on Katniss here. Most of us are judging her with some romantic experience and I highly doubt any of us have gone through anything near what she had to, first growing up and then in the Hunger Games. Katniss had to do a lot of growing up really fast, basically becoming the mother and sole provider of her family after her father's death, and then went through even more after being to subjected to the trauma and agonizing decisions of the Hunger Games. So she seems like a fairly mature character.
    However, in terms of romance of any kind, Katniss has absolutely no idea what she's doing. The girl had no interest in love, and was only focusing on trying to survive. Then, suddenly, a boy who she might end up having to kill announces his love for her on national television. She is instructed by her mentor to play up the star-crossed lovers angle to save both of their lives, and then again forced by Snow and even District 13 to do so.
    On top of this, when she finally makes it home, her best friend reveals that he also has romantic feelings for her. Now the two expect her to make a decision. And this is a SUBPLOT to all the other horrible traumatizing crap.
    I'm not saying that Katniss didn't make some poor decisions, or that I'm blaming Peeta or Gale (although I am sort of blaming Gale. I don't like him much now that he's Ruthless McKillEveryone). I'm just saying… maybe Katniss is only slightly more in control in this situation then Peeta is.

  69. booksinbulk says:

    Ok. I don't even know how to explain this, but I was with Katniss during that awful conversation with Peeta. I think maybe it's because I'm stubborn and a lot of the times, really defensive? (Hey at least I can admit it). But I think I see that in Katniss as well. It's COMPLETELY unreasonable and totally inappropriate given the torture he's been through and the fact that they messed with his brain so what he says is LITERALLY out of his control, but when he said to Katniss "You're not very big are you? Or particularly pretty?" I was all "WELLL FUCKKK YOU PEETA. NICE." and ready for Katniss to walk out.

    I CAN FULLY ADMIT THAT IT IS UNREASONABLE.

    I just see how Katniss, who was expecting an OMG KATNISS I'VE MISSED YOU LOVE ME MARRY ME SMOOCH SMOOCH KISS KISS from the boy who previously would do anything for her, even die, could become really defensive and react really badly to what he was now saying. I know that even in fights with people I love so much, when they call me out on things that are TRUE, it hurts even more and it makes you fight back even more because it hurts to admit they are right and saying something so so true.

    OK my post is a rambling run on sentence.

  70. Clare says:

    I call for a massive upvote!

  71. BradSmith5 says:

    I don't know if the complaint is valid, but Peeta has every right to make it! Woooooo, go Peeta! Katniss has been second-guessing everyone from the start; it's so good to see someone else confront her with the same attitude. I only wish that Peeta had gotten the courage to say these things on his own, without needing the hijacking excuse. "Not all those whose minds wander are brainwashed." Is that how the quote goes? Yeah, I'm sure it is.

    I also remember commenters explaining the latin phrase behind "Panem" way back when the first book began. Plutarch explains it all RIGHT HERE––could you really not wait!?

    No! hold on! Don't skim past my post! Hey! Peeta just made complaining cool! COME BACK.

    • RainaWeather says:

      I also remember commenters explaining the latin phrase behind "Panem" way back when the first book began. Plutarch explains it all RIGHT HERE––could you really not wait!?
      Maybe the people who explained it just knew Latin and the significance of that phrase and had no idea it would be explained later.

    • monkeybutter says:

      Deleted because it came off a bit dickish…but at least it made Raina's answer appear! (IntenseDebate is still haunted, I guess).

  72. notemily says:

    HEY WHAT HAPPENED TO MY GRAVATAR AND MY INTENSEDEBATE PROFILE.

    NO SERIOUSLY WHAT IS GOING ON.

  73. iolchos says:

    DID ANYONE ELSE REJOICE WHEN JOHANNA HIP-BUMPED GALE AND CALLED HIM GORGEOUS?

    JOHANNA X GALE = ULTIMATE OTP
    Y/Y?

    WHY HAS NO ONE ELSE COMMENTED ON THIS YET? P.S. IF YOU HAVE A REASON WHY NOT I DON'T WANT TO KNOW.

  74. peacockdawson says:

    I know he’s been through hell and back, and yet somehow the observation rubs me the wrong way. “Well, you’ve looked better.”

    Ahaha. I am going to go right ahead and say I had NO PROBLEM with Katniss saying that. Maybe later she's out of line, but I can't find anything wrong with this comment. It seems to me like an appropriate response to 'Well you aren't very attractive, are you?' I mean, sure, he went through something traumatic. But this just doesn't seem like it should be a big deal. I woulda said it to him.

  75. christwriter says:

    I found the conversation between Peeta and Katniss to be, well, both deserved and not deserved. And I have two takes on it:

    1. Finally. Finally. Finally. Somebody called Katniss on her shit. Yes, eventually she felt something for Peeta and the act quit being an act, but for all of book one and most of book two, she's playing emotional games with a very sweet, kind, gentle and all around good person who genuinely loves her. Admittedly, she's doing it to survive, but there's something very sociopathic about it. I liked that dynamic, being forced to do something morally reprehensible, and how it was justified by what the capitol did … but it was still sociopathic emotional gameplay, and the fact that Peeta forgave her didn't fix it. Now somebody has FINALLY called her on it, somebody who isn't willing to excuse it on the basis of "I needed to, in order to survive". It's time to acknowledge what she did, even if it's just subconsious.

    2. And this is Writing According to CW, so just theoretical, but … (*evil grin*) Collins wants us to be firmly on Katniss's side for the next part of the book. Which we already are, but there is a chance, if you resent the manipulation she preformed for a book and a half (seriously. I was still on her side, but that bothered me deeply) that you might still be angry with her. There's a kind of scale in a reader's head, and as long as the good actions outweigh the bad actions, we'll be on the character's side. Tip the scale to the bad, and we'll be pissed at the character until an event directly related to the bad behavior pays out enough suffering to even things out again. If the amount of suffering is more than what the reader feels is deserved, we will wind up back on the character's side until something good happens to him to even out the unfair suffering. As long as the suffering is not evened out, our liking of a character is not determined by their behavior, but rather by how much we want to see them comforted and/or rewarded.

    Katniss has never had to pay for manipulating Peeta. She's suffered a lot, yes, but it's never been directly related to what she did to him. Readers might still resent her for this (I know I did) and Collins does not want any reader resentment getting in the way of the last act of the book. So first, she gets called out for doing it. This evens things up in our minds. And then the amount of hatred Peeta has for her does not seem in proportion to what she did. This puts us back in her corner, on the off chance we weren't there to start with.

    Also, timing it so that this happens after the wedding, not before, means that it slams us hard. Happiness and humor drop mental defenses and leave you open to all sorts of things. I really, really love how smoothly Collins lets this book run. It's like a two-hundred-something page advertisment for Zoloft.

  76. PK9 says:

    Love the scene between Johanna and Katniss. She’s the perfect big sister. She’s not someone who’s madly in love with Katniss like Gale or Peeta. She’s not the manipulative mentor like Haymitch. She’s someone who will be straight with Katniss, yet has more years of experience to share with Katniss.

    Kudos to whoever figured out the bread and circuses thing way back in THG.

  77. Kripa says:

    No comment about Johanna hitting on Gale? Because I totally started shipping Goanna at that point. TEAM GOANNA!

  78. Inessa says:

    I thought the frosting boat was hillarious, but I also laughed about "he was frosting under heavy guard". Especially when I imagined that Haymitch was saying it with a very serious tone.

  79. Inessa says:

    I love Johanna because she has this rare abilty to call them as she sees them, and doesn't have that valve that inhibits us and often makes us into sycophantic liars. People who have this raw honesty, often make others feel uncomfortable, but it is this rare straight up honesty that we lose as we grow into adulthood. I will keep in mind how much I think I admire this quality, next time my sons tell me to stop singing in the car, because I ruin the song.

  80. Annalebanana says:

    O.o at the sheer amount of people who think Peeta's words were justified.

    1. This is sort of unrelated, but I feel it is part of what makes this part with Peeta okay (sort of) in my mind, but then I will move on to why Peeta is NOT JUSTIFIED AT ALL. I really like this part in that it finally makes Peeta REAL. The reason I had always hate him was because he seemed so sugar-coated (or should I say FROSTED ;)). He loved Katniss for very little reason, and always seemed to be that one person you are always obligated to hate because they are Practically Perfect in Every Way, and even their flaws just serve to make them better. But him waking up (in a way) through this hijacking made me when I read this book infinitely more willing to be able to accept a potential Katpee love, because if love develops after this point, it would be real to me, not capitol manufactured, or harmed by a Perfect (could be argued "christ-like," perfection wise) person with a very much not so one.

    2. This is what I was referring to at the beginning of the comment, but BOY is Peeta's comment entirely unjustified. I understand his anger, and though I think he doesn't really have a RIGHT to be angry at Katniss without looking at his actions, I could say that was possibly justified. However, the "true" Katniss he sees now is SO NOT the true Katniss! Hear me out, please! We all have flaws, but are they what we are? Is Katniss a manipulative bitch? IN NO FREAKING WAY. It is not fair to look at the bad in a person and say that we know the person. That is not who they are. Not even close (Unrelated: this is why I disagree about most people's perception of Gale). Katniss may have "manipulated" in his eyes, but she is not a manipulator. Say what you want, but when you get down to the bare bones of it, I think she did what she had to out of Love! Katniss is an amazing person. She is not someone who can be reduced to such comments. She has flaws, but in the end she is a wonderful person. Peeta thinks he knows her now, and Katniss thinks he knows her too, but that is not who she is. Katniss is a caring, courageous,beautiful inside-and-out girl who has tried her best in like the worst imaginable situations. Cut her some slack if she has some faults Peeta, would you rather have had her be honest and you died? Or both of you? Really, unfair through and through. We all need to look past the wrong in people and look at them as a whole. A person is not just what they have done wrong. A person is a beautiful, complex thing. So Peeta, SCREW YOU! Who are you to tell Katniss that she is "not very pretty?" (I honestly would have cried there. I actually think I did, for Katniss' sake) You think you know her, but you don't .Stop making her feel like crap, you piece of hijacked frosting!

    • inzhuna says:

      Peeta is brainwashed! His judgement is not his own. He has no memory of the real Katniss, only what Capitol implanted in him. So I don't think your argument against him holds, even though I get where you're coming from and I felt for Katniss, too.
      Oh, and I agree that Peeta has always been, heh, 'frosted'. But I differ in opinion with you because this argument did not make him real for me. Again, this is not his flaws that made him mean to Katniss but Capitol's brainwashing.

      • Annalebanana says:

        Peeta may be brainwashed, but that doesn't make what he said any less real. I think if he wasn't hijacked, he might not have said it, but deep down he would have felt it eventually. I think he has accepted that Katniss isn't really a mutt, but whatever is left of the hijacking is who he is now. It isn't fair to call all of his actions now not him, because the old him isn't existent right now, and I doubt he will ever be the same. My comment was more directed towards why what he said wasn't true, and why Katniss shouldn't believe it, so I don't even see why you needed to make that comment anyways. Regardless of whether he was hijacked or not, Mark's question was whether it was justified, and I say definitely not.

    • Annalebanana says:

      I don't mean to be whiny, but I hate getting down voted for having an *unpopular* opinion. If you don't agree with me, that's perfectly fine! Go ahead and tell me why! I would love to debate with you. But please stop with the down button unless I am being offensive for spoilerish. (And even then, I would still want to be told why you did so so I could be sure never to make that mistake again.)

  81. TreesaX says:

    When I first read the Katniss and Peeta exchange, I felt really sad and hopeless that my ship was not gonna happen.

    The second time I read it, I was still in mourning but I fell in love with the line, "I must have loved you a lot." It was beautiful and heartbreaking.. but it also gave me hope.

    The third time I read it, I realized that it was not hopeless.. that actually Collins was telling us who she was rooting for, and who we should be rooting for as well. Yes, he had taken away our lovable and hopelessly in love Peeta who practically worshipped the ground Katniss walked on… but what she brought back was Peeta with a clean slate. Peeta who will be able to see from the beginning. I realized that maybe.. just maybe.. we were finally gonna watch Peeta fall in love with Katniss.

  82. Pk9 says:

    Dancing!
    [youtube mKlliq01hWQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKlliq01hWQ youtube]

    Watch until the end, and you'll see Katniss' reaction to finding out that Peeta made the cake.

  83. inzhuna says:

    I just wanted to say whilst I am not in love with the books (I LIKE them, but I'm not a fan) I deeply admire Collins for being so brave with her characters. Not only she allows shit to happen to them, she makes them responsible for that shit as well. Does that make sense? I mean, Katniss is such a real person. In this scene with Peeta, I understand where she's coming from, but she's in the wrong here. She comes off jerkish and selfish and that's because she's insecure and afraid. And it's amazing. Collins is not trying hard to make the readers always like the main characters. She is not scared of us disliking or disapproving of them. Gale and Haymitch are also flawed. I have some issues with Peeta's character and I also agree that Prim is way too marysueish. But Katniss is an amazing main character.

  84. inzhuna says:

    By the way I found this map which I think is much better than the one that's been posted here before!

    Ok, I failed at embedding so here is just a link http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100823011

    • Saber says:

      11's WAY too small in proportion to 1, 2, and 9. But it's possibly the best I've seen.

      Oh I see. The person mixed up 5 and 10. But 11 is still way too small.

      • inzhuna says:

        Looks good! Although I kind of always imagined that Districts didn't take that much space, and there was a lot of wilderness.

        • iolchos says:

          yeah me as well, especially with the encroaching shorelines (and I'm assuming if there were some sort of nuclear fallout, then the wilderness might contain spaces of wasteland from that)

    • peetniss says:

      this is cool but district 13 can't possibly be in the south based on the weather they describe. also, i think some of these districts would be alot bigger since they are the sole providers of their speciality (livestock comes to mind immediately).

      i like that this map has more of canada is involved but i think more of mexico might be inolved as well. all and all, i prefer the lj version.

      • inzhuna says:

        Hehe, the person who made it is Canadian 😉
        Don't you wish that Collins would just release an official map! *sigh*

        • peetniss says:

          yikes. i didn't click thru on the lj link included here. i assumed it was this one, which is the one i was referring to when i said i prefer the lj version:
          http://aimmyarrowshigh.livejournal.com/32461.html

          but having seen the OTHER lj map, well, i think its somewhere between all 3. the first lj map posted here featuers too much of north america, imo. there was supposed to be many natural disasters so i assume the map will look differently. but the one by the canadian (wikia…) shows very small districts. and the one i posted also has a few problems.

          so yeah, i wish collins would post a map. apparently she refuses because she wants the reader to be "clueless" about the rest of panem like any resident would have been.

  85. inzhuna says:

    This is like my 3rd comment in a row. Haha, and I started with 'I just wanted to say…' I guess I had a lot to say XD
    Anyways: I totally imagine Haymitch as Misha Collins! (Castiel from Supernatural) Don't know why. Especially as Castiel that was in the alternate future in season 5 (lols forever).

  86. Cyna says:

    God I loved Johanna's summation of Katniss' character in this because it was exactly why I never liked Katniss that much. Collins works so hard to make her into this totally oblivious, hard-on-herself, goody-good character, and it's like, "Really?" Every time I read a character say something about themselves like Katniss did at the end of her convo with Peeta – calling herself deadly, manipulative, blah blah blah – I roll my eyes and think "Drama queen." And Katniss does that ~a lot~. Then she also does that thing where she doesn't get someone's feelings (like assuming Peeta's love was fake in the original Hunger Games) and insists that NO IT'S NOT TRUE HE COULDN'T LOVE ME or doesn't realize she did something awesome (like the incident with the Game Maker's pig), and freaks out like OH MY GOD THEY'RE GOING TO KILL ME and I have the same eye roll reaction, like, "Well we all know that's not true." It smacks of…what's the term? False humility?

    And then Johanna comes along and is all like KATNISS UR PERSONALITY SO HARD TO SWALLOW and I'm like I NO RITE?

    tl;dr JOHANNA KNOWS MY SOUL.

  87. helenablythe says:

    Do you think Katniss has been too hard on herself or is what Peeta said a valid complaint?

    Both. I think that for many people (perhaps women more than men?? but not being a man, I don't know) before we can evaluate ourselves properly we have to both under and over evaluate our actions and motivations.

    I think that Katniss had to become accustomed to functioning on a very utilitarian basis. If she didn't pretend to love Peeta, then her family, her district, etc. would all suffer. The question of whether or not she really felt that way was rendered irrelevant by her need to keep those she cared about from harm. Peeta was one of those she cared about as well, though, so she wasn't without affection for him when she acted affectionate. It would be easy to dismiss the sum of her actions as being utilitarian from start to finish, but I think that would be oversimplifying her. I think that for Katniss, simply looking at her actions towards Peeta as being related to a functional need also gave her the luxury of tucking away emotions and the messier bits of whether or not it's right or wrong to act as if she's in love with him when she also feels something for Gale. It wasn't entirely selfish of her to do so, since she needed to do that to simply keep herself and the others alive. While in the arenas and in the time in between, she never had the luxury of emotional space for introspection. She was always facing huge stress factors which would distort any self evaluation she could do. Once Peeta was captured and she was mired in PTSD, she still didn't have the space for it.

    But she leapt from not thinking about her feelings and motivations and character to thinking the worst of herself as Peeta speaks. I think that taking to heart what Peeta says about her is a form of penance for the guilt she feels over his capture. I think she would have preferred to have changed places with him but there must be part of her which is also glad she wasn't captured by the Capitol. By this point in the story, I think she feels a bit like a pawn used by all sides. What is she apart from The Girl On Fire or the Mockingjay? The only other things she was was Peeta's girl or Gale's girl or Prim's sister. I think she's really feeling distance from Gale and his violence and Prim doesn't need her quite as much. Now Peeta's just…done with her.

    Katniss doesn't seem to know what she is or have much control over how she wants to let herself be put to use. It seems to me that she's just…drifting with the tide right now.

    I've read a lot of other comments that chastise both Peeta and Katniss for being mean or selfish or whatever in this scene. Perhaps the things they say would be beyond the pale were these two people trying to work out their issues and either reconcile or part from each other under normal circumstances. But the circumstances they are in are so not normal that I can't even begin to apply the usual rules of "this is how any thinking person should react or speak to another person." I can't imagine being in a position where people are telling you that you love this person, but every memory you have of her is connected to pain. I can't imagine having a burgeoning love for someone who was one of the only people who'd just loved you without the need to do so, and then that person now absolutely hates you? How can we apply 'normal' evaluative standards to these two?

  88. Amy says:

    Okay, so I haven't even read the books? Buuut mostly I think that both Peeta and Gale need to suck it up and DEAL with the fact that there are more important things than *whether a girl likes then or not.* FOR REALZ. Katniss has always had her eyes on what she's fighting for, and they're whining that she might be confused? Because ALL SHE HAS TIME TO DO IS THINK ABOUT THEM AND MAKE ADULT DECISIONS ABOUT ROMANCE IN THE MIDDLE OF A GODDAMN WAR?

    Gaaaah. I find it frustrating. Maybe it comes across as making more sense in the books? idk.

  89. peetniss says:

    Do you think Katniss has been too hard on herself or is what Peeta said a valid complaint?

    i think katniss is being too hard on herself, but hey i think she was even harder on peeta. it hurts when someone is real with you but she doesn't say that. she says the people behind the glass don't deserve to see this. i find this a cop out. an entire nation watched her and while that gets old quickly, it didn't stop her from doing what she had to do to survive. she makes out with peeta quite a bit with lots of viewers watching. for her to now say, i won't be honest and give him what he needs to survive because people are watching is unexpected. doesn't feel like katniss at all.

    that said, i think peeta does not have a valid point at all. if all he wanted to say was i don't love you anymore, then fine. and god knows, that reaction would be understandable. but he wants to know if she's been kissing gale? dude, are you serious? the capitol has been pulling the strings on you, katniss, gale – and you want to be angry at katniss for kissing gale? seems like the old, caring peeta is gone for good and he's just being totally real now.

  90. Revolution64 says:

    Yeah, she's not manipulative. At all. So, in a sense, she's too hard on herself. I still hate Katniss with a passion. So I suppose, I empathize deeply with Johanna.
    TEAM JOHANNA FOREVER!

  91. Alex says:

    OMG KATNISS YOU'RE SO FREAKING ANNOYING STOP BEING SUCH A BITCH PLEASE!

  92. Rhys says:

    I am extremely fond of this part of Mockingjay.

    I hate blind love, romances that just ignore flaws and pretend people are perfect, but /this chapter/, and all the chapters regarding this that follow it, they make this relationship real for me. Finally, Peeta can see Katniss in an unbiased light, can judge her through a lens not carefully crafted in rose-tint.

    Relationships are only real if you can see the other person’s flaws, acknowledge them, and then forgive them for it anyways.

    The process hurt, but I love Collins for writing it. It feels painful and real.

    [WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘0 which is not a hashcash value.

  93. ALynnJ42 says:

    Yay! I was really excited about the Finnick/Annie wedding! But I wished it had gone into more detail… I'm a sap for weddings.

    Also the explanation about Panem's name totally just killed my theory from a couple of chapters ago when I thought it would've been cool if Panemians spoke Latin. Oh well…

  94. Hanh says:

    Johanna, I would go gay for you in a heartbeat. Stealing that 'please feel free to take this personally' line.

    So now I'm really curious to learn what weddings are like in all the Districts. Is there some kind of Panem lexicon out there?

    I think Peeta's points were valid. She is all those things, but she's also being hard on herself. No surprise, we are our worst critics after all. What makes it hurt more is that Peeta (and Prim) are the only people who have ever been able to make her feel better about herself. Don't you worry your little head, Katniss. Saint Prim to the rescue.

    "In that first arena, it looked like you tried to kill me with those tracker jackers."
    "I was trying to kill all of you," I say. "You had me treed."

    LOLOLOLOLOL. That line made me laugh so hard. Treed…what an awkward word. I don't blame Katniss for how she acted here. I get it. He's sick, but Peeta was still being a dick. I would've bristled at his remarks, too.

    Did somebody say unicorn butterflies and puppy dog pillowcases?

    <img src="http://files.myopera.com/trinhhaiphuong/albums/7054952/Butterflies-And-Unicorns-butterflies-11305094-397-317.gif"&gt;
    <img src="http://custombodypillows.com/gallery/puppy_girl(large)(a).jpg">

  95. Erika says:

    I cried at this chapter. I feel like I was Katniss, that I messed up evrything. Besides, Mockingjay is very sad. But it’s really really really great! 🙂

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