{"id":201,"date":"2011-02-18T07:00:34","date_gmt":"2011-02-18T15:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=201"},"modified":"2011-02-16T15:03:32","modified_gmt":"2011-02-16T23:03:32","slug":"mark-reads-mockingjay-chapter-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2011\/02\/mark-reads-mockingjay-chapter-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘Mockingjay’: Chapter 16"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixteenth chapter of Mockingjay<\/em>, we learn what happened to Katniss after the shocking end to chapter fifteen. Then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a wonderful wedding and a surprise from Haymitch. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Mockingjay<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Well, that was certainly unexpected, wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count that either. But goddamn, I love that Collins is not afraid to make this realer and realer and realer.<\/p>\n

After waking from yet another drug-induced sleep session (I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if this counts as a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153stupor\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153coma\u00e2\u20ac\u009d 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get to that.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m alive,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I say rustily.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No kidding, brainless.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not in for some warm reunion scene. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Still a little sore?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d 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. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They started cutting back my supply a few days ago. Afraid I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to turn into one of those freaks from Six. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had to borrow from you when the coast was clear. Didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d mind.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got this head doctor who comes around every day. Supposed to be helping me recover. Like some guy who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spent his life in this rabbit warren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to fix me up. Complete idiot. At least twenty times a session he reminds me that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m totally safe.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I manage a smile. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a truly stupid thing to say, especially to a victor. As if such a state of being ever existed, anywhere, for anyone. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How about you, Mockingjay? You feel totally safe?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh, yeah. Right up until I got shot,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I say.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Please. That bullet never even touched you. Cinna saw to that,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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<\/em> 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.)<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The impact ruptured your spleen. They couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t repair it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She gives a dismissive wave of her hand. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry, you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need one. And if you did, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d find you one, wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t they? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s everybody\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s job to keep you alive.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Is that why you hate me?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I ask.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Partly,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she admits. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Jealousy is certainly involved. I also think you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a little hard-to-swallow. With your tacky romantic drama and your defender-of-the-helpless act. Only it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t an act, which makes you more unbearable. Please feel free to take this personally.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Holy shit, SICK BURN, BRO<\/em>. 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<\/em> and the rebellion. That isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t meant to diminish Katniss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s experience, but she has to realize that she is protected in ways other citizens can only dream of.<\/p>\n
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<\/em>. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been forced into a situation where she has had to kill people herself. I think that perspective makes all the difference, though it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still not a clear-cut situation at all.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. We were under attack un Eight, for one thing. The hospital was under attack,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I say.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yes, and those hoverplanes came from District Two,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he says. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153So, by taking them out, we prevented further attacks.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153But that kind of thinking\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6you 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,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I say.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a bad point, really. Gale\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reasoning does create a sort of slippery slope. If the goal is to prevent further attacks with pre-emptive strikes, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it stand to reason that you could justify virtually anything<\/em> as long as that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the end result?<\/p>\n
THIS IS ALL SO COMPLICATED, THANK YOU FOR WRITING IT THIS WAY, COLLINS.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fine. We know how to disagree,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he says. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We always have. Maybe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good. Between you and me, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got District Two now.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Well, that certainly makes this situation even harder. So Gale\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s planned worked. WERE HIS ACTIONS JUSTIFIED?<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Was there fighting after I was shot?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Not much. The workers from the Nut turned on the Capitol soldiers. The rebels just sat by and watched,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he says. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Actually, the whole country just sat by and watched.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
GODDAMN IT. Not only did it work, but it appears those in District 2 genuinely switched sides. UGH THIS IS SO HARD.<\/p>\n
Plutarch certainly doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not going to be long before they can no longer sustain themselves. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6all they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve known is Panem et Circenses<\/em>,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he tells Katniss.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a saying from thousands of years ago, written in a language called Latin about a place called Rome,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he explains. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Panem et Circenses<\/em> translates into \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcBread and Circuses.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 The writer was saying that in return for full bellies and entertainment, his people had given up their political responsibilities and therefore their power.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heavy-handed, sure, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s idea is to marry Finnick and Annie and THIS IS A FANTASTIC IDEA. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so refreshing about the wedding is that the entirety of District 13 transforms from the drab and dark place we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve come to be familiar with to something magical and hopeful. Hopeful<\/em>. God, I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s condition, there is something at the end of this that will make it all worth it.<\/p>\n
There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t imagine knowing that Cinna is rumored to have been killed and having to see his work on other people, but Katniss appreciates that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re finally being used for something beautiful and brimming with love.<\/p>\n
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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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.<\/p>\n
Plus, who knew those in Distrcit 12 could dance?<\/p>\n
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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s propo. One I hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t heard about, but then it was meant to be a surprise.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
WELL, GREAT. Moment ruined! But wait\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6ruined by cake? Is that possible<\/em>?<\/p>\n
As surely as the embroidery stitches in Annie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gown were done by Cinna\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hand, the frosted flowers on the cake were done by Peeta\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This may seem like a small thing, but it speaks volumes. Haymitch has been keeping a great deal from me.<\/p>\n
OH. MY. GOD. Peeta is well enough to FROST A GODDAMN CAKE.<\/p>\n
Haymitch says he did it under guard, but that he was actually able to have a conversation with him without trying to hurt him.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Pretty angry with me, but for all the right reasons. Not telling him about the rebel plot and whatnot.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Haymitch pauses a moment, as if deciding something. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He says he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to see you.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
THIS IS WHAT I AM DOING RIGHT NOW!!!!!!<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ <\/p>\n
oh my god oh my god PEETA HAS MADE PROGRESS I AM SO EXCITE. EXCITE FOREVER.<\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m on a frosting sailboat, tossed around by blue-green waves, the deck shifting beneath my feet.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
HAHAHA I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M SORRY BUT FROSTING SAILBOAT<\/em><\/strong>. That is one of the most unintentionally hilarious lines I have ever heard.<\/p>\n
Ok, but seriously, Katniss isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily as excited as I am, because she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d resolved to write Peeta off forever, expecting him not to heal. Annnnnnddd she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already sort of<\/em> chosen Gale in a way and now Peeta is getting better? DRAMA AHEAD, FOLKS.<\/p>\n
To say that Katniss and Peeta\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conversation is so brutal, biting, and vicious\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6and acts as mirror to what Katniss has done. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not to say that everything he says is correct or that some of what he says isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really fucked up. But I think Katniss went into this conversation and forgot what Peeta went through while in the hands of the Capitol.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not very big, are you? Or particularly pretty?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
I know he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been through hell and back, and yet somehow the observation rubs me the wrong way. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve looked better.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Haymitch\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s advice to back off gets muffled by Peeta\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s laughter. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And not even remotely nice. To say that to me after all I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been through.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
KATNISS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING. Oh god, THAT IS A HORRIBLE START TO THIS CONVERSATION. Realizing that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already messed this up, she tells Peeta that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to leave and come back the next day, but Peeta stops her as she is at the door.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Katniss, I remember about the bread.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
WHAT. WHAT. THIS IS A DEVELOPMENT, RIGHT?<\/p>\n
Are you ready for the H.M.S. Sad<\/em> to come crashing into your Glacier of Despair? Nope. No, you are not.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We were outside at the end of the day. I tried to catch your eye. You looked away. And then\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6for some reason, I think you picked a dandelion.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I nod. He does remember. I have never spoken about that moment aloud. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I must have loved you a lot.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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<\/em><\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And did you love me?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he asks.<\/p>\n
I keep my eyes on the tiled floor. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everyone says I did. Everyone says that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Snow had you tortured. To break me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
WHY ARE YOU SAYING IT LIKE THIS oh my god this is a disaster.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not an answer,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he tells me. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t 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.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And now the real shit begins. Peeta, having his memories stolen and altered, can now watch footage from The Hunger Games<\/em> and see how Katniss was unsure of her feelings, how she \u00e2\u20ac\u0153faked\u00e2\u20ac\u009d being in love, and he can take those moments out of context and use them against her. Fucked. Up.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What about Gale?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he continues.<\/p>\n
My anger\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s returning. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care about his recovery\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthis isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the business of the people behind the glass. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a bad kisser either,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I say shortly.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
SHIP IS SINKING SHIP IS SINKING ABORT ABORT ABORT<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And it was okay with both of us? You kissing the other?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he asks.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No. It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t okay with either of you. But I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t asking your permission,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I tell him.<\/p>\n
Peeta laughs again, coldly, dismissively. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a piece of work, aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
SHIP SUNK NO SURVIVORS. This could not have been anymore of a disaster.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t 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.<\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to avoid wandering into a problematic discussion and recuse myself from talking about how women should relate to men and whatnot, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m curious to know: Do you think Katniss has been too hard on herself or is what Peeta said a valid complaint?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the sixteenth chapter of Mockingjay, we learn what happened to Katniss after the shocking end to chapter fifteen. Then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a wonderful wedding and a surprise from Haymitch. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Mockingjay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,5],"tags":[28,39,24,27],"class_list":["post-201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mockingjay","category-hunger-games","tag-katniss-everdeen","tag-mark-reads-mockingjay","tag-mark-reads-the-hunger-games","tag-suzanne-collins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}