Read Online The Girl Who Was on Fire by Diana Peterfreund, Carrie Ryan, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Leah Wilson, Terri Clark, Blythe Woolston - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Diana Peterfreund, Carrie Ryan, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Leah Wilson, Terri Clark, Blythe Woolston
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letter—not the “final” Games she proposes, but the way she goes about proposing them. By having the surviving victors of the Games vote on whether the children of the Capitol should become arena tributes, she defends herself against any blame. It’s a move calculated to keep her above public censure. She could tell the populace that sentencing more children to death was not her decision.
Alma Coin’s twisted ambition isn’t District 13’s only mirror-image of Capitol corruption. Though the seeming reality of District 13’s culture is one of great discipline, the militaristic code of the place leads to unspeakable horrors that reflect back the images of torture practiced in the Capitol.
The imprisonment of Katniss’ prep team is one example.
After their kidnapping from the Capitol, Flavius, Octavia, and Venia are certainly treated no worse than the refugees from District 12. Their punishment for repeatedly breaking the rules and hoarding an extra piece of bread, we’re told, is the same as any native of 13 would have experienced. But the prison conditions would have been torturous for anyone, and are especially so for those unused to any hardship or want. And couching their extended imprisonment as needed discipline is a ruse that fools no one from the Capitol (Fulvia and Plutarch Heavensbee), and certainly not Katniss, Haymitch, or Gale.
If any good comes out of Katniss’ discovery of her prep team’s plight, it’s that she is able to verbalize what she has only suspected up to that point: Coin’s corruption. “‘Punishing my prep team’s a warning,’ I tell Fulvia and Heavensbee. ‘Not just to me. But to you, too. About who’s really in control and what happens if she’s
not obeyed’” ( Mockingjay ). Coin, and by extension the district, has become a warped mirror-image of the very regime they wish to destroy—and the least trustworthy bunch in the series. 6
Gale: The Guy She Used to Know
In District 13, during Mockingay , we also see Katniss and Gale move further and further apart. At the end of Catching Fire , when Katniss learns that Peeta has not been saved, only Gale can penetrate her pain and despair. At this point it’s only Gale who she feels she can still trust.
In The Hunger Games Katniss declares, “In the woods waits the only person with whom I can be myself. Gale.” An interesting observation: she cannot totally be herself even with her beloved Prim, the little sister for whom she has risked her life. If Prim inadvertently, innocently repeats anything critical of the government, imprisonment, torture, or worse would befall the whole family. As for her mother—Katniss considers her too weak to trust. Certainly she’s too unreliable to protect Prim.
Right through the end of Catching Fire Katniss continues to trust Gale. He alone has not betrayed or lied to her. His presence on the District 13 rescue helicopter shocks her, but the fact he is there at her most desperate hour of need reaffirms their abiding friendship. He has turned up in spite of his having to witness, during the Quarter Quell broadcasts, her declarations of love for Peeta and the “fact” of her pregnancy—knowing only Peeta could be the father. Gale is the rock she
can lean on and trust, no matter what other fate befalls her. Her faith in Gale crumbles, however, beneath the weight of his betrayal in Mockingjay .
Betrayal is close kin to deception, more insidious because only someone you have confided in or bared your heart to, someone you trusted completely, can really betray you. And because of that, the most shattering betrayal Katniss experiences is ultimately by Gale, even though his betrayal is unintentional and not aimed at Katniss. She is just a wounded bystander. Poisoned by the horror of the Capitol’s offenses and of war, he becomes so hardened that he is now incapable of understanding how Katniss can’t share his “take no survivors” mentality.
When, finally able to go hunting in District
Alma Coin’s twisted ambition isn’t District 13’s only mirror-image of Capitol corruption. Though the seeming reality of District 13’s culture is one of great discipline, the militaristic code of the place leads to unspeakable horrors that reflect back the images of torture practiced in the Capitol.
The imprisonment of Katniss’ prep team is one example.
After their kidnapping from the Capitol, Flavius, Octavia, and Venia are certainly treated no worse than the refugees from District 12. Their punishment for repeatedly breaking the rules and hoarding an extra piece of bread, we’re told, is the same as any native of 13 would have experienced. But the prison conditions would have been torturous for anyone, and are especially so for those unused to any hardship or want. And couching their extended imprisonment as needed discipline is a ruse that fools no one from the Capitol (Fulvia and Plutarch Heavensbee), and certainly not Katniss, Haymitch, or Gale.
If any good comes out of Katniss’ discovery of her prep team’s plight, it’s that she is able to verbalize what she has only suspected up to that point: Coin’s corruption. “‘Punishing my prep team’s a warning,’ I tell Fulvia and Heavensbee. ‘Not just to me. But to you, too. About who’s really in control and what happens if she’s
not obeyed’” ( Mockingjay ). Coin, and by extension the district, has become a warped mirror-image of the very regime they wish to destroy—and the least trustworthy bunch in the series. 6
Gale: The Guy She Used to Know
In District 13, during Mockingay , we also see Katniss and Gale move further and further apart. At the end of Catching Fire , when Katniss learns that Peeta has not been saved, only Gale can penetrate her pain and despair. At this point it’s only Gale who she feels she can still trust.
In The Hunger Games Katniss declares, “In the woods waits the only person with whom I can be myself. Gale.” An interesting observation: she cannot totally be herself even with her beloved Prim, the little sister for whom she has risked her life. If Prim inadvertently, innocently repeats anything critical of the government, imprisonment, torture, or worse would befall the whole family. As for her mother—Katniss considers her too weak to trust. Certainly she’s too unreliable to protect Prim.
Right through the end of Catching Fire Katniss continues to trust Gale. He alone has not betrayed or lied to her. His presence on the District 13 rescue helicopter shocks her, but the fact he is there at her most desperate hour of need reaffirms their abiding friendship. He has turned up in spite of his having to witness, during the Quarter Quell broadcasts, her declarations of love for Peeta and the “fact” of her pregnancy—knowing only Peeta could be the father. Gale is the rock she
can lean on and trust, no matter what other fate befalls her. Her faith in Gale crumbles, however, beneath the weight of his betrayal in Mockingjay .
Betrayal is close kin to deception, more insidious because only someone you have confided in or bared your heart to, someone you trusted completely, can really betray you. And because of that, the most shattering betrayal Katniss experiences is ultimately by Gale, even though his betrayal is unintentional and not aimed at Katniss. She is just a wounded bystander. Poisoned by the horror of the Capitol’s offenses and of war, he becomes so hardened that he is now incapable of understanding how Katniss can’t share his “take no survivors” mentality.
When, finally able to go hunting in District
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