Appearances Quotes in Catching Fire

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

It's only when Cinna shows up to approve me and dismiss her that she takes my hands, looks me straight in the eye, and says, "We would all like you to know what a . . . privilege it has been to make you look your best." Then she hastens from the room.

My prep team. My foolish, shallow, affectionate pets, with their obsessions with feathers and parties, nearly break my heart with their good-bye. (17.74-75)

Katniss' prep team has always seemed shallow and superficial to her. Yet now it seems like they had deeper feelings all along, that Katniss has somehow touched them on a more profound level. The prep team isn't just about the surface; they actually care about Katniss.

Quote #8

Really, the combination of the scabs and the ointment looks hideous. I can't help enjoying his distress.

"Poor Finnick. Is this the first time in your life you haven't looked pretty?" I say.

"It must be. The sensation's completely new. How have you managed it all these years?" he asks. (22.33-35)

Outside the arena Finnick is defined by his extreme, almost unearthly beauty. He's a great-looking guy, but he isn't just that. In this moment, when Katniss thinks he "looks hideous," he still has his sense of humor, even though he's also shaken by the fact that he doesn't look his best.

Quote #9

His reference to the baby signals that our time-out from the Games is over. That he knows the audience will be wondering why he hasn't used the most persuasive argument in his arsenal. That sponsors must be manipulated. (24.90)

Peeta and Katniss always have to think of their audience. In what should be the most private times of anyone's life, finding love or facing death, they have to perform like actors on a stage. Everything has to be done with an eye to pleasing the public.