Catching Fire Chapter 24 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
(Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 1
He puts the chain with the locket around my neck, then rests his hand over the spot where our baby would be. "You're going to make a great mother, you know," he says. (24.89)
It's hard to know whether or not to take Peeta's admiration at face value here. Does he honestly think Katniss is going to be "a great mother" (someday), or is just playing for the audience, who thinks she's pregnant? Is this a ploy to encourage Katniss to live?
Quote 2
"Your family needs you, Katniss," Peeta says.
My family. My mother. My sister. And my pretend cousin Gale. But Peeta's intention is clear. That Gale really is my family, or will be one day, if I live. That I'll marry him. So Peeta's giving me his life and Gale at the same time. (24.80-81)
Peeta's skilled at strategy too. In this moment he uses Katniss' loyalty to her family against her, urging her to think of them and put them first – and to use them as a reason to survive the Games. The problem is, Katniss can't be loyal to them and Peeta at the same time. If she saves him, she can't save herself to take care of her family. But if she saves herself, how will she be able to live with the guilt? How can either she or Peeta live with themselves after watching the other die?
Quote 3
"I don't know what kind of deal you think you've made with Haymitch, but you should know he made me promises as well." Of course, I know this too. He told Peeta they could keep me alive so that he wouldn't be suspicious. "So I think we can assume he was lying to one of us."
This gets my attention. A double deal. A double promise. With only Haymitch knowing which one is real. (24.75-76)
Who is the best manipulator in this book? Haymitch certainly gives the other characters a run for their money. He tricked Peeta and Katniss both by making a "double deal" with each of them to try and save the other. By doing so, he has kept them both alive so far.
Quote 4
[Johanna] throws back her head and shouts, "Whole country in rebellion? Wouldn't want anything like that!"
My mouth drops open in shock. No one, ever, says anything like this in the Games. [...] I have heard her and can never think about her again in the same way. She'll never win any awards for kindness, but she certainly is gutsy. Or crazy. (24.42-43)
Like Peeta, Johanna shows her courage through what she says and when she says it. It's extremely dangerous to express such sarcasm in the Games. Or, as Katniss says, it might just be crazy.
Quote 5
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.