Quote 1
We sit in silence awhile and then I blurt out the thing that's on both our minds. "How are we going to kill these people, Peeta?" (16.93)
Unlike many soldiers in real wars, Katniss and Peeta don't have nationalism or patriotism to boost their spirits before they head into battle. They don't believe in the "cause" they're fighting for: kill or be killed. This isn't their war. After making it through the previous Games alive, now they have to turn around and head right back into battle again.
Quote 2
"Oh," I say under my breath. "Tick, tock." My eyes sweep around the full circle of the arena and I know she's right. "Tick, tock. This is a clock." (22.96)
The arena is designed like a clock and operates with military precision. Every hour, on the hour, some new horror strikes. When that hour's over, the horror is replaced by another incredible trial. It's mechanical. It's false. It's orchestrated. The question is, does that make it just like all the other wars on the planet, or completely unlike them?
Quote 3
Enemy. Enemy. The word is tugging at a recent memory. Pulling it into the present. The look on Haymitch's face. "Katniss, when you're in the arena . . ." The scowl, the misgiving. "What?" I hear my own voice tighten as I bristle at some unspoken accusation. "You just remember who the enemy is," Haymitch says. "That's all." (26.50)
Katniss has been fighting the other tributes this whole time, but she has nothing against them personally. She's been used like a puppet to fight the battles of others. Here she finally realizes what the advice Haymitch gave her so long ago really meant: she and the other tributes share a common enemy, the Capitol, and can do something about it.
Quote 4
"Okay, I figured out what I'm asking," I say. "If it is Peeta and me in the Games, this time we try to keep him alive."
Something flickers across his bloodshot eyes. Pain.
"Like you said, it's going to be bad no matter how you slice it. And whatever Peeta wants, it's his turn to be saved. We both owe him that." My voice takes on a pleading tone. "Besides, the Capitol hates me so much, I'm as good as dead now. He still might have a chance. [...]" (13.27-29)
Katniss hasn't instantly flipped her courage switch on like Peeta did after hearing about the new Games. But just a few hours later she's as ready to sacrifice her life for Peeta's as he's ready to sacrifice his life for hers. We could interpret the last part of what she says in two ways. Is she calculatingly using this "pleading tone" to bring up her inability to survive in order to convince Haymitch why he should work with her to save Peeta? Or is it easier for her to sacrifice herself because she believes she's in so much danger anyway?
Quote 5
"I didn't mean to start any uprisings," I tell him.
"I believe you. It doesn't matter. Your stylist turned out to be prophetic in his wardrobe choice. Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fire, you have provided a spark that, left unattended, may grow to an inferno that destroys Panem," he says. (2.30-31)
Snow says it's appearances that matter, not intentions. Katniss "didn't mean" to inspire a rebellion, but she did, and she'll get blamed for it. Snow calls her the "spark" that could explode their world and says that Cinna knew she had it in her.
Quote 6
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 7
"So what were you doing with Nuts and Volts?" I ask.
"I told you – I got them for you. Haymitch said if we were to be allies I had to bring them to you," says Johanna. "That's what you told him, right?"
No, I think. But I nod my head in assent. "Thanks. I appreciate it." (22.83-85)
In moments like this, the Hunger Games seem like an elaborate game of strategy, like chess. Haymitch has made a move for Katniss' side, which she didn't even know about. Johanna's play is to bring in the allies Katniss supposedly requested (although she didn't actually). Katniss, for her part, has to act like she knows all about this and that Johanna has done exactly the right thing.