Admiration Quotes in Mockingjay

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

What am I going to do?

To become the Mockingjay... could any good I do possibly outweigh the damage? […] I swear, now that my family and Gale's are out of harm's way, I could run away. Except for one unfinished piece of business. Peeta. If I knew for sure that he was dead, I could just disappear into the woods and never look back. But until I do, I'm stuck. (1.35-36)

This quote seems to suggest that Katniss dreads the power and responsibility that come with being the Mockingjay. She's deeply concerned about the sacrifices she'll have to ask other people to make by becoming a leader of the revolution. She stays with it not because she wants a heap of honor and glory for herself, but because she sees it as the only way to try and save her dear friend.

Quote #2

"Oh," I whisper in admiration. I lift it carefully into the air to admire the exquisite balance, the elegant design, and the curve of the limbs that somehow suggests the wings of a bird extended in flight. There's something else. I have to hold very still to make sure I'm not imagining it. No, the bow is alive in my hands. (5.62)

Sometimes a weapon, a thing of destruction, can also be a thing of great beauty. The way Katniss describes it, this bow sounds most like an art object – the work of a master craftsman. And, since Beetee created it, in many ways it is. Yet this art object is perhaps one of the most deadly things the characters will encounter in the pages of Mockingjay.

Quote #3

I hear my name rippling through the hot air, spreading out into the hospital. "Katniss! Katniss Everdeen!" The sounds of pain and grief begin to recede, to be replaced by words of anticipation. From all sides, voices beckon me. I begin to move, clasping the hands extended to me, touching the sound parts of those unable to move their limbs, saying hello, how are you, good to meet you. Nothing of importance, no amazing words of inspiration. But it doesn't matter. Boggs is right. It's the sight of me, alive, that is the inspiration. (7.31)

Katniss is the subject of admiration here, but she's able to use that admiration purely for good. She's able to give out "inspiration" to all the people around her simply by being there. Her presence in the hospital lends its patients strength and happiness. She doesn't have to do very much at all – just being there is enough.