Catching Fire

Katniss is shocked and unsettled by President Snow’s presence, and she compares finding him in her house to “taking the lid off a pot and finding a fanged viper instead of stew” (18). President Snow reveals that he knows Katniss isn’t really in love with Peeta and explains that “people viewed your little trick with the berries as an act of defiance, not an act of love” (21); to force the Capitol to recognize them as co-victors, Katniss and Peeta threatened to eat poisoned berries and die on live television rather than fight each other. Snow believes that Katniss’s actions will lead to uprisings in the districts, and he orders Katniss to use the Victory Tour to squash any ideas of rebellion. Snow indirectly threatens Katniss’s family and friends if she is not successful. Katniss remembers sharing a kiss with Gale in the woods a few months ago, and she realizes that Snow has been watching and monitoring her ever since she came home from the Games. She promises that she will convince everyone in the districts that “[she] wasn’t defying the Capitol, that [she] was crazy with love” (29).

Katniss is shaken by Snow’s visit but chooses to not tell anyone except Haymitch about their conversation. She feels like her world is “veering out of control” (30), but she is determined to keep difficult situations like this away from her mother and her sister Prim, because they’d only become “sick with worry” (32-33). Instead, Katniss prepares for the Victory Tour with her stylist Cinna and puts on a show for the cameras. Katniss and Peeta resume their charade as happy lovers, and board a train to begin the Victory Tour. That first night, Katniss visits Haymitch and tells him about her conversation with President Snow. Haymitch tells Katniss that she will “never, ever be able to do anything but live happily ever after with [Peeta]” (44), because the Capitol will expect her to maintain this lie for the rest of her life. Katniss realizes that “[She]’ll have to marry Peeta” to ensure that she, her friends, and her family can survive (44).

Katniss thinks about marrying Peeta, and although she cares for him as a friend and knows she could “do a lot worse” (45), she is distraught at the thought of losing the right to marry whoever she wants. Katniss tries to focus on the Victory Tour, but her mood worsens as her prep team discusses alterations to her appearance and Effie Trinket, Katniss and Peeta’s official Capitol escort, stresses out about the tour schedule. When Katniss snaps at Effie and storms off, Peeta follows her. Peeta apologizes to Katniss for behaving coldly towards her after he learned that she didn’t have the same feelings for him that he had for her. Peeta admits that “it wasn’t fair to hold [Katniss] to anything that happened in the Games” (51). Katniss apologizes for misleading Peeta, and they agree to try to be friends. Katniss feels better, and Peeta shows her the paintings he has been doing, which all depict moments from the arena. Katniss realizes that Peeta is just as traumatized by the events of the Hunger Games as she is, and they both have nightmares about the Games. The train arrives in District 11, the home of Rue and Thresh, tributes Katniss grew close to in the 74th Games before they died. District 11 has much stricter security and surveillance than District 12, and Effie remarks on their brusque treatment by the Capitol’s Peacekeepers. During their speech to the people of District 11, Peeta announces that he and Katniss will donate part of their winnings to Rue and Thresh’s families because Rue and Thresh helped Katniss and Peeta survive the Games. Katniss is nervous about speaking but gives an emotional thanks to the families of Thresh and Rue. An old man in the crowd whistles Rue’s four-note mockingjay song from the arena. The people of District 11 salute Katniss, and the Peacekeepers quickly step in and shoot the old man in the head.

Haymitch, Katniss, and Peeta find a quiet place to talk in the Justice Building of District 11. Haymitch and Katniss tell Peeta about President Snow’s visit and threat. Katniss explains “how the whole country is in jeopardy because of [her] trick with the berries” (65). Peeta becomes angry that Haymitch and Katniss were keeping this information from him and Katniss and Haymitch agree to be more transparent. Katniss marvels at how different District 11 is from 12, and remarks that “Here in 11, they suffer more acutely and feel more desperation [...] A spark could be enough to set them ablaze” (67-68). As the tour continues, Katniss and Peeta focus on convincing the districts that they aren’t rebels, but just two teenagers who are madly in love. Despite their efforts, Katniss notices that in every district, “you can feel something in the air, the rolling boil of a pot about to run over” (71). The districts are on the verge of rebellion with or without the star-crossed lover’s charade, “and [she] know[s] that there’s nothing [she] could ever do to change this” (71).

Katniss’s nightmares worsen, and Peeta begins sleeping next to her to comfort her. In a desperate attempt to quell the uprisings and appease President Snow, Katniss suggests a “public marriage proposal,” and during their televised interview at the Capitol, “Peeta gets down on one knee, pours out his heart, and begs [Katniss] to marry him” (73). Although the rest of the Capitol is hysterically happy, President Snow is still displeased and does not believe the charade.