Mockingjay Chapter 1 Quotes
Mockingjay Chapter 1 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
(Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 4
Gale asked to be dropped off in 12 with me, but he didn't force the issue when I refused his company. He understands I don't want anyone with me today. Not even him. Some walks you have to take alone. (1.9)
Even the greatest, best friends can't be there for you <em>all</em> the time. As close as Katniss and Gale are, he can't stand by her in this moment; she needs to do it by herself. At the same time, she distinguishes between him and the other people she's with in 13. Of all the people there she "do[esn't] want anyone," "not even" Gale. If she would want anyone by her side, though, it sounds like it would be him.
Quote 5
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 6
I killed you, I think as I pass a pile [of rotting and burned bodies]. And you. And you.
Because I did. It was my arrow, aimed at the chink in the force field surrounding the arena, that brought on this firestorm of retribution. That sent the whole country of Panem into chaos. (1.11-12)
Katniss refers here to an event in her past (it takes place in <em>Catching Fire</em>, the second book in the series), when she made a choice in the arena to protect herself – without knowing the effects it would have on her home district. Because of her, indirectly, all these people are now dead.