CATCHING FIRE Digital Reading Party discussion

1. How do you think Katniss is affected by what happens to Darius and Cinna?

It shakes her deeply , I think it's some sort of a reminder that the president can hurt all those close to her ... I really kept wishing Cinna lived

Totally agree with the other comment on the thread. Katniss is shaken to the core. She realizes she's not in control in any capacity and that President Snow has more power than she knows.

agreed-and the timing of Cinna was just ruthless. Done deliberately at that time to throw her off her game. I think it just gave her even more motivation to save Peeta. Darius serves as a reminder than he can keep people alive, but misery will always ensue.

These are all great responses. The timing was definitely intentional. Do you think it had the desired effect on Katniss?

It absolutely had the intended effect on Katniss. It shook her up, big time. Snow is a master of psychological torture. It backfires a bit with Cinna, since he means so much to Katniss as a martyr, but it mostly just makes her crazy.

Agreed Laura-it had the desired affect to shake her completely. But I think it also backfired in a way Snow did not anticipate-it did not weaken Katniss, it ultimately empowered her and gave her the drive to succeed in her goal of keeping Peeta alive.

I completely agree with the other comments on this thread. Cinna's and Darius's horrible fates both shook Katniss deeply. Darius, a good friend of Katniss's from her home, who only tried to stop Gale's whipping, got his tongue cut off and was thrown into service to the Capitol. Cinna was Katniss's best friend. He gave her the publicity she needed in the first Games, and was always there for Katniss when she needed him, and when she did not. To have them both torn ruthlessly out of her grasp, one of them being someone she only spoke to on occasion, showed Katniss how far the Capitol will go to destroy her life and anyone who tries to be in it. Overall, the effect was that it shook Katniss, scared her, knowing that these people were set to these fates because they tried to help her. And of course they were timed exactly how the Capitol wished them. Darius was right when everything was worse for Katniss, when she was about to go into another Hunger Games. Cinna was right before Katniss rose into the arena. She wanted to be strong and confident and show the Capitol and the citizens of Panem that the Capitol can do what ever they want to her and she will still defy them, but instead she was completely distraught over the painful death of one of her true friends.