BLOGGING THE HUNGER GAMES, pt. 24: Fox Confessor Brings The Flood

Previous entries can be found in the directory.


Chapter 24 

Katniss explains to Peeta the way Foxface had been grabbing supplies from the careers—and that she'd been doing the same to them until Peeta “outfoxed” her. Yes, she really uses that word. Fall back, Katniss. They figure that Cato knows where they are now, but probably won't make a direct attack. So they settle down and cook, deciding to hang onto the poison berries in case they can pull the same trick again later. For a couple of murderers, these two are still pretty committed to killing as passive-aggressively as possible.

Katniss tells us that Peeta is a “whiz with fires,” getting a blaze going out of “damp wood.” Is that supposed to represent the way he's awakened Katniss's sexuality? Is she the damp wood? After dinner Katniss wants to climb a tree to sleep, but Peeta wants to go back to the cave. Just so we're clear on the symbolism here:

Katniss: tree/penis preference
Peeta: cave/vagina preference

Also, I mean, every new couple has that fight, it's understandable. Cave or tree? I've been there. Katniss decides to let Peeta win this round, and they hike back to the vagina. Peeta sleeps through the night and then Katniss does until mid-afternoon. So, like, what happens on TV at this point? Highlight reels from earlier in the games? (In fact, as our heroes trek onward, Katniss starts referencing past events. So, maybe!)

Our heroes decide to go face Cato and get it over with, but they want to wash up first. You know the feeling: you're gearing up for a big fight so you want to be fresh and clean. But when they get to the stream for some sexy washing up times, that streambed is dusty and dry. Bummer, man. That's like pouring a bowl of cereal and then realizing you're out of milk. Or like, starting to have sex and then realizing you don't have a condom. (“Just the dip?”-Peeta) They hike to another spring and find that one dry as well and conclude that the Gamemakers are drawing them to the lake for a showdown. Katniss is like, “bitches, we were on that already.” She feels like it was always going to come down to her and Cato, that the other dead kids were just a distraction, which sounds sort of like Suzanne Collins is feeling down on herself. Hey, Suzanne! Don't worry, this book was kind of fun!

They pass the scene of the Tracker Jacker incident and Katniss starts flashing back, in case we forgot Glimmer's pus-filled, exploding body. Katniss kicks the nest and it dissolves into dust, re-emphasizing how little we know about what was real during that whole thing (this is a time when Collins's terminal vagueness problem isn't a problem at all. Shit's very David Lynchesque). They reach the clearing and walk around the metal cornucopia where they started, making sure motherfucker isn't hiding underneath like Hussein or Gaddafi. Hey, have you noticed the way the government seems to be leaking more and more embarrassing details about dead tyrants and terrorists these days? I mean, Saddam happened and him hiding out in that hole with the crazy beard and getting his mouth examined was kind of weird, but dude ended up with his dignity more or less intact. Then Osama happened, and they were like “we found Bin Laden's stash of jerk socks.” And now with Gaddafi, it's even worse! I mean, I know these guys were bad news but can't we just kill them and leave it that?

Once again, Collins does that thing where a scene that will end up being five or six minutes in the movie happens on a single page. Katniss and Peeta sit by the lake and she sings Rue's song. The Mockingjays pick it up and start overlapping the melody, and it's beautiful and probably kinda Brian Wilson-y, but then the melody becomes discordant and crazy as Cato crashes through the trees. Katniss shoots him and her arrow bounces off his chest. He charges at them, ready to kill, but then Katniss realizes he is unarmed. And then he runs right past her. Hey Cato! The fight is that way! But it turns out he's being chased by some kind of monster. That summary of the action right there is about as long as the actual action in the book. More and more I'm feeling like that Stephen King's description of this as a “jarring, speed-rap of a novel” was less a compliment and more a criticism.