Manipulation Quotes in Catching Fire

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

"This has to stop. Right now. This – this – game you two play, where you tell each other secrets but keep them from me like I'm too inconsequential or stupid or weak to handle them." (5.13)

Layers of games run throughout the book. Everyone's running a game on somebody else. Even Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch, who are supposed to be allies, have secrets from one another. As Peeta rightfully points out, Haymitch and Katniss have been keeping him out of the loop at a time when they should have trusted him more than ever.

Quote #5

I don't want Peeta singling himself out as a target for the Gamemakers' anger. That's part of my job. To draw fire away from Peeta. But how did he upset them? Because I'd love to do just that and more. To break through the smug veneer of those who use their brains to find amusing ways to kill us. To make them realize that while we're vulnerable to the Capitol's cruelties, they are as well. (16.100)

As soon as you become associated with the Games, you have to learn about manipulation. It's a necessity. Katniss has come a long way since she first got tapped to play in the Hunger Games. Now she knows she's being manipulated, and how. She's trying to manipulate people right back so that she and Peeta can stay alive.

Quote #6

"You'd have thought we planned it," says Peeta, giving me just the hint of a smile.

[...] "No," I say, looking at Peeta with a new sense of appreciation. "Neither of use even knew what we were going to do before we went in." (17.26, 28)

Peeta and Katniss are becoming more skilled manipulators by the day. They're becoming so good that they can manipulate on the spur of the moment; they don't need to plan in advance anymore. That's one way they know they're getting ready to go into the arena.