Mockingjay Chapter 1 Quotes
Mockingjay Chapter 1 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
(Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 1
What they want is for me to truly take on the role they designed for me. The symbol of the revolution. The Mockingjay. […] I won't have to do it alone. They have a whole team of people to make me over, dress me, write my speeches, orchestrate my appearances – as if that doesn't sound horribly familiar – and all I have to do is play my part. (1.28)
Here it seems like Katniss is still being manipulated by others to fulfill a greater purpose. Before, she was deployed like a doll by the Capitol, and now she's being used in the same way to give a face to the group attempting to destroy the Capitol. In both cases, she's "play[ing a] part" that someone else wrote.
Quote 2
The authorities in District 13 were against my coming back. They viewed it as a costly and pointless venture, given that at least a dozen invisible hovercraft are circling overhead for my protection and there's no intelligence to be gained. I had to see it, though. So much so that I made it a condition of my cooperating with any of their plans. (1.3)
This quotation shows that Katniss is both powerful and powerless. She's being asked to be the face of the revolution and, as such, she has a certain amount of power. Yet she can't just go do anything she wants. In order to go back to District 12, she has to bargain with the other powerful individuals and give them something in return.
Quote 3
It isn't enough, what I've done in the past, defying the Capitol in the Games, providing a rallying point. I must now become the actual leader, the face, the voice, the embodiment of the revolution. The person who the districts—most of which are now openly at war with the Capitol – can count on to blaze the path to victory. (1.28)
Even though Katniss is being asked to step forward as "the actual leader," her power will still be limited. She'll be like a glorified figurehead, a "rallying point" around which other people will come together. She'll <em>appear</em> to have tremendous power and to become the "embodiment of the revolution" itself, but she won't actually be the one making decisions – that's President Coin.