let’s talk about the bread scene again, shall we?
first, we may note that Katniss does not start going to the Hob until after she figures out how to provide for her family; I have previously wondered why Haymitch didn’t notice how much in a bad way the Everdeens were if Katniss was coming to The Hob: here’s your explanation
second, the icy weather will be personified in a few paragraphs as running its fingers down little Katniss’s back, a very invasive image; mark it, because it’s going to be juxtaposed against another “intimate” image
third, Katniss drops the baby clothes and is unable to pick them up for fear she won’t be able to go on; I see this as a two-fold metaphor; she can never pick up her childhood again, and she must leave any notions of a future with children of her own behind if she is to survive, physically and emotionally; she must leave past and future in the mud of now
there may be a tragic third image here, one that points us ahead to the final book: an image of Katniss ultimately losing her baby, Prim
here, we get our first really meaningful mention of fire (outside of the mention in the “here’s how Panem became a dystopia” exposition dump from the mayor) in the series, and there’s a strong correlation between fire and hope, and, therefore, lack of fire and lack of hope; fire means many things in this world, but it’s significant to me that this is the first major association we get
the next image that stands out to me is the image of the garden beds not yet planted for spring; again, I think ahead to the third book, where Greasy Sae heralds Peeta’s return by mentioning that spring is in the air; it’s not yet spring, but it’s coming
then, of course, we get this flood of sensory imagery about the golden glow of the bakery; here again is another image of fire, and this time, in addition to hope, it represents warmth and sustenance, food
I do not think the use of “golden” is accidental here, as we have gold and yellow imagery used often for Peeta
Katniss is made almost dizzy by the rush of scent and light, but then that icy personification of reality (of despair? of death?) runs its fingers down her back and she begins desperately digging in the trash
it’s pretty telling that the bins are described as “heartlessly” bare and then we immediately meet the heartless witch herself
Mrs. Mellark is quick to dehumanize both Katniss and Peeta, treating Katniss like an animal “pawing” in her trash, beating Peeta (seemingly with an object, not her hand) and calling him a stupid creature; what is particularly cruel is that she knows Katniss is out there, or was a moment ago, starving, and yet she tells her son to feed not the little girl, but the pig
but Peeta, kind Peeta, brings the bread to Katniss; and remember, we are told of his small (not so small) sacrifice as Katniss is standing on the reaping stage, having sacrificed herself for her sister; we know these two characters are sacrificial and compassionate from the jump
of course, with the information we are given in the second book, we can see this moment as a symbolic sort of toasting; a wedding, not by party or paper, but by pity and provision
and here’s that beautiful, intimate image that stands in opposition to the icy fingers of death; the heat of the bread, of life; it burns itself into Katniss’s skin, as a brand of hope and of connection to the boy with the bread, and she welcomes it, clutches it closer; Gale may have fire, yes, but Katniss held Peeta’s fire to her heart first
(as an aside, of course Peeta makes an incubator for Haymitch’s gosling eggs: he is the one who brings warmth and life)
speaking of Gale: I will forever give him credit for helping Katniss feed her family … but, again, Peeta did it first
notice that Katniss falls into a dreamless sleep; he isn’t even sharing her bed yet, and Peeta is already helping her have “no nightmares”
and now, at last, spring is here; spring comes to Katniss with Peeta; he is springtime, with all its color and brightness
Katniss notices the dandelion that reminds her of her father (by the way, unless I’m much mistaken, burdock is in the same family as dandelion, and what’s even crazier is that the flower family they both belong to is the Asteraceae family—yes, this is where Asterid comes from—which is the daisy family) (“here it’s safe, here it’s warm / here the daisies guard you” indeed) reminds her she is not doomed; we learn later that Burdock told Katniss as long as she could find herself (her name plant), she wouldn’t starve; Katniss does manage to find herself, in more ways that one, but she has to find the dandelion (Peeta) first
lastly, Katniss says she feels she owes Peeta, and she does, though he’ll deny it: she owes him her life, and what’s beautiful about comparing this moment with the end of the series is that she makes good on this sense of owing him; she owes it to him to stay alive, to live, just as he comes to owe it to her to live too; and they do
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2087
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