haymitch and katniss's votes for another hunger game

[Shabnaj]

I feel like I'm missing something or maybe its much more simple. When katniss votes yes to another hunger games with the Capitols children by saying its for prim, what was shethinking? Had she already in her mind decided that it would be coin and not snow to take the impact of her arrow? That part really perplexed me because I wasn't sure if katniss meant it or if she was decieivingly going along with it. She already knew that it was yhe rebels who bombed the children at the point. I also couldn't imagine haymitch being okay with it either. Haymitch is many things but he isn't cruel. Peetas response was the only thing that made sense to me -- he was practically jumping up and down screaming its wrong. And of course, Annie and beetee agreed. It was just katniss and haymitch who confused me in their votes.

[Shabnaj]

Oh and another question I had is regarding Gales involvement of the bombs. Wasn't he caught by peacekeepers right before the bombings? So is it that he ended up in the air dropping the parachutes down? I was under he impression that Gale directly dropped those bombings when katniss asked him if it was his bomb and he said he doesn't know. But now I'm thinking, was it just the idea of the double exploding bomb that was his? Or his idea to drop the bomb on the children? I'm so confused as to Gales exact involvnemnt in the bombing.

[Kristen]

Katniss was throwing Coin off, making her think that she wanted revenge by having another Hunger Games with the Capitol's children.
And Haymitch knew what she was doing and was going along with it.

Katniss sees Prim's death as Coin's fault (since she was too young to be where she was and would have only gotten there by special 'ok' by Coin) so when she says "for Prim" she has Coin's death in mind.
It's only further justification for her that Coin wanted another hunger games, because she knows that she's no better than Snow was. She never wanted another HG to take place.

[Kristen]

Shabnaj wrote: "Oh and another question I had is regarding Gales involvement of the bombs. Wasn't he caught by peacekeepers right before the bombings? So is it that he ended up in the air dropping the parachutes ..."

I'm a little fuzzy on the details since it's been a while, but I'm pretty sure it's because it was Gale's idea. Because without that idea maybe Prim wouldn't have been killed.
When they aren't sure if it was 'his bombs' they just don't know which side actually sent them.

[Shabnaj]

Oh okaythat makes sense. I hadn't caught that haymitch was aware of katniss' plan to kill coin instead. But thar makes sense that he did because haymitch alaways seems to understand what katniss is thinking or planning and improvises on that. Thanks for the clarification.

[Shabnaj]

Casey wrote: "I've had this conversation with my dad and we both agree that Katniss had a different plan in mind. When she voted yes, she was only trying to lead Coin on so Coin would trust Katniss and let her b..."

Yes thank you, it does. Re reading that passage makes much more sense now. You're right, haymitch understand katniss and always catches on to her whims. Cant believe it didn't catch this before.

[Shabnaj]

Casey wrote: "Shabnaj wrote: "Oh and another question I had is regarding Gales involvement of the bombs. Wasn't he caught by peacekeepers right before the bombings? So is it that he ended up in the air dropping..."

But he didn't know about the plan to bomb the children right? He had no part in that?

[Shabnaj]

For some reason I thought Gale was launching bombs with the intent of killing those children, just not aware that prim was down there. But somehow learning this changes things. He suddenly becomes less at fault. I never considered prims death his Fault, but I thought his intentions were to kill those children, as another means to the cause.

But this...how could he have know they would be used on children you know, it just makes me more sad that katniss and gale could not get passed this.

[Shabnaj]

Yes but who else has been driven by anger and revenge throughout the novel? Katniss. I think she says something along the lines of wanting to make peace with all of it so she and gale can be okay again. She said she also has inexcusable crimes. Just considering the mission to kill snow that went to waste and ended up taking the lives of the squad. All directed by her angry and vengeance. She almost considered reconciling with gale because of her own crimes driven by revenge, but I suppose it was too difficult for her. It is prim after all. Ugh, just
So painful how that friendship abruptly ended.

[Shabnaj]

Yes those lines are making much more sense now. One reason why i resented the epilogue was that there was no mention of gale. I did not mind at all that peeta and katniss got together in the end, but the thought of gale and katniss never reconciling their freindhsip over the years was tragic. If it was left withot the epilogue and just with her admitting she loves peeta, at least there could have been the possibility of her forgiving gale. But no, it seems like has moved never to look back again.

[Kristen]

Shabnaj wrote: "For some reason I thought Gale was launching bombs with the intent of killing those children, just not aware that prim was down there. But somehow learning this changes things. He suddenly becomes ..."

No, Gale would have never planned on killing children. He maybe just didn't want to think about the casualties of his bombs. His thinking was that in order to win the war, lots of people had to die and if some of them were children, then so be it. But intentionally, no, he wouldn't have planned on killing kids.

[Kristen]

Shabnaj wrote: "Yes those lines are making much more sense now. One reason why i resented the epilogue was that there was no mention of gale. I did not mind at all that peeta and katniss got together in the end, ..."

I don't think it was that she didn't forgive him. She just wouldn't be able to shake the idea that he may have been responsible for Prim's death.

[Matilda]

I think Gale just had the idea of dropping a load of bombs that would injure or kill about half the people there, and then as soon as medics had the chance to get in, drop another load to kill everyone. But I think that idea was utilised by Coin, using white parachutes to make it appear that the Capitol was attacking their own children, and to make sure that image stuck she sacrificed unknowing Rebel medics, and made sure Prim was one of them. A pretty good plan to turn the Capitol citizens against Snow, kill children who could have been like their parents, make the Rebels look good, severely unhinge Katniss and make sure that Katniss & Gale, two potentially powerful contesters for her, were split apart. The whole thing is really pretty sick.

[Carla]

Yeah. It was just Gale's idea for the double parachute bombs, one of his traps. He didn't directly bomb the children, he just helped develop the theory and gave it to Coin. It was definetely Coin who was responsible for Prim's death. She gave the special "ok" for her to be let into the ranks of medics even though Prim was too young.

[Carla]

"I think Gale just had the idea of dropping a load of bombs that would injure or kill about half the people there, and then as soon as medics had the chance to get in, drop another load to kill everyone. But I think that idea was utilised by Coin, using white parachutes to make it appear that the Capitol was attacking their own children, and to make sure that image stuck she sacrificed unknowing Rebel medics, and made sure Prim was one of them. A pretty good plan to turn the Capitol citizens against Snow, kill children who could have been like their parents, make the Rebels look good, severely unhinge Katniss and make sure that Katniss & Gale, two potentially powerful contesters for her, were split apart. The whole thing is really pretty sick." -Matilda

I totally agree