Chapter 12

Katniss is shocked by the news that Peeta would join up with the Careers. She sees him and realizes that he must have fought at the Cornucopia because he is bruised. When Peeta leaves the group to check on the girl, the Career Tributes talk about Katniss, and wonder how she scored an eleven in training. They agree that she should be killed as quickly as possible and that they will use Peeta to find her. Katniss realizes that Peeta hasn’t told them about her archery skills, which makes his motives confusing. She can’t figure out if Peeta is with her or against her.

The cannon sounds and the Careers move away so Katniss can climb down and start to move again. She finds a rabbit in one of her snares, which she quickly cooks and eats so she can move fast in the opposite direction of the Careers. She travels all day with no sign of water. Desperate, she finds some berries to suck the juice out of but remembers that she was warned not to eat any berries she wasn’t sure of. That night she sleeps again in a tree, exhausted and dehydrated. The next morning she continues her search for water and angrily wonders why Haymitch didn’t have a sponsor send her water but she realizes that he may not be sending it as a message so perhaps she is close. She eventually collapses and realizes that she is lying in mud. She quickly finds a small pond and rehydrates before finding a tree to sleep in. In the middle of the night she is woken by a massive wall of fire moving quickly toward her.

Notes:
Katniss spends most of this chapter focusing on the practicalities of surviving instead of panicking which shows her practical and strong character. She questions Peeta’s motives when he joins the Careers and can’t understand why Peeta would not give them the advantage by mentioning her archery skills. This chapter shows Katniss’ cynical side towards others in her life as she can’t conceive why Peeta would help her in the arena, despite their history and friendship. She shows some impressive critical thinking when she realizes she must be close to the water due to the lack of water sent by Haymitch.