Mockingjay

How are Katniss and Gale’s attitudes toward killing informed by the fact that Katniss has competed in the Hunger Games and Gale hasn’t?

How does Katniss’s understanding of morality evolve as she matures into young adulthood? How is her conception of right and wrong affected by living through a civil war?

How does the symbol of the Mockingjay evolve throughout the novel? How much control does Katniss maintain over the Mockingjay by the end of the novel, and what does this say about the nature of symbolism?

In Chapter 16, Plutarch tells Katniss that the citizens of the Capitol have essentially given up their power in exchange for “bread and circuses”? Does this change their culpability in the continued oppression of the districts? Can they also be seen as victims?

Examine Suzanne Collins’s portrayal of psychological trauma in Mockingjay. What do Katniss and Peeta’s character arcs suggest about healing from major trauma? Does Collins’s portrayal of the effects of trauma feel accurate? Why or why not?

What is Katniss’s relationship to the concept of vengeance throughout the novel? Can her decision to shoot Coin over Snow be characterized as an act of vengeance? Why or why not?

Katniss is written as a sympathetic and ultimately good protagonist, yet she kills innocent people over the course of Mockingjay. What does this say about the nature of war? Does the context of Katniss’s actions absolve her of blame?

Many of the characters and places in the Hunger Games series have Roman names. What is the significance of this connection? Does it reveal anything new about Panem?