Catching Fire Chapters 4-6 Summary & Analysis

Summary: Chapter 4

Katniss feels anxious and angry as she realizes she will never be free of the Capitol’s control. The train stops temporarily for repairs, and Katniss jumps off and sits outside by herself until Peeta walks up. To Katniss’s surprise, Peeta apologizes for the way he acted after the Hunger Games. When he found out she was just pretending to be in love with him, he was hurt, but he came to realize she was doing it for survival. They agree to be friends, and Peeta takes her back on the train to see his paintings. They are all images from the arena that they saw during the Hunger Games, and both admit they have nightmares about the Games all the time.

They arrive at the first stop on their tour, District 11, which was the home of Rue, the young girl Katniss befriended during the Hunger Games who was killed. It’s an agricultural district where much of Panem’s food comes from, and it’s heavily guarded. Katniss and Peeta are scheduled to give an address in the main square. Katniss doesn’t plan on speaking because she worries she’ll be overcome with emotion. She notices Rue’s family in the audience, and after Peeta gives his speech, she spontaneously steps to the microphone. She thanks the families of the tributes, and suddenly an old man whistles the code Katniss and Rue used in the Games. In unison all the people in attendance raise their hands in the gesture of respect used in District 12, and Katniss knows immediately the Capitol will see it as a gesture of defiance. After she and Peeta are pulled off stage, Katniss sees she forgot the flowers she was given, and dashing back out to grab them, she sees the old man who whistled dragged out and shot.

Summary: Chapter 5

A group of Peacekeepers rushes Katniss and Peeta into the building where Haymitch and Effie are waiting. Haymitch and Effie don’t know what’s happened, but more gunshots ring out outside. Haymitch motions for Katniss and Peeta to follow him, and when they’re in a place that’s safe to talk Katniss tells Haymitch what happened. She tells Haymitch she messed up, because she was supposed to calm any rebellion, not stoke it. On learning this, Peeta explodes in anger. He didn’t know anything about the threats against Katniss and her loved ones, and he worries his family could be in jeopardy now. Haymitch and Katniss can’t keep secrets from him anymore the way they did during the Games.

The Victory Tour continues, and Katniss notices that in some districts the people are particularly excited to see them. She senses an undercurrent of rebellion. Katniss suggests they stage a public marriage proposal once they arrive in the Capitol. Peeta agrees halfheartedly; Haymitch explains that Peeta wishes Katniss wanted it because of genuine love, not necessity. In the Capitol, during a televised interview with the popular host Caesar Flickerman, Peeta proposes and Katniss accepts. President Snow comes out to congratulate them, but he signals to Katniss that it’s not enough.

Summary: Chapter 6

During a feast at President Snow’s mansion, Katniss has several people come up to her to show her the mockingjays they wear as pins or embroidery on their clothes or even tattoos. Katniss wore her mockingjay pin throughout the Hunger Games, and she thinks it must have become the big new fashion accessory. Katniss eventually can’t eat anymore, but her prep team explains that she can drink a liquid that will make her throw up so she can eat more. She and Peeta are shocked at the idea. As they dance together, both are revolted by the behavior in the Capitol and Peeta for a moment wonders aloud whether they should stop trying to subdue a rebellion. A moment later, the new Head Gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee, asks Katniss for a dance. He tells her he’s got a planning meeting that night for the Quarter Quell, and before he goes, he checks the time. When he rubs his finger across the face of his watch, the image of a mockingjay appears for a moment before vanishing. Katniss wonders why he’s so secretive about it as she moves on.

Eventually they return to the train to head back to District 12 for the last event of their tour. Katniss wakes up in the morning and Peeta is there. He points out that she didn’t have any nightmares, and she recounts a dream she had where she was following a mockingjay that was actually Rue through the woods. They get back to District 12 and are taken immediately to the mayor’s house, where they’re to be prepped for their event. Katniss looks for Madge, her friend and the mayor’s daughter, and passing the study she finds the television on. An update appears on the TV, and Katniss sees images of violent mobs rioting in District 8. She realizes it’s an uprising.

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