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“Don’t let them use you, Sarshee. Don’t let them paint their posters with your blood. Not if you can help it.”

In Chapter 2, Haymitch’s mother reminds him of the advice his father gave a prior tribute named Sarshee as he is being led to the tribute train. Haymitch repeats the full advice to himself in Chapter 4. He recalls how his father told Sarshee Whitcomb not to let the Capitol use her for their propaganda. Haymitch takes his parents’ advice to heart and spends the rest of the novel (and, one could argue, the rest of his life) adhering to it. After Louella is killed in the chariot crash, Haymitch deposits her body in front of President Snow’s mansion in order to “paint [his] own poster.” He wants to create his own propaganda images to show that the Capitol is an oppressive regime, one that needs to be checked. The idea of using rebellious acts to paint a poster becomes Haymitch’s mantra throughout the rest of the text as he, Beetee, Maysilee, Plutarch, and countless others work to undermine and combat President Snow. 

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