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“I fulfilled my promise about the reaping, or at least lent a hand, but [Lenore Dove] says I can’t come to her yet. I have to look after my family.”

The above quote comes from the novel’s Epilogue, which is told from the perspective of an adult Haymitch following the conclusion of events of the final book in the series, Mockingjay. Here, Haymitch says he cannot die and join Lenore Dove, even though he finally fulfilled his promise, because Katniss and Peeta need him. The dedication and compassion Haymitch clearly holds for Katniss and Peeta shows that Haymitch has finally been able to learn how to love again after spending so many years in self-isolation. Sunrise on the Reaping is about rebellion and the rejection of tyranny, but it is also about the enduring power of love. Haymitch begins as a a deeply empathetic and caring character, but he’s forced to harden himself after winning the Games and losing all of his friends and family. However, in this brief Epilogue, Collins reminds her readers that it is possible to heal and find hope in the face of suffering. Haymitch explicitly says as much later in the Epilogue when he says he learned to let Katniss and Peeta in because “the walls of a person’s heart are not impregnable, not if they have ever known love.”

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