The Hunger Games Chapter 1 Quotes

The Hunger Games Chapter 1 Quotes

How we cite the quotes:
Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)

"We could do it, you know," Gale says quietly.

"What?" I ask.

"Leave the district. Run off. Live in the woods. You and I, we could make it," says Gale.

I don't know how to respond. This idea is so preposterous. (1.23-26)

Katniss won't even consider the idea of running away with Gale because of her duty to her family and her obligations back home. If she weren't her family's breadwinner, would she be more interested in running off with Gale?

Quote 5

When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol. Eventually I understood this would only lead us to more trouble. So I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts. (1.11)

Free speech, we learn, is not a given in Panem. Katniss censors herself because of the fears her mother has of the government. Notice how she has to hide her thoughts and her emotions in District 12. Notice too that she will have to do the same in the arena during the Hunger Games.

Quote 6

The rules of the Hunger Games are simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must provide one girl and one boy, called tributes to participate. The twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland. Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute standing wins. (1.75)

The Hunger Games, we learn, are a kind of punishment for the uprising that happened so long ago. Why are the Hunger Games so effective, do you think, at keeping the districts from rebelling again?