Dr. Volumnia Gaul, the Head Gamemaker and mastermind behind the Capitol's experimental weapons division, had unnerved Coriolanus since childhood. - pg 51

[Sejanus's] distress made Coriolanus uncomfortable, especially when he valued his own chance to participate so highly. - pg 67

"To feed her is one thing," [Grandma'am] said. "To dine with [Lucy Gray] suggests that you consider her your equal. But she isn't. There's always been something barbaric about the districts. Your own father used to say those people only drank water because it didn't rain blood. You ignore that at your own peril, Coriolanus.” … “Lucy Gray is different," he argued. "She took my side in the truck when the others wanted to attack me. And she had my back in the monkey house, too." The Grandma'am held her ground. "Would she have bothered if you weren't her mentor? Of course not. She's a wily little thing who began to manipulate you the minute you met." - pg 67

"Just like your father's," the Grandma'am frequently reminded him. He wished he had his mother's eyes instead, but never said so. Maybe it was best to take after his father. His mother had not really been tough enough for this world. - pg 68 

Professor Crispus Demigloss, history professor at the Academy: If history teaches you anything, it's how to make the unwilling comply.- pg 69

"The real problem is, it's sickening to watch," said Clemensia. "So people avoid it." Sejanus jumped in. "Of course they do! Who wants to watch a group of children kill each other? Only a vicious, twisted person. Human beings may not be perfect, but we're better than that." "How do you know?" said Livia snippishly. "And how does someone from the districts have any idea what we want to watch in the Capitol? You weren't even here during the war." … "Most of us don't want to watch other people suffer." [said Lysistrata]. "We watched worse things during the war. And after," Coriolanus reminded her... "But we had a real stake in that, Coryo!" said Arachne Crane... "We were watching our enemies die!" - pgs 70-71

What young brains lack in experience they sometimes make up for in idealism. - Dr. Gaul, pg 80

The audience rewarded those who would perform with applause and more food. - pg 82

Coriolanus’s initial reaction was to recoil like the others, to grab hold of the monkey house bars for support, but Lucy Gray hissed, “Help her!” He remembered the cameras streaming live to the Capitol audience. He had no idea what to do for Arachne, but he did not want to be seen cringing and clinging. His terror was a private thing, not meant for public display. - pg 85

The wash of blood, the whiz of bullets, the screams in the crowd all caused flashbacks to the worst moments of his childhood. - pg 86

As part of the wealthy old guard of the Capitol, [Arachne] was family. And you didn’t have to like your family. The bond was a given. - pg 87

For about a minute, a painful sobbing made his chest ache, but then it passed. - pg 88

Coriolanus, along with several people around him, automatically crossed off the name of the girl from District 10. But then what? It would make sense to cross off Arachne's name as well, but that felt different. His pen hovered over her name and then left it alone for the moment. It seemed pretty cold to scratch her off the list like that. - pg 92

Obviously, he was dealing with a lunatic who should be handled with extreme care. "Good. The truth, finally. I've no use for liars. What are lies but attempts to conceal some sort of weakness? - Dr. Gaul, pg 96

It was like the Hunger Games. Only they weren't district kids. The Capitol was supposed to protect them... He buried his head in his hands, confused, angry, and most of all afraid. Afraid of Dr. Gaul. Afraid of the Capitol. Afraid of everything. If the people who were supposed to protect you played so fast and loose with your life... then how did you survive? Not by trusting them, that was for sure. And if you couldn't trust them, who could you trust? All bets were off. - pgs 97-98

Humans, particularly dead ones, had become [the rats'] daily fare. During the worst of it, of course, humans had eaten humans as well. There was no point in feeling superior to the rats. - pg 99

Looking sharp, with a belly full of oatmeal and a rib cage dotted with bruises reminding him to inhale, he set off for the Academy. - pg 107

Coriolanus felt himself blush a little at her teasing... Her flirtation left Coriolanus tongued-tied. - pg 74

Coriolanus didn't like being called that. Livia had taunted him about his parentless state when he was small, making him feel alone and unwanted when he was neither. Still, there was that emptiness that most other kids didn't really understand. But Lucy Gray did, being an orphan herself. - pg 76

Lucy Gray seemed in better spirits; there had been no more tears. As they'd shared their stories, a sense of familiarity had begun to grow between them... she tucked his handkerchief neatly back into the pocket of his book bag and gave his forearm a squeeze of thanks. - pg 77

It didn't look too humble to offer to Lucy Gray. Presentation mattered to her. - pg 80

"Like how?" It was a dangerous line of questioning, but he couldn't help himself. "Oh, like you came to one of my shows and heard me sing," she said. "And afterward you came up to chat, and maybe we had a drink and a dance or two." He could imagine it, her singing somewhere like Pluribus's nightclub, him catching her eye, connecting before they'd ever even met. "And I'd come back the next night." - pg 83

Coriolanus had a terrible image of her lying dead under a swarm of rats. It wiped away the last few shreds of resistance he had, and despair engulfed him. For her. For himself. For the both of them. "Oh, Lucy Gray, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry about all of this." "It's not your fault," she said. "You must hate me. You should. I would hate me." - pg 101

"You do matter," he said... "You matter to me," he insisted. The Capitol may not value her, but he did. Hadn't he just poured his heart out to her? ... "Hey!" she said with a certain urgency. He turned back. "Hey, I want you to know I don't really believe you're here for grades or glory. You're a rare bird, Coriolanus." "You too," he said. She dipped her head in agreement and headed back to Jessup, her chains leaving a trail in the dirty straw and rat droppings. - pg 103

We live in the world of the Hunger Games or more accurately, we live in the world that will bring about a society that creates the Hunger Games. We are what comes first and I hope more people see that we have to stop it. And I wonder what being born at different times is about because why do so many people have to suffer in the process of being destroyed to being liberated? Why does it take generations and why do some people do more than others? Is this an inseparable feature of human change or can we change almost everything within one generation? All I want is to rip out the tree we have and plant a new sapling. I know it'll take time to grow the new tree to old tree size but can we rip out the tree now, instead of sawing it down as if that'll stop its growth? 

I love The Hunger Games and Suzanne Collins, I think it is an amazing picture of our reality, both real and not real. We nearly have vicious weapons like the Capitol and certainly people are oppressed differently in different places. In District 12, people die of starvation but it is much less militarized and much smaller than District 11. If you read the books, you know that the relationships of Districts 11 and 12 mirror the oppression faced by Black Americans and Native Americans (as Panem is the future North America).** The restraints put on people by the Capitol are different and the same is true with our white supremacist power. 

There is so much to learn from these books and one thing that may get overlooked, yet I'm reminded of today, is the role of fashion and the roles of people. It is no coincidence that the designers of this year Met Gala and Cinna are Black men, and that the trending theme is something that is glorified by our society yet could destroy it at the very same it if properly executed. Cinna's mockingjay dress transformation for Katniss during Catching Fire was a revolutionary moment for all of Panem, because he knew all of Panem would be watching. He was truly one of the best people and was so essential to the cause. Black dandyism at its roots is Black power over white "excellency" and that same kind of Black power could crush our white supremacist society today if we had the ability to use it correctly. Sadly, we are deep in enemy waters and some of our best weapons have been recognized and twisted by the current powers at work. The 1% and those that think being in the top 10% is the ultimate dream have learned to take powerful concepts and manipulate them into the image that best satisfies the long-term white supremacist agenda.

It really is no coincidence that the theme of this year's Met Gala is Black power while the US funds a genocide in Gaza. It isn't as direct as The Hunger Games where the symbol for resistance and being "in vogue" are the exact same, but it's the idea that non-white people are being assertive and in the spotlight that quells the idea of needing to speak up on behalf of non-white people being treated badly. Wearing the mockingjay in the Capitol was hot because it represented the last sensational victors, a story of young love and freedom and a little bit of rebellion during dark hours. Even though everyone's doing it it's daring and you kinda question the fucked-upness of the Capitol because your human urge to rebel has been satiated with a small taste of freedom. I suppose if captivity is nice, your ultimate goal isn't the destruction of the cage. 

I think about if one person at the Met Gala wore Palestine's colors or tatreez or poppies (and how easily that could've been achieved), and how much awareness that would've brought to their suffering because it's true, videos of genocide are not ones people want to look at. The Capitol citizens don't want to see the district people starving in the streets. But a human message of concepts delivered through the beautiful story-telling medium of fashion? That could entice them, spark a fire in them they never knew existed because perhaps it didn't until the story was told. Too bad nobody in the entertainment society has guts like Cinna. What a king.

In Mockingjay, Peeta gets totally brainwashed by the Capitol (using tracker jacker venom) and can't remember if Katniss really loves him because she was faking it for the cameras. They also implant fully false memories of her being extremely violent and hurting everybody.

Love should be the most real thing of all, it should be undoubtable yet it isn't. We don't have a foundation of love so we're fucked.