Catching Fire: Chapters 23–27

by Suzanne Collins
In this sequel to The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta are forced to participate in the Quarter Quell, while unrest in the districts of Panem threatens the Capitol. Learn these words from Suzanne Collins' popular trilogy.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–9, Chapters 10–14, Chapters 15–18, Chapters 19–22, Chapters 23–27

Here are links to our lists for the trilogy: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay

Here is a link to our lists for Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. retrospect
    contemplation of things past
    “It starts at midnight,” Plutarch said. And then my mockingjay lit up briefly and vanished. In retrospect, it’s like he was giving me a clue about the arena. But why would he?
  2. wedge
    any shape that is triangular in cross section
    I look over his shoulder and see he’s creating a map of the arena. In the center is the Cornucopia on its circle of sand with the twelve strips branching out from it. It looks like a pie sliced into twelve equal wedges.
  3. corresponding
    similar especially in position or purpose
    “Right, so this is the top of our clock,” he says, and quickly scratches the numbers one through twelve around the clock face. “Twelve to one is the lightning zone.” He writes lightning in tiny print in the corresponding wedge, then works clockwise adding blood, fog, and monkeys in the following sections.
  4. discomfort
    an uneasy feeling of mental painfulness or distress
    As I stand there, weapons ready, I can’t lose the uneasy feeling that something is going on and that it has to do with Peeta. I retrace our steps, starting from the moment the gong rang out, searching for the source of my discomfort.
  5. unfathomable
    impossible to come to understand
    For reasons completely unfathomable to me, some of the other victors are trying to keep him alive, even if it means sacrificing themselves.
  6. dumbfounded
    as if rendered speechless with astonishment and surprise
    I'm dumbfounded. For one thing, that’s my job. For another, it doesn’t make sense. Only one of us can get out. So why have they chosen Peeta to protect?
  7. subvert
    cause the downfall of
    I know my own reasons for keeping Peeta alive. He’s my friend, and this is my way to defy the Capitol, to subvert its terrible Games.
  8. obliterate
    remove completely from recognition or memory
    There is that quality of goodness that’s hard to overlook, but still...and then I think of it, what Peeta can do so much better than the rest of us. He can use words. He obliterated the rest of the field at both interviews.
  9. underlying
    in the nature of something though not readily apparent
    And maybe it’s because of that underlying goodness that he can move a crowd—no, a country—to his side with the turn of a simple sentence.
  10. mimic
    imitate, especially for satirical effect
    “No, it’s not Annie. But the voice was hers. Jabberjays mimic what they hear. Where did they get those screams, Katniss?” he says.
  11. inflict
    impose something unpleasant
    Although there will be nothing Haymitch can send in a parachute that will help either Finnick or me recover from the wounds the birds have inflicted.
  12. barrier
    anything maintaining separation by obstructing access
    An invisible barrier blocks the area in front of us. It's not a force field. You can touch the hard, smooth surface all you like. But Peeta's knife and Johanna's ax can't make a dent in it.
  13. impatient
    restless or short-tempered under delay or opposition
    “They can’t hurt me. I’m not like the rest of you. There’s no one left I love,” Johanna says, and frees her hand with an impatient shake.
  14. persuasive
    intended or having the power to induce action or belief
    His reference to the baby signals that our time-out from the Games is over. That he knows the audience will be wondering why he hasn’t used the most persuasive argument in his arsenal.
  15. strategy
    an elaborate and systematic plan of action
    What if I am wrong about the others protecting Peeta? If things were simply coincidental, or it’s all been a strategy to win our trust to make us easy prey, or I don’t understand what’s actually going on?
  16. proposition
    a suggestion offered for acceptance or rejection
    Peeta nods, and I can see him considering my proposition. Weighing if the odds will be in our favor. “Tell you what,” he says. “Let’s stick around until Brutus and Enobaria are dead. I think Beetee’s trying to put together some kind of trap for them now. Then, I promise, we’ll go.”
  17. patronizing
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
    There’s nothing patronizing in his voice, and yet I can’t help thinking he reminds me of a schoolteacher about to ease children into a lesson. Perhaps it’s the age difference, or simply that Beetee is probably about a million times smarter than the rest of us.
  18. snare
    a trap for birds or small mammals; often has a slip noose
    I’ve set thousands of snares. Isn’t this just a larger snare with a more scientific component?
  19. harness
    exploit the power of
    What do we know about harnessing power from the sky?
  20. dispute
    have a disagreement over something
    We are like schoolchildren. Completely unable to dispute his theory with anything but the most elementary concerns. Most of which don’t even have anything to do with his actual plan.
  21. defer
    yield to another's wish or opinion
    Beetee essentially gives us the afternoon off while he works with the wire. Since it’s his weapon and the rest of us have to defer to his knowledge so entirely, there’s the odd feeling of being let out of school early.
  22. opponent
    a contestant that you are matched against
    I look coolly into the blue eyes of the person who is now my greatest opponent, the person who would keep me alive at his own expense. And I promise myself I will defeat his plan.
  23. intricate
    having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate
    Then they stand on either side of the tree, passing the spool back and forth as they wrap the wire around and around the trunk. At first it seems arbitrary, then I see a pattern, like an intricate maze, appearing in the moonlight on Beetee’s side.
  24. speculation
    a hypothesis that has been formed by conjecturing
    I wonder if it makes any difference how the wire’s placed, or if this is merely to add to the speculation of the audience. I bet most of them know as much about electricity as I do.
  25. excruciating
    extremely painful
    Johanna’s digging something, I guess the point of her knife, into my flesh, twisting it around. There’s an excruciating ripping sensation and warmth runs down my wrist, filling my palm.
  26. rational
    consistent with or based on or using reason
    Am I as good as dead? I’m in no position to make an argument to the contrary. In fact, rational thinking is a struggle.
  27. irreparable
    impossible to rectify or amend
    Johanna attacked me. Smashed that cylinder into my head. Cut my arm, probably doing irreparable damage to veins and arteries, and then Brutus and Enobaria showed up before she had time to finish me off.
  28. confirmation
    information that verifies
    I think of how he looked to her for confirmation before he’d agree to help set Beetee’s trap. There’s a much deeper alliance based on years of friendship and who knows what else.
  29. falter
    move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
    The force field must mostly be energy, too, I guess. The one in the Training Center was invisible. This one seems to somehow mirror the jungle. But I’ve seen it falter when Peeta’s knife struck it and when my arrows hit. The real world lies right behind it.
  30. vicinity
    a surrounding or nearby region
    I do the one thing I can to draw the attackers away from him and over to me. “Peeta!” I scream out. “Peeta! I’m here! Peeta!” Yes, I will draw them in, any in my vicinity, away from Peeta and over to me and the lightning tree that will soon be a weapon in and of itself.
  31. misgiving
    uneasiness about the fitness of an action
    The look on Haymitch’s face. “Katniss, when you’re in the arena..." The scowl, the misgiving. “What?” I hear my own voice tighten as I bristle at some unspoken accusation. “You just remember who the enemy is,” Haymitch says.
  32. flaw
    an imperfection in an object or machine
    My bow tilts up at the wavering square, the flaw, the...what did he call it that day? The chink in the armor.
  33. illuminate
    make lighter or brighter
    I can’t think why the sky’s being bombed until I realize the Gamemakers are shooting off fireworks up there, while the real destruction occurs on the ground. Just in case it’s not enough fun watching the obliteration of the arena and the remaining tributes. Or perhaps to illuminate our gory ends.
  34. triumph
    prove superior
    Not even the strongest of the strong will triumph. Perhaps they never intended to have a victor in these Games at all.
  35. condemn
    pronounce a punishment, as in a court of law
    More likely I stole his last chance at life, condemned him, by destroying the force field. Maybe, if we had all played by the rules, they might have let him live.
  36. syringe
    a medical instrument used to inject or withdraw fluids
    “So it’s you and a syringe against the Capitol? See, this is why no one lets you make the plans.” I stare at him uncomprehendingly. “Drop it.” I feel the pressure increase on my right wrist until my hand is forced to open and I release the syringe.
  37. varying
    marked by diversity or difference
    There was a plan to break us out of the arena from the moment the Quell was announced. The victor tributes from 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 11 had varying degrees of knowledge about it.
  38. elaborate
    marked by complexity and richness of detail
    It’s an awful lot to take in, this elaborate plan in which I was a piece, just as I was meant to be a piece in the Hunger Games.
  39. subterfuge
    something intended to misrepresent the nature of an activity
    Subterfuges and deceptions. And if he could do that, behind his mask of sarcasm and drunkenness, so convincingly and for so long, what else has he lied about?
  40. spite
    feeling a need to see others suffer
    It’s enough to die of spite. To punish Haymitch, who, of all the people in this rotting world, has turned Peeta and me into pieces in his Games.
Created on Fri Jul 28 12:03:48 EDT 2017 (updated Mon Oct 01 16:37:06 EDT 2018)

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