1. Why does the Capitol devise a special reaping procedure for every 25th Game? Do you believe the requirements for this Quarter Quell were decided in the past or were they designed for this Game to force Katniss and Peeta back to the arena?
2. Why does President Snow come to Katniss’s home? What does he mean when he says, “ ... you have pro-vided a spark which left unattended may grow into an inferno ...”? What, exactly, was the significance of the handful of poisonous berries at the end of The Hunger Games?
3. Why does Gale refuse Katniss’s offer to try to escape into the wild? What does he mean when he says, “It can’t be about just saving us anymore”? How does Gale’s whipping change Katniss’s thinking about escape and her feelings for Gale?
4. What do Katniss and Peeta learn when they watch the video of Haymitch’s Hunger Games, the Second Quarter Quell? How does it affect their understanding of Haymitch and the mockingjay symbol? How did Haymitch trick the Capitol?
5. Discuss the effect on Katniss of what happens to Darius and Cinna. Why are the Capitol officials attacking those who have befriended her? Why is Cinna attacked just before Katniss is placed in the arena?