Sunrise on the Reaping

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains graphic descriptions of violence, death, and alcohol abuse.

Haymitch wakes feeling as “weak and weary” (136) as the protagonist of “The Raven”, with black pigment on his fingers. Realizing that Maysilee’s token necklace is the source, he deduces that Beetee has replaced it with an explosive replica, just as he did with the District 9 sunflowers. Beetee has given him a final chance to end the Games. Haymitch contemplates the remaining targets and settles on the Cornucopia. Blowing it up would be a symbolic act of defiance toward the Capitol. He wonders if he can lure Silka out to the Cornucopia and stage a climactic final fight, forcing the Capitol to air the subsequent explosion.

Haymitch pulls a tarp over his head and unravels Maysilee’s necklace, extracting the fuse. Wellie wakes up, and Haymitch carries her down to the forest floor. He hides her in a thicket of grapevines so he can look for firewood, only to be interrupted when a parachute drop arrives, holding a pitcher of milk and a card reading “COURTESY OF THE CAPITOL” (38). Haymitch wonders if the milk is a gift from Plutarch to feed Wellie or a warning from Snow, indicating he’s being watched.