Catching Fire Comprehension

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Comprehension Questions

for

by

Suzanne Collins

CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins

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Let the Hunger Games begin… Spring 2012 saw the release of the block-buster movie The Hunger Games, based on Suzanne Collins’s best-selling novel of the same name. Amazingly, as of March 28, 2012 more than 17.2 billion copies of the book were in print worldwide. (Scholastic) While there are many reasons for the popularity of the book, this much can be said – it’s suspenseful, riveting and instills questions into the minds of those who read it. Why study The Hunger Games trilogy? The themes presented in The Hunger Games can provide for hours of discussion easily tying in to many social issues present in the world today. However, for students studying English as a second language, this engaging novel is equally as valuable in providing new vocabulary, comprehension practice through captivating, interesting and suspenseful reading. The following list of questions are designed to help the reader chapter by chapter in targeting some of the facts and, in some cases, themes important for a comprehensive reading of the novel. How to proceed. Simply read each chapter for as thorough an understanding as possible (understanding vocabulary, expressions, etc. along the way.) Then once you’ve completed the chapter answer the corresponding questions in the book. Answering the questions should be easy, but if you find questions that are difficult to answer, simply go back to that chapter and reread wherever necessary so that you can easily respond to the question. You may write your responses in this booklet, or you may want to create your own Hunger Games Reading Journal. There are many blank writing journals available for sale ranging from simple to fancy. The most important! The most important thing is to enjoy what you read. The Hunger Games can be quite an enjoyable novel and you’ll find yourself turning page after page to see what happens next. As Stephen King said: “The Hunger Games is a violent, jarring, speed-rap of a novel that generates nearly constant suspense... I couldn't stop reading." So immerse yourself in English and the world of The Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor! Books in the Trilogy: The Hunger Games Catching Fire Mockingjay

Visit the site at:

http://www.scholastic.com/thehungergames/


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Table of Contents

Book Two

Part I “The Spark” 2

Chapter 1 2

Chapter 2 2

Chapter 3 3

Chapter 4 3

Chapter 5 4

Chapter 6 4

Chapter 7 5

Chapter 8 6

Chapter 9 6

Part II “The Quell” 7

Chapter 10 7

Chapter 11 7

Chapter 12 8

Chapter 13 8

Chapter 14 8

Chapter 15 9

Chapter 16 9

Chapter 17 10

Chapter 18 10

Part III “The Enemy” 11

Chapter 19 11

Chapter 20 11

Chapter 21 12

Chapter 22 12

Chapter 23 12

Chapter 24 13

Chapter 25 13

Chapter 26 13

Chapter 27 14

List of main characters

Katniss Everdeen

Mrs. Everdeen (Katniss’s Mother)

Gale Hawthorne

Primrose Everdeen

Peeta Mellark

Effie Trinket

Haymitch Abernathy

Cinna

President Coriolanus Snow

Plutarch Heavensbee

Finnick Odair

Darius

Romulus Thread

Johanna Mason


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Part I “The sPARK”

Chapter 1

1. What is the political purpose behind the victory tour?

2. How has Katniss’s life in district 12 changed since the Hunger Games?

3. Who comes to visit Katniss at her home? What is strange about this person?

loathe

claustrophobic

retrospect

exudes

itinerary Chapter 2

1. How has Katniss’s “stunt” in the arena affected the people of Panem?

2. What does President Snow want Katniss to do to subdue the districts? Do you think this plan will

work?

audacity

everyday

dynamic


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Chapter 3

1. What is a Quarter Quell? Look up “quell” in a dictionary; how is it an appropriate title for this event?

2. Why must Katniss marry Peeta?

capricious

mollify

provocative

Chapter 4

1. What does Peeta offer to the families of Thresh and Rue? Why does he make this offer? What might

be the consequences of his offer?

2. How do the people of district 11 respond to Katniss’s speech? How is their response an “act of

dissent”?

sodden

duplicitous

verandah


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Chapter 5

1. How is district 11 different from district 12? Why is 11 more prone to political unrest than 12?

2. Describe the attitude of dissent that pervades districts 8, 4, and 3. What does Katniss see in these

districts that convinces her of the inefficacy of pretending to be in love with Peeta?

3. Explain the metaphor, “the rolling boil of a pot about to run over,”.

ascend

billows

dissent

besotted

Chapter 6

1. Describe the party at President Snow’s house. Why do Peeta and Katniss find the party abhorrent?

2. How does Peeta’s disgust at the party affect his view of the capitol and his efforts to “subdue” the

citizens of Panem?

3. Why has Katniss’s mockingjay pin become so popular in the capitol? Do you think it might bear

significance beyond fashion?

abhorrent

subdue

clandestine


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Chapter 7

1. How might Katniss be responsible for the uprising in district 8? Can you think of any other

contributing factors?

2. What plan does Katniss propose to Gale? Why does he ultimately reject the idea?

3. What is Gale being punished for at the end of the chapter? What do you think is the real reason for

his public whipping?

deft

rueful


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Chapter 8

1. What does Cray’s being replaced by the new Head Peacekeeper, Romulus Thread, mean for district

12? Why do you think Cray was replaced?

2. What does Katniss realize about herself at the end of the chapter? How might her realization affect

the actions she will take in the future?

3. Explain Katniss’s utterance: “Life in district 12 isn’t really so different from life in the arena. At

some point, you have to stop running and turn around and face whoever wants you dead. The hard

thing is finding the courage to do it”. How might this sentiment be applicable outside of the book?

assailant

tinctures

nettle

Chapter 9

1. How does Katniss justify endangering Prim to participate in the rebellion?

2. What is the “inherent flaw” in Katniss’s plan to start an uprising in district 12?

3. Describe the living conditions in district 12 now that Romulus is Head Peacekeeper.

4. What does Katniss find in the cabin by the lake?

catalyst

tepid

blatantly

pariah


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Part II “The QUELL”

Chapter 10

1. What is district 8’s industry? How was this industry advantageous to the uprising there?

2. Why are Bonnie and Twill headed for district 13?

3. How is the mockingjay important to the resistance? Think about both its literal and its symbolic

significance.

tremulous

fluke

translucent

appropriated

Chapter 11

1. How does Katniss account for her lateness to the Peacekeepers whom she finds waiting at her

house? Why were they there in the first place?

2. What is the family book?

3. What is Katniss looking for on TV? Does she find it?

apprehend

contrite

hassock

irrefutable

odious


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Chapter 12

1. How does Katniss surmise that districts 4, 3, and 8 are rebelling? Which other districts are rebelling?

2. What are the rules of the upcoming District Quell? How will this affect Katniss?

histrionics

confidant

culminating

Chapter 13

1. What motive might the Capitol have had to fix (or “rig”) the rules for the Quarter Quell reaping? Do

you think that this is what happened?

2. What is Katniss’s plan for the upcoming Hunger Games? What is Peeta’s plan?

brusquely

erratic

copious

Chapter 14

1. How was Haymitch’s victory in the 50th

Quarter Quell similar to Katniss and Peeta’s victory in the

last Hunger Games?

devoid


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Chapter 15

1. How might Katniss’s “glowing ember” costume reflect her emerging new identity?

2. Describe Finnick. Where is he from? What does he look like? What are his talents? What kind of

person is he?

3. How do the other tributes react to Katniss at the opening ceremonies? Why do they react this way?

saunter

fixated

camaraderie

Chapter 16

1. Why does Katniss blame herself for the fact that Darius is now an Avox?

2. Describe Mags, Wiress and Beetee. Why does Katniss want to form an alliance with them?

3. What does Katniss do to “impress” the game-makers this time around? Why does she do it?

4. Who was Seneca Crane?

grotesque

spiel

initiated


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Chapter 17

1. What did Peeta do in his session with the judges? What was his motivation?

2. Why does Katniss believe that she would be “more valuable dead” than alive? How does this

revelation represent a turning point for Katniss?

3. What do the other victors discuss in their interview speeches? How are the speeches an acts of

dissent?

4. Describe the dress that Katniss wears for her interview.

shroud

ruminate Chapter 18

1. Explain the metaphor (“Maybe this year ... detonate it”). What has Peeta done to “light the fire”?

2. Interpret Haymitch’s final advice to Katniss, “ ‘You must remember who the real enemy is’”. Who

do you think Haymitch means by “the real enemy”?

3. What happens to Cinna at the end of the chapter? Why?

tentative

residual


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Part III “The ENemy”

Chapter 19

1. With whom do Peeta and Katniss form an alliance?

2. Why do so many of the tributes choose to fight at the cornucopia, even after their show of unity at

the interviews the night before?

unhinge

awl

trek Chapter 20

1. How does Peeta’s near-death experience change the way Katniss views Finnick?

2. Describe the layout of the arena.

3. Explain how a spile works. Why is this tool essential for survival in this particular arena?

stealthily

plaited

leery

divulge

elusive


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Chapter 21

1. Why does Katniss slow down to help Peeta escape the fog, rather than flee on her own?

2. What do you think is Mags’s reason for sacrificing herself in the fog?

3. Why do you think the “morphling” from District 6 sacrifices herself to save Peeta?

purge

Chapter 22

1. Whom do Katniss, Peeta, and Finnick encounter on the beach?

2. Why has Johanna been traveling with Beetee and Wiress?

3. What does Katniss discover about the arena? How could this knowledge be useful in the future?

slake

quicken

Chapter 23

1. What do the other tributes seem to be doing for Peeta? Why? Give some examples to support your

answer.

sober


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Chapter 24

1. What happens at “4 o’clock” in the arena? How is this attack more horrible than the rest?

2. What “weapon” does Peeta have around his neck? How does he intend to use it against Katniss?

What is its effect on Katniss?

waver

configuration

Chapter 25

1. Describe Beetee’s plan to kill Brutus and Enobaria.

2. Explain Katniss’s comment, “I look coolly into the blue eyes of the person who is now my greatest

opponent”. How is Peeta now Katniss’s “greatest opponent”?

adversaries

proximity

circuitous

Chapter 26

1. What does Johanna do to Katniss? Why do you think Johanna is so interested in Katniss’s arm?

2. Describe Katniss’s actions at the end of the chapter. What “enemy” is she fighting?

arbitrary

festooned


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Chapter 27

1. Summarize Haymitch’s explanation of the plan to free the victors from the Quell. Were you able to

predict any of it? Why has Katniss not been privy to the plan?

2. Why has everyone been protecting Katniss? What is her role in the rebellion?

3. What “deathblow” is delivered in the last sentence?

careen

indiscretion

subterfuge

If you completed all of the questions you a VICTOR! However if you missed even one, you are one of the fallen. The Hunger Games continues in the third book of the trilogy: Mockingjay …

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

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Personal Notes and Thoughts Feel free to express your thought and feelings after reading this book.

Catching Fire Comprehension

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