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The double bomb that kills Katniss Everdeen’s sister, Primrose, was designed by two rebels: Beetee and Gale, Katniss’s lifelong friend. Previously, Gale had explained that the double bombs are designed to appeal to mankind’s weakness for compassion. The first round of bombs, he goes on, is brutal, but the second round, which goes off shortly after the first—once a large crowd of sympathetic helpers show up—is far deadlier. Setting aside the double bombs’ obvious links to tragedy, betrayal, and the way they represent the rebels’ willingness to be just as bloody and underhanded as Snow in achieving their aims, they’re also an apt metaphor for Katniss’s state of mind throughout Mockingjay. The first “round” of pain that Katniss experiences is physical in nature: wounds she sustains during the Hunger Games themselves, rebel battles, the destruction of District 12, etc. The “second round” of devastation is always more painful for Katniss, however, because it appeals to her innate sense of compassion, rather than her body. Katniss is more pained by guilt than by her physical wounds—after the Hunger Games, for instance, Katniss is more upset at having abandoned Peeta to be kidnapped than at having hurt her arm.
The Double Bomb Quotes in Mockingjay
The Mockingjay quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Double Bomb. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 24
Quotes
First I get a glimpse of the blond braid down her back. Then, as she yanks off her coat to cover a wailing child, I notice the duck tail formed by her untucked shirt. I have the same reaction I did the day Effie Trinket called her name at the reaping. At least, I must go limp, because I find myself at the base of the flagpole, unable to account for the last few seconds. Then I am pushing through the crowd, just as I did before. Trying to shout her name above the roar. I'm almost there, almost to the barricade, when I think she hears me. Because for just a moment, she catches sight of me, her lips form my name. And that's when the rest of the parachutes go off.
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Chapter 26
Quotes
"I brought you this." Gale holds up a sheath. When I take it, I notice it holds a single, ordinary arrow.
"It's supposed to be symbolic. You firing the last shot of the war."
"What if I miss?" I say. "Does Coin retrieve it and bring it back to me? Or just shoot Snow through the head herself?"
"You won't miss." Gale adjusts the sheath on my shoulder. We stand there, face-to-face, not meeting each other's eyes.
"You didn't come see me in the hospital."
He doesn't answer, so finally I just say it.
"Was it your bomb?"
"I don't know. Neither does Beetee," he says. "Does it matter? You'll always be thinking about it."
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The Double Bomb Symbol Timeline in Mockingjay
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Double Bomb appears in Mockingjay. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 13
...collaborating on. One weapon appeals to a basic human weakness: compassion. It consists of two bombs: when the first bomb goes off, people rush in to help wounded—and then the second,...
(full context)
Chapter 24
...run toward the parachutes, eager for care and nourishment—only to find that the parachutes contain bombs. The bombs detonate, killing thousands. Almost immediately a wave of sympathetic people and experienced medics...
(full context)
Chapter 25
...would be apologizing for this. Snow urges Katniss to look at the facts: a hovercraft bombed a huge crowd of children, many of whom were Capitol citizens. If Snow himself had...
(full context)
...Mockingjay. Katniss remembers the weapon she discussed with Gale and Beetee: it consisted of two bombs, and was designed to appeal to people’s compassion. Katniss, shaking with surprise and anger, tells...
(full context)
Chapter 26
...thinking about everything she’s just learned. It’s possible that Snow was lying, and the Capitol bombed its own citizens to distract the rebels. It’s also possible that the rebels bombed the...
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...which she’s supposed to kill Snow and end the war. Katniss asks Gale about the bomb that killed her sister. Gale quietly says that nothing he says will make Katniss feel...
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