Manipulation Quotes in Mockingjay

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

Another force to contend with. Another power player who has decided to use me as a piece in her games, although things never seem to go according to plan.  […] But she [President Coin] has been the quickest to determine that I have an agenda of my own and am therefore not to be trusted. She has been the first to publicly brand me as a threat. (5.1)

No matter what she does or how hard tries, Katniss keeps ending up in the same darn position. Over and over again, she becomes someone else's tool, manipulated for someone else's ends. She always seems to be hopping from one bad situation to another. Just when she thinks she's safe, she's in more danger than ever.

Quote #5

When I confront Plutarch, he assures me that it's all for the camera. They've got footage of Annie getting married and Johanna hitting targets, but all of Panem is wondering about Peeta. They need to see he's fighting for the rebels, not for Snow. And maybe if they could just get a couple of shots of the two of us, not kissing necessarily, just looking happy to be back together […] (18.4)

It seems that nothing is real. Everything, whether actual or staged, is manipulated to serve the cameras' purposes. That was true during the Games, and it's true outside of them. Can Katniss even trust Plutarch? Immediately, Katniss makes it clear that she finds this last suggestion repugnant. It seems there are some lines she still won't cross.

Quote #6

In the quiet that follows, I try to imagine not being able to tell illusion from reality. Not knowing if Prim or my mother loved me. If Snow was my enemy. If the person across the heater saved or sacrificed me. With very little effort, my life rapidly morphs into a nightmare. I suddenly want to tell Peeta everything about who he is, and who I am, and how we ended up here. But I don't know how to start. (19.52)

Through empathy, Katniss is finally able to understand the dire straits Peeta is truly in, and to forgive him. But she's so overcome by feeling that she doesn't know what to do now. She can imagine only too easily what it would be like to be hijacked the way he has been. He's been locked in a "nightmare" for way too long. How will she ever get him out?