Quote 1
We sit in silence awhile and then I blurt out the thing that's on both our minds. "How are we going to kill these people, Peeta?" (16.93)
Unlike many soldiers in real wars, Katniss and Peeta don't have nationalism or patriotism to boost their spirits before they head into battle. They don't believe in the "cause" they're fighting for: kill or be killed. This isn't their war. After making it through the previous Games alive, now they have to turn around and head right back into battle again.
Quote 2
"Oh," I say under my breath. "Tick, tock." My eyes sweep around the full circle of the arena and I know she's right. "Tick, tock. This is a clock." (22.96)
The arena is designed like a clock and operates with military precision. Every hour, on the hour, some new horror strikes. When that hour's over, the horror is replaced by another incredible trial. It's mechanical. It's false. It's orchestrated. The question is, does that make it just like all the other wars on the planet, or completely unlike them?
Quote 3
Enemy. Enemy. The word is tugging at a recent memory. Pulling it into the present. The look on Haymitch's face. "Katniss, when you're in the arena . . ." The scowl, the misgiving. "What?" I hear my own voice tighten as I bristle at some unspoken accusation. "You just remember who the enemy is," Haymitch says. "That's all." (26.50)
Katniss has been fighting the other tributes this whole time, but she has nothing against them personally. She's been used like a puppet to fight the battles of others. Here she finally realizes what the advice Haymitch gave her so long ago really meant: she and the other tributes share a common enemy, the Capitol, and can do something about it.