Why wasn't District 12 punished during the 75th Reaping?
During Katniss' and Peeta's post game touring in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), any and all symbols of rebellion were quickly and ruthlessly punished. The old man that whistled and 3-finger saluted Katniss in District 11 was dragged on stage and shot in the head, execution style. The two who saluted in District 6 were dragged away for a similar fate. And that's before Plutarch convinced Snow to up the beatings and executions and raiding the black markets.
Yet during the 75th Hunger Games Quarter Quell reaping, starting with Prim and their Mom, everybody saluted. Yet the Peace keepers didn't even flinch. No one was captured, removed, beat, whipped, shot, etc etc.
Why not?
Best Answer
TLDR:
I believe it was because Snow had ordered them not to, as he believed he was defusing the situation by sending her to another Hunger Games (and eliminating her in it). Suppressing the rebellions elsewhere wasn't working - it was making things worse.
Answer:
At this stage in the films (and novels), the rebellions are becoming more pronounced and widespread, and Snow and the peacekeepers have thus far responded with brutality - but it hasn't quelled them in any way. In fact, they've gotten worse.
Katniss realises as much in the Catching Fire novel in Chapter 6, when she notices the riots in District 8 on the mayor's television:
I'm leaving the room when a beeping noise catches my attention. I turn back to see the screen of the television go black. Then the words “UPDATE ON DISTRICT 8” start flashing. Instinctively I know this is not for my eyes but something intended only for the mayor. I should go. Quickly. Instead I find myself stepping closer to the television.
An announcer I've never seen before appears. It's a woman with graying hair and a hoarse, authoritative voice. She warns that conditions are worsening and a Level 3 alert has been called. Additional forces are being sent into District 8, and all textile production has ceased.
They cut away from the woman to the main square in District 8. I recognize it because I was there only last week. There are still banners with my face waving from the rooftops. Below them, there's a mob scene. The square's packed with screaming people, their faces hidden with rags and homemade masks, throwing bricks. Buildings burn. Peacekeepers shoot into the crowd, killing at random.
I've never seen anything like it, but I can only be witnessing one thing. This is what President Snow calls an uprising.
So we know that the brutal suppression of these small acts of defiance have not been successful. The people, spurred on by Katniss' defiance, are rapidly fighting back.
However, with the 75th Repeating, Snow is able to send Katniss and Peeta to another Hunger Games. District 12 shows defiance as you mention - but why suppress this? The suppression elsewhere has failed, and Katniss and Peeta are going to be killed in the Games. So why risk inflaming the crowd and sparking even more rebellions, when they could be killed off?
Doing this would result in the loss of the instigators of this defiance, hopefully crush the spirits of those that are rebelling elsewhere and remind the every person in every district that anyone standing up to the Capitol will be crushed.
Ultimately, I feel this all comes back to how wary Snow is of Katniss and how quickly he realises the symbol of defiance she represents.
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What was the 75th quarter quell supposed to be?
This action was made to destroy any bonds the districts had with each other and to make them feel weak. It was meant to be a reminder to the citizens of the districts that even the strongest among them could not overcome the power of the Capitol.Why do the peacekeepers destroy District 12 in Catching Fire?
His strategy is to taint Katniss' public image, in an attempt to destroy her as symbol for the uprising. To that end, Peacekeepers crack down in District 12, causing Gale to be publicly whipped after attacking newly placed Head Peacekeeper Romulus Thread.Why was the 75th Hunger Games different?
All 24 tributes were previous victors. Additionally, the games were unique as it was the first time that two tributes from the same district (Katniss and Peeta) both scored a 12 out of 12 in training.Did Plutarch change the Quarter Quell?
It is said that Plutarch Heavensbee changed the Quell envelope and burned the original one on the order of President Snow to make Katniss Everdeen go back into the games, as President Snow knew that she was the only female victor in her district.It Wasn't Me
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