The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

by

Suzanne Collins

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The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: Chapter 17 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Lysistrata murmurs that Jessup has rabies. Rabies returned in the Capitol during the war, when people weren’t vaccinating their pets. Lysistrata suggests it was probably a zoo raccoon that bit him in the neck. In the auditorium, students are terrified. Some mutter that he brought rabies from the districts and will infect the Capitol. Coriolanus watches Jessup pursue Lucy Gray, who climbs into the stands and goes to a concession stand. Coriolanus orders water for Lucy Gray as Jessup starts to climb after her. His coordination is poor, and Coriolanus hopes he dies soon.
The students muttering that Jessup brought rabies from the districts mirrors a common (and bigoted) argument against immigrants: that they’re unclean and carry diseases, and therefore shouldn’t be allowed into a given country. As Lysistrata notes that Jessup contracted rabies in the Capitol, she shows how misguided this view is. It’s a view that dehumanizes Jessup—and conveniently means that those in the Capitol won’t have to grapple with the reality that the Capitol is a dangerous place to live.
Themes
Government and Power Theme Icon
Trust and Loyalty Theme Icon
The drone flies in with the bottle of water—but as it flies over Jessup, Jessup swings at it with a board. The bottle cracks and Jessup becomes even more agitated. Coriolanus remembers that rabies makes victims fear water. Lysistrata orders him bottle after bottle of water, insisting she wants Lucy Gray to win if Jessup doesn’t. As Jessup corners Lucy Gray, the drones fly in with water. They release the bottles over his head—and Jessup panics. He trips and falls out of the stands into the arena. He lands in a spot with good audio; viewers hear his bones crack. Lucy Gray picks her way down to Jessup and tells him it’s safe to sleep. She strokes his hair until he dies.
As when other tributes have died horrific deaths, Jessup’s death makes Lucy Gray seem far kinder and more compassionate than anyone watching and not actively involved in his death. Unlike spectators, Lucy Gray tries to ease Jessup’s passing, rather than torture him or dehumanize him. Lysistrata establishes herself as a compassionate person after this, especially after she suggested earlier that the mentors are being used in the Games.
Themes
Propaganda, Spectacle, and Morality Theme Icon
Children Theme Icon
Human Nature Theme Icon
Trust and Loyalty Theme Icon
Lucy Gray drinks several bottles of water, pours a bottle over Jessup’s face, and closes his eyes with a handkerchief. She scoops up the food parcels Lysistrata sends and then runs into a tunnel, just as Reaper enters the arena. In the auditorium, Lepidus interviews Lysistrata, who firmly insists Jessup was bitten by a Capitol raccoon. Lepidus claws at himself; a raccoon touched his equipment. Finally, though, he asks for Lysistrata’s thoughts. Lysistrata insists Jessup was a protector—and not a protective dog, like Lepidus suggests.
Capitol folk, like Lepidus, don’t want to deal with the uncomfortable possibility that the Capitol isn’t a clean, safe place to live. If they believe that Jessup was bitten in the Capitol, it suggests that they are, perhaps, just as vulnerable to being bitten as he was—something that, in turn, dilutes their power somewhat. In her final interview, Lysistrata tries to portray Jessup as truly human. In her case, the mentoring program was successful.
Themes
Propaganda, Spectacle, and Morality Theme Icon
Children Theme Icon
Human Nature Theme Icon
For the rest of the evening, Lucky does a rundown of the tributes and their mentors. He introduces Lucy Gray as the most popular tribute, and Coriolanus crosses Jessup and Lysistrata off his mentor sheet. The rest of the evening is uneventful, so Coriolanus heads home. Grandma’am is already asleep. Coriolanus tells Tigris he wants to tell her about his time in the arena—but he’s afraid it’ll put her in danger. She insists she already knows what happened by looking at the damage to his clothes. She can tell some of the blood on his shirt isn’t his. Coriolanus says he had no choice. Then, Tigris reveals that they got the tax bill today. They’ll lose their home.
As Coriolanus crosses Jessup and Lysistrata off his mentor sheet without another thought, it shows how cold and unfeeling the Hunger Games have made him. It was emotional to cross off Arachne—but now, crossing Lysistrata off represents one step closer to the Plinth Prize. Nevertheless, Coriolanus lives in a constant state of fear. He knows telling the truth and admitting he was in danger is risky, which is why he doesn’t want to tell Tigris the truth.
Themes
Government and Power Theme Icon
Trust and Loyalty Theme Icon
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