Roses symbolize the Snow family and the family’s attempts to still look the part of wealthy Capitol folk. The Grandma’am, Coriolanus’s grandmother, continues to grow roses on the roof of the family’s apartment. She continued to care for the roses all through the war with the rebels, demonstrating the family’s desire to hold onto any luxuries they could. Having those luxuries on display, after all, is what helps the family maintain the facade that they’re still as wealthy as they once were.
Coriolanus regularly wears one of the Grandma’am’s roses pinned to his shirt or jacket during the Hunger Games, as the rose significantly dresses up his outfits—which, if Coriolanus isn’t wearing his school uniform, aren’t as expensive or luxurious as he’d prefer, given that the family can’t afford new clothing. The roses, then, read as a last-ditch attempt by the Snow family to preserve the impression among their peers that they’re still wealthy and powerful.
It's also worth noting how the roses’ symbolism works within the context of the original Hunger Games trilogy. In Ballad, when Coriolanus is still a young man with the potential to grow into a kind, compassionate person, he wears and gives colorful roses, which symbolize his humanity. But in the original trilogy, as the evil President Snow, Coriolanus uses exclusively white roses—symbolizing his moral bankruptcy as an adult.
Roses Quotes in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Coriolanus thought about his grandmother’s roses, which were still prized in the Capitol. The old woman nurtured them arduously in the roof garden that came with the penthouse, both out of doors and in a small solar greenhouse. She parceled out her flowers like diamonds, though, so it had taken a good bit of persuasion to get this beauty. “I need to make a connection with her. As you always say, your roses open any doors.” It was a testament to how worried his grandmother was about their situation that she had allowed it.
“My condolences on the loss of your friend,” the dean said.
“And on your student. It’s a difficult day for all of us. But the procession was very moving,” Coriolanus replied.
“Did you think so? I found it excessive and in poor taste,” said Dean Highbottom. Taken by surprise, Coriolanus let out a short laugh before he recovered and tried to look shocked. The dean dropped his gaze to Coriolanus’s blue rosebud. “It’s amazing, how little things change. After all the killing. After all the agonized promises to remember the cost. After all of that, I can’t distinguish the bud from the blossom.”
His girl. His. Here in the Capitol, it was a given that Lucy Gray belonged to him, as if she’d had no life before her name was called out at the reaping. Even that sanctimonious Sejanus believed she was something he could trade for. If that wasn’t ownership, what was? With her song, Lucy Gray had repudiated all of that by featuring a life that had nothing to do with him, and a great deal to do with someone else. Someone she referred to as “lover,” no less.
Roses Symbol Timeline in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
