Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Five Things

In Mockingjay, Katniss is able to temporarily return to her bombed out home. She picks up a few keepsakes to take back to 12 with her.

1.  Buttercup. A mangy cat that belongs to Prim, whom Prim loves very much. She also picks up a ribbon to go around his neck.
2.  A leather hunting jacket. It belonged to her father.
3. A Pearl. It is one that Peeta gave to her during their last day in the arena--they found it in an oyster they had dived for.
4.  An illustrated book of plants. This book is both practical and sentimental. Her mother works in the hospital in their new district, and the knowledge in the book is useful. It was Katniss' father that collected most of the plant information. Peeta, in the brief hiatus between the first and second Hunger Games in which he and Katniss participate had been illustrating the book.
5. The wedding album. Her mother and father's, of course.

Katniss, a deeply flawed and troubled character, has more outstanding qualities then she gives herself credit for. One of these is loyalty. I think it shows in her selection of things.

What about you? You have a few minutes to leave your home with the likelihood that you will never return to it. Provided that your spouse and children are taken care of, and the 72 hour and first aid kits are already packed away in the car, what five items do you take with you?

3 comments:

Melanie said...

I ask myself this question every once in a while.
1. My laptop - for the photos and papers/academic work it has saved onto it
2. The VHS tapes of home videos stored under my bed awaiting an eventual transfer to a digital format
3. A few pieces of jewelry and pottery I've picked up in my travels
4. The silver tea set and tea cups that were my grandma's

Kimberly Bluestocking said...

1) The computer with photos, current journals, and my recipe collection.
2) My bag of old journals I haven't transcribed yet.
3) The African violet my mother gave me when I returned to college after my mission.
4) My favorite cooking spoon.
5) A painting my mother-in-law gave us.

After the first two, I really had to think to come up with anything else that I'm attached to and couldn't replace. Ironic, considering the vast quantities of things that clutter my apartment. You'd think I'd have an easier time letting go of it all if I wouldn't care enough to save it in a disaster.

Kimberly Bluestocking said...

P.S. What would YOU save?