#coriolanus snow analysis

[tleeaves]

Having so many thoughts about how the casting of Tom Blyth as a conventionally attractive man and his changing looks throughout the film actually demonstrate how much the directors intended for him not to be thirsted over -- and what thirsting over him at this point says about the audience.

I mean, if you're given a pretty face, like Coryo is said to have also in the books, you can get away with a lot because not many people are quick to scorn you. It's the fault of Greek philosophy most likely, but it's been thought for so long that physical beauty equates moral and ethical soundness. He has beautiful, absolutely gorgeous curls in the first two parts of the movie (and book), he's explicitly described as lovely and pretty, and many of the women in his life trust him until he reveals his motivations at the end.

The removing of the curls, I think, was not just about the military. It was about removing some of that beautiful mask and costume Coryo moves through the world in, chipping away, so that people began to see just how corrupt he was when they weren't blinded by his charms and he got too caught up after thinking he had their unwavering trust.

Coryo is the games. He makes himself a mystery wrapped in pretty things, surrounded by pretty people, to lure others in and distract from the snake he is underneath. Literally from Shakespeare's Macbeth "serpent 'neath the flower" (paraphrasing, I can't remember the precise wording for underneath and what not). The presence of roses on his character is even more fitting then, not just to disguise the scent of blood, poison, and mouth sores later on, but to give people a false sense of security, to please them, to charm them so they don't notice the snake coiling around them and preparing to bite.

Just like the characters, when the audience thirsts over this younger Snow, they are falling right into a trap. He does not love, he wants the control over people. He enjoys the manipulation. He would sooner kill you to protect himself no matter if you're his lover. The directors, Collins herself too, they're laughing or perhaps just wearily sighing over an audience that does not understand when they are being targeted. Snow wants to be admired. When an audience admires him and overlooks all the bad, it's a commentary about them and the way our society favours beauty over goodness. The way some will roll over and offer their necks to the knife just because it wears a pretty face and it manipulated them into sympathising.

Snow is dangerous. The thirst traps and edits, good as they are for a handsome man like Tom Blyth, are exactly what the Capitol would do for Snow. What he would encourage in theory. He's the snake underneath the flowers. And the audience of both the games and The Hunger Games franchise, is once again ignorant to what their behaviour means. Successful manipulation of a group.

How scary would that be if it happened in real politics with slightly different methods?

[foxglovevibes]

Honestly, what is the bet that Coriolanus set the trend of the Hunger Games being primarily set into arenas fashioned after living/natural biomes during his time as a Gamemaker?

We can very clearly see in the prequel film that he is in no way comfortable in the outdoors, his only real interactions with nature in the og trilogy being secluded within his hyper maintained and sterile greenhouses/gardens. And with his background, it makes way too much sense that his past experiences growing up have heavily influenced his distaste for anywhere that leaves him overexposed.

So, would I be at all surprised if he took those memories/traumas and weaponized them against others? To keep himself in power? No. No I would not.

[mitsuki91]

Let's try to be real short on this.

This is the quote about the girl in the cage:

(Thanks to @booksandlighters for the screen 🥰)

Please read it in full, with lines above and after that specific line (that also starts with "in some ways" so you know he is not serious about caging his girl).

What do you read? Because I read a boy in love who can not be with his loved one and he is anxious (of course because he has this need to be in control, but not because of a power play or else, just to be safe and sure about the world around him). And also, ALSO, he was thinking about Billy Taupe who can try to win Lucy Gray back NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. He trusts his girl so much, it's not HER the problem (or her freedom, really), but THE OTHERS.

(Also you can read this thing like "he wants to keep everyone outside so no one can reach her" but that's another point for another day).

(ALSO you can see very well how he is the one to feel caged and in his fantasy him and Lucy Gray are together so there is no point to cage himself too - he already is and he hates it and he wants to be with her).

In the whole quote the important part of the line is "where he always have a general idea of what she was doing" and NOT the "looked up" part. And please let me remind you that this boy didn't know shit about Covey's routine now, he only know that they play and sing but he is not even sure he can find them at the Hob when he is free to go there... I mean... Even I would be anxious. I am sure that if he and Lucy Gray talked about their habits then at least half of the problem would be solved.

ALSO Lucy Gray is back in a District where the Mayor already tried to frame her, where her ex is a patetic mess who wants her back, and where the new girl of said ex is crazy and also the daughter of the mayor, whom Lucy Gray umiliated on air at the Reaping. I would be worried sick too.

Coryo trusts his Lucy Gray, he only wants to know where she is and what she is doing, NOT like a stalker, but more like a "Okay I came home and my husband is not there even if he was supposed to be there and there is no note he didn't send me a message WTF is that what happened where is him?! Why didn't he tell me something? I am worry sick!" combined with "And now I have to leave for my shift in 10minutes so I can not even search him/ask any of his family/friends if they know something!".

This is it. This is the feeling Coriolanus Snow was feeling.

[irintican]

is evil convenient for some? after reading tbosas, i kept thinking about coriolanus not only as a character, but as a philosophy, shaped by both experience, mentality, and influence (especially by the obvious guidance of dr. gaul).

i do not believe that humans are born evil such as the philosopher thomas hobbs; he believes that strict government or sovereign is needed to control the dark impulses of man. yet, i do not believe man is good corrupted later by life. humans are selfish by nature and will almost always choose self-preservation, though there are extraneous cases, over his fellow man. (This can be seen in a comparison between Sejanus and Coriolanus, but I digress). Now, it is quite obvious that Coriolanus is not born evil. Though the Capitol and the war against it waged against the districts shape his point of view of both the society around him and the outsiders (the districts), he is not ruthlessly brutal. Throughout his mentorship with the Hunger Games, Dr. Gaul becomes the largest influence on his character. She takes Coriolanus under her wing and guides him with her own dark philosophy. Humans are wild animals who will always choose impulse even at the expense of their masked calm if it means choosing their own preservation for yet another day. Although he fears her, Coriolanus holds a hesitant respect in the first two parts, the Mentor and the Prize. Despite the stunt with Clemensia and the snakes, despite her general behavior (especially with how she treats that one rabbit in the lab with pure malice), Dr. Gaul remains a looming presence in his mind. What he does not realize, even after she assigns that one specific essay to him, is that Dr. Gaul has already chosen Coriolanus as a sucessor, a pupil that would blossom under her watchful eye. It takes Coriolanus up until the very end to accept her, and yet, he did not have to return to the clutches of the sinister Dr. Gaul.

In Part III: The Peacekeeper, Coriolanus cements himself into the future he chose. During his initial humiliation, he shoves himself into obscurity. He spends time with his bunkmates, keeps Sejanus out of trouble, and tries to convince himself that he loves Lucy Gray. (I do not think he loves her as a person but the idea as the innocence he believes was denied to him by the war). I think the definitive moment that thrust Coriolanus onto the path of tyranny was the betrayal of Sejanus. He may have expressed some guilt for what he had done but his choice was entirely his own. He benefitted from the demise of Sejanus. When brought before Commander Hoff and praised for his service to the Capitol, all guilt is erased. He is promoted to officer. He is seen as a hero not only in the commander's eyes, but in Dr. Gaul’s as well. I believe the indirect approval of Dr. Gaul spurs Coriolanus to embrace the role of evil rather than inactively take part of it.

"But even as the vileness of the act threatened to drown him, a tiny voice kept asking. What choice did you have? What choice? No choice. Sejanus had been bent on self-destruction, and Coriolanus had been swept along in his wake, only to be deposited at the foot of the hanging tree himself" (Collins 372-373).

Coriolanus's last justification of betraying Sejanus highlights his entire philosophy along. Although Sejanus did, by law, plan to aid Billy Taupe and the rebels, there was no suspiscion of a plot. They wished to free Lil and escape into the woods. There was no malice against the Peacekeepers in Sejanus's plot. Coriolanus, in his distaste of Sejnaus and the opposing side that boasted freedom for the districts, sealed Sejanus and Lil's fate. He could not abide that free will was granted to the wrong people. HIs justification of Sejanus being a treacherous troublemaker is justified in his mind because punishment is delivered properly. Coriolanus, subconciously, wanted Sejanus punished. It even goes back to when he was forced to save Sejanus in the arena during Part II: The Prize. Sejanus is a loose end. Coriolanus, ever the opportunist, takes this into stride and even leeches on the Plinth family after Sejanus's death. This once again falls back into the philosphy of every man for himself. This once again falls into Dr. Gaul's philosphy that animalistic humans only care for their immeidiate self-preservation and survival.

Coriolanus Snow's world is shaped the dire need for survival. The war seared itself into Coriolanus's mind as he saw the harsh desperation that survival imposes on humanity. It is not only convenient but necessary that Dr. Gaul's philosophy melded with his own. She is not a foil but an architect to his character moving forward, especially in Part III: The Peacekeeper and the epilogue.

Some may argue that the epilogue presents an entirely new Coriolanus Snow: heartless, cold, and gruesome, but I argue that Coriolanus chose evil because it suited him from the beginning. There is no transition; it is a mere unveiling of his true nature.

In the epilogue, Coriolanus is no longer referred to by his first name but by his last, Snow. The book even ends with his famous quote: Snow lands on top. He fully embraces Dr. Gaul as his mentor and takes into stride that evil is a convenient measure for him. The definition of power is Coriolanus Snow. Despite grappling with his nature, Coriolanus embraces a grand vision that he has risen above humanity, a perfect specimen. Others may see him as a heartless monster but he is a man who rose above nature's odds and brutally killed her influence.

"He'd continue the games, of course, when he ruled Panem. People would call him a tyrant, ironfisted and cruel. But at least he would ensure survival for survival's sake, giving them a chance to evolve. What else could humanity hope for? Really, it should thank him" (Collins 407).

Coriolanus Snow sees the cruelty of survival necessary for man's evolution into a higher being. He believes that by imposing harsh odds, he allows for humanity to evolve into its next stage. In the mind of Coriolanus Snow, choosing evil is an inevitability if it means the evolution of the monster that is humanity.

[scottishgremlin]

New fic - the luxury of waste (we all have a hunger)

Synopsis:

Even after leaving the Arena, Coriolanus Snow is still playing Hunger Games.

*check tags for cws/tws*

[daydreamer-in-reverie]

Started rereading the Hunger Games series and I feel like it’s so overlooked how in 74th and 75th Hunger Games, we don’t know every Tribute’s names, with Katniss only referring to them by their District numbers but in TBOSAS, we knew every single Tribute by name. We associated them with the clothes they wore on the Reaping Day and Suzanne even goes so far as to describe how they looked, however briefly. We see these Tributes and we’re familiarized with them by the little tidbits provided to the mentors and to Snow and Lucy Gray. But we never get this in the original trilogy.

In two generations, President Snow alienated the Districts from each other so much that Katniss didn’t even care to know all the names of the Tributes sent into the Arena with her, with the exception being those who posed great risk against her safety and those she felt great compassion for (e.g. Cato, Thresh, Rue, Mags, Betee, Wiress etc.). Katniss even went so far as to call the D6 Tributes in the 75th Hunger Games morphlings, for their affinity to imbibe in the drugs that help them forget their own traumas (an incredibly hurtful description, in my own opinion, to be known by the qualities you hate the most about yourself). We never know the real name of the 74th D5 girl, with Katniss only referring to her as Foxface and we don’t even know Marvel’s name until we get to the second book and he was Katniss’ first personal kill. Katniss even kills the D4 girl in the books with the same tracker jacker venom that killed Glimmer and yet still, we don’t know her name. We are so removed from the identity of the other Tributes that we don’t even know what some of them looked like beyond brief descriptions of mangled bodies and dead Tributes in the bloodbath at the Cornucopia.

And, the thing is, Suzanne established the importance of names in the series. Even in real life, we recognize the importance of being named. It is a fundamental aspect of being human. If you’re ever in a perilous situation where a person might be placing your life in danger, we’re told to remind the person that you’re human. “Keep saying your name, how old you are, where you came from. Remind them you are a human being just like them.” Before any propaganda can work against a group of people, refusing to recognize a person’s name is the first step to dehumanization. And just like the people of the Districts, we don’t care enough about the other Tributes to even want to know their names. Their propaganda worked on us, the readers.

In two generations, President Snow completely wiped out any sense of familiarity and camaraderie the Districts may have shared with the other. In two generations, Snow sowed the seeds of distrust and division into the Districts so deeply that even we, the readers, were affected by the effects of Capitol propaganda. In two generations, the Districts ceased to genuinely care about the others beyond the vague sense of injustice they feel for their shared plight. It’s why Career Districts don’t seem to care about killing the other Tributes. How can you care, to show your compassion and humanity, when you can barely see them as people? Yes, they may have been in the Arena with you. Yes, they may have been starved and beaten and forced into labor like you were. Yes, they might be children just like you. Yes, they might be subjected to the same deplorable system that turned you into virtual slaves. But they are not your friends. They are not your allies. They are strange, with different customs and traditions that you have. You do not share the same values. They do not care about you. At the first chance they get, they will kill you with your bare hands and they will do it with alacrity if it meant their survival. There can only be one Victor and it can’t be them. It has to be you.

[danyllura]

Despite Snows focus being on Katniss, I would argue Peeta played a far more of a rebellious role in his part of the “star crossed lover” during their first games than her. From the moment Cinna gets them to hold hands during the opening ceremony their pairing is shrouded in a “touch of rebellion” - we know alliances among district partners is normal/expected but it is also clear that the terms of agreement are temporary and built upon the goal of their individual survival. Peeta is the one that breaches that agreement, by pushing their relationship beyond district partners to that of “star crossed lovers” with the admittance of his crush on Katniss. It is the intent behind why he chooses what to share that is shrouded in rebellion. Early on Peeta is aware of Katniss’ potential as a tribute and beyond that he recognizes that “spark” that can make her “desirable” to others. Yes, he genuinely loves her. But he shares so not to be honest, or to make himself a sympathetic character for the capitol, but to hopefully benefit her in the arena. He pushes this further by his continuous reiterating of his feelings to the audience, during his time with the careers, alone, and then eventually with Katniss. Time and time again he displays that her survival is his ultimate goal in the games, willing to prioritize her victory over his own life. And while yes, Peeta does this because he does truly love and care about Katniss, he is intentional with his actions. He broadcasts his feelings because it benefits her. And every aspect of that goes against what the games are meant to do to people; divide them.

Comparatively, in regards to the “star crossed lovers” Katniss is much more obedient to the rules of the games. She doesn’t initially portray herself to return Peetas feelings. She plays as a solo player, and Katniss quite literally states she appears “heartless” because of this when they watch back over their time in the arena. When it’s only one promised victor and she believes Peeta to be allied with the careers, she drops a nest of tracker jackets over where Peeta is sleeping and showing she views him as any other competitor. Katniss only reciprocates the role of “star crossed lovers” when the capitol has allowed that type of alliance to work within the games. And if anything her later trick with the berries, is a scene of the capitols own making. It is a final act of desperation. Katniss’ knows Peeta is on the brink of death and it’s even a possibility for the Mutts that had just killed Cato to reappear. When she’s handing the berries to Peeta and as she spills them into her mouth, Katniss is not thinking of the significance of her choice or the potential consequences it may illicit. It’s an emotional decision, not a calculated one. In comparison, laying Rue to rest in a bed of flowers was a far more calculated act of rebellion from Katniss.

But despite all this, President Snow almost solely blames Katniss for the oncoming rebellion. And while Katniss does do many things that help initiate that spark, such as volunteering for Prim, singing to Rue, risking her life for Peeta at the feast- it isn’t that he blames, but rather her lying about loving Peeta back. Because Snow is stuck in the past with his belief that Lucy Gray tricked him into loving her. And Katniss, with her singing and her Mockinjays, is such an obvious parallel of Lucy Grays ghost- he misses the fact that Peeta has been a far more calculated player that has actively rebelled from everything the games are meant to turn you into from the moment he was reaped.

[atlantianneptune]

I swear there is something in “The Hanging Tree” song and it’s relation to Snow and the fact that he murdered three… and wasn’t hanged. The fact that strange things did happen in those woods and we’ll never know what truly happened to Lucy Gray.

[blackgwenstacy]

too much about the spirit of lucy gray baird haunting snow through katniss and peeta and not enough about his own hubris during the 10th games haunting him through katniss and peeta

so many of the things katniss and peeta say/do during the 74th games are a reflection of himself, and a consequence of his own actions. how uncomfortable was he hearing that peeta suffered a beating to sneak katniss bread as children, knowing he’d broken the rules to sneak lucy gray food when she was starving in the zoo?introducing betting on tributes and convincing lucy gray to perform for the audience to gain their favor were his ideas as a teenager. how pissed do you think he was as he watched the two of them play to the audience’s pathos, from peeta’s interview with flickerman all the way up until the nightlock passed their lips?

and when you consider that district 12 only won the 10th hunger games due to him cheating, do you think he saw himself in katniss when she pulled out the nightlock? she undermined seneca crane, much like snow undermined dr. gaul.

the thing is, dr. gaul was entirely willing to have no victor during the 10th games as a statement to the districts and rebels. the failure of the games in the capitol’s eyes would have been worth it if she could crush any hope the districts had for victory—but snow chose not to see the big picture. he only cared about himself and his legacy to the games. and now snow has to watch as crane saves both katniss and peeta. because katniss called their bluff; somebody has to win. the capitol would have been furious otherwise—they’ve made their bets and formed their biases (game traditions started by snow). and how the capitol feels takes precedent over whatever ensues in the districts after this.

snow understands the big picture now, but it’s far too late. katniss played the system he built and the districts have been inspired. and now he’ll watch that same system crumble before his eyes because of a stubborn teenage girl from district 12. a nightmare of his own creation

[artist-issues]

Also how interesting is it that the thing that killed Snow was the thing he knew he needed to grow out of in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: obsessing over one problem, thinking that solving it will fix everything else?

That's how Coin outmaneuvered him. She got him to focus on the girl from District 12 while she turned his people against him.

And THEN, how interesting is it that the lesson he learned from his failed relationship with Lucy Gray is what saved him from Katniss' arrow?

In Ballad, Lucy Gray turned on him because he lied to her. She knew he'd killed three people, and he lied about the third, so he lost her trust in him.

But the one thing Snow made a point of in his antagonistic relationship with Katniss is to make sure they were both totally honest with each other.

When it's suggested to Katniss that the Rebels bombed the Capitol children and Prim, she's so confused she can't decide what she believes. And she specifically says she needs someone she can trust.

And when it comes right down to it? She does trust Snow's word. Because he's never lied to her. So she shoots Coin instead of him.

This is why The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is such an interesting prequel. It really does set up Lucy Gray as the foundation for Snow's whole battle with Katniss--actually, for who he is by the time Katniss comes into the picture.

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Not my usual content but just wanted to say with the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes hype right now (I’m so excited) I’ve been surprised by how many people I’ve seen saying they didn’t realise that Snow’s first name was Coriolanus because they thought it was Cornelius, I don’t know where that’s come from but it means you’re missing out on the symbolism of his name!! And I love the symbolism of his name so I wanted to talk about it.

“Coriolanus” is the title and main character of a Shakespeare okay based in the life of legendary Roman hero Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. I want to be clear this is not a play I have personally studied so I’m not an expert! But the play is about politics and particularly the power that language can have in politics, and anything Coriolanus lacks in language ability he makes up for with violence. He has attachments to only feminine figures in his small family despite being presented as a stereotypically masculine figure himself, and his ultimate tragic flaw is his pride and arrogance. It is possibly notable that in the play Coriolanus is a high-born noble of Rome whilst Snow struggles for livelihood in the Capital, but I think it’s really important that his situation never led him to feel empathy for anyone else, particularly in the districts, the way it did Tigris.

“Coriolanus also explores the questions of what makes someone a hero, and whether or not one can be both a hero and a real human”

It is a while since I’ve read the books but I think there are very clear parallels to draw from the key themes of the Shakespeare play and the character arc of Suzanne Collins’ character, and I find that really interesting.

However, as I said, I have not studied Coriolanus myself so if anyone has and has anything to add or dispute please do so, I would love to hear more I’m genuinely very interested

[thegreatmelodrama]

One of things that I always think about is that we as readers are given a glimpse into what Tigris must have been feeling watching Snow’s transformation unfold. The sadness and the frustration as we see him cross over that line into evil as a result of his own actions. Knowing that he was in many respects good and that he could have been good, and yet ultimately carried out actions that effectively resulted in him crossing over that line and eventually to a point of no return. We see the inherent tragedy within that and we also feel the frustration bc he was given so many opportunities to grow and learn from other perspectives. He got so close and yet never close enough. And those are very similar to what I imagine Tigris to go through seeing Coriolanus, Coryo, go from the little boy she helped look after into the power hungry and villainous man he became.

[foxglovevibes]

Fully just realised that Coriolanus' hair being shaved off when he was forced to join the Peacekeepers is a metaphor for him shedding who he had, and could have, been.

His messy golden/blonde curls gave him a cherubic, youthful appearance. Indicative of the remnants of the boy he had been once, the one who Tigris desperately tried to keep alive both literally and figuratively, who she believed wholeheartedly had the strength to be good in a city that leeched away at them both each and every day.

When they were shaved away, it served as a physical representation of those last few shreds of that little boy being brushed off like nothing more than a stray hair. Which is why this is where we see him stripped down to his bare roots. Where we see him finally lose his cool in a way we hadn't seen at all in the rest of the film. Where we see how easily he turns to the bad and how easily he ignores any opportunities to be good if they don't serve a purpose.

Which makes when we last see Coriolanus even more jarring, when he is back in the Capitol and fully embracing the corruption of who he had been. His hair is absolutely pristine. Not a single strand out of place. Now a platinum blonde/white shade compared to the golden curls we first see him with. A near carbon copy of the man his father had been and somehow managing to be worse.

[mitsuki91]

(Inspired from a tag from my last reblog)

You know what is my very very very underrated take about tbosas and Coriolanus Snow?

Everyone says "at the end he chooses evil" or "His love of power overwrite everything else" and... I can not see this way.

Because. Because. Bear with me.

You are talking about choice when in fact, from his point of view, he doesn't have a choice at all. I mean what was on the other plate of the scale? He lost love. He lost.

So there was nothing else for him. He can not really choose if he didn't have alternatives.

(And of course president Snow descend a madness of evil and power and I agree he crossed too many lines, so at one point he steps over everything... Please don't misunderstand me... But we are talking about the Coriolanus Snow at the end of tbosas now. The boy who lost the love of his life and not only that, but the boy who may have killed the love of his life. Who killed his best friend even if didn't want to - as I said I have a meta about the Jabberjay but also Coryo himself told us that he thinks Strabo will buy a way out for Sejanus and he even tries to call him to save Sejanus).

What choice he has now? He is working with what is left - his family, the Snow's name, his own ambitions - and not with what he wants - and after all, Lucy Gray's ghost would not be able to haunt him 64+ years later if, deep down, Coriolanus didn't want her alive and well and with him for all of his life. She is his biggest regret, no matter his flying thought of 'leaving' her that was a two seconds thing never thought properly, because otherwise our man Coriolanus Snow when he saw that he can not find her he would have thinked "omg problem solved District Two here I am" instead of being worried sick searching for her.

[moreespressoformydepresso]

Hot take:

Coriolanus Snow did not love Lucy Gray, even though he loved her.

Bear with me for a second I know this sounds like an oxymoron but I promise I can make it make sense. The TL;DR is that both SnowBaird shippers and detractors are right, but also very very wrong. I’ll explain.

People who say Snow was genuinely in love with Lucy Gray are wrong. Flat out incorrect. And I say this so bluntly because of one simple factor: before the games, he needed Lucy Gray to promise total devotion to him. This 16 year old girl was about to be thrown into an arena to fight to the death and his concern was whether she was committed to him?? That’s not love. That’s need. Remember the saying “if you love someone, let them go”? It exists for a reason. If you truly love someone, you want what’s best for them. You want them to be happy, even if that means stepping away. Snow was not ready or willing to do this. If there was even a chance of him having to step away, he was prepared to just leave her to her fate to die. And this happened relatively early in the story when you look at the importance of events. Most of the moments we can point to and go “that’s a turning point for him” happen either during or after the games. Funnily enough this ties to a very simple fact of the story that seems to fly over a lot of fans’ heads, if they’re not just outright ignoring it.

Snow did not lose his mind or go insane over the course of the story. The whole point is that he was always this way, and looked every opportunity to choose to be a good person dead in the eyes as he dashed them to pieces, burned them to ashes and used the charcoal left over to draw happy little doodles on their graves. This story has two points, with the first being a subversion of the “uwu villain with a tragic backstory to excuse their actions” trope. The second one is gleefully stewing in all the ways the people Snow wronged in his early life haunted him until the day he died, especially Sejanus and Lucy Gray. That’s just one example of Snow not actually caring about Lucy Gray, but there are more. They’re sprinkled all throughout the story, culminating in the final scene where he attempts to murder her.

However

Coriolanus Snow did have genuine feelings for Lucy Gray. He was prepared to ruin his entire future to save her, knowing that getting caught cheating would destroy all he’s worked for his entire life. When he was forced to become a peacekeeper, he asked to go to 12 in hopes of seeing her again. He went out of his way to track her down and they shared genuine moments together. By now, he has no ulterior motive for being around her. No prize, no game to win, nothing to gain except happy memories. Snow wanted to be with her. And Lucy Gray wanted to be with him. There’s a skeleton of a genuine relationship there, inklings of the love story Lucy Gray was convinced they were destined to have. That wasn’t fake, those were real feelings and it could have been beautiful. If it wasn’t for one tiny little problem: Lucy Gray is not who Snow thought she was. She isn’t who he wanted her to be. In other words:

Coriolanus Snow thought he loved Lucy Gray Baird, when in actuality he loved the idea of her he’d created in his mind.

You see, this boy is the least reliable narrator to ever narrate in the history of ever, beaten out only by Humbert Humbert. And in similar fashion to Lolita it looks like people are making the mistake of taking his word at face value when the point the book tries to make is that you should not do that. Snow looked at his choice to keep bashing Bobbin over the head after he was already knocked out and decided to take it as evidence that all human beings lose their humanity when cornered (even though he was no longer cornered), he is very clearly not a trustworthy individual when it comes to making logical deductions. Especially because he can be neck-deep in denial sometimes. Snow never cared about Lucy Gray, the Covey girl, singer and performer who lost most of her family to a massacre and was forced to stay in one district rather than moving around like she used to. He cared about Lucy Gray Baird, district 12’s female tribute for the 10th hunger games. And those are not the same people. Tribute Lucy Gray Baird was locked in a zoo, forced to perform at all times to survive. Lucy Gray was free to be her authentic self (trauma not withstanding) and while she loves to perform, it’s a different kind. There’s no pressure, she can leave the stage if she so desires. She can roam as free as one can in the districts and no longer needs a mask to live.

In the book, Snow outright says he wishes she was still locked in the zoo so he knew where she was and she couldn’t leave. He loved the Lucy Gray that was contained. The one that was considered his by the people around him. The girl who relied on him completely because she had to. He loved what she was forced to be in order to not die, and when he saw the real her he wished she would be more like the girl he met. Which was not the real Lucy Gray. Snow loved the act she put on, and to some extent the control he had over her. He had genuine feelings for her, but not for the real her.

To conclude this rambly mess: shippers will pretend Snow genuinely loved Lucy Gray for all she was. This is not true. A certain subsect of people who hate this ship will say he never cared for her at all. This is also not true. And in a fandom for a book about the nuances of even the worst people on earth, that’s very funny.

[thesweetnessofspring]

The similarities between Casca Highbottom and Haymitch Abernathy.

Both use substances to dull their pain.

Both reluctantly put in charge of young people to mentor.

Both prickly and unlikeable to most people.

But both showing sympathy to kids who get stuck in the rotten system of the Games in the gruff way that they can.

In the question, then, if anything could have been a turning point for Coriolanus--could Dean Highbottom have been the answer, the missing piece? Raised by Grandma'am and Tigris, infatuated by Lucy Gray, with memories of his soft mother, he had strong feminine support. What he seems to be missing, in part, is a masculine figure for him to identify with. Coriolanus's father was cold and cruel and power-hungry, Strabo too similar to Coriolanus's own father, and Sejanus was too District for Coriolanus to take seriously. Pluribus is the only other male connection he has, and that's limited. Could Dean Highbottom have been the difference, if he had tried to steer Coriolanus away from becoming like his father instead of sentencing him to the same fate and tried to ruin him? Dr. Gaul was the one who won out, but she was the only one trying to mentor Snow. Dean Highbottom bowed out because he had written Coriolanus off as being the same as his father, which resulted in a self-fulfilling prophecy. And more than that, a student who wanted to stand up to the games, Sejanus, was passed over by Dean Highbottom who wanted the games to end as well.

Despite Haymitch's defeatist attitude in the beginning, he did rebel and he did fight for Katniss and Peeta. Dean Highbottom's only fight was with a teenage boy, making him fight back and turn to the person who supported him, Dr. Gaul.

Maybe it was Casca Highbottom and Haymitch Abernathy who had the power to make a difference.