These 'Mockingjay' Quotes Need To Be In The Movie

The path from book to big-screen blockbuster adaptation can be a rocky one. But for the most part, the Hunger Games series has done pretty well with it so far — even, on occasion, doing what the stigma against book-to-film adaptations tells us is impossible, and actually improving on the source material in some places. So can The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 continue the trend of the last couple of films in the series and retain the spirit of the books? I'm betting on definitely yes — but that doesn't mean I'm not already feeling protective of the final chapters in this story.

The Hunger Games series is not one without plenty of ties to real-world issues and, even more so, real life human habits. One could say that's true of all literature and especially all of sci-fi, but there's something about The Hunger Games that's always hit me especially hard. Which is why, when I think forward to the final film — hitting theaters Nov. 2015 — I have a hard time letting go of certain passages.

Certain things have to be dropped or get lost in the adaptation process — in fact, some things most definitely should get lost in the process — but some things should definitely stick around. These are some of those. Even if they can't be spoken aloud in the film, I hope their messages are incorporated into our farewell to the series' life in theaters:

The "Real Or Not Real"s

'Ally.' Peeta says the words slowly, tasting it. 'Friend. Lover. Victor. Enemy. Fiancee. Target. Mutt. Neighbor. Hunter. Tribute. Ally. I'll add it to the list of words I use to try to figure you out. The problem is, I can't tell what's real anymore, and what's made up.'

Whether or not you ship them romantically, you gotta admit Katniss and Peeta are the best of friends. And these "real or not real" quotes delve into the meat of their relationship.

This Take On Humanity

I no longer feel allegiance to these monsters called human beings, despite being one myself. I think that Peeta was onto something about us destroying one another and letting some decent species take over. Because something is significantly wrong with a creature that sacrifices its children’s lives to settle its differences. You can spin it any way you like. Snow thought the Hunger Games were an efficient means of control. Coin thought the parachutes would expedite the war. But in the end, who does it benefit? No one. The truth is, it benefits no one to live in a world where these things happen.

Maybe don't follow Katniss' advice to herself in this passage of the book, but this is a quote that encapsulates part of the darkness that's so crucial to this series and its take on humanity — or, more specifically, humanity when killing people.

The Bit Of Wisdom Right After The Final Battle

Now we're in that sweet period where everyone agrees that our recent horrors should never be repeated. But collective thinking is usually short-lived. We're fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction.

Of course, there's also a bright side...

Something To Soften The Blow Of All The Death

I got the idea from our family’s plant book. The place we recorded those things you cannot trust to memory. The page begins with the person’s picture. A photo if we can find one. If not, a sketch or painting by Peeta. Then, in my most careful handwriting, come all the details it would be a crime to forget. Lady licking Prim’s cheek. My father’s laugh. Peeta’s father with the cookies. The color of Finnick’s eyes. What Cinna could do with a length of silk. Boggs reprogramming the Holo. Rue poised on her toes, arms slightly extended, like a bird about to take flight. One and on. We seal the pages with salt water and promises to live well to make their deaths count.

This Uplifting Bit

All around the dining hall, you can feel the rejuvenating effect that a good meal can bring on. The way it can make people kinder, funnier, more optimistic, and remind them it's not a mistake to go on living. It's better than any medicine.

Gotta have some more bright sides in here.

That crucial line from Finnick

"It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart."

Important.

The Dandelion

What I need to survive is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that. So after, when he whispers, 'You love me. Real or not real?' I tell him, 'Real.'

The Aftermath

My children, who don’t know they play on a graveyard. Peeta says it will be okay. We have each other. And the book. We can make them understand in a way that will make them braver. But one day I’ll have to explain about my nightmares. Why they came. Why they won’t ever really go away.

I’l tell them how I survive it. I’ll tell them that on bad mornings, it feels impossible to take pleasure in anything because I’m afraid it could be taken away. That’s when I make a list in my head of every act of goodness I’ve seen someone do. It’s like a game. Repetitive. Even a little tedious after more than twenty years.

But there are much worse games to play.

Gotta have that bittersweet wrap-up.

Image: Lionsgate