So I just finished the book. I loved the parallels and foreshadowing and what have you. I knew next to nothing about Lucy Gray before reading and still feel like I know very little.
So her name comes from the ballad of the same name and the what happens to the girl up to debate on whether she’s gone or just simply dead.
I heard the theories that Lucy may be related to Coin or (what I think is a little dumb) is Coin herself. I think for the most part that should be ruled out, as Suzanne Collins helped to make this movie too and if Lucy was Coin I think they would have chosen a white girl since Coin is white (I’ve only watched the movies so I’m not sure if she’s described differently).
I also saw a theory that Lucy Gray drowned but to me that honestly makes no sense because Snow went into the lake to get rid of the evidence from his crime. If she was in the water he would have seen her, plus I think she would have been to far to make it to the lake since it seems to be implied that Snow was able to hit her.
Lucy Gray was the victor of the 10th hunger games and even without Snow’s help I think she could have made it to at least the final 5. She’s smart. So I don’t think she died, at least not until some time after Snow left the woods.
Though this bit of text does make me think she may have died to her injury by Snow:
“If he’d felt better, he’d have laughed at the irony of how quickly their relationship had deteriorated into their own private Hunger Games.”
You must log in or register to comment.
I think she was probably shot and died.
where was she shot at in the movie all we know is she left Snow after he lied to her about him killing 3 people and she left the cabin and was never seen again.
You know this is the book thread, right, and not the movie thread? Since this is the book we’re talking about, I believe she was probably shot and killed by Snow.
I really enjoyed your analysis of Lucy Gray’s fate in the Hunger Games. It’s interesting to see the different theories circulating. I agree with your point about the lake; the drowning theory doesn’t quite add up. I also think Lucy Gray’s intelligence and resourcefulness make it plausible that she survived for some time after Snow left the woods. The reference to their relationship turning into a private Hunger Games is a poignant observation. It makes me wonder how much Snow’s actions affected her fate. Great insights!
Yeah I never bought into the “she died” theory. She’s too smart to go down like that and she knew he would turn on her. There was no panic in her actions, unlike his. I figure she just wanted to be done with all of it and bailed, leaving just enough uncertainty that he never went back to look for her after that day. Plenty of places she could have disappeared to despite her celebrity because people don’t give enough credence to how easy it is to change your looks sufficiently to blend in somewhere no one would expect to find you.
I haven’t reread the book recently, but Lucy really reminded me of Katniss in a lot of ways. They both had the survival instincts. And Katniss learned the Hanging Tree song from her father and it seemed kinda familial to me even before the prequel came out. I can’t remember the other reasons now, but I figured she changed her identity and is one of Katniss’s ancestors, probably grandma.
I agree with the people saying it’s meant to be intentionally vague. The most logical options to me are that she either did get hit by Coriolanus’ bullet and later died, or she got away and either went to 13 or somewhere else outside the districts.
The point is that Snow doesn’t know. Because of that I think she takes on a sort of mythical quality to him (like the girl in the song) and represents the very specific wildness and spirit of rebellion that he later sees in Katniss.
It’s supposed to be a mystery. We never know if she escaped or not, and Cariolanus doesn’t either. I like the ambiguity of it. It’s like the song she sang about her namesake.
She probably died
She ded
It’s left intentionally vague so I don’t KNOW. I think that she was killed. I think she was too well known a personality/too family oriented to have stayed in hiding on her own. If she was alive and met up with the Covey, anyone who knew her from the Games or the local performances she did would have given her up, even if accidentally. The Capitol took pains to try erase any record of her, I’m sure they would have kept an eye out for any further signs of life. I think she never made it to full adulthood so no ancestry links to anyone from the initial trilogy.
IIRC, there’s a theory that her sister Maud(honestly it’s been a long time since I read the book and I just cant remember?) is the ancestor of Katniss.
She said herself she couldn’t run off on her own because she’d have to return to the Covey. I think she was dead before Snow even left the cabin. Maybe slipped and broke her neck or something. She was probably singing while she was still alive and the birds picked up the song.
The Covey probably found and dealt with her remains and they didn’t raise any murder alarm or missing person fuss because she wasn’t shot or anything. It looked like an accident because it was one.
Plus, I think if Coriolanus had even the barest suspicion she was still out there, he’d put every resource toward taking her out. He doesn’t like loose ends. Unless she was able to disappear extremely thoroughly and probably never sing again, he’d have gotten a whiff of her and taken her out. Even if she did run off and survive, if even a rumor of her surfaced, he’d find her.
Even if she did survive, there’s no way she could return to D12. The mayor thinks she had something to do with his daughter’s death, she was known to people there, etc. I don’t think she could have managed to return under a pseudonym successfully.
I also don’t think she’s as resourceful and capable as everyone else does. She’s a performer, more like Peeta than Katniss. She’s charming and clever, but she isn’t a survivalist or a loner and there’s so much that can go wrong in the wilderness. Even a well-prepared, experienced hiker takes a risk going out on long trails. She’s out there in a dress, mucking about in the rain without supplies. I don’t think she’s awful or stupid or anything, but I don’t think she’d be able to hack it on her own.
She’s not even much of a rebel, though she is obviously a free spirit. Sejanus, for me, was the stronger example of the rebel spirit, the need to do the right thing, to take risks for the greater good, etc.
I think she really represents what was left of Snow’s potential to walk the better path. He needed to ‘kill’ her to put away the last vestiges of his ability to connect on a human level, with love. When Katniss chose Peeta, she chose love and life. When Snow turned on Lucy, he turned his back on the same.
I also was kinda thinking this way too. I’m only like 1/3 into the book so I’m sure I’ll see a little more of her personality but off the bat she’s bold and a PERFORMER. She’s literally the embodiment of a bard in a way. I understand if it was life or death she’d probably be able to stay hidden but she was famous for a time in the entire country, i feel like if she survived she couldn’t keep the singing to herself forever and eventually someone would’ve recognized if not from face by her singing.
I think she is either killed by Cornelius, or makes it to district 13 somehow. But either way she wasn’t in Panam anymore
That’s interesting everyone thinks she died. I’m of the belief that she disappeared up North like she intended and lived well into old age. Part of the reason the mockingjays, the hanging tree song, and Katniss herself upset Snow so much is because they’re all a reminder that he couldn’t control Lucy, and in extension, has no idea of her whereabouts. He doesn’t know if she’s alive or dead, up North or somewhere else, telling people the truth about him or not. Everything about her is uncertainty and a mystery, and I think that haunted him for the entirety of his life.
I definitely don’t think she’s Coin, those theories don’t make a lot of sense. I do think Maude Ivory is Katniss’s grandma though, or some sort of relative.