Word Taster says:

Well, I had a lot of time to think about it. heheheh. Hospitals are really crappy places to be sick. You get woken up all night by stuff happening, whether it's other patients waking you or (for some unknown reason) nurses waking you from a sound sleep to give you meds to help you sleep... then not being able to fall back asleep. heheheh. Anyway, your query stuck in my head when I was rereading it & I had lots of time to think about it. Glad it made sense. It just sorta developed organically.

Word Taster says:

& so I think Collins 'loses' it just when it's appropriate & leaves enough to the readers' interpretation, allowing them to choose how much or how little they read into it - another sign of a good author - trusting in their readers' imaginations & intelligence.

Yeah... I probably shoulda made this a post but I didn't think it would be so long at the start or so much would come to mind as I wrote it. I hope I made sense. I'm still not quite feeling 100% so my brain's a bit disorganized. Sorry.

Word Taster says:

What other purpose could it serve as a prop once even the armour of her personality is stripped away? In some sense, when Peeta is once again whole, it's necessary for him to act in order to save her from herself. She literally bites him trying to disappear. Short of her swallowing it instead of nightlock, she gets a mouthfull of Peeta. Its loss may represent freedom from the arena & Games, which Katniss often refers to as persisting. A good author doesn't milk a theme to the point of triteness,

Word Taster says:

Sorry this was so long. Maybe I should have written a post. Anyway, I think it does have meaning, but perhaps its loss is also meaningful. It is literally burned away from her & in the end she's left naked, w/out even her sanity as armour for a time. When she feels she has nothing left but one purpose, which doesn't include Peeta, he keeps her from killing herself. The pearl disappears but she gets Peeta, & ultimately, her life back. Once its usefulness as a talisman is gone, it disappears.

Word Taster says:

of not only his fundamental character but also his motives. I could go on & on, in pt b/c her inner monologue is so rarely matched by sharing herself outwardly & so much can be inferred. I've no idea whether I'm correct, but her learned intrinsic distrust of the world to offer kindness, itself juxtaposed w/ her belief in Peeta's inherent goodness, starting w/ the bread, seems to lead her to believe that Peeta's survival is more just than hers. Her self-containment leaves her open to speculation.

Word Taster says:

the 451's (a weird reference to Fahrenheit 451 & burning?) means that in some sense she's carrying him w/ her into the "76th Hunger Games" arena. That Collins points out her notice of Peeta's cuffs key clinking against it, both in HER pocket, is a juxtaposition of his damaged & whole self in her mind. I also believe it touches on a # of themes since she internalizes so much; his purity, her need to protect him even if she dies, unacknowledged love, her self-loathing & belief in the superiority

Word Taster says:

the two, because it is a private joke between them. Then, as the only thing that came from the arena itself & represents Peeta, who's been left behind, it is her touchstone for him. His locket was fabricated while this is found by happy accident & so represents something that is purely Peeta. When he comes back damaged, it is a remembrance & hope for his whole return; her own "Real or not real," of her memories of him, & the fact that she takes it with her into battle, not knowing he will join

Word Taster says:

Well, your questions & comments often stick in my head, as do Darth Indurate's, so when I was rereading Catching Fire & Mockingjay, I kept your observation in mind. I do remember the 1st time I read the series, wondering where the theme was going, if anywhere, b/c it seemed as though it must have some significance, but I didn't remember the bit with it being in her pocket in the 3rd book the 2nd time I read it. This time, I was looking out for references to it. At first, it acts as talisman for