Flint striker

Spoiler Alert! This page may contain plot details relating to Sunrise on the Reaping or unintentionally spoil elements of the book.

Haymitch Abernathy's flint striker was a birthday gift given to him by his girlfriend, Lenore Dove Baird, on the morning of the 50th Hunger Games. When struck against any type of striking rock, like flint or quartz, it would start a fire. It was his tribute token for the Games.

History

The flint striker was forged by Tam Amber. Lenore Dove traded eggs to get the metal to make it. When Lenore Dove first gave it to Haymitch, before the Reaping, he wasn't sure what it was at first. Once he realized what it was, he told her he loved it. It replaced his old striker, which was worn down and passed through his mother's family. Although Haymitch's mother wasn't a big fan of how much Lenore Dove distracted Haymitch, she was glad to see the new striker and thread a leather bootlace through the rings to be worn on the neck. Before leaving for the Reaping, Haymitch offered to show his brother Sid how to use it that evening.

While in bed during the first night on the train, Haymitch grasped the flint striker and tried to mentally reach out to Lenore Dove. While Peacekeepers were stripping down the male tributes, a Peacekeeper asked Haymitch if the striker was his tribute token. Haymitch responded affirmatively, saying it was just a necklace, worrying that they might view it as an unfair advantage if they knew its real purpose.

During the chariot ride, Haymitch's striker, alongside the newly deceased Louella's token, caught attention. When Haymitch faced up against President Snow, he wondered if the president was staring at his flint striker. Snow recognized the craftsmanship as that of the Covey due to his previous experience with them and found an inscription on it that Haymitch had missed.

While discussing the plan to bomb the arena, Haymitch showed Beetee Latier the flint striker as a means of lighting the fuse. Beetee was impressed, calling it "very clever." When Haymitch turned the token in for appraisal, he was worried they would confiscate it, but hoped they would just see a pretty necklace. He remarked that he felt naked without it. However, it was eventually cleared with the Gamemakers, alongside the other District 12 tributes' tokens.

With the help of Lou Lou, Haymitch found a quartz rock to use with the striker. He later used it to light the sunflower bomb that he put on the arena's water tank. When Maysilee and Haymitch found a blowtorch in the supplies of the dead Careers, Haymitch was disappointed that Lenore Dove's gift seemed to become obsolete, at least until the blowtorch ran out of fuel.

While Haymitch's intestines were falling out, as he lit the bomb, he kissed Lenore Dove's flint striker before slipping it under his collar, preparing for death. When he woke up, he was wearing the striker. Before the victor crowning, when Effie Trinket tried arranging it over his shirt, he tried to resist, but she told him that Snow told her to make sure the striker was out where it could be seen.

After Lenore Dove's death, Haymitch buried the flint striker in front of her grave.

Description

"Well, you know I like my pretty with a purpose."

—Lenore Dove

The flint striker was a small C-shaped piece of metal. On one edge, a serpent's head hissed at the beak of a mockingjay, on the other edge. The snake's scales and the bird's feathers gradually blended as they reached the middle, where they became indistinguishable. Two metal rings were welded behind the animals' heads, so if a thread went through the rings, it could be worn around the neck. The "smooth steel edge" was what would be struck up against a rock to spark. It was described as "exquisite."

Trivia

• Like Katniss Everdeen's Mockingjay pin, the striker was created by Tam Amber.