The Mockingjay is a powerful and central symbol in Suzanne Collins’ series, The Hunger Games. Towards the end of the series, Katniss becomes a Mockingjay in order to fulfill her role as the face of the rebellion, but the little bird is prevalent even before that. In the novels, Katniss’ friend Madge gives her a Mockingjay pin after she volunteers for her little sister, Primrose, during the 74th annual Hunger Games’ reaping. It is later revealed that the pin belonged to Madge’s aunt (who was close friends with Katniss’ mother), who was a tribute during the games that Haymitch, Katniss’ mentor, won (the 50th Hunger Games).
Before Katniss knows the origin of the pin, she admires its quality — solid gold — and thinks about how selling it could feed her family for a long time. Simply because of this thought, the pin is a symbol of the divide and dissent within the districts, as well as a symbol of the literal hunger pains that the games bring.
Aside from the personal meanings behind the pin, the Mockingjay itself was always a symbol of rebellion against the Capitol. The Mockingjay species was born from the accidental crossbreeding of Mockingbirds and Jabberjays, a real bird native to the forests of District 12 and a Capitol mutt creation, respectively. Jabberjays were created by the Capitol during the war that preceded the games in an effort to spy on and gather intel from the rebels. The birds could record conversations that they heard and return to the Capitol to play whatever they captured. However, the rebels figured out what the birds were and how they worked almost immediately and began to spew false information in front of them to confuse the Capitol. When the Capitol realized the failure of the birds, they left them to their own devices in the forests of District 12, thinking that they would die out as they were all male. Instead, the Jabberjays began to mate with mockingbirds, and the resulting Mockingjay species is able to listen and recreate any song or tune performed in front of them. From the Capitol’s perspective, the existence of Mockingjays was a symbol of their failure and a past mistake coming back to haunt them. The birds were an unplanned species that emerged as a result of the rebels’ resourcefulness during the first rebellion.
Though Katniss likely did not know the full extent of the failure the Mockingjays represented for the Capitol, she could recognize the birds in the arena. During the 74th games, Katniss and Rue used the songs of the Mockingjay to communicate with each other. Their alliance was a huge slap in the face to the Capitol, as they developed a true friendship. Katniss’ first big act of rebellion was her beautiful burial ceremony for Rue, which ended with a salute of love directly to the cameras, calling out to the outlying districts. The call that Katniss and Rue used to check on each other eventually became the theme song of the rebellion, and therefore the call of the Mockingjay.
As Katniss becomes the face of the new rebellion against the Capitol, the Mockingjay transforms into a powerful symbol of rebellion for the rest of the nation of Panem, mainly thanks to her stylist, Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). It comes to represent hope, resistance, and defiance against the Capitol’s oppressive regime. Cinna transforms Katniss into a Mockingjay through the gowns he designs for her interviews.
In the movie, he also makes sure she keeps the pin on while she is in the arena. Because of his support, the pin becomes even more personally symbolic. It keeps Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) going. This is why the Mockingjay symbol becomes banned in Panem; it directly challenges the Capitol’s power and authority, inspiring the oppressed districts to rise and rebel. It is a sign that the Capitol doesn’t have complete control, making it a threat to their regime. By Catching Fire — the second installment in the franchise — Katniss realizes that she and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) have somewhat inadvertently followed in their mentor Haymitch’s (Woody Harrelson) footsteps by breaking some unspoken rules of the games. In the first film, they used the gamemakers’ tricks to their advantage in completely unanticipated ways, exactly like the Jabberjays unexpected creation of the Mockingjays. Their survival is therefore entwined to the very existence of Mockingjays, and now defines their entire lives.
In the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it is revealed that President Snow (Donald Sutherland in the original films, and Tom Blyth in the prequel film) has an even deeper hatred for Mockingjays than most. During the time he spends in District 12, he is surrounded by the songs of Mockingjay and develops an abhorrence for the bird. He wants to completely eradicate the species.
In this prequel, the Mockingjay has not yet attained its symbol of rebellion against the Capitol, as it does in the original series. However, its significance as a symbol of defiance and unpredictability is subtly foreshadowed. Snow is enlisted to help collect some of the jabberjays left in the forest. Throughout his work, he becomes more and more disgusted by the connotations of the birds and how they highlight the Capitol’s lack of control, a theme that continues with the mockingjay symbol in the original series.
One of the book’s key motifs is the song “The Hanging Tree,” sung by Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the tribute mentored by Snow in the 10th Hunger Games. The song is about a condemned man inviting his love to death rather than live without her, symbolizing defiance in the face of certain death. “The Hanging Tree” later becomes associated with the Mockingjay in Katniss Everdeen’s lifetime.
Towards the end of the book, Coriolanus Snow’s hatred for the song and everything associated with it, including the Mockingjay that Lucy Gray was fond of, is intensely amplified. He feels personally tormented by their incessant singing. His personal distaste, coupled with the bird’s eventual significance as a symbol of rebellion, likely contributed to the banning of the Mockingjay symbol during his regime.
The narrative of the prequel lays the groundwork for its future status as an emblem of resistance and the Capitol’s failures. It serves to highlight the themes of rebellion, defiance, and the uncontrollable nature of symbols, which can be repurposed by those they were intended to oppress.