Within The Hunger Games, author Suzanne Collins tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, the novel’s protagonist, and her fight for survival. The novel takes place in a dystopian society, and every year, the Capitol forces each of Panem’s twelve districts to reap two teenagers to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death. Katniss volunteers as a tribute for the Hunger Games after her younger sister, Prim, is randomly selected. Katniss takes Prim’s place in the games and is thrust into the ultimate fight for survival.
While the novel centers around Katniss, it is important to analyze her relationship with one of the other tributes from District 11, Rue. Rue is twelve-years-old and the youngest tribute in this year’s games. When describing Rue’s reaping, Katniss states, “She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that, she’s very like Prim in size and demeanor. Only when she mounts the stage and they ask for volunteers, all you can hear is the wind whistling through the decrepit buildings around her. There’s no one willing to take her place” (Collins 45). Unlike Prim, no one volunteers to take Rue’s place in the Hunger Games. Leading up to the games, Katniss begins to see many similarities between Rue and Prim. They are both twelve years old and named after flowers. When Katniss and Rue become allies during the Hunger Games, Katniss becomes protective of Rue.
While Rue and Prim share many similarities, Katniss and Rue are quite alike, as well. When Katniss gets to know Rue during the games, she states, “Rue, the oldest of six kids, fiercely protective of her siblings, who gives her rations to the younger ones, who forages in the meadows in a district where the Peacekeepers are far less obliging than ours” (Collins 211). Katniss is also fiercely protective of her sibling and hunts in the woods beyond the fence to provide for her family. While Rue initially shares qualities with Prim, it is evident that she also shares qualities with Katniss.
Rue’s death is ultimately what leads Katniss to fight to win, not just survive, the Hunger Games. When Rue is killed by the male tribute from District 1, Katniss does not hesitate to avenge Rue and kill the tribute. Rue, like Prim, makes Katniss promise that she will win, and it is this promise that gives Katniss the strength to continue fighting. In the midst of her mourning, Katniss thinks, “Rue’s death has forced me to confront my own fury against the Capitol, the injustice they inflict upon us” (Collins 236). Rue’s death illustrates the injustice of the games by having a twelve-year-old girl fight for her life only to be brutally murdered. Katniss decorates Rue’s body in wildflowers to show the Capitol that Rue is more than a piece in their Games. Katniss also remembers that she is more than a piece in the Capitol’s games and sets out to fulfill the promise she made to Rue and Prim. She will win the Hunger Games.
After the death of Katniss's father, Katniss's mother is not the caring figure she used to be. Due to this, from a young age Katniss had to act as both a motherly and fatherly figure to her younger sister Prim. The innate parental instinct Katniss now had to protect her sister followed her in the reaping and pushed Katniss to volunteer for her sister in the games. Katniss hoped to win for her family, the one thing she cared about, but found something else to care about in the games as well.
ReplyDeleteWhile in the games, Katniss meets Rue, a young tribute similar to her sister Prim. Rue becomes another individual that Katniss cares for. Her innocence and purity remind Katniss of her younger sister, and Katniss takes on the role of Rue's protecter and ally in the games. Unfortunately, Katniss is not able to protect Rue until the end. This death forces Katniss out of a survival headspace and into one striving for victory.
The presence of Rue in Katniss's life had much more impact than many relationships that only last a few days. Rue's death was an ounce of hope that Katniss had stripped from her resulting in a spark of rebellion in the capital. This rebellion made Katniss want to fight to win ultimately saving both her and Peeta from the games in the end.
In Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Rue's character plays an essential role in inspiring the rebellion against Panem. Rue, one of the tributes from District 11, forms a bond with Katniss, who immediately recognizes her as a kindred spirit. This bond deepens as they fight together in the arena, and Katniss begins to see Rue as her younger sister Prim. Rue's death in the Hunger Games is one of the most devastating moments for Katniss.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is this moment that begins Katniss’s dissent. Katniss defies the Capitol's tradition of not paying tribute to the dead and honors Rue. When Rue's district sees Katniss's display, they begin to see her as a symbol of revolution.
Prior to Rue’s death, Katniss was just trying to survive. But through seeing the Capitol’s brutality against an innocent child, her mindset changes. She is no longer fighting for herself, she is fighting to bring change to Panem. Through her acts, Katniss humanizes the tributes and brings light to the differences between the districts and the Capitol. Rue's relationship with Katniss is key in inspiring the rebellion in the Hunger Games. Her death becomes a catalyst for change, and Katniss's determination to stand up to the Capitol sows the seeds for a revolution.
I like how you noted that Rue and Katniss are similar, just like Rue and Prim are similar. I think having younger siblings or sibling-like figures to take care of is important in a society when it's easy to forget what there is to live for. Rue and Katniss both come from poor districts where they're forced to break the rules to survive. There is something beautiful in their ability to care for others, and ultimately, each other. I would add that these sorts of relationships are the ones that pull at our heartstrings the most throughout The Hunger Games trilogy. The romance between Peeta and Katniss is intriguing, but the relationship between Katniss and Rue is so raw. In a society where teenagers are put through the trauma of being forced to kill each other, an image of peace and love in children (like Rue and Prim) is refreshing. I felt this most when Rue talked about her love for music. She is painted in such a gentle, innocent, and clever light to make her death that much more tragic, and Katniss's song to Rue while she dies makes the scene extremely emotional.
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