Character List and Analysis
Rue
Rue, the girl tribute from District 11, is small and reminds Katniss of Prim. Rue is able to hop from tree to tree like a squirrel, a skill that helps her outrun and evade her competition. She tips Katniss off to the tracker jacker nest that saves Katniss' life. She and Katniss ally and Katniss discovers that Rue has six younger siblings that she's had to care for. Rue knew that she could trust Katniss by the mockingjay pin that she wore, explaining that she loves mockingjays, particularly because of their music. In District 11, Rue worked in the orchards and would climb high in the trees and, when it was quitting time, she would sing a special song to let the others know that it was time to go home. The mockingjays would carry her song through the orchards. Rue is killed by the boy from District 1, and Katniss is there to sing Rue a final song and decorate her body with flowers. Rue, like Prim, makes Katniss promise that she will win, and there are moments when it is her promise to Rue, more so than her promise to Prim, that gives Katniss the strength she needs to fight on. She wants to make sure that Rue's death will not go unremembered. In many ways, Katniss' alliance with Rue is also an alliance with District 11. To thank her for her kindness to Rue, District 11 sends Katniss a loaf of bread, and Thresh, the boy tribute from District 11, lets Katniss go unharmed when he could have easily killed her. Rue, in life and in death, saves Katniss multiple times.