Essay on The Kindness of Companionship in The Hunger Games

When used wisely, kindness is a powerful instrument. But how far can kindness go in the most brutal competition? Everyone has to be more vigilant than ever before in the Hunger Games arena. Strong competitors should be kept out of the way; it's not often that tributes look out for one another without expecting anything in return, but Rue did just that. Rue treated Katniss with kindness, changing her life evermore.  Katniss and Rue develop a sisterly companionship throughout Suzanne Collins’ novel The Hunger Games. It parallels Katniss’s relationship with her sister and gives her a changed outlook on the games. 

Rue’s act of kindness is shown when she chooses to keep Katniss alive. Rue points to the venomous Tracker Jacker nest in the very same tree as Katniss to catch her attention quickly and discreetly, so as not to disturb the other tributes below. It only takes Katniss a moment to understand she's in danger. “Then, without even rustling a leaf, her little hand slides into the open and points to something above my head” (Collins 176). … “Then I know. It’s a wasp nest” (Collins 177).  Katniss obtains the highest training score despite that the other tributes are from wealthy districts and collaborate, Rue’s chances of winning the games would have been enhanced if she had said nothing to Katniss, but Rue was compassionate and saw beyond the competition. Katniss recognizes what Rue gave up for her, “If she’d wanted me dead, all she would have had to do was disappear from that tree without pointing out the Tracker Jacker nest.” (Collins 198). Hating the indebtedness, Katniss returns the favour by warning Rue that she'll be dropping the Tracker Jacker nest, but later she subsequently stumbles across Rue. Rue's wit and ingenuity are recognized by Katniss, but she also recognizes that she is young, hungry, and alone. Katniss’s sympathies go deeper than a debt repayment; she cares about Rue and understands she has good intentions, so she proposes an alliance. “‘You know, they’re not the only ones who can form alliances,’ I say. For a moment, no response. Then one of Rue’s eyes edges around the trunk. ‘You want me for an ally?’ ‘Why not? You saved me with those Tracker Jackers. You’re smart enough to still be alive. And I can’t seem to shake you anyway,’ I say” (Collins 190). The girls begin to form a closeness as they realize how much they could use a friend.

Katniss and Rue's companionship develops into a sisterly bond, mirroring Katniss’s connection with her sister. Rue offers to cure Katniss’s stings of the Tracker Jackers and does so as if she'd been waiting all day to do it. “Rue tentatively steps out into the open. ‘I can fix your stings’ (Collins 190). Katniss is laughing at how good the relief of her stings is when she notices a burn on Rue’s forearm, which she also offers to fix, “‘I’ve got something for that.’ I set aside my weapons and anoint her arm with the burn medicine” (Collins 191). Katniss and Rue spend the day sharing knowledge and food, Katniss admits to herself Rue reminds her of Primrose, her little sister. “-and why not admit it? She reminds me of Prim” (Collins 192). The next morning, Katniss and Rue agree to a whistle to check in on each other before heading out to hunt, and before they depart, Rue hugs Katniss, reminding her of Prim once more. “Unexpectedly, Rue throws her arms around me. I only hesitate a moment before I hug her back. ‘You be careful,’ she says to me. ‘You, too,’ I say. I turn and head back to the stream, feeling somehow worried. About Rue being killed, about Rue not being killed and the two of us being left for last, about leaving Rue alone, about leaving Prim alone back home. No, Prim has my mother and Gale and a baker who has promised she won’t go hungry. Rue has only me.” (Collins 203). Katniss finds Rue ensnared in a net after not hearing her whistle for several hours; however, before she can free her, Rue is shot with a spear by a boy from District One,  Katniss murders the boy right away, realizing she won't be able to save Rue. Katniss had come to see Rue and Prim as the same, and even in death, she still thinks of Rue as her sister and loves her as one too. “But if this is Prim’s, I mean, Rue’s last request, I have to at least try” (Collins 222). In this vulnerable moment, anybody might kill Katniss, but she doesn't care; she sings by Rue's side until she dies.“‘Don’t go.’ Rue tightens her grip on my hand. ‘Course not. Staying right here,’ I say. I move in closer to her, pulling her head onto my lap” (Collins 221).  Rue’s death pains Katniss on an emotional level for the rest of the game because not only could it have been Prim in Rue’s exact position, but because Katniss grew to love Rue.

Katniss’s outlook on the game has completely altered after Rue’s death. Emotions hit her hard as every negative thought she’s ever had about the Capitol plays back on Katniss. “Rue’s death has forced me to confront my own fury against the cruelty, the injustice they inflict upon us” (Collins 224). Katniss refuses to let Rue be a pawn in a game for an audience that doesn’t care about her, she refuses to let the Gamemakers and the Capitol disregard her death. “I want to do something, right here, right now, to shame them, to make them accountable, to show the Capitol that whatever they do or force us to do there is a part of every tribute they can’t own. That Rue was more than a piece in their Games. And so am I” (Collins 224). … “Slowly, one stem at a time, I decorate her body in the flowers. Covering the ugly wound. Wreathing her face. Weaving her hair with bright colours” (Collins 224, 225). As she heads back to camp, Katniss is given a sponsorship by District Eleven, Rue’s district, the loaf she receives is symbolism for gratitude and comradeship, “I lift my face and step into the last falling rays of sunlight. ‘My thanks to the people of District Eleven,’ I say. I want them to know I know where it came from. That the full value of their gift has been recognized” (Collins 226, 227). Rue had told Katniss how limited food in her district is, yet the loaf was sent to Katniss regardless. Thresh, the other tribute from Rue’s district, saves Katniss’s life before her mouth is sliced open, then he spares Katniss for everything she did for Rue. “‘Just this one time, I let you go. For the little girl. You and me, we’re even then. No more owed. You understand?’” (Collins 274), Katniss does understand, she hates debt, and yet that kind of debt can never be repaid. Katniss’s outlook on the games has changed in the sense that people looked past the competition for her, her life was spared twice by people who would have benefitted from her being out of the way. 

Katniss’s perspective on the games and the connections she develops in them has been irrevocably affected by the events of the Hunger Games, in which Katniss and Rue shed a light for each other and become companions. They see beyond the rivalry and truly care about one another; it's not only beneficial, but it’s also friendship.   Katniss can't bear the notion of Rue fighting alone, just as she can't bear the thought of her sister, Prim, fighting alone. After Rue's death, Katniss is fully realized and has a fresh perspective on the competition. Just as Rue saw beyond the competition, Katniss now does as well; she will not allow Rue to be a pawn in a horrific game. Compassion, by all accounts, prevails over evil; there is kindness in every companionship, and Rue's will live on in Katniss forever.

Works Cited

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. Scholastic Press, 2008.