Rue

Rue was the female tribute from District 11 who was selected to participate in the 74th Annual Hunger Games. She is described as being small and easily underestimated by other competitors. Rue died in The 74th Hunger Games at the age of 12. She formed an alliance with Katniss Everdeen after warning her about a nest of tracker jackers hidden in a tree. She was killed by Marvel who thrust a spear in her stomach.

Biography
Rue was the oldest child in her family. She liked to help others. She worked in the orchards of District 11. Though small, she was able to jump from tree to tree. Her considerable agility and skill at traveling through the tree tops would probably be the reason she earned a good score after the private training sessions preceding the 74th Hunger Games (later, Katniss thinks her score was much too low). Every night she would sing a four note tune to signal of the end of the workday. This tune was picked up by the mockingjays in the area and was spread throughout the orchards.

74th Hunger Games
Rue was chosen during the reaping at the age of twelve for the 74th Hunger Games along with Thresh, District 11's male tribute. She managed to get a seven out of twelve on her evaluation with the Gamemakers, probably showing them her skill to move about along treetops swiftly and unnoticed.

In the arena, it is likely that Rue managed to stay alive by staying off the ground, much like Katniss did. She also got a backpack at the Cornucopia in the beginning of the games. Her pack contained a small water skin and an extra pair of socks. Her stalking Katniss in the training center followed her into the arena, as she had followed Katniss most likely before the tracker jacker incident.


 * Alliance

Rue reminded Katniss Everdeen of her sister, Primrose. Like Prim, Rue stood on her toes with her arms slightly extended. Small, quick, intelligent, and young, the two had many similarities, which led Katniss to make Rue her ally. Rue had already made the decision to trust Katniss upon seeing her mockingjay pin, and accepted the older girl's offer. I The two worked together to survive, and learned much about each other and their districts. They shared stories together and became close, although their alliance was short lived. Like Katniss, Rue was able to find edible and medicinal plants in the arena. Among the edible plants she found were some berries and roots. She was also able to pick out a plant that could help extract tracker jacker venom out of Katniss' wounds as well. When it came time to eat, Rue was shy in taking such a large quantity in food, saying that she had never had a whole leg of groosling to herself. However, Katniss insisted that she took it, feeling pity for the younger girl.

The first and only night that the two spent together, Rue was surprised by the sleeping bag that Katniss had gotten. When Katniss asked how she had kept warm every night, she said that she would pull out her extra socks and put them on her hands. Rue also told Katniss about the night vision sunglasses that Katniss had gotten and how important they were in Rue's District. Rue was very comfortable with Katniss indicated by the fact that she immediately snuggled up close to her in the sleeping bag. When Rue told Katniss about the mockingjays in her district, Katniss offered her the gold mockingjay pin she was wearing that Madge had given her, but Rue told her to keep it because it was how she knew that she could trust Katniss.

Katniss and Rue knew that the Careers needed to be eliminated, and the only way they could possibly make that happen was to take away their ample food and supplies. At first, the feat seemed nearly impossible, but Katniss and Rue devised a plan with the intention of stealing the supplies. Rue, being the smaller of the two, was in charge of setting three fires in various areas around the arena. This would distract the Careers and get them moving as Katniss would try to figure out a way to get their precious supplies. Katniss and Rue decided to communicate by fires and the mockingjays. Rue would sing her four-note melody if all was well but she couldn't get to Katniss at the moment. The four-note melody was also the tune that Rue sang to the mockingjays in District 11 to signal the end of the workday; because she worked high in the trees, she was the first out of the workers in the orchard to know when it was time to go home.


 * Death

Rue died soon after Katniss' attempt to destroy the Careers' stash of supplies, while she was creating her diversion. After successfully lighting the first two fires, she got caught in a net on her way to start the third and final fire. After following the sound of the mockingjays, Katniss found Rue. But the moment she heard her name escape Rue's lips, Marvel speared Rue in the stomach, earning him an arrow through the neck, as Katniss tried in vain to save her.

As a last wish, Rue asked Katniss to sing to her, and Katniss sang a lullaby until Rue's eyes fluttered shut and she died. The mockingjays soon picked up Rue's Lullaby and sang it throughout the entire arena.

To show the Capitol that Rue was more than a piece in the Games, Katniss covered her in brightly colored flowers she found nearby. As a final goodbye, Katniss gave her the same farewell salute that the entire District 12 gave Katniss when she left for the Games, placing the three middle fingers of the left hand to her lips, then lifting her arm out toward Rue. The gesture was often used by the residents of District 12 at funerals, signifying respect and admiration.

At the end of The Hunger Games, it was mentioned by Katniss that when the Capitol showed Katniss and Peeta the video of the 74th Hunger Games, they did not showed the part where Katniss puts the flowers on her body.

In Catching Fire, when asked to show his skill for the 75th Hunger Games, Peeta painted her likeness on the floor, earning a 12 from the Gamekeepers. In Mockingjay, Katniss compiled a book about all the people who died because of the Hunger Games. She described how Rue stood leaning forward with arms slightly extended to make her look like a bird.

Description
"And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that, she's very like Prim in size and demeanor."

- Katniss Everdeen, while watching Rue's reaping.

Being the youngest of the tributes at the age of 12, Rue was naturally the smallest - but this still gave her a heavy advantage for being light on her feet and quick. Suzanne Collins has stated that Rue is African-American, with thick hair, dark brown skin and eyes. She always stood leaning forward, on her toes, with both arms slightly extended. This is how Prim, Katniss's sister, stands also, which brings back memories of Rue whenever Katniss sees her own sister. This made her look like a bird, ready to take flight. Her swift and almost invisible movements through the treetops added to the bird-like description.

Family
Rue was the eldest of six children. She had five younger siblings, all living in poverty in District 11.

She usually gave her food rations to her younger siblings, and foraged in the fields to provide more food for them. District 11 has very strict laws and could be punished for helping her family in this way. On the victory tour, Katniss sees her family and they all look like Rue. A man in the back whistles her four note tune, getting himself shot and starting a small uprising. After Katniss sees the man get shot, she hears two more shots, which could possibly mean someone in the family was shot and killed.

Personality
Rue had a sweet nature, loving those close to her, and hates to see them hurt. Her greatest joy in life was music, and she loved singing with the mockingjays at home. The mockingjays back home liked her and are used to her because she was the one who sang a four-note melody that signals the end of a work day out in the field.

Rue fully understood the inhumane and brutality of the Hunger Games, but couldn't sink down to the level of the others. Instead of attacking at the first sight of other tributes, she spied and gathered information that helped her and Katniss form a plan on how to wipe out the careers. Katniss supplied a bit of emotional support to Rue, giving her the hope that maybe it wouldn't be all bad.

It is also her personality that set her apart from Prim. Prim could not stand to see anything get hurt and would have definitely not been able to harm anyone in the games, but Rue was ready and willing to go forth with the plan, seeing it as an adventure (Prim sees adventures as an ordeal). Teaching Prim to hunt was a disaster, with her crying over the shot animal and wondering if there was time to rush it home and nurse it back to health, whereas Rue was prepared to do whatever to survive. Rue was also very bird-like, the way she was able to move swiftly through the trees without being noticed.

Mutt
Rue's mutt was one of the wolf creatures that appeared at the end of the 74th Hunger Games. It was described as the smallest of the wolf creatures with a dark brown coat. It also wore a woven collar made of plant fibers. Rue's district number, 11, was woven into the collar as well. Her mutt seemed to have no connection to Katniss whatsoever, and tried to kill her.

Film portrayal
Amandla Stenberg has been cast to portray her in the upcoming The Hunger Games film.

Trivia

 * Rue received her name from a small mountain flower (Ruta graveolens), just as Katniss received her name from a waterside plant, and Prim received her name from a bush (Primrose bush). Symbolically, both Ruta graveolens and primrose blossoms close at night.
 * "Rue" also means "to regret."