The Hunger Games 5

"But I told Rue I'd be there. For both of us. And somehow that seems even more important than the vow I gave Prim.

I really think I stand a chance of doing it now. Winning. It's not just having the arrows or outsmarting the Careers a few times, although those things help. Something happened when I was holding Rue's hand, watching the life drain out of her. Now I am determined to avenge her, to make her loss unforgettable, and I can only do that by winning and thereby making myself unforgettable.

I overcook the birds hoping someone will show up to shoot, but no one does. Maybe the other tributes are out there beating one another senseless. Which would be fine. Ever since the bloodbath, I've been featured on screens more than I care.

Eventually, I wrap up my food and go back to the stream to replenish my water and gather some. But the heaviness from the morning drapes back over em and even though it's only early evening, I climb a tree and settle in for the night. My brain begins to replay the events from yesterday. I keep seeing Rue speared, my arrow piercing the boy's neck. I don't know why I should even care about the boy.

Then I realize...he was my first kill.

Along with other statistics they report to help people place their bets, every tribute has a list of kills. I guess technically I'd get credited for Glimmer and the girl from District 4, too, for dumping that nest on them. But the boy from District 1 was the first person I knew would die because of my actions. Numerous animals have lost their lives at my hands, but only one human. I hear Gale saying, 'How different can it be, really?'

Amazingly similar in the execution. A bow pulled, an arrow shot. Entirely different in the aftermath. I killed a boy whose name I don't even know. Somewhere his family is weeping for him. His friends call for my blood. Maybe he had a girlfriend who really believe he would come back...

But then I think of Rue's still body and I'm able to banish the boy from my mind. At least, for now." (Collins_242-243)

Being surrounded by death everyday, makes Katniss and the other tributes immune to emotions when it comes to killing. It's survival of the fittest and this point. Katniss now feels the need to avenge Rue's death. The point of this passage is to emphasize how long it took Katniss to purposely kill someone. 


It's funny how much of reflex it was for Katniss to shoot the District 1 boy after he killed Rue. I think it was because Katniss saw her younger sister, Prim, in Rue. So when she saw the 12 year old get hurt, her motherly instincts kicked in. (Especially since she took care of her sister for so long) But it's funny how she didn't even hesitate and be like "this is the first person I'm going to kill" it was just like she was hunting and she needed to protect her partner.