Strength and Skill Quotes in The Hunger Games

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

"The Careers have two pairs. But they've got everything down by the lake," Rue says. "And they're so strong."

"We're strong, too," I say. "Just in a different way."

"You are. You can shoot," she says. "What can I do?"

"You can feed yourself. Can they?" I ask.

"They don't need to. They have all those supplies," Rue says.

"Say they didn't. Say the supplies were gone. How long would they last?" I say. "I mean, it's the Hunger Games, right?" (15.72-77)

Katniss and Rue may not have more brute force than the Career Tributes, but they have a far more powerful skill: they can provide food for themselves. Where did they learn this skill? And why?

Quote #8

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. (18.62)

Katniss learns that her real strength is not in her bow or arrows or her smarts, but in standing up to the Capitol. How can she make herself unforgettable?

Quote #9

I won't close my eyes. The comment about Rue has filled me with fury, enough fury I think to die with some dignity. As my last act of defiance, I will stare her down as long as I can see, which will probably not be an extended period of time, but I will stare her down, I will not cry out, I will die, in my own small way, undefeated. (21.30)

Katniss has realized that her true strength lies in being true to herself and dying with dignity. In her encounter with Glimmer, we can see her defiance bubbling to the surface.