What does the District 12 three-finger salute mean?

In the “Hunger Games” franchise, written by the author Suzanne Collinsone of the most striking gestures presented throughout the books and films is the three-finger salute, repeated countless times throughout the saga, in addition to having also been adopted by fans.

The movement appears for the first time in the work when the residents of District 12 say goodbye to Katniss Everdeen, after she volunteers as a tribute to save her sister, Prim, who had been drawn in the Harvest to participate in the Hunger Games. On this occasion, people take the three middle fingers of their left hand to their mouths, before raising them in greeting to the girl.

In the books, Katniss is surprised by the gesture, and explains that it is “an ancient and rarely used gesture from (District 12), occasionally seen at funerals. It means gratitude, it means admiration, it means goodbye to someone you love.”

After the death of Rue, a young tribute from District 11 who became an ally of the protagonist during the Hunger Games, Everdeen prepares a simple funeral for the girl, and repeats the greeting towards the sky, for the cameras to capture. The simple gesture was responsible for causing a riot in the deceased girl’s district, after the local population also repeated the act.

Change of meaning

As the story progresses, the greeting ends up taking on a new meaning. In addition to representing a farewell, the three fingers also became a symbol of people’s revolt and rebellion against the Capital, who were against the Hunger Games system, which forced young people to fight to the death.

In “Catching Fire”, after Katniss’s revolutionary speech to Rue’s family during her visit to District 11, the entire crowd replicates the act, as a way of saying that they were on the champion’s side, and were also against the dark acts. carried out by Capital.