PEETA MELLARK
THE BOY WITH BREAD
Peeta Mellark, a baker's son from District 12, is a very compassionate person and is good with words. He has been in love with Katniss Everdeen since the age of 5, but never confessed his feelings until he was reaped alongside her for the 74th Hunger Games. Peeta never hates on Katniss for lying to him during the previous Games about her feelings for him, never intend to kill her even though that's the purpose of the whole Hunger Games - to kill. He makes it clear that she hurt him in doing so, but he never expresses any desire to hurt her back.
The thought of deliberately hurting anyone seems beyond him, and never does he waiver from a commitment to help the people around him, even at times at his own expense.
"The thought of deliberately hurting anyone seems beyond him.."
In Catching Fire, after the camera crews finally left District 12, Katniss and Peeta had a falling out due to the ambiguity of her feelings for him. They spent the next six months basically ignoring each other. Although still heartbroken from learning that Katniss doesn't reciprocate his feelings, Peeta doesn't abandon their image of star-crossed lovers and still "performs" well in front of the camera, playing his role of a boy lost in love.
At night on the train heading towards District 11 for their first stop on their Victory Tour, Katniss often wakes up screaming from nightmares. To comfort her, Peeta holds her while she sleeps; this becomes a nightly routine.
"To comfort her, Peeta holds her while she sleeps...a nightly routine."
Peeta falls in love with Katniss all over again in the 75th Hunger Games, and tries to help her win even when he is injured. He would do anything for her, and he thinks nothing of himself. Little does he know that in the 75th Hunger Games, Katniss’s priority was to keep him alive, even if that means killing others for him. In the end, we realise Katniss might even have fallen for Peeta with the sincere concern she shows for him. Both of them are in fact looking out for each other, making sure they are safe and sound.
"He would do anything for her, and he thinks nothing
of himself."