Peeta Mellark

Peeta Mellark is one of the main characters of The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Peeta is the boy tribute from District 12, picked alongside Katniss Everdeen to participate in the 74th annual Hunger Games, a competition that forces children to fight to the death on live television to remind the nation of Panem to not rebel against the Capitol. It is mandatory for all of Panem to watch the games. Peeta and Katniss both win, though this is against the rules. Peeta and Katniss have a complicated relationship throughout the series.

He will be portrayed by Josh Hutcherson in the film adaptation of the book.

Biography
Peeta is the baker's son, which makes him wealthier than most people in District 12, the coal mining district. His family never goes hungry, although they can't afford to eat the delicious fresh baked goods, only the stale things that no one bought. He doesn't live in the Seam like Katniss Everdeen, but in the center of town above the family bakery. Peeta attends school with Katniss. When Peeta is chosen for the Games, Katniss recalls that he saved her life by giving her bread when she was about eleven. At this time, the district had given her family money for her mother to get a job after Mr. Everdeen died, but as she didn't look for a job, their family was slowly starving. In an attempt to make some money, Katniss unsuccessfully tries to sell Prim's old clothes when she nearly faints from hunger. Peeta, who saw this, secretly gave her two loaves of bread that he was punished for burning. This act of kindness gave Katniss the will to survive. Katniss never talked to Peeta until the Games. Throughout the Hunger Games, she feels indebted to him. In her mind, she owes him her life and the life of her mother and sister, Prim.

Early life
Peeta Mellark did not have a desirable childhood. Although he grew up in the merchant area of District 12, his family life needed major improvement. His father was kind, but his mother was known as a witch, and was liable to beat Peeta and his two brothers if they messed up. The family devotion was lax, and his mother didn't place faith in him when he was chosen as a tribute for the 74th Hunger Games. He also played with most of the other kids of the "rich" part of town including Delly Cartwright as revealed in The Mockingjay.

Ever since he was was five years old, Peeta Mellark had a crush on Katniss Everdeen. He remembered eleven years before, on his first day of school, his father pointed out another small child entering the school yard with him. Peeta was fascinated with the girl, in her red plaid dress and her hair in two braids. Peeta told Katniss that his father said, "See that little girl? I wanted to marry her mother, but she ran off with a coal miner." Peeta had then replied, "A coal miner? Why did she want a coal miner when she could have had you?" His father answered, "Because when he sings....even the birds stop to listen." The two never spoke until the 74th Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games
Peeta is introduced when he is chosen for the boy tribute in the Games. Katniss recalls that he took a beating from his mother after burning bread from years ago on purpose, then giving it to her. When interviewed before the competition, he confesses that he has secretly been in love with Katniss since he first saw her at school, which Katniss takes as a ploy for popularity with supporters watching the Games. In the Games, Peeta surprisingly teams up with the "Careers," a pack of tributes from the higher, richer districts who band together until they are forced to fight among each other for the victory. That was just a ploy to protect Katniss. Later, Peeta is injured with a deep sword cut in his leg from Cato. He develops blood poisoning, which could kill him if Katniss couldn't treat it. Katniss joins up with him after a new rule is announced, which states that if both tributes from a district are alive at the end, then both can be crowned victors. The two decide to pretend to be "star-crossed lovers" to win sympathy from the viewers which may result in gifts. Haymitch helped them devise this plan in the beginning with Peeta, which partly results in Peeta confessing his love for Katniss during his 3 minute interview. Eventually, Katniss is able to get medicine for Peeta by attending a "feast", which is in a specific area in the Arena, where tributes will find backpacks filled with items for their use, and is used to draw the remaining tributes together. During the feast, Katniss is nearly killed by Clove, another tribute. Thresh, from District 11, kills Clove, when she admits in taking part in killing Rue, saving Katniss. She finds a hypodermic needle in her pack, which she jabs into Peeta, saving him. At the end, Katniss and Peeta are the last alive, but suddenly the rule is reversed. Katniss suggests that they attempt suicide so they will both die together, and they are reluctantly allowed to live. However, Peeta finds out that Katniss was partially pretending to be in love with him, and he becomes slightly depressed and distant.

Catching Fire
Peeta and Katniss go on the Victory tour, an event strategically placed in between each Games where the victors visit the other districts and remind them of the Games. Peeta proposes to Katniss because President Snow is forcing them to show they are madly in love, but supposedly it fails his inspection. Soon it becomes known that there are uprisings in several of the districts, which seems to be sparked by the fact that two tributes were allowed to live. Katniss and Peeta think they are going to become mentors for the 3rd Quarter Quell, the Hunger Games that occurs every twenty-five years and comes with a change in rules. The criteria for this Quarter Quell is that the tributes will be chosen from living victors. District 12 has only 3 living victors: Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch, their drunken mentor who won the 50th Hunger Games (the 2nd Quarter Quell). Katniss is obviously drawn for the girls' tribute and Haymitch is drawn for the boys' tribute, but Peeta volunteers to take his place, wanting to keep Katniss alive. In an interview before the Games, Peeta lies to the people of Panem and tells them that he is married to Katniss and that she is pregnant. During the Quell, Peeta runs into a force field and his heart stops, but their ally Finnick Odair, from District 4, restarts it by using CPR. At the end, a hovercraft arrives and tries to take Katniss, Peeta, and their allies, revealing that a team consisting of people from different districts were planning to bail them out. But Peeta is among those captured by the Capitol, while Katniss saved from the arena and is forced to move to District 13 (which is rumored to still exist) since District 12 was destroyed by the Capitol.

Mockingjay
In the third and final book, Mockingjay, Peeta is held captive by President Snow and used against Katniss. He first appears in an interview with Caeser Flickerman, stating that a cease-fire is the best option for the rebels, otherwise, human life may cease to exist. Katniss notes he appears healthy and still alive.

Katniss also decides to be the Mockingjay, with the condition that once Peeta, Johanna, Annie and Enobaria are rescued, they must not be held liable for any mistakes they may make.

After more propos begin airing from the rebels, Peeta appears in another interview, fifteen pounds thinner, and completely ill in appearance. He states that Katniss shouldn't trust anyone, and also implies that District Thirteen will be bombed after saying, "And you...in Thirteen...dead by morning!" As Beetee fights for reception with the Capitol, Peeta is seen being beaten and his blood splatters across the screen. After the bombing - and much thinking - Katniss has a breakdown in the middle of shooting a propo. She knows the Capitol is using Peeta, torturing him to try to break her, so she will stop the rebellion, and let the Capitol regain power.

After witnessing both Finnick's, and Katniss' breakdowns, a rescue mission is staged. After distracting the Capitol with live propoganda, Peeta is saved. Katniss runs to his side, only to have him nearly kill her. It is revealed that he was 'hijacked', and Peeta's memories of Katniss are severely distorted in frightening, life threatening ways and as a result of this he is driven insane, and becomes very hyterical and unstable. He believes that Katniss is a mutt designed by the Capitol intent on destroying him who tried to kill him, and succeeded in killing all of his friends and family. He lashes out in uncharacterics fits of aggression, retreats into his own head, temporarily looses the power of speech, cannot differenciate between what is an illusion and what is reality, and at one point argues with himself in a fit of madness as though he is two different people. Delly Cartwright is the only one able to make contact with him in the beginning, as Peeta's perception of Katniss improves.

After Katniss is shot in District Two, Peeta is noted to have improved slightly, even being able to frost Annie and Finnick Odair's wedding cake. Haymitch states that he has certain episodes, sometimes becoming rabid, or even primal. It also mentions that he could only sleep if he was in shackles.

In the very end of the novel, after Katniss kills President Coin, she tries to commit suicide but Peeta stops her. He returns to District 12 with Katniss and Haymitch where he plants several evening primroses in honor of Katniss's dead sister. When she starts to write a book about their experiences during the Hunger Games, Peeta and Haymitch join her. Although Peeta still has some "episodes" -where the hijacking will try to take over again so he clenches onto a chair until it passes—he has returned to his former self. Finally, Katniss accepts that she is in love with him too. The pair get married and have two children, a girl with her mother's dark hair and her father's blue eyes and a boy with his father's blond hair and his mother's gray eyes.

Characterization
Peeta is described as having "ashy blond hair that falls in waves over his forehead", blue eyes, and a stocky build.

Personality
Peeta is bold, having announced that he was in love with Katniss to the whole nation; smart, figuring out strategies to use in the Games; and willing to go to extremes to keep Katniss alive and uses self-deprecating humor. However, in the first book, Peeta told Katniss that he did not expect he would win. He is a great public speaker and is very brave. Peeta is also loving and cares about the people around him; selfless, for sacrificing his own life for Katniss'; funny, for making those around him laugh even when times were tough; and he always knows exactly what to say to make you feel better and to cheer you up.

Abilities
Peeta's main talents are baking, painting and camouflage. These artistic talents developed from helping out at his parents' bakery by making bread, etc. and decorating cakes. His larger build and strength also gives him an advantage during hand-to-hand combat and wrestling. In the Games, he usually carries a knife or a sword, although he rarely uses them in battle as he is not particularly violent and dislikes killing unless it is completely necessary. Peeta has a lot of strength from working at the bakery; Katniss says she's seen him lift bags of flour over a hundred pounds. It is also revealed in Catching Fire that Peeta has a talent for painting. Peeta also has a talent for speaking to crowds for he can always pick the right words to say to win them over.

Family
Peeta's family consists of five people. His father, a baker, is known for being gentle and kind to everyone. Also a buyer of poached squirrels when the wife isn't around (Peeta's father told his son that he loved Katniss's mother but she went off with the coal miner). Peeta's mother, on the other hand, is commonly known as a witch. She snaps at people and is very harsh and unmoving (like when Peeta was younger and he burnt bread it was implied that she slapped him on the face). Peeta also has two unnamed, older brothers, one who was too old to take his place in the 74th Hunger Games and the other who could have taken his place but wouldn't. As Katniss says, "Family devotion only goes so far for most people on reaping day." His eldest brother would be around age 19-23, and the other would be around 17-18 in the first book.

It is quite obvious that Peeta's family is neither close nor very happy. Peeta angrily states how his mother put no confidence in him winning the Games, but in fact placed Katniss higher on the totem pole than her own son. He didn't try to hide his hurt or anger over the encounter. In Catching Fire, Peeta says to Katniss that his family wouldn't be too worried about his death and that they could go on living without him, further implying the fact. In Mockingjay it is revealed that all of his family was killed in the bombing of District 12.

In the epilogue of Mockingjay, it is revealed that Katniss and Peeta have 2 children about 15 years after the last book. The first is a daughter, and the second a son, born probably 2 to 3 years after the girl.

Victims
In the 74th Games, Peeta killed a girl as part of the career pack. Cato had thought he killed her but Peeta went back to finish her off. Later, as an ally to Katniss, he accidentally killed Foxface when she ate some of the nightlock he had been gathering. No other victims are attributed to Peeta in the 74th Hunger Games, though it is possible that he may have caused some of the bloodbath deaths on the first day. In Mockingjay, it is revealed that, in the 75th Hunger Games, Peeta killed Brutus after watching him kill Chaff. Peeta was one of the few people in the games who disliked killing people very much and he always attempted to keep those around him alive even when attending the Hunger Games. This, however, is never actually stated in the books, though it is shown very commonly.

Film portrayal
On April 4, 2011, Lionsgate confirmed that Josh Hutcherson will play Peeta in the film adaptation of The Hunger Games.