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"I'll keep an eye on the little girl. Make sure she's eating."
—Mr. Mellark to Katniss Everdeen[src]

Mr. Mellark was a baker who lived in District 12. One of his sons, Peeta Mellark, was the male tribute for District 12 in both the 74th and the 75th Hunger Games.

Biography[]

Mr. Mellark was a member of District 12's merchant class. In his youth, he wanted to marry Mrs. Everdeen, but she "ran off with a coal miner," Mr. Everdeen.[1] Mr. Mellark married another woman instead, who became Mrs. Mellark. They had three sons, with their youngest, Peeta, being born the same year that Mr. and Mrs. Everdeen had their first child, Katniss. He and his family lived above the bakery where they worked.[2]

On Peeta's first day of school, Mr. Mellark pointed Katniss out to him and told him of his past with her mother, particularly how she'd fallen for Mr. Everdeen's singing voice.[1] Katniss and Gale Hawthorne tended to trade with Mr. Mellark when his wife was out, offering up squirrels they'd shot in exchange for bakery bread.[3] Mr. Mellark often commented on how Katniss's arrows never pierced the squirrel's body, instead shooting them cleanly through the eye.[4] He also traded generous amounts of bread for Primrose Everdeen's goat cheeses at the Hob.[3]

74th Hunger Games[]

After saying goodbye to Peeta after the reaping, Mr. Mellark visited Katniss, gave her a packet of cookies, and promised to keep an eye on Prim and make sure she was eating.[3] He presumably made this visit because of his past feelings for Katniss's mother, as well as the business relationship he'd developed with Katniss herself over the years.[3]

In the film, he only briefly appeared in the bakery in Katniss's flashback, while his wife beat Peeta.[5]

Death[]

After the events of the 75th Hunger Games, he and the rest of Peeta's family were killed when the Capitol bombed District 12.[6] Mr. Mellark was included in the memory book Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch made after the war, highlighting how he brought Katniss the cookies.[7]

Family[]

Mr. Mellark had a wife, Mrs. Mellark, and the two of them had three children. Their first son is unnamed, and he was over 18 at the time of the 74th Hunger Games reaping. Their second son, also unnamed, was 17 or 18 at the time, while Peeta was the youngest at 16.[2] Mr. and Mrs. Mellark and their two older sons died in the bombing of District 12.[6] Peeta survived the Second Rebellion and went on to marry Katniss Everdeen, eventually having a son and a daughter together.[8]

Physical description[]

Katniss described Mr. Mellark as a big, broad-shouldered man with burn scars from years at the oven.[3] He also presumably had the blond-haired, blue-eyed look characteristic of the merchant class.[9]

Personality[]

Mr. Mellark was not a talkative man, but he was described as being "much nicer" than his wife, and he was quite generous in his trades with Katniss, Gale, and especially Prim, when Mrs. Mellark was not around.[3] He didn't seem to harbor any resentment towards Mrs. Everdeen for marrying someone else, and he treated her children kindly and respectfully.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Hunger Games, Chapter 22
  2. 2.0 2.1 The Hunger Games, Chapter 2
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 The Hunger Games, Chapter 3
  4. The Hunger Games, Chapter 7
  5. The Hunger Games (film)
  6. 6.0 6.1 Mockingjay, Chapter 1
  7. Mockingjay, Chapter 27
  8. Mockingjay, Epilogue
  9. The Hunger Games, Chapter 1
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