The Hunger Games: 10 Most Shameless Things Peeta Ever Did

Peeta Mellark is one of the male leads in The Hunger Games series. He starts as a baker’s son with a rather meek disposition and ends the series as a hero who has witnessed his fair share of horrors and torment. He and Katniss even wind up together at the end of the story much to the delight of many Peeta and Katniss shippers.

However, his journey wasn’t without peril and Peeta was forced to make a lot of difficult decisions throughout the story. He also had to be brave and shameless in the face of awful situations. The following list details his ten most shameless acts.

10 Giving Katniss Bread

When both Katniss and Peeta were younger, they had one brief encounter in which Peeta gave Katniss a little bit of bread. Doing so went against the wishes of his parents, who didn’t like sharing food with others when they had so little for themselves.

Peeta’s mother was also prone to hitting him if he burnt any of their baked goods. But Peeta intentionally burnt some bread so that he could give it to Katniss. He wound up getting hit by his mom for doing so but no one can deny how brave Peeta could be when he wanted to.

9 When He Throw’s Haymitch’s Wine

Peeta is frustrated when he learns that the District 12 mentor is none other than Haymitch Abernathy, a former victor, and known alcoholic. He doesn’t show much inclination to prepare either Peeta or Katniss for the games ahead and gives them glib answers essentially acting like they’re already doomed from the start.

At one point, Peeta gets so angry he hurls Haymitch’s wine glass at a wall and shatters it. Haymitch punches him for doing so. It probably wasn’t Peeta’s smartest move but he got his point across.

8 When He Tells Everyone He Is In Love With Katniss

Katniss and Peeta became friends easily once thrown together, but Katniss was blindsided by Peeta’s admission that he was in love with her during his interview with Caesar.

Considering Katniss could have easily killed him, it was a shameless move. However, it ultimately paid off as it helped create a “star-crossed lovers” narrative that earned the two some sponsors while fighting for their lives in the arena. Little did Katniss know at the time, but Peeta wasn’t lying when he said he loved her.

7 When He Teams Up With The Careers

Peeta teams up with the career tributes immediately upon entering the arena. Katniss feels betrayed by his decision but she doesn’t realize that he only did it to try and protect her from the group. Peeta is able to convince them not to chase Katniss up a tree, for instance.

Unfortunately, he winds up on the receiving end of a tracker jacker attack but once the majority of careers are taken care of, Katniss and Peeta reteam. Despite Peeta’s softer temperament, he has been repeatedly shown to put his own neck on the line if it means protecting Katniss, whether it by providing food or working with the enemy.

6 He Warns Katniss About Cato And Risks His Life

Peeta risks his life for Katniss yet again when he tries to warn her about Cato coming after her. Cato intended to kill Katniss as early as possible from the beginning of the game because he was aware of her being one of the biggest threats and fiercest competitors.

Unfortunately, Cato catches Peeta betraying him by telling Katniss to run and he receives a nasty wound from Cato’s knife. Luckily, he’s able to keep himself hidden by his camouflage technique while he recovers. It also lets Katniss know he’s still on her side.

5 He Helped Katniss Start The Uprising

While neither Peeta nor Katniss knew the full extent of what their trick with the nightlock would cause, they inadvertently triggered the beginning of the uprising that would eventually lead to the Capitol’s downfall.

After reaching the end of the game and defeating Cato, the Capitol cruelly rescinds the rule about allowing two tributes from the same district to win. Instead of killing each other, Katniss suggests they commit suicide and Peeta agrees to their plan. Foiled by the duo, the Capitol quickly intervenes and saves them, leaving President Snow furious in the aftermath.

4 When He Volunteered For Haymitch

When the 75th annual hunger games were announced, the Capitol added a cruel twist to the games, sentencing the living victors from each district back into the arena. Since District 12 only had three living victors, it made the pool very small.

Katniss was sent back in and Haymitch was drawn out of the two male victors. But Peeta never would have allowed Haymitch to enter the games. He volunteered as a tribute for him so he could be there to protect Katniss.

3 When He Announces That Katniss Is Pregnant

During his interview with Caesar before the 75th annual Hunger Games, Peeta gets to shock the Capitol audiences yet again, this time with a double whammy.

After publicly proposing to Katniss a few months before, he announces that the two have already gotten married and that Katniss is pregnant, letting them think she’ll have to enter the arena while carrying a baby. He earns the crowd’s favor and sympathy.

2 When He Tries To Convince Katniss Not To Sacrifice Her Life For Him

During a particularly heartwarming and depressing scene in the 75th Hunger Games, Peeta tries to convince Katniss not to die for him. He realizes that it was Katniss and Haymitch’s plan to let Peeta be the victor.

But he gives her a locket with a pearl inside and a photo of her family and Gale. He tries to persuade her to let him die so she can go have a family of her own with Gale and move on with her life because he loves her. Katniss is deeply moved by his admission and kisses him for real.

1 When He Stops Katniss From Killing Herself

When Katniss shoots the arrow intended for Snow into President Coin, chaos breaks out. Katniss intends to kill herself by swallowing her nightlock pill, overcome by the trauma, death, losing Gale, and particularly the loss of Prim.

She’s unable to deal with the pain any longer and tries to take her own life, but Peeta stops her. At first, she is angry at him but over time she understands that he went mad too and all of them were suffering. Everyone needed to learn how to heal in their own ways and Peeta saved Katniss once again.

About The Author

Madison Lennon
(211 Articles Published)

Horror Junkie. Blogger. Fiction Writer. The main things I care about in life can be found on a screen, film, television, video games, add horror into the mix and I’m in love. I write for several online sites and am currently working full-time as a freelance entertainment writer!

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