Who is peeta malark?
Peeta is introduced when he is chosen to be the male tribute for
District 12 in the Games. Katniss recalls that he gave her burned
bread when she and her family were starving to death. When
interviewed before the 74th Hunger Games, he confesses that he has
secretly been in love with Katniss, which she assumes is a strategy
of his to gain popularity with sponsors watching the Games. It
seems that view is justified when he teams up with the "Careers," a
pack of tributes from the richer districts who are actively hunting
Katniss. He saves Katniss from a raging Cato, the boy tribute from
District 2, and ends up taking Cato's sword to the leg. Much later,
Katniss learns that this was actually a ploy on his part to protect
her, since he knew that they would try to attack her first and he
wanted to be in a position to interfere with their plans. Later,
the Gamemakers announce a new rule: if the final two tributes are
from the same district, they can both be crowned Victors.
Katniss seeks out Peeta, who is injured and near death from
infection and blood loss. She cleans him up and takes him to
safety, and realizes that if she pretends to be in love with him
(as she believes he is pretending to be in love with her), she will
gain sympathy from the viewers, and as a result receive life-saving
gifts from sponsors. Later, Katniss risks her life by fighting with
other tributes to get medicine to cure Peeta's moribund infection.
Peeta did not let Katniss go, but got tricked to sleep by drinking
sleep syrup sent by the sponsors.
Finally, Katniss and Peeta are the last alive, but instead of
being crowned joint victors, the rule is revoked and there can be
only one victor. Katniss readies to defend herself, but Peeta
throws away his knife. Katniss then suggests that they commit
suicide by ingesting the nightlock berries. Katniss is using this
opportunity to show up the Gamemakers, taking to heart what Peeta
had said earlier about showing the Capitol that they are not just
pieces in their game but actual people, along with the small amount
of hope that the Gamemakers would rather have two victors than
none. The ploy works, but the two later find out that it was
considered by President Coriolanus Snow to be a rebellious act
against the Capitol, invoking his ire against them. Once the two
are safe, Katniss finds out that Peeta really has been in love with
her, that everything he has done was not an act. When Peeta
discovers that Katniss may have been faking love for him in the
Games to get sponsors, he is saddened and emotionally withdraws
himself from her through the beginning of the next book