Provo City Library Book Club discussion
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Does Peeta really love Katniss?
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May 12, 2010 01:21PM
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Well in my opinion, yes it would be really different from most people point of view, but I think Petta really love her, but Katniss didn't believe it.
I think Peeta is nothing if he isn't sincere. It's his main character trait and he stays true to it during the entire Hunger Games, and Haymitch just has to sell that, because it's all he's going to get. Haymitch tries to teach them that it's not about who you really are, its about making yourself worth investing in so you can receive the help you need from the oustide.
It seems like the sponsors were very caught up in the real, authentic human interest stories this Hunger Games, luckily for Katniss and Peeta. They wanted something hopeful to invest in.
Yes! He was willing to sacrifice his life for her...I think that pretty much is the definition of true love and one who is completely selfless.
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Maybe it because she too worry about the game and thought of how to stay alive...and even back at District 12 she always alone, well except for Gale, but I guess she doesn't believe in the goodness of others. Well, that's pretty much it.
I think she was constantly questioning Peeta's motives, since technically they were supposed to be there to kill each other. She couldn't figure out if he was trying to manipulate her or not.
Katniss was in "game mode" from the time Prim's name was drawn. She accepts the fact that she has to participate and from that point on, she doesn't trust anyone. I think it also relates to her relationship with her mother. She's hurt by the way she was treated after her father died by her mother, and doesn't really have love for anyone except Prim. And even that is a protective love.But, Peeta has a different situation. I think he really does love Katniss. He has to, otherwise his actions just don't make any sense.
Yes, I think Peeta did love her and had loved her for a while.
When people act as if they're in love, there is a slight chance of them falling in love. But I think Peeta is an exception. I think he's loved her ever since the beginning without all the acting. :)
Yes, Peeta loves her. I don't believe he is the type of person that would continually deceive Katniss. On the other hand, Katniss just sees the "star-crossed lovers" as a way to survive. She has been fighting for survival all her life, so she's ready to continue to do so now that she is in the Games. Furthermore, she originally believed the Peeta is like her: willing to do anything to win. If they get more sponsor because of their "relationship" it will help them in the Games. She believes that Haymitch and Peeta have come up with this strategy together and that Haymitch has chosen to help Peeta rather than her. Perhaps this belief, which is compounded by her own feelings of inadequacy during the opening ceremonies, cause her to build a war between herself and Peeta.Katniss is also desperate to avoid forming any kind of relationship with Peeta because she knows that they will be pitted against each other in the end. If she allows herself to believe that he is in love with her, Katniss with be forced to think about her own feelings (of friendship in my opinion) towards Peeta.
Katniss is also somewhat innocent in the sense that she believes that Haymitch has the same relationship and understanding with Peeta as with her. It never occurs to her that she is the only one who understands Haymitch's signals or that Peeta doesn't understand the importance of maintaining their "relationship" at the end of the book. Nor does Katniss realize that Peeta doesn't know she is faking it. Katniss doesn't believe that Peeta is in love because she is faking it herself.
When Haymitch says, "It's all a big show. It's all how you're perceived," he is talking about how the Games are just another form of entertainment for the rich people of the Capitol. Also, he addresses the fact that the Tributes much be perceived well by the audience in the Capitol. It is perception rather than truth that largely affect one's survival in the Games.A good reputation brings sponsors, who are the individuals that provide the funds that enable a mentor to send medicine, food, etc. to the tribute when it's needed. Tributes with more sponsors have a better chance of winning because they will be in better condition due to the aid they receive. I believe the sponsors are looking for an individual who they believe will win. If "their tribute" wins, the sponsor will be able to brag about it to their friends and feel a satisfaction in "bringing about the win." (While it is not true that the sponsor are wholly responsible for the win, I believe that people living in the Capitol would view the victory to be largely due to their contribution.)
Sponsors are also probably looking for individuals they find interesting. Those living in the Capitol don't have loved ones or people from their district involved in the Games, so they are free to choose any tribute to follow. They would most likely choose to follow a tribute who is interesting or unique, be it their personality, fighting style, or just the fact that they are involved in a lot in the Games. It would be boring to watch someone who doesn't do anything. They want entertainment.
This idea of perception plays a key role in Katniss pretending to love Peeta. Their "relationship" ties back into the idea of interesting tributes getting sponsors.
I also believe Haymitch's quote applies to the end of the story. If the Capitol authorities are convinced that Katniss is not a threat to their power, it won't matter how she actually feels about them. Also, if the Capitol believes Katniss is desperately in love with Peeta, then she will be safer even though love was not the motivating force behind her actions.
Of course Peeta loves Katniss, almost to a fault. I don't think he knows how to be anything but honest and he has always cared for her and considered her needs before his own.
Yes. Peeta has loved Katniss forever. He's just your typical guy who is too embarrassed to admit it, but he will do anything for her, even if it costs him his life.
Heather wrote: "Yes! He was willing to sacrifice his life for her...I think that pretty much is the definition of true love and one who is completely selfless."I totally agree.
I think that Peeta definitely was in love with Katniss. He almost died for her sake. I just think that Katniss wouldn't let herself believe that because she knew she would have to kill him or let him be killed if she wanted to win, and she didn't want to somehow get close to him or fall in love with him because it would make it so much harder and more complicated.
I think Peeta probably had a long-time unrequited love/crush with Katniss, and at such a young age might have interpreted that as romantic love--at least initially. I can completely understand why Katniss didn't believe him. Despite going through school together, they really didn't know each other much at all. How can he say he loves her when he has only observed her from afar?Throughout "The Hunger Games" they did get to know each other, though there was still a healthy part of their inner thoughts they didn't share. I hardly think it was well enough to get married, though with such an enormous bonding experience I can see why Peeta wanted to. How could another person possibly relate to such a life-altering (and nearly life-ending)? You would naturally want to keep that person with you, unless they became a constant reminder of a bad time.
I believe it's apparent that Peeta loves Katniss by his reaction at the end of the book when he finds out what Haymitch told Katniss to do in order to both keep the sponsors providing them with gifts during the Games and the Capitol from punishing them for not having to kill one another. It may be a crush from earlier days, but I believe from Peeta's point of view he truly does love her and would even sacrifice his own life for her.
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You can have a little bit of feeling by just knowing who a person is and then when you get to know the person better, you really really love him/her. Peeta maybe could have had a little feeling for Katniss and maybe really fell in love with her during the games.
The fact that he "loved" her withough talking to her has bothered me a little. I guess he could have observed her since the time in kindergarten when he noticed her and watched how she handled her father's death and become strong and provided for her family and how much she loved her little sister. He could have grown to really respect and admire her for that and that builds the basis of love. That base could have helped him fall in love quickly once he did talk to her. And Peeta seems like a pretty special and selfless guy so I'm willing to buy that he really does love her. You don't risk your life for someone you are infatuated with, that takes love.
Of course peeta loves Katniss!! Why else would he risk his life for her?? And he's liked her ever scinse kindergarden!!he went against his mother to feed katniss and her family!
I believe that Peeta loves Katniss. Unfortunately, Katniss is a little too caught up about survival to think about love. I agree with what Toni and many of the other commenters have said: you don't risk your life for someone if you didn't love them.
I think that Peeta's feelings for Katniss are real. Throughout the book there were too many times that he mentioned when he fell in love that didn't seem fake, even Katniss noticed how real they sounded. At the end of the book the way that he reacts when Haymitch tells her to keep it up until the camera's stop following them. He had no idea and was hurt by the fact that all that had happened had been part of an act on Katniss side. Also, he did risk his life, like so many have already mentioned.
Peeta had a crush on Katniss, that much is true. But infatuation is not true love. Even a long infatuation. And Katniss was willing to give her life for Peeta as well without being "in love" with him. An earlier post on June 5th stated that that willingness to sacrifice defines true love. I don't agree with that. I do agree that it shows selflessness. At least in this case it does because neither Peeta nor Katniss were sacrificing their lives with the sole intention of rebellion against the Capitol. But where is Peeta's sensitivity to Katniss' feelings when he publicly announces his interest in her? He even said later that Haymitch helped him prepare it. We know that means that every gesture and the pacing of his words were staged. Didn't he think of how embarrassed she'd be? Frankly, it's no wonder Katniss questions his real intentions. I think Peeta got a little too caught up in a teenage fantasy; in all this excitement and raised emotions he then gets to be with the girl he adores. However strong his original feelings were, the Capitol's excitement hyped them so that we can't really be sure how true his feelings are, nor how strong.
I just finished the Hunger Games and I went back and forth thinking to myself if he really loved her or not. By the end of the book I decided that he did indeed love her. It may have been a little school boy crush at first, but during the Games it blossomed into the real deal. He was willing to sacrifice his life a number of times for her. I also think Katniss loves Peeta too. She just doesn't quite understand her feelings yet, and probably feels like she's betraying Gale. I can't wait to read the next one! (I didn't get my name on the hold list in time!)
I think Peeta genuinely loves Katniss, but I also think that Peeta is kind of a pushover and a tool.
["I think it also relates to her relationship with her mother. She's hurt by the way she was treated after her father died by her mother, and doesn't really have love for anyone except Prim."] Mrs. Everdene didn't deliberately treat Katniss and Prim in any bad way. She had slid into a state of depression, following the death of her husband . . . something that was beyond her control. Unfortunately, this story is written from the viewpoint of an adolescent who was too immature to understand what her mother was going through.
