Katniss does love Peeta. She loves as an action, not as an emotion. This is not to say she doesn't have affection and desire and other emotions connected to Peeta, she does. But her choice is what defines her love and she chooses Peeta.
Peeta had experienced the same trauma, which meant that Katniss could trust him with her feelings, and confide in him in a way she couldn't with those who merely saw her as the Mockingjay, a symbol of rebellion. Their connection deepened as a result.
Katniss Fell in Love With Peeta During the Quarter Quell
However, it wasn't until Mockingjay -- when Peeta got kidnapped by the Capitol -- Katniss realized how much she cared about him and that she couldn't live without him. By then, they had gone through two games together.
Katniss here's this and understands that even though she may not love Peeta (then) that it's one less person who has to die. (At least that's what I have always thought.) Katniss realizes that if she pretends to be in love with Peeta people will want the capitol to let them survive.
She, again, fears losing Peeta, this "boy with the bread" as she calls him; she feels a stirring inside her chest when they kiss, a kiss that leaves her curious and wanting more; in Peeta's arms, she feels safe and secure; and then, during his descriptions of her as a child, she wonders if none of his feelings were ...
Katniss's focus on survival and her family's safety prevented her from fully considering romance, but her feelings for Peeta and Gale diverged in the end. Katniss ultimately chose Peeta because he understood her trauma and she didn't want to lose him, proving her love for him.
Peeta thanks Katniss for finding him and she says that he would have done the same. He talks about what Katniss should do if he doesn't make it back. She's worried that he might die, and to keep him from speaking of such things, she kisses him. It's her first kiss.
Did Peeta actually have a crush on Katniss before?
Often, he would stare at her in school. Sometimes Katniss would make eye contact with him, only for his eyes to quickly flit away. During an interview with Caesar Flickerman preceding the Games, Peeta admits on national television to having a long-standing crush on Katniss.
It's only implied that they get it on via snuggling and other affectionate acts in close quarters — but if you have read the book, they really imply that they took their relationship to the next level.
During the interviews for the 75th Hunger Games, Peeta lied about Katniss being pregnant to try to protect her from the Games, and Katniss later stated that she miscarried due to an electric shock in the arena to avoid further questioning.
Katniss is at first so angry with Peeta for his comments, believing that he made her look weak, that when they get off on floor 12, she shoves him. He knocks an urn over, shattering it, and then falls and cuts his hands on the shards.
The Hunger Games series, much like Harry Potter is for young adults, and the themes and motivations are not hard to understand. Katniss NEVER hated Peeta. She figured she'd have to kill him to survive and had no desire to like him because of that.
Peeta chokes Katniss in Mockingjay because the Capitol has convinced him that she is a mutt designed to destroy the Districts. At the end of Catching Fire, he was captured by the Capitol when Katniss escaped the arena.
It's never really officially said when she fell in love in the moment but I personally think it was on the beach in the second arena when they kissed. I think after that she said it was the only one that felt real. I think katniss realised then that he had everything that gale didn't.
She is upset she will be forced to be with Peeta the rest of her life, but that is not what troubles her the most. In District 12, one of the few freedoms people have is the decision of when and whom to marry, or if to marry at all. Before the Games, Katniss had never wanted to get married — to Gale, Peeta, or anyone.
Katniss's focus on survival and her family's safety prevented her from fully considering romance, but her feelings for Peeta and Gale diverged in the end. Katniss ultimately chose Peeta because he understood her trauma and she didn't want to lose him, proving her love for him.
'Peeta & Katniss Kiss In The Arena' Scene | Hunger Games - YouTube. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and an injured Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) share a tender moment and a kiss, as Gale (Liam Hemsworth) watches from District 12.
Well, firstly, Katniss faked her love for him in order to save both their lives. That's a pretty attractive motivation. And secondly, Peeta did try to move on; not because he was angry at Katniss for the whole love act (which, again, saved his life), but because he thought she was in love with Gale.
She stumbles into the snow at first, but then she dusts herself off, rises, and begins waving to the photographers, arm in arm with Peeta. The camera zooms out to a neutral angle, giving audiences a sudden, somewhat startling reminder that oh, that's right—Katniss is slightly taller than Peeta.
Character List and Analysis Gale Hawthorne. Gale, Katniss' 18-year-old hunting partner, is well-liked by many girls in the District 12. When he first meets Katniss in the woods, he believes that her name is Catnip, and so this becomes his permanent nickname for her.
Snow's knowledge of Katniss and Gale's kiss confirms what Katniss has felt since she returned home: She is a prisoner of the Capitol, unable to escape the terrifying realities of her victory in the Games. The Capitol's suffocating grip on Katniss' life tightens during her conversation with Snow.
Gale was responsible for creating weapons that would trigger a second wave of bombs to target first responders and combat healers. This invention potentially ended up killing Prim, but even if he wasn't directly responsible, Katniss found this tactic so abhorrent that she lost her affection for him.
Katniss and Prim's mother is from a wealthier merchant class within District 12, but she moved to the Seam to marry their father for love. When her husband dies in a mining accident, however, she falls into a daze, unable to work and take care of her children.
