He didn't volunteer because he loved her. Katniss threw away her own life to protect Prim. She is the only person Prim can truly depend on in their family. With Katniss gone, the only person left who is capable and willing to care for her family is Gale.
What if Gale was chosen as the male tribute instead of Peeta?
The Hunger Games Berries Incident Would Never Have Happened
However, if Katniss and Gale made it to the final two, they would still ultimately find themselves in the same position Katniss and Peeta had been in. Only one could live, so one would have to die. Still, mutual suicide wouldn't have been an option.
In the end, Katniss and Gale grew apart, as many childhood friends and young loves do. She needed something different in her life, and with Gale's link to Primrose's death, Katniss found a reason to cut ties. If Katniss ever wanted to find comfort again, she knew she had to return to Peeta for the long term.
Why did Katniss not shoot Gale when he was captured?
Katniss refuses to kill Gale
In Mockingjay, Katniss defied Gale's wishes when he was captured because she didn't want to see him dead. It seems like a nice thing for her to do, especially since Gale is soon able to escape out of the Peacekeepers' grasp because of the rebellion's "distraction".
Katniss makes Haymitch promise that if Peeta is the male tribute, she and Haymitch will work together to keep Peeta alive, even at the expense of Katniss's life. It is a torn alliance for Haymitch. When Haymitch is drawn as the male tribute, Peeta automatically volunteers to take his place.
Every Hunger Games Death Explained: A Tribute to 128 Fallen Characters
What were the odds of Prim getting picked?
Summary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter 2. Katniss volunteers to take her sister's place as tribute, thinking about how the odds had been in Prim's favor, that her name was one in a thousand and never should have been drawn in the first place.
In The Hunger Games, Prim was chosen because she was wearing the mockingjay pin. I noticed Katniss gives Prim the Mockingjay pin before the reaping and prim wears it on her lapel. Considering many in district 12 can't afford jewellery, she stands out during a ceremony that's televised to all citizens.
Before the Capitol battle, Gale had explained to Katniss his series of bombs designed to feed off human compassion: a small bomb would go off, and then when medical aid rushed in, a second bomb would go off, killing those people as well. Incidentally, it's this exact type of bomb that took Prim's life.
Although she will never know for sure, Katniss does recognize that she cannot be with Gale. She will never be able to forgive him for his idea — the parachute bombs — that killed Prim.
At the end of Mockingjay, Gale relocates to District 2 and begins working in the district's government. He helps train replacements for the Capitol's Peacekeepers.
In Catching Fire, people who have never met or barely know them think that Gale is her cousin. Gale admits to have fallen in love with Katniss in Catching Fire.
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.
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.
Before the Capitol battle, Gale had explained to Katniss his series of bombs designed to feed off human compassion: a small bomb would go off, and then when medical aid rushed in, a second bomb would go off, killing those people as well. Incidentally, it's this exact type of bomb that took Prim's life.
Gale's jealousy towards Peeta stemmed from his feelings for Katniss and his desire to be with her. Even after Katniss became engaged to Peeta, Gale still harbored feelings for her and was unable to fully let go of his jealousy and resentment towards Peeta.
Gale is jealous of Peeta and the relationship he has with Katniss, and he wants Katniss to decide between them, though he doesn't press Katniss during her recovery in District 13. Gale is an excellent hunter and excels at setting snares and traps.
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.
At first, Katniss and Buttercup did not like each other at all. Katniss saw Buttercup as another mouth to feed, so she tried to drown him in a bucket of water before Prim begged for his life.
Prim was among the medics who arrived to treat the victims. Unfortunately, a second batch of bombs were set off, with Prim being killed in the explosions.
Later in the series, it is revealed that Snow has bleeding sores on the inside of his mouth, a result of drinking poison in order to trick his enemies into doing the same.
Prim is the symbol of innocence and hope, and in a time of war it shows how these things can easily be destroyed. It also showed how Katniss sacrificed so much to protect her, and yet she still died.
How many times was Prim's name entered for the reaping?
Katniss, who is sixteen, will have her name in twenty times, and Gale, who is eighteen, will have his in forty-two times. Katniss's sister, Prim, is only twelve and has taken no tesserae, so her name is only in once.
Author Suzanne Collins asked to have it changed to the orange variety she had described in the books. And director Francis Lawrence has followed through with the orange cat in the following two installments. Two cats were used in filming, one "mellow" actor cat for most scenes.
