Peeta Mellark’s quotes represent loyalty and integrity.
Peeta, the son of a baker from District 12, displays unwavering love for Katniss Everdeen.
His strength of character and refusal to be manipulated by the Capitol’s games make him a protector and symbol of integrity amidst a brutal world.
The Hunger Games Quotes With Page Numbers
Peeta Quotes The Hunger Games Book 1
“I look down at our linked fingers as I loosen my grasp, but he regains his grip on me. “No, don’t let go of me,” he says.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, Chapter 5, Page 71
“I’m sure they didn’t notice anything but you. You should wear flames more often,” he says. “They suit you.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta Mellark, Chapter 5, Page 72
“You know what my mother said to me when she came to say good-bye, as if to cheer me up, she says maybe District Twelve will finally have a winner. Then I realized she didn’t mean me, she meant you!” bursts out Peeta.
“Oh, she meant you,” I say with a wave of dismissal.
“She said, ‘She’s a survivor, that one.’ She is,” says Peeta.
That pulls me up short. Did his mother really say that about me? Did she rate me over her son? I see the pain in Peeta’s eyes and know he isn’t lying.
Suddenly I’m behind the bakery and I can feel the chill of the rain running down my back, the hollowness in my belly. I sound eleven years old when I speak. “But only because someone helped me.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta and Katniss, Chapter 7, Page 90
“She has no idea. The effect she can have.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta Mellark, Chapter 7, Page 91
“It’s lovely. If only you could frost someone to death.”
“Don’t be so superior. You can never tell what you will find in the arena. Say it’s a gigantic cake-”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta and Katniss, Chapter 7, Page 96
“Caesar: Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what’s her name?
Peeta: Well, there is this one girl. I’ve had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I’m pretty sure she didn’t know I was alive until the reaping.Caesar: She have another fellow?
Peeta: I don’t know, but a lot of boys like her.
Caesar: So, here’s what you do. You win, you go home. She can’t turn you down, eh?
Peeta: I don’t think it’s going to work out. Winning… won’t help in my case.
Caesar: Why ever not?
Peeta: Because… because… she came here with me.
Caesar: Oh, that is a piece of bad luck.
Peeta: It’s not good.
Caesar: Well, I don’t think any of us can blame you. It’d be hard not to fall for that young lady. She didn’t know?
Peeta: Not until now.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Caesar Flickerman and Peeta Mellark, Chapter 10, Pages 130, 133
“I’m coming back into focus when Caesar asks him if he has a girlfriend back home. Peeta hesitates, then gives an unconvincing shake of his head.
Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what’s her name?” says Caesar.
Peeta sighs. “Well, there is this one girl. I’ve had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I’m pretty sure she didn’t know I was alive until the reaping.”
Sounds of sympathy from the crowd. Unrequited love they can relate to.
She have another fellow?” asks Caesar.
I don’t know, but a lot of boys like her,” says Peeta.
So, here’s what you do. You win, you go home. She can’t turn you down then, eh?” says Caesar encouragingly.
I don’t think it’s going to work out. Winning…won’t help in my case,” says Peeta.
Why ever not?” says Caesar, mystified.
Peeta blushes beet red and stammers out. “Because…because…she came here with me.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Caesar and Peeta, Chapter 10, Page 138
“Why not? It’s true. My best hope is to not disgrace myself and…” He hesitates.
And what?” I say.
I don’t know how to say it exactly. Only… I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?” he asks. I shake my head. How could he die as anyone but himself? “I don’t want them to change me in there. Turn me into some kind of monster that I’m not.”
I bite my lip feeling inferior. While I’ve been ruminating on the availability of trees, Peeta has been struggling with how to maintain his identity. His purity of self. “Do you mean you won’t kill anyone?” I ask.
No, when the time comes, I’m sure I’ll kill just like everybody else. I can’t go down without a fight. Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to… to show the Capitol they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their Games,” says Peeta.
But you’re not,” I say. “None of us are. That’s how the Games work.”
Okay, but within that framework, there’s still you, there’s still me,” he insists. “Don’t you see?”
A little, Only… no offense, but who cares, Peeta?” I say.
I do. I mean what else am I allowed to care about at this point?” he asks angrily. He’s locked those blue eyes on mine now, demanding an answer.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta and Katniss, Chapter 10, Page 141, 142
“Yes, frosting. The final defense of the dying.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta, Chapter 19, Page 252
“Remember, we’re madly in love, so it’s all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta to Katniss, Chapter 19, Page 253
“Katniss?” Peeta says. I meet his eyes, knowing my face must be some shade of green. He mouths the words. “How about that kiss?”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta and Katniss, Chapter 19, Page 257
“Go to sleep,” he says softly. His hand brushes the lose strands of my hair off my forehead. Unlike the staged kisses and caresses so far, this gesture seems natural and comforting. I don’t want him to stop and he doesn’t. He’s still stroking my hair when I fall asleep.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta and Katniss, Chapter 20, Page 265
“Peeta, you were supposed to wake me after a couple of hours,” I say.
“For what? Nothing’s going on here,” he says. “Besides, I like watching you sleep. You don’t scowl. Improves your looks a lot.”
This, of course, brings on a scowl that makes him grin.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta, Chapter 20, Page 265
“Well, I knew that goat would be a little gold mine,” I say.
Yes, of course I was referring to that, not the lasting joy you gave your sister you love so much you took her place in the reaping,” says Peeta drily.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta, Chapter 20, Page 273
“I noticed just about every girl, but none of them made a lasting impression but you.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta, Chapter 23, Chapter 23, Page 304
“Hey, Effie, watch this!” says Peeta. He tosses his fork over his shoulder and literally licks his plate clean whit his tongue making loud, satisfied sounds. Then he blows a kiss out to her in general and calls, “We miss you, Effie!”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta, Chapter 23, Page 312
“Yes, they have to have a victor. Without a victor, the whole thing would blow up in the Gamemakers’ faces. They’d have failed the Capitol. Might possibly even be executed, slowly and painfully, while the cameras broadcast it to every screen in the country.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta, Chapter 25, Page 344
“I can feel Peeta press his forehead into my temple and he asks, ‘So now that you’ve got me, what are you going to do with me?’ I turn into him. ‘Put you somewhere you can’t get hurt.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta, Chapter 27, Page 368
“Yes, it’s your fault I’m alive.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta, Chapter 27, Page 369
“One more time? For the audience?” he says. His voice isn’t angry. It’s hollow, which is worse. Already the boy with the bread is slipping away from me.
I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.”
~Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Peeta and Katniss, Chapter 27, Pages 373, 374
Catching Fire Quotes With Page Numbers
Peeta Catching Fire Quotes
“Peeta, how come I never know when you’re having a nightmare?” I say.
“I don’t know. I don’t think I cry out or thrash around or anything. I just come to, paralyzed with terror,” he says.
“You should wake me,” I say, thinking about how I can interrupt his sleep two or three times on a bad night. About how long it can take to calm me down.
“It’s not necessary. My nightmares are usually about losing you,” he says. “I’m okay once I realize you’re here.”
~Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta, Chapter 6, Pages 85, 86
“What about you?”
“Not a clue. I keep wishing I could bake a cake or something.”
~Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire, Peeta, Chapter 16, Page 234
“I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you.”
~Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire, Peeta, Chapter 17, Page 244
“So I only say, “So what should we do with our last few days?”
“I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you,” Peeta replies.”
~Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta, Chapter 17, Page 244
“I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now and live in it forever.”
~Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire, Peeta, Chapter 17, Page 245
“By late afternoon, I lie with my head in Peeta’s lap making a crown of flowers while he fiddles with my hair claiming he is practicing knots. After a while his hands go still.
“What?” I ask.
“I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now, and live in it forever,” he says.
Usually this sort of comment, the kind that hints his undying love for me, makes me feel guilty and awful. But I’m so relaxed and beyond worrying about a future I’ll never have, I just let the word slip out.“Okay,” I say.
I can hear the smile in his voice. “Then you’ll allow it?”
“I’ll allow it.”
~Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta, Chapter 17, Pages 245, 246
“And to us, we’re more married than any piece of paper or big party could make us.”
~Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire, Peeta, Chapter 18, Page 255
“But I have to confess, I’m glad you two had at least a few months of happiness together.”
I’m not glad,” says Peeta. “I wish we had waited until the whole thing was done officially.”
This takes even Caesar aback. “Surely even a brief time is better than no time?”
Maybe I’d think that, too, Caesar,” says Peeta bitterly, “If it weren’t for the baby.”
~Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire, Caesar and Peeta, Chapter 18, Page 256
“I don’t want you forgetting how different our circumstances are. If you die, and I live, there’s no life for me at all back in District Twelve. You’re my whole life.” Peeta says. “I would never be happy again. It’s different for you. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be hard. But there are other people who’d make your life worth living.”
“No one really needs me,” he says, and there’s no self-pity in his voice. It’s true his family doesn’t need him. They will mourn him, as will a handful of friends. But they will get on… I realize only one person will be damaged beyond repair if Peeta dies. Me.
“I do,” I say. “I need you.”
~Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire, Peeta and Katniss, Chapter 24, Page 351
Mockingjay Quotes With Page Numbers
Peeta Mockingjay Quotes
“Katniss. I remember about the bread.”
~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, Peeta, Chapter 16, Page 230
“I must have loved you a lot.”
~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, Peeta, Chapter 16, Page 231
“What about Gale?”
“He’s not a bad kisser either,” I say shortly.
“And it was okay with both of us? You kissing the other?” He asks.
“No. It wasn’t okay with either of you. But I wasn’t asking your permission,” I tell him. Peeta laughs again, coldly, dismissively. “Well, you’re a piece of work, aren’t you?”
~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, Peeta and Katniss, Chapter 16, Page 232
“Ally.” Peeta says the words slowly, tasting it. “Friend. Lover. Victor. Enemy. Fiancee. Target. Mutt. Neighbor. Hunter. Tribute. Ally. I’ll add it to the list of words I use to try to figure you out. The problem is, I can’t tell what’s real anymore, and what’s made up.”
~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, Peeta and Katniss, Chapter 19, Page 270
“At a few minutes before four, Peeta turns to me again. “Your favorite colour . . . it’s green?”
“That’s right.” Then I think of something to add. “And yours is orange.”
“Orange?” He seems unconvinced.
“Not bright orange. But soft. Like the sunset,” I say. “At least, that’s what you told me once.”
“Oh.” He closes his eyes briefly, maybe trying to conjure up that sunset, then nods his head.
“Thank you.”
But more words tumble out. “You’re a painter. You’re a baker. You like to sleep with the windows open.
You never take sugar in your tea. And you always double-knot your shoelaces.”
Then I dive into my tent before I do something stupid like cry.”
~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, Peeta and Katniss, Chapter 19, Page 271
“If I could grow wings, I could fly. Only people can’t grow wings,” he say’s. “Real or not real?”
“Real,” I say. “But people don’t need wings to survive.”
“Mockingjays do.”
~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, Peeta and Katniss, Chapter 21, Page 302
“You’re still trying to protect me. Real or not real,” he whispers.
“Real,” I answer. “Because that’s what you and I do, protect each other.”
~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, Peeta and Katniss, Chapter 21, Page 302
“It’s a long shot, it’s suicide maybe, but I do the only thing I can think of. I lean in and kiss Peeta full on the mouth. His whole body starts shuddering, but I keep my lips pressed to his until I have to come up for air. My hands slide up his wrists to clasp his. “Don’t let him take you from me.”
Peeta’s panting hard as he fights the nightmares raging his head. “No. I don’t want to. . .”
I clench his hands to the point of pain. “Stay with me.”
His pupils contract to pinpoints, dilate again rapidly, and then return to something resembling normalcy.
“Always,” he murmurs.”
~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, Katniss and Peeta, Chapter 22, Page 314
“I clench his hands to the point of pain. “Stay with me.”
His pupils contract to pinpoints, dilate again rapidly, and then return to something resembling normalcy. “Always,” he murmurs.”
~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, Katniss and Peeta, Chapter 22, Page 314
“I know what blood poisoning is, Katniss,” says Peeta. “Even if my mother isn’t a healer.”
I’m jolted back in time, to another wound, another set of bandages. “You said that same thing to me in the first Hunger Games. Real or not real?”
“Real,” he says. “And you risked your life getting the medicine that saved me?”
“Real.” I shrug. “You were the reason I was alive to do it.”
~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, Peeta, Chapter 23, Page 321
“I think….you still have no idea. The effect you can have.”
~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, Peeta, Chapter 23, Page 325
“I raise my left arm and twist my neck down to rip off the pill on my sleeve. Instead my teeth sink into flesh. I yank my head back in confusion to find myself looking into Peeta’s eyes, only now they hold my gaze. Blood runs from the teeth marks on the hand he clamped over my nightlock.
“Let me go!” I snarl at him, trying to wrest my arm from his grasp.
“I can’t,” he says.”
~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, Katniss and Peeta, Chapter 27, Page 373
“You love me. Real or not real?”
I tell him, “Real.”~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, Peeta and Katniss, Chapter 27, Page 388