By now I am sure most of us have been to see The Hunger Games in theatres, and I found myself pleasantly surprised at how well the beloved book was adapted onto the big screen. However, I am sure many of you noticed that Peeta left the arena in one piece.

This may seem like a small oversight to some, one of my friends even forgot that Peeta becomes an amputee, and she is an avid fan of the books.

I find that this was a mistake.

Peeta once told Katniss that his “best hope” was to avoid disgracing himself, that his final wish was to “die as (him)self” (THG). The books gave us a deeper insight into Peeta’s personality, how the boy with the bread proved to be a lifeline for Katniss before she even knew him. Something that the movie tended to overlook.

When the tributes of District 12 entered the 74th Hunger Games it became obvious that Katniss was obsessed with surviving, but Peeta was obsessed with remaining whole. His sole motivation in the arena was to remain true to himself and to his deep desire to keep Katniss alive. Whether acting as a Career or slowing slipping away in the cave, Peeta remained Peeta, and it cost him dearly in the end.

When the gamemakers inform our two contestants that they could win as a team, Katniss’ first thought is: “The star-crossed lovers…Peeta must have been playing that angle all along. Why else would the Gamemakers have made this unprecedented change in the rules?”(THG). The reader understands Katniss’ emotional confusion while she struggles to keep Peeta alive in the cave. She must act as a star crossed lover in order to trick the Capitol viewers and gain favor. Katniss is coaxed along by a distant Haymitch and by her inane survival instincts, and finds herself confused over her feelings.

While Katniss holds the belief that Peeta is a fantastic actor, the reader can see that he is just a compassionate and loving character. He is not motivated by Capitol viewers or even a desire to survive or win the games. Peeta simply remains himself and by doing so, he honors his own dying wish.

To Katniss everyone is the enemy, even Peeta. Her acting gets her out of the arena in one piece, but until the bitter end she is willing to kill to survive. When the gamemakers reverse their ruling Katniss is quick to grab her arrow, something so instinctual that she is not even “aware of (her) actions” (THG). Peeta would rather be killed by Katniss, his first action is to lower his weapon and beg for an honorable death, “Do it. Before they send those mutts back or something. I don’t want to die like Cato” (THG).

Die like Cato. It is obvious that Peeta does not want to be ripped to shreds by mutations, but perhaps the true meaning of this is that he does not want to die a blood-thirsty killer. Cato was a Career. Trained by his District to be as cunning as viscous as possible, a tool created by the Capitol to make the games more entertaining. Peeta takes off his tourniquet and is willing to slowly bleed to death to avoid this. He begs Katniss to see reason, going on about “how he loves (Katniss), what life would be without (her)” yet Katniss is able to tune his emotions out and locks on to what eventually saves them both, that the Capitol must have a victor. Peeta is then fooled by Katniss and her berries, much like the Capitol viewers. He believes that she truly cares for him and could not bear to live in District 12 knowing he had been lost in the arena.

The reader, following Katniss throughout the story, does not find out about Peeta’s amputation for some time. Just as Peeta does not know of Katniss’ deception until they are on their way back to District 12. He leaves the Hunger Games thinking that he is in a much better place than when he entered them. Not only did he survive, Peeta remained himself, won food and honor for his District, and (perhaps most importantly) found love with the girl he had admired for years. When he discovers that Katniss was simply putting on a show for the Capitol, that she is thinking of Gale rather than him, and that the two of them are now in more danger than ever, his limp becomes more pronounced (at least metaphorically).

The film did not truly express any of these things. A viewer who had not read the books may even believe that Katniss truly cared for Peeta without question, and that her act of rebellion with the berries was reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet’s suicidal love. While it would be difficult for Lionsgate to make Peeta an amputee for the next few films, they could have expanded on his confusion and unyielding love for Katniss.

Peeta’s loss of limb was not just a bodily injury; it represented him leaving the games without all of himself. Although he survived and was crowned champion the arena stripped him of something. Peeta held on to his integrity and his sense of self, but he lost something much deeper than flesh when Katniss confessed to her act. His reality was turned on its side.

Perhaps it was at the end of “The Hunger Games” that Peeta truly started asking “Real? Or not real?”