The Hunger Games: Theme Do you like novels about murders and children killing each other? Or what about survival? Well, in the Hunger Games, the true battle isn’t about death and survival, but about who to love. The theme is very clear in Suzanne Collins’ s Hunger Games, teenage love. The real battle isn’t between the tributes or staying alive, but about who will have Katniss’s heart. Peeta Mellark or Gale Hawthorne? First and foremost, When Katniss had to say their goodbyes, Gale was just about to say something when the Peacekeepers tore them apart. “ ‘I won’t! You know I won’t! Katniss, remember I —’ he says, and they [Peacekeepers] yank us apart and slam the door and I’ll never know what it was he wanted me to remember (Collins 41).” He was just about to say I love you in case she didn’t survive, but he didn’t get the chance. Gale also snaps at Katniss when she says she doesn’t want to have kids and when she doesn’t want to run away with him. “ ‘We could do it, you know,’ Gale says quietly. ‘What?’, I ask. ‘Leave the district. Run off. Live in the woods. You and I, we could make it,’ says Gale… ‘I never want to have kids,’ I say. ‘I might. If I didn’t live here,’ says Gale. ‘But you do,’ I say, irritated. ‘Forget it,’ he snaps back (Collins 10).” Gale wants to run away and maybe grow old and have kids with Katniss. On a further note, Peeta loves Katniss. “ ‘Listen,’ he says pulling me to my feet. ‘We both know they have to have a victor. It can only be one of us.