Gale Hawthorne Character Analysis in Catching Fire

A friend of Katniss Everdeen and a fellow resident of District 12, Gale is a resourceful, rugged young man, for whom Katniss has had romantic feelings at many points. He and Katniss have been friends since childhood, and they still enjoy hunting together. Gale is jealous of Katniss for spending time with Peeta and ultimately marrying him. Like Peeta, Gale despises the Capitol, and tries to challenge its authority at all times. Sometimes, his challenges can be as simple as breaking the rules of poaching and hunting (a crime for which he’s ultimately punished with a brutal flogging), or as significant as leading a district-wide uprising against the government’s authority. Where Peeta seeks to dismantle the government “from the inside,” Gale tries to fight the government using more direct, head-to-head methods. By the end of the book, he’s firmly established himself as a member of a huge rebel alliance against the government.

Gale Hawthorne Quotes in Catching Fire

The Catching Fire quotes below are all either spoken by Gale Hawthorne or refer to Gale Hawthorne. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Scholastic Press edition of Catching Fire published in 2013.

I thought no one saw me sneak under the fence, but who knows? There are always eyes for hire. Someone reported Gale kissing me in that very spot. Still, that was in daylight and before I was more careful about my behavior. Could there be surveillance cameras?

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 152

Explanation and Analysis:

[Gale] must also know that if we don’t revolt in 12, I’m destined to be Peeta’s bride. Seeing me lounging around in gorgeous gowns on his television… what can he do with that?

Related Characters: (speaker), ,

Page Number and Citation: 170

Explanation and Analysis:

Gale Hawthorne Character Timeline in Catching Fire

The timeline below shows where the character Gale Hawthorne appears in Catching Fire. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Surveillance and Manipulation Theme Icon

Katniss is walking through the woods to hunt on behalf of her lifelong friend Gale Hawthorne, whose family isn’t rich enough to buy meat from town. Katniss and Gale used... (full context)

Pain, Pleasure, and Self-Control Theme Icon

Women, Femininity, and Sexism Theme Icon

...walks through the streets of District 12, carrying some of her catches. She sees Hazelle, Gale’s mother. Katniss recalls that an explosion killed both Hazelle’s husband and Katniss’s father years ago.... (full context)

Hidden Resistance vs. Direct Rebellion Theme Icon

...tour. Katniss explains that she’s leaving by train at noon. Greasy Sae asks Katniss about Gale, Katniss’s “cousin.” This reminds Katniss of the strange lie that reporters have circulated about Gale.... (full context)

...during the Games, or else she’ll endanger the lives of her family members, and of Gale. He invites Katniss to sit down, and she does so. (full context)

...of her life” has been, and notes that she’s clearly indifferent to him. He calls Gale “handsome,” noting that he could easily kill him off if he needed to do so.... (full context)

Katniss thinks about a moment she spent with Gale in the woods shortly after winning the Games. Katniss has been surrounded with cameras and... (full context)

Katniss begs Snow not to hurt Gale. She promises to behave during her Victory Tour by pretending to love Peeta. Snow smiles... (full context)

...is trying to make sense of everything he’s told her. Snow has threatened to kill Gale and Katniss’s family if she doesn’t comply with the Capitol during her Victory Tour. Her... (full context)

...her train car, Katniss tries to sleep, but finds that she can’t stop thinking about Gale and her family. She resolves to appear to be in love with Peeta, thereby keeping... (full context)

Peeta tells Katniss that he needs to talk to her about Gale. He admits that he’s had a crush on Katniss for a long time, and that... (full context)

...or risk her friends’ lives. Katniss tells her friends the entire truth, including the kiss Gale gave her. (full context)

...imagines leaving District 12 and going into the wilderness with Peeta, her family, Haymitch, and Gale and his family. (full context)

...carrying a bag of food and a flask of tea. She leaves these things for Gale, at their usual meeting place. Then, afraid that the government is watching them somehow, she... (full context)

Katniss continues to walk to the lake, wondering if Gale will be able to track her path from their usual meeting point. After a few... (full context)

Katniss explains to Gale her decision to marry Peeta. She mentions Snow’s visit to her house and the shootings... (full context)

Katniss is unsure how to respond to Gale. She tells him that she can’t think about love—she’s too busy trying to survive. She... (full context)

Gale presses Katniss for information about the uprising in District 8. Katniss admits that she saw... (full context)

...could “get him killed.” As Katniss is about to ask who “he” is, she sees Gale, tied to a post, his naked back exposed. A tall, muscular man, the Head Peacekeeper... (full context)

Katniss watches in horror as the Head Peacekeeper whips Gale. Though the crowd whispers that she should move away, she yells, “No!” and runs through... (full context)

...crowd. Katniss notices Darius lying on the ground, and wonders if he tried to protect Gale before the Head Peacekeeper took over. Haymitch loudly complains that Katniss has a photo-shoot next... (full context)

Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch untie Gale from his whipping post. He is unconscious from the pain. They carry Gale toward Katniss’s... (full context)

...Victor’s Village. Katniss’s mother, a skilled nurse and healer, emerges from the house, and sees Gale. Immediately, she fetches medicines from her cabinets: herbs, hot water, cloths, tinctures, etc. Katniss is... (full context)

As Katniss watches her mother treat Gale, she notices that he’s regaining consciousness. Katniss remembers that her mother keeps powerful painkillers for... (full context)

After a short time, Katniss’s mother leaves Gale and begins to treat Katniss’s face. She gives Katniss herbs and other simple treatments. As... (full context)

As Katniss watches Gale sleep, she imagines him as the boy she first met when she was a small... (full context)

Someone shakes Katniss’s shoulder—she’s been sleeping next to Gale. It is Peeta, staring at Katniss very sadly. Katniss feels guilty for lying next to... (full context)

...there to keep her safe. Then she remembers that she’s decided to join forces with Gale, and that her marriage to Peeta is the government’s design, not hers. The next morning,... (full context)

During the blizzard, Katniss considers what she’s agreed to by agreeing to stand with Gale against the government. Katniss is endangering her family, even her younger sister, Prim. At first,... (full context)

Katniss walks downstairs, where she finds her mother tending to Gale. Katniss’s mother prepares a complex combination of half-melted snow and herbs, soaks it in a... (full context)

...the center of District 12, so that they can find Hazelle and tell her about Gale. Katniss also convinces Haymitch to join them, though he is reluctant. Haymitch asks her what... (full context)

...be able to assemble people. Katniss and Peeta reach Hazelle’s house. They tell her that Gale is doing better, though he’s too weak to leave Katniss’s house. Hazelle accepts this information,... (full context)

...food, but it’s usually filthy or even rotten. People are punished harshly for minor offenses. Gale recovers from his wounds and returns to his home, and for the time being, he... (full context)

...whom go to see Katniss’s mother. In the meantime, hunting laws are strictly enforced, so Gale and Katniss do not try to hunt there. Katniss receives a present from President Snow:... (full context)

...Thread has been following her, and concludes that this is entirely possible—Snow found out that Gale kissed her in the middle of the forest, after all. (full context)

...fence around District 12, and encourage her to pass the information on to her “cousin,” Gale. The Peacekeepers leave. (full context)

...photo-shoot. Katniss worries that Prim is right, since a broadcast on her marriage will anger Gale, who is still recovering from his whipping. Katniss has been visiting Gale regularly, but he... (full context)

Gale, whose wounds have largely healed thanks to Katniss’s mother’s nursing, stops by Katniss’s house regularly... (full context)

...a train, escorted by guards. Katniss is taken from District 12 before she can tell Gale how she feels. (full context)

...have nothing to say to each other. Katniss thinks to herself that if she’d stopped Gale’s whipping a little earlier, than Darius would never have been punished this way. (full context)

...the hour. Meanwhile, more birds appear, and mimic the sounds of Katniss’s loved ones: Madge, Gale, Prim, etc. (full context)

...playing to the cameras. She also senses that Peeta is talking about Katniss’s love for Gale, and suggesting that one day she and Gale will end up together. Katniss is overcome... (full context)

Gale enters the room and greets Katniss. One of his arms is in a sling, but... (full context)