Katniss Everdeen tries to keep up the ruse she begins to wonder if she does feel something for him; having always focused on surviving, she never considered romance, as the closest person to her was Gale. They outlast the other tributes after Katniss attends the feast to get medicine for Peeta, where she heals him, and the rule change is revoked, meaning there can only be one victor of the Hunger Games. Assuming the Gamemakers would rather have two victors than none, she suggests that they both pretend to commit suicide by eating poisonous nightlock berries. The ploy works and Katniss and
Katniss Everdeen becomes a galvanizing symbol of rebellion against the oppressive Capitol. The idea for the trilogy was based in part on the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, in which each year seven boys and seven girls from Athens are sent to Crete as tributes to that land to be devoured by the Minotaur, a cycle that continues until Theseus kills the Minotaur. Collins, who heard the story when she was eight years old, was unsettled by its ruthlessness and cruelty. Collins said, "In her own way, Katniss is a futuristic Theseus." Collins also characterized the novels with the fearful sensations