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Morphling
The creatures Dr. Gaul modifies in her lab are called mutts or muttations. Muttations can be animals, humans, or a combination of parts from both. They are, for the most part, designed to be weapons.
Mutt/Muttation Quotes in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes quotes below are all either spoken by Mutt/Muttation or refer to Mutt/Muttation. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 23
Quotes
Human speech had vanished, and what remained was a musical chorus of Arlo and Lil’s exchange.
“Mockingjays,” grumbled a soldier in front of him. “Stinking mutts.”
Coriolanus remembered talking to Lucy Gray before the interview.
“Well, you know what they say. The show’s not over until the mockingjay sings.”
“The mockingjay? Really, I think you’re just making these things up.”
“Not that one. A mockingjay’s a bona fide bird.”
“And it sings in your show?”
“Not my show, sweetheart. Yours. The Capitol’s anyway.”
This must be what she’d meant. The Capitol’s show was the hanging. The mockingjay was some sort of bona fide bird. […] Coriolanus felt sure he’d spotted his first mockingjay, and he disliked the thing on sight.
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Mutt/Muttation Term Timeline in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The timeline below shows where the term Mutt/Muttation appears in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...only a failure if no one watches the Games. She excuses herself to visit her “mutts”; her reptiles are doing well. Before Coriolanus can follow her, Dean Highbottom says Coriolanus will...
(full context)
Chapter 6
...a more exciting backstory for her. Dr. Gaul is in the biology lab with her muttation rabbit, along with Dean Highbottom. Dr. Gaul offers some rhymes, gathers the questionnaires, and flips...
(full context)
Chapter 11
...for the biology lab. Dean Highbottom takes roll as Dr. Gaul drops carrots into the muttant rabbit’s cage. She starts by grilling Sejanus on where Marcus might be (the official story...
(full context)
Chapter 14
...so they can get food. Then, she suggests that Lucky pull her half-rabbit, half-pit bull mutt out of a hat. After this, the other spectators in the hall leave, but the...
(full context)
Chapter 19
...tries to climb a pole, sobbing in terror. Dr. Gaul explains that the snakes are muttations designed to hunt humans. Mizzen and Coral race out of tunnels; snakes kill Coral while...
(full context)
Chapter 23
...changes and becomes musical as Peacekeepers haul Lil away. A soldier in front of Coriolanus mutters “Mockingjays, stinking mutts,” making Coriolanus recall Lucy Gray saying, “the show’s not over until the...
(full context)
