The Hunger Games by Jade Shepherd
The book The Hunger Games, is filled with exciting, futuristic events. In the book, there are 13 factions that are controlled by the Capitol. The Capitol is afraid of the 13 Districts joining together to begin a riot. So, the hold The Hunger Games, a battle to the death of two children, from the age of twelve to twenty-one, from each faction by random selection. The antagonist, Katniss Everdeen, is placed in a battle to the death against 25 other people after she spares her sister from entering at the age of twelve.
Throughout the book, there are a few instances of biological adaptations and biotechnology. While she is in the arena, Katniss and all of the other tributes face a wide range of insane animals that have been genetically modified.
This is an image of what a jabberjay would look like from the description of the book. Birds like this were made by the Capitol to spy on each District because they are able to remember entire human conversations. This turned on the Capitol. After Districts figured out that the Capitol was spying on them, they quickly began talking false words to mislead the Capitol.
This is a mockingjay. They are interbred between mocking birds and jabberjays. They can do the same thing as a jabberjay but were not meant to be created by the Capitol. They see it as a sense of rebellion. Katniss wore a mockingjay pin in the games to show her rebellion against the capitol.
This is a trackerjacker, a mutated species of bees in the novel. They were first created by the Capitol during a rebellion. They are enlarged, deadly wasps, gold in color. If ever stung by a trackerjacker, you could expect to get a lump the size of a plum and extreme hallucinations that could alter your memory. If stung more than a few times, death is possible. They live in hives high above the ground and will track anyone that attempts to mess with their home.
This is a wolf mutt. They were created during the games to track Katniss and two other tributes. They have the claws, head, and hind legs of a wolf while other body parts, based off of those of a human, are optimized for speed, agility, and strength. Each of the 5 mutts were based off of one of the tributes that had already been killed in the 74th Hunger Games.
I believe this books allows people to see the potential that man kind holds with technology. Being able to produce any type of animal you could imagine is pretty crazy when its something like a trackerjacker or a wolf mutt.
Essential Standard Connection
Bio 3.1.3 states: Explain how mutations in DNA that result from interactions with the environment (i.e. radiation, and chemicals) or new combinations in existing genes lead to changes in function and phenotype. I believe that this standard relates very well to the genetic modifications shown in this book. The steps the capitol took to create the jabberjay fit into the second part of this standard while the creation of the mockingjay fit into the first.