Ind.Novel Study - Oryx and Crake

Oryx and Crake

Background of "Oryx and Crake"

Snowman leads the story to his past, his life as Jimmy.

Jimmy met Glenn (Crake) in high school. They became really close friends.

After high school, Jimmy worked at AnooYoo. After he couldn't get over the depression, Glenn offered him a job at his company.

This is the part when Crake brings up the idea of "Paradice".

Worldwide pandemic breaks out and wherever Oryx went, the pandemic appeared.

Craft of Writing

The technologies in "Oryx and Crake" is developed from the technologies that exists in today's society.

Atwood's the most significant Science Fiction novel, "Oryx and Crake" has few new and different components compared to typical Sci-Fi novels.

However, the actual novel itself revolves around more with Character development than technologies. It contains the change of Jimmy and Crake's characteristics throughout the novel. More likely, it is showing how the humanity will change as the technology develops.

Exposition

Rising Action ~ Climax

Jimmy graduated from Martha-Graham college, getting degrees of Problematics. Jimmy started to think idea of society more positively.

Crake graduates from Watson-Crick Institute and became a genious geneticist. His view of world doesn't change and led him to become a mad scientist.

“All it takes,” said Crake , “is the elimination of one generation. One generation of anything. Beetles, trees, microbes, scientists, speakers of French, whatever. Break the link in time between one generation and the next, and it’s game over forever.” (P.269 – Hike)

Jimmy ends up killing Glenn after world wide pandamic breaks out. After the world is destroyed, he became a snowman.

Glenn killed Oryx, who was a lover of both Jimmy and Glenn. Then he got killed by Jimmy. Although he got killed, overall, his goal has been reached.

Plot

Vulturizing

After Jimmy graduated Martha Graham College, he met his girlfriend, Amanda Payne. Amanda came from low-classed background, which appealed Jimmy a lot. Jimmy tried to heal her.

BlyssPluss

This is the part where Glenn(Crake)'s plan of Paradice comes from. First part of plan was making "BlyssPluss Pill", the age-reverting pill. The main part of plan was making Paradice, which is basically forming a whole new world.

Conclusion

Throughout the novel, Atwood is using two different characters to make readers think how we should approach the world. Although both Jimmy and Glenn had hard time during their childhood, their future was different. Glenn got killed but reached his goal of reforming a whole new world. Jimmy survived, but he lives everyday lonely without any goals. This shows ourselves right now. Would you live for your goals and change your future? Or would you live your future aimlessly?

Thanks for listening!

The story is told by Snowman/Jimmy.

After a while, Jimmy comes out of the complex with Crakers and lives lonely by himself.

"Zero hour. Time to go"

P.443 - Footprint

Robert Kwon - English 111A

Thesis Statement

In the novel, Oryx and Crake, Atwood is using two main characters to make readers think about how we should approach the world. Jimmy tries to understand the humanity that extends beyond the scientific knowledge. On the other hand, Crake wants to reform the world by creating Crakers that have "desired" components of human.

Close Reading

Crake explained about the rapid-growth factors he'd incorpoated. "Also", he said, "they're programmed to drop dead at age thirty-suddenly, without getting sick. No old age, none of those anxieties. They'll just keel over. Not that they know it; none of them has died yet. - P.364 (Paradice)

Both Jimmy and Glenn had bad childhood. They met in highschool and became really close friends.

Character Development

“Immortality,' said Crake, ' is a concept. If you take 'mortality' as being, not death, but the foreknowledge of it and the fear of it, then 'immortality' is the absence of such fear. Babies are immortal. Edit out the fear, and you'll be...” (P.364 – Paradice)

Denouement

“He doesn't know which is worse, a past he can't regain or a present that will destroy him if he looks at it too clearly. Then there's the future” (P.179 – Sveltana)

Jimmy and Glenn

"And what is that?"

"Love" (P.299 - Vulturizing)