In the world of Margret Atwood's Oryx and Crake humanity has become indifferent in its dealings and unsympathetic and deceitful in its pursuits. The dystopian novel demonstrates a theme of its characters and setting as the cause and consequences of a humanity left uncaring to the world surrounding them. First stating how the book's futuristic man became desensitized to the world around them. Then I'll show examples of and to what end characters within the novel commit acts of subterfuge and manipulation to complete their goals. Next I'll touch upon countering instances of trust within the book. Thus, my central argument is that in the novel a humanity lacking a true recognition of and with one each other was integral in how the story's Earth …show more content…
While more empathetic than Crake-both positively and negatively-Jimmy was often a bystander himself. He shows this in his outrage on Oryx's behalf for the wrongdoings she endured during her life. Before then Jimmy used to be sad at the prospect of hurting the pigoons having been so familiar with them (24).When waiting for Crake to arrive to the Paradise building during the spread of the BlyssPluss plague Jimmy tricked and killed the remaining scientists to prematurely ensure his well-being. In his desire for affection, he charmed women using their sympathy for him regarding his relationship with his estranged mother. Before that in his need for attention and to receive a reaction from his mother he often would push her until he received one relating in his need to get a reaction from others. He often attempted this with Oryx, looking for her to get upset to justify his need to after discovering her childhood porn video. And attempted unsuccessfully to do the same wooing to Oryx at first their first official meeting. Snowman played his part in that in an effort to survive in his deliberate action went against Crake in helping establishing him as a higher power with Snowman himself as a messenger. It allowed him to hold sway over the naive species for sustenance and company. Though even then it seems that the Crakers may be starting to have their doubts starting with their somewhat leader
In Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, Atwood seems to be offering a forewarning of the troubles that are to arise if our rapacious, self-obsessed society continues at the current rate. Current rate refers to the lack of regard for nature and animal preservation, the increasing intrusiveness of the NSA, the absolute power that large corporations are accumulating, and the severe income disparity. All of which threatens to bring an end to our society. The social issues listed above are a result of a single entity having absolute control over the people; in this case it is the corrupt biotech companies. Corruption is the driving force behind the evils that arise in Oryx and Crake. Mechanisms of control used in Oryx and Crake are similar to those described in Michel Foucault’s “Panopticism”. Panopticism describes that control is effective when enforced through the principles of surveillance, ability to recognize the presence of authority, and isolation. Pharmaceutical companies utilize technology
The novel 1984 is one that has sparked much controversy over the last several decades. It harbors many key ideas that lie at the root of all skepticism towards the book. With the ideas of metaphysics, change, and control in mind, George Orwell wrote 1984 to provide an interesting story but also to express his ideas of where he believed the world was heading. His ideas were considered widely ahead of their time, and he was really able to drive home how bleak and colorless our society really is. Orwell wrote this piece as a futuristic, dystopian book which contained underlying tones of despair and deceit.
After the reign of such corruption, life will always be viewed differently. Weighing ideals of perfection and power over the importance of humanity is something readers will see even out of books and plays. However, in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, and Macbeth, by Shakespeare, the books portray a very similar yet real version of society crumbling at the cost of a set of ideals. Doing so causes an individual or a group of people to become obsessed with eliminating those that would “corrupt” their idea of a perfect life or society, it causes them to lose their grip on reality and although it also causes turmoil within society, it brings an end to the suffering of others.
Life as a human is dictated by an inborn hunger or purpose, and people, in general, will act on this hunger for their own personal gain in their individual ways. This hunger, be it for wealth, land, love, power, revenge, or pride, can, and will be the undoing or failing of all mankind as Miller so clearly points out in his play 'The Crucible';. This essay will explore the motives of characters within the play and even the motives of Arthur Miller himself and therefore show how conflict stems from certain recognisable human failings including those mentioned above, fear, and hysteria.
“The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse” (Burke). Lies, power, and selfishness can destroy families, friendships, and towns. When a person has power, they may not use it properly. There have been many instances where this has happened, but two main examples are in the novel The Crucible, and in McCarthyism. The Crucible is connected to McCarthyism by its model of a desire for power, unsubstantiated accusations, and the detrimental effects of these accusations.
Power is the capability of influencing others in their behavior. It all connects to him trying to tame Katherine. He wants to change her behavior and he contains the power of doing this because at the end she respects him more than any other female would respect their husband. Throughout the play, The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, Petruchio, Katherine 's husband, contains the power in the relationship because he is able to change her behavior.
Relationships are the fundamental pavement that one walks on throughout his or her life. Their relationships create happiness, sadness, meaning and connection as each road has cracks and loose pebbles. In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the audience sees each character walk on their own sidewalk of relationships, choosing who they interact with and who they avoid. However, the characters do not see in which ways their relationships individually impact their destiny.In particular, the ugly fate of one character, John Proctor, is influenced by seperate and different relationships in the play. By looking at the impact of relationships on individual outcomes, it is evident that varying relationships and alliances separately impact the same conclusion.
In any community, the people rely on the power of law and justice to protect them. When the guardians of the law and order misuse their power it brings tragedy upon the town. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the inappropriate actions of the character of Judge Danforth, the voice of authority of the community leads to the tragedy of social disruption of the town accompanied by breakdown in communal solidarity.
Manipulation can be interpreted in only one definition; an unrighteous act. Manipulation is which that corresponds to the concept of falsehood. It is the state that we arrive upon when we dexterously control others’ minds. In addition, manipulation can be very successful if handled in the correct manner. An exemplar which portrays molding children’s minds is described in a short story named, "The Children's Story" by Jame Clavell. The short story is about a teacher negatively influencing her pupils in order for them to learn how and what the reality is, based upon on what their teacher thinks. Therefore, she gives the students erroneous information, knowing that they can be very easily manipulated and are incapable of understanding her technique
In a world dominated by religion it was thought that the only place where perfection existed was within God. In some cases, for instance the ontological argument, it was the proof to his existence. But in a modern world the concept of perfection has been distorted and comes with an abundance of seemingly negative consequences, ultimately putting into question whether or not perfection is even possible. In Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake the concept of perfection is constantly challenged in a world run by corporations who are trying to package human perfection and profit from it. The desire and attempt towards attaining perfection brings moral instability and corruption. Even though perfection seems as if it is the ultimate and most excellent way to live, it is always accompanied with negative results making true perfection unattainable. As previously mentioned, the society that is most present in the novel is run by large corporations that attempt to provide a perfect life for the people within the Compounds. The corporations are riddled with immoral actions that are projected onto the lives of the people they are trying to provide for. Jimmy, on the other hand, lacks this desire for perfection and is pleased with his mediocrity; this level of being content with himself allows him to feel and exercise more valuable traits like empathy. Finally, through the novel Crake is slowly trying to grasp at, or create perfection and he is slowly losing his moral grounding. What seems to be a positive goal for man to have is actually the opposite, causing men to lose what makes them most different from animals, leaving them cruel and ruthless.
The desire for power and authority has always been a part of the human nature. Today’s society most often use power to dominate one another and fulfill one’s personal intentions, which can affect other people in many ways. Having power and authority is truly gratifying but it is terrifying if abused and used for selfish acts. The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller is an example to illustrate the consequences of abuse of power. The characters Abigail Williams, Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris use their power over society by manipulating people and using their authority to fulfill their personal intentions, like material gain, vengeance, maintaining social status and reputation, and attention, which eventually lead into a mass hysteria.
Williams, Raymond (ed). Deutscher, Isaac: `1984 - The mysticism of cruelty' George Orwell: A collection of critical essays Prentice Hall Int. Inc. (1974)
Works Cited for: Orwell, George. 1984. The 'Standard' of the ' London: Penguin Books, 2008. Print. The.
In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the plot is filled with copious amounts of grudges between characters. It is these enmities that cause...
The corrupting influence of power is explored in The Crucible by the actions of individuals who possess it or seek to abuse it. These individuals act for their own benefit and in turn destroy their community. Power acts as a catalyst in a society which is vulnerable to mass hysteria and causes individuals to favor unjust trials for personal gain. Arthur Miller explores this message in The Crucible by showing how power destroys a society through its own members and causes the unjust death of many