Oryx And Crake Themes

In this reading of Oryx and Crake, there is a dominant theme of growing up as a young adult and dealing with the sexual, violent, and uncontrollable impulses which comes with it. Due to the timeline shifts within this section many times we are able to see Jimmy (Snowman) reflect back many times on his own childhood. The author, Margaret Attwood uses these timeline shifts so that we may see the creation (Jimmy with his parents), development (Jimmy with Oryx and Crake), and end product (Snowman) of the novel’s central character. Those who read this section would want to look back on their own lives, and think about what things they have done in the past to mould them into the person that they are today.

We can first see the development of Jimmy’s personality though the contrast between Jimmy and Crake. During their first encounters they had very similar traits and personalities, but

their differences are revealed by the way they spend their time together. For instance during the game Blood and Roses, where Jimmy started getting nightmares “…one where the Parthenon was decorated with cut-off heads…” (Page 80). Meanwhile Crake is very calm and conceded saying, “… This was the point of the game…” (Page 80) when met with another gruesome situation. The way they both reacted shows us that Crake’s mind is much more logical and conceded, all while being less submissive to emotions than Jimmy. Moreover, this can be seen when they were watching a show about people commuting suicide, “Crake grinned a lot while watching this site. For some reason he found it hilarious, whereas Jimmy did not” (Page 84), this gives some insight into Crake’s secluded nature, which becoming increasingly clear that he may potentially be a psychopath.
As the two boys interact more, we see that they start developing some bad habits. They go onto websites which feature live beheadings, “hedsoff.com”, or pornography sites. They did this all while smoking marijuana stolen from Crake’s uncle. By observing Jimmy and Crake’s current trend, I can infer that their current actions are just the start to something bigger. Just like our current society, an obsession of sex, drugs, and violence all lead down a dangerous path of addiction.
As I went further into the book, I realized how the world of Oryx and Crake was unfolding to parallel the world we live in today. With all the unrest, chaos, and riots, it reflects on what is happening right now in the Middle East. The example the book gives is very close to what some radical groups are portrayed like in the media today, “…supposed thieves having their hands cut off and adulterers and lipstick-wearers being stoned to death by howling crowds…”, “…that purported to be in fundamentalist countries in the Middle East” (Page 82).
Going back to the future, we are able to see how much Jimmy has developed. In order to communicate with others, he is forced to make up fantastical stories to explain what we would consider simple concepts, “Toast was a pointless invention from the Dark Ages”, “Toast is me. I am Toast” (Page 98). I found that this section to be very good use of the rhetorical device ‘pun’ use of the word ‘toast’ as a pun. Having either the meaning of Snowman being toast (dead, finished), or how he was much like a “pointless invention from the Dark Ages”. With the Dark Ages being the time period in which he grew up in before the Children of Crake. Moreover, I can see here that Snowman thinks on a much higher level than the Children of Crake, which leads to some abnormalities in his thinking. These signs, such as his story on toast allow me to infer that Snowman is starting to grow further into insanity within his bubble of solitude. It also reminds me of how I interact with my younger cousins. Much like Snowman, I have to find different, simpler ways to communicate with those younger than me than I would with my peers.
Snowman’s growing feelings of isolation remind me a lot of the movie Cast Away.

Though Snowman has the children of Crake to keep him company, they are just as useful to him as the Volleyball was to the stranded survivor, “…And he couldn’t stand to be nothing, to know himself to be nothing. He needs to be listened to, he needs to be heard. He needs at least the illusion of being understood…” (Page 104). This quotation shows us the desperation of Snowman’s need for human’s companionship, or at least the illusion of it. It is what compels him to stay alive, and is his only form of social interaction.

A passage I found to be very vivid was the scene where Uncle En had died. “His stomach was puffed up like a pillow, his face was bloated, but it was Uncle En all right. He had no clothes on - someone must have taken them” (Page 134). Reflecting on this passage I picture a dead body, listing down the canal, all wrinkled, bloated, with a stomach “puffed up like a pillow”. The sounds of a bustling city would be in the background, accompanied by the rancid smell of soaked, exposed rotting

flesh.
Looking further back, I found that this section of Oryx and Crake was very insightful to read. I found that this reading was very relatable to many different communities around the world and was comparable to some of the movies popular in our culture. We can also see that by going back and forth between periods of time, the author develops a theme of growing up, and dealing with the consequences which come with maturity. Nonetheless we are able to see how much Jimmy’s personality has changed throughout the novel. Reflecting back on how similar or not it is to our own.