1) What are some characteristics of the Crakers, and why did Crake decide to include these characteristics when designing them? If you had a chance tobioengineer a new human species, what characteristics would you include and why?
One characteristic was that Crake altered a bonding mechanism in the Crakers inorder to eliminate racism: ““Gone were its destructive features, the features responsible for the world’s current illnesses. For instance, racism – or, as they referred to it in Paradice, pseudospeciation – had been eliminated in the model group, merely by switching the bonding mechanism: “the Paradice people simply did not register skin colour” (Atwood, 275). Another characteristic is that the Crakers did not an abundance of food to survive: “They ate nothing but leaves and grass and roots and a berry or two; thus their foods were plentiful and always available” (Atwood, 275).
If I had the chance to create a new
…show more content…
human species, the attribute that I would give is the attribute of empathy. It is often in todays society that individuals are not as empathetic as they should be. An example would be the Syrian refugee crisis that is currently on going in Canada today. There are Canadian citizens that do not want the Syrian refugees in Canada for a variety of reasons, such as: risk of terrorism, economic support, and competition for jobs. However, we need to realize that the Syrian refuges are not here to take our jobs or cause terrorism. What some Canadians don’t understand is that the refugees are only coming to Canada in order to escape the violence that is ongoing in their home country. Where they are escaping to protect their families, and to also start a new life where violence is absent. All in all, I believe in order to decrease the amount of conflicts and violence in the world, we need to be more empathetic; thus, this would be a key characteristic that I will incorporate when creating a new species. 2) Describe the ChickieNobs being developed by students at Watson-Crick. Why did the students decide to develop this "bioform" and how does it reflect trends in our current industrialized food system? The students at Watson-Crick, decided to create these ChickieNobs in order to provide an alternative to chicken breast that is feasible in a shorter amount of time: “the high growth rate’s built in. You get chicken breasts in two weeks – that’s a three-week improvement on the most efficient low-light, high-density chicken farming operation so far devised” (Atwood, 239). Furthermore, the money the students behind the ChickieNobs are going to accumulate when they sell this product on the market for other companies is an incentive: “The students at Watson-Crick got half the royalties from anything they invented there. Crake said it was a fierce incentive . . . Investors are lining up around the block. They can undercut the price of everyone else” (Atwood 239). This reflects current trends today as our society today due to how we are heavily influenced by technology. An example would be technology and its effect on the businesses around the world. At the end of the day, businesses are always trying to find different ways to undercut their costs and to increase their profits. If an advance in technology allows them to do this, they will jump at the chance given in order to maximize profits. Another trend is how money people are heavily influenced by wealth and money. An example is how many post-secondary students only get a university education in order to make more money in the future. Another example is how Volkswagen altered its CO2 emissions test in order to sell more vehicles. 3) While walking to the Compounds, Snowman reflects "The whole world is now one vast uncontrolled experiment--the way it always was, Crake would have said--and the doctrine of unintended consequences is in full spate" (p. 228). Explain the significance of this statement as it relates to bioengineering in Oryx and Crake. How does it relate to the distribution of species in our contemporary world? This quotation relates to Margaret Atwoods idea that humans are destroying the environment/nature because they are constantly trying to develop new technology to change the natural course of nature.
An example would be the ChickieNobs, and how technology has found a substitute for chicken breasts. Further, the quote tells us that after being impacted by humans, nature is finally free due to all these modern technologies. However, because humans have damaged nature over such a long period of time, it may be too late to return to the time where nature was untouched. Furthermore, this relates to bioengineering in the novel because although the bioengineering of regeneration and immortality is remarkable, it can also cause more problems than it can solve. An example of this in our society today is the development of medicines. Although medicine is developed to heal or relinquish pain, it can also cause side effects. Also, the development of medicine may negatively impact the environment due to the extraction of the ingredients for the serum or
pill.
In the crucible, I believe reputation and respect was interwoven in the term of the play the ‘‘crucible’’. Reputation and Respect can also be a theme or a thematic idea in the play, reputation is very essential in a town where social status is synonymously to ones competence to follow religious rules. Your standing is what enables you to live as one in a community where everyone is bound to rules and inevitable sequential instructions. Many characters for example, john proctor and reverend parris, base their action on the motive to protect their reputation which is only exclusive to them. People like reverend parris saw respect as what made them important or valuable in a town like Salem, this additionally imprinting to his character as a very conventional man.
He points out that although changes do happen in nature, it is not so easy to determine how they changed. He is also not sure if Thoreau’s description of “a maimed and imperfect nature” is the correct way to refer to ecology, since it is by its essence, a fluid system of changes and reactions. Cronon does not deny the impact of
“He say Mr. Parris must be kill! Mr. Parris no goodly man, Mr. Parris mean man and no gentle man and he bid me rise out of bed and cut your throat!” (Miller 47).
One example of this takes place in “--And the Moon Be Still As Bright” when Spender mentions that, “they knew how to live with nature and get along with nature. They didn’t try too hard to be all man and no animal.” This portrays how the Martians found a way in which technology could coexist with nature. In contrast, humans have gotten to the point where there could only be either nature or technology in the end. He also attempts to convey that mankind is losing more and more of its humanity as it steps further into the realm of technology. Another example of this takes place in the story “Rocket Summer” when it is stated that, “the rocket stood in the cold winter morning, making summer with every breath of its might exhaust.” This represents how mankind’s technological advances are also the catalysts for the destruction of Earth’s environment, which in turn is the termination of mankind itself. Essentially, Bradbury is trying to convey that mankind is its own worst enemy. Clearly, Bradbury conveys that the separation of mankind and nature will be the end of
Mary Shelley’s message has something to do with today as there is all this talk that we have the science to bring back the dinosaurs and make our perfect disease free babies! But do we really need clones and all this risk in our lives. I think this is the kind of thing she was trying to suggest and warn us of before we get too carried away. And to be honest I think we are better off without some of the technology we have available today and I don’t think it will stop until something goes terribly wrong!
He applies his findings to examples throughout history and makes the point that we do not learn from our mistakes. Wright claims that “as cultures grow more elaborate, and technologies more powerful, they themselves may become ponderous specializations – vulnerable and, in extreme cases, deadly.” Humanity progresses too fast and ends up doing more damage than good. In the Stone Age humans went from killing 2 mammoths to 200, we went from the arrow to the bullet in a number of decades. These advancements are called “progress traps”, and inevitably threaten our whole species with extinction. Humanity has reached a point where we must slow down our advancements and look at what is really necessary. All of these advancements are bringing up more problems than they are solving. We have to start reversing our current problems, and prepare for the future. We are coming to a point of no return from the consequences to our actions and as Wright says “if we fail – if we blow up or degrade the biosphere so it can no longer sustain us – nature will merely shrug and conclude that letting apes run the laboratory was fun for a while but in the end a bad
Many people believe that being very technologically advanced is the best thing for society, but not many people know that technology can also be the worst thing for society. In the novel A Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, technology is shown as a harmful thing. Having too much technology is potentially harmful as shown through the use Soma, the reproduction process in the world state, and the World State's method of determining social class. The first way technology in society can be harmful is through the citizens use of Soma.
There is always change In the world that either changes the world in a good way or may go bad. When it comes to technology it is always the creator that makes technology good or bad. In the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the main character Victor Frankenstein creates a creature using galvanism, but as soon as he completes his life long dream he sees how horrid the creature is and abandons it to live and face the outside world alone. This causes the creature to become Victors worst nightmare. It was Victors actions that caused the chaos, because of his misusage of science and actions.
People dying for no reason resonates in a lot of ways. Even in real life if people die
In “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop, the narrator attempts to understand the relationship between humans and nature and finds herself concluding that they are intertwined due to humans’ underlying need to take away from nature, whether through the act of poetic imagination or through the exploitation and contamination of nature. Bishop’s view of nature changes from one where it is an unknown, mysterious, and fearful presence that is antagonistic, to one that characterizes nature as being resilient when faced against harm and often victimized by people. Mary Oliver’s poem also titled “The Fish” offers a response to Bishop’s idea that people are harming nature, by providing another reason as to why people are harming nature, which is due to how people are unable to view nature as something that exists and goes beyond the purpose of serving human needs and offers a different interpretation of the relationship between man and nature. Oliver believes that nature serves as subsidence for humans, both physically and spiritually. Unlike Bishop who finds peace through understanding her role in nature’s plight and acceptance at the merging between the natural and human worlds, Oliver finds that through the literal act of consuming nature can she obtain a form of empowerment that allows her to become one with nature.
The theme death has always played a crucial role in literature. Death surrounds us and our everyday life, something that we must adapt and accept. Whether it's on television or newspaper, you'll probably hear about the death of an individual or even a group. Most people have their own ideas and attitude towards it, but many consider this to be a tragic event due to many reasons. For those who suffered greatly from despair, living their life miserably and hopelessly, it could actually be a relief to them. Death affects not only you, but also those around you, while some people may stay unaffected depending on how they perceive it.
The situations of technological flaws he chose as his examples added integrity to his arguments as well as proved his thesis. The author was skilled at explaining these examples profusely, thus further educating the readers and making them aware of how innovation can turn horribly wrong. One of Suzuki’s significant examples was the use of the DDT insecticide. The sole purpose of this chemical compound’s use was to kill malaria-carrying mosquitoes in hope of saving lives of those living in tropical climate countries. Although DDT did assist many, its use created more harm and damage than good. Evidently, that was not the goal of this insecticide; it was created to be helpful and to provide in a difficult circumstance. However, its side effects unmistakably cancel out any beneficial aspects it might have had. This example clearly illustrates the negative impacts technology has had on humanity. Another example Suzuki decided to put forth is the use of the oral contraceptive. Many overlook issues technology creates; they are too preoccupied with the benefits, it is all anyone can see! The oral contraceptive has undoubtedly helped countless women worldwide. However, as the author states in his essay, “ It was only after millions of healthy, normal women had taken the pill for years that epidemiologists could see negative effects. No amount of pretesting could have
The Crucible is an allegorical tragedy that depicts of the Salem Witch Hunt in which thousands of innocent people were accused, murdered, and changed forever due to the Salem community’s unrelenting fear of the unknown. Similarly, this occurred two months after the bombing at Pearl Harbor as President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, in which more than 127,000 Japanese-American citizens were forced to relocate from their homes as a result of America’s hysterical fear of this enemy. Fear and prejudice accusations, the victimizing of innocent people, and America’s reliance on the government to render justice and its inability to do so are three vital details of comparison between The Crucible and this historic event.
Even though scientific advancement can improve living conditions and solve global issues, it can create them as well. As seen through the genetic modification of coffee beans, the creation of profitable diseases, and the development of the BlyssPluss Pill, the profits generated through technology trigger human greed. This greed leads to extreme capitalism that feeds the economic gap of society and puts the world in control of gigantic corporations. The growth of technology is only beneficial up to a certain extent, otherwise it could lead to catastrophic results through misuse. Atwood’s novel can serve as a warning against intense scientific progression. We as a society must heed that warning to control the potentially destructive technology civilization is so eager to
The desolate and chaotic conditions of the society can have a significant amount of influence on the development on a certain character of a novel. For instance, at the time the novel, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky was written, the conditions of the setting, was very chaotic and was in turmoil. Crime and Punishment took place in Russia, where Russia during the time Crime and Punishment was written was suffering due to economical downfalls and failure of the poor reforms of Tsar Alexander II; ultimately transforming Russia into a poverty-stricken country. The failure of Alexander’s reforms affected much of setting in which Crime and Punishment was written in, which ultimately contributed in character development of Raskolinokov. This is evident through the use of metaphor, which Dostoevsky uses to compare the state of the country to Raskolinkov’s apartment.