Theme Of Symbolism In Oryx And Crake

Oryx and Crake: Individuality isn’t Originality
How Symbolism is used to reinforce the theme of renaming

In the futuristic novel, Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood uses symbolism effectively to shape and reinforce the theme of renaming. Atwood tells a story of a dystopian society in which the idea of renaming someone becomes a pivotal role in the aftermath of the story. Jimmy, the protagonist retells a story of how he got to where he is, a world full of humanoid robots and him possibly being the only man alive. Through the small yet significant changes Jimmy and his closest friend undergo throughout the story, it is transparent that although change can have a perfect root, static change is the most detestable trait one can have. Using the literary

device of symbolism, Margaret Atwood reinforces the theme of renaming throughout the book by emphasizing how it can be a double edged sword.

People change for the better or the worse, but the smallest change in a person can have a butterfly effect on the character and logic of an individual. Glenn who later on becomes Crake clearly enforces this butterfly effect. When Jimmy asks about Glenn his mother would say “ “Your friend is intellectually honourable,” Jimmy’s mother would say. “He doesn’t lie to himself.” Then she’d gaze at Jimmy with that blue-eyed, wounded-by-him look he knew so well. If only he could be like that – intellectually honourable.” (Atwood 69) To Jimmy’s mother Glenn was a child any parent could ask for. A child who was intellectually smart and honest. Jimmy had gotten jealous of how his mother compared Crake to him. However, as the story develops and Glenn becomes Crake we see the horrific change that occurs. As Glenn and Jimmy continue to spend time together, they start playing a game called Extinctathon which requires a nickname to play. It is here when Glenn becomes Crake and the domino effect starts. When Crake’s mother passes a way, it is heavily implied that Crake was the one responsible for her death. “Jimmy didn’t understand how he

could be so nil about it – it was horrible, the thought of Crake watching his own mother dissolve like that. (Atwood 177) Why was Crake so emotionless? To watch a very significant and important person in one’s life simply ‘dissolve’ must have been terrible and even to Jimmy it was quite unexpected that Crake acted this way. Towards the end, Jimmy witnesses his best friend become the horrific change that Atwood had been foreshadowing. This is shown with the demise of Oryx by the hands of Crake. As the worldwide pandemic breaks out, Jimmy finds shelter inside Paradice while Crake and Oryx are missing. Soon enough Crake shows up and Jimmy is shocked. To see his best friend and childhood friend become who is now it must have been nerve-racking. Atwood writes; “As Jimmy watched, frozen with disbelief, Crake let Oryx fall backwards, over his left arm. He looked at Jimmy, a direct look, unsmiling. “I’m counting on you,” he said. Then he slit her throat. Jimmy shot him.” (Atwood 329) Crake shows Jimmy how much he has changed by taking away his only source of love and fulfillment. Prior to this, Jimmy is always thinking about Oryx and wanting to fulfill his sexual desires and Crake realizes this because he knows how much Jimmy loves Oryx. Since childhood the two had fallen for her and now as adults the attraction and friendship that has been developed over the years has become so transparent that even Crake, whom Oryx originally loved, notices this and realizes that the only way for him to execute his plan is to get rid of all his emotions and feelings for Oryx and Jimmy so that he can satisfy his dream. As Crake lays dead, the reader and Jimmy truly come to realize that Glenn, who was once a honourable and great child that every parent wanted, has now become Crake, a mad scientist who's focused on one thing and one thing only, the extinction of the human race.
As life progresses, it is indisputable that one should always stay true to oneself and and be who he/she wants to be, but this originality can also be a fatality.

Oryx symbolizes individuality as she is the only one of the trio whose name never changes throughout the book. She is also the only one of the three who never had an original name enforces her personality as an ambiguous person. Over the course of the book, the reader never once can pinpoint who Oryx is truly in love with, at times she is falling for Jimmy and at other times Crake, this uncertainness reflects her ambiguous personality and since she chose one over the other, this fixed personality contributed to her downfall towards the end of the book. Her split personality between Jimmy and Crake is shown as she says "You can't buy it, but it has a price," said Oryx. "Everything has a price." (Atwood 139) Oryx realizes that everything can come at the cost of something else and she was not ready to invest in one over the other. If Oryx had simply broken out of her indecisive character,in other words rename her character , she could’ve chosen Jimmy over Crake and help prevent Crake from executing his corrupt schemes. Again it is evident that had Oryx simply rename herself, that is remake her character, she could have single handedly change the climax of the book. When Oryx and her brother were sold to Uncle En, Oryx described it “as evidence that her mother had loved her. She had no images of this love. She could

offer no anecdotes. It was a belief rather than a memory.” (Atwood 121) By being too optimistic she tried to hide the truth from herself and others around her. This quote describes her character as one who is constantly looking at the positives amongst all the negatives and because of this excessive use of optimism she ultimately didn’t realize what Crake was scheming. Being the optimistic person she is, she failed to realize what she was ultimately distributing was Crake’s pill of extinction. Had she have been less optimistic and perhaps more pessimistic, she could’ve ended the distribution before the worldwide pandemic. Finally, it is Oryx’s static character that caused her demise at the end of the book. Being the manipulable and naive person she is Crake uses this to his advantage to further advance his goals. When Crake first took her in as an employee, it was under the disguise of it being “triple the pay she’d been getting, with a lot of perks; but also she said the work intrigued her.” (Atwood 310) But under the table it was all planned so that Jimmy would do what Crake wanted him to do at the end which was to help stage Crake’s death. This is shown through the many eerie questions Crake would ask Jimmy after meeting Oryx. Crake would ask;“Would you kill someone you loved to spare them pain?” (Atwood 320) Referring to Crake stabbing Oryx and “If anything happens to me, I’m depending on you to look after the Paradice Project.” (Atwood 320) and finally foreshadowing the death of Oryx and Crake by stating “If I’m not around, Oryx won’t be either,” (Atwood 321). Had Oryx been more aware of Crake’s devious plot the worldwide pandemic would have been avoided along with her living instead of dying. But because of her static character and her never changing personality it ultimately caused all the major and plot advancing events that occurred in the entire book.