Oryx And Crake Analysis
Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake follows the life of Jimmy/Snowman in a grim world of the not-so-distant future. The novel is a speculative look at the path Atwood believes our society is headed down. It features issues such as genetic engineering, global warming, food insecurity, and even child trafficking. A common element amongst these issues is that they are all dark and frightening topics. Despite this, Oryx and Crake still manages to have a multitude of hilarious moments. Some readers find these moments disruptive to the flow and seriousness of the novel, however other readers see the humour as complementary to the flow and tone; causing it to leave a deeper impact on the reader. The humour can be seen as complementary because it helps Jimmy deal with his situation, mirrors the differences between Jimmy and Crake,
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and helps Atwood’s message reach the reader. Throughout the novel, Jimmy deals with a multitude of sad situations, yet rather than being cynical he continues to joke and see the humour in situations; though his humour is usually more sarcastic than explicit. For example, in chapter 3, Snowman is watching a caterpillar moving down a thread, and explains the scene in very vivid and beautiful way, only to ruin this beautiful moment of happiness by blaming it on a “vitamin deficiency” (Atwood 41). In this chapter Snowman has been dealing with an apocalyptic situation for a while, yet he is still able to make fun of his situation. Snowman still being able to make fun of his situation reminds me of Abraham Lincoln’s quote "I laugh because I must not cry. That is all...." Snowman seems to find humour in his situation because if he could not find any humour in his life he would be depressed and give up, which would most likely result in his death. Another example of Snowman/Jimmy finding humour in his situation is when he knows he’s on the verge of dying of starvation and he is remembering a survival booklet he has read. “When jumping off a bridge, clench your bum so the water won’t rush up your anus” (151). It’s very unlikely that the survival manual actually said something that ridiculous, but Snowman is simply poking fun at how useless that survival manual turned out to be. Another way the humour helps the tone of the story is through further contrasting the differences between Jimmy and Crake. Throughout most of Snowman/Jimmy’s flashbacks Jimmy is very optimistic and comedic, whereas Crake is more pessimistic, and solemn. A good example of this is an exchange between Jimmy and Crake on page 306 discussing the Crakers: “Can they speak?” he asked. “Of course they can speak,” said Crake. “When they have something they want to say.” “Do they make jokes?”
“Not as much,” said Crake, “For jokes you need a certain edge, a little malice. It took a lot of trial and error and we’re still testing, but I think we’ve managed to do away with jokes.” (306)
Jimmy obviously sees humour and jokes as an important aspect of the human experience, whereas Crake doesn’t really see humour as important. This discussion of what makes us human is a part of the theme, and in turn affects the tone of the story. The humour may also be something that connects Jimmy and Crake, the two of them show interest in dark humour. They spent much of their youth watching morbid things on the internet together as if it was nothing, even laughing at it. This interest in dark humour is one thing that is consistent throughout the novel. Another possible reason Atwood included humour in Oryx and Crake is to attract the general public to read the novel.
If the novel was simply a grim look at the future, and a foreboding to where she thinks society is headed, then readers may feel as though they are being nagged. Which would be off-putting to people who don’t already think about these issues. Atwood’s use of comedy is a way to make the novel more accessible and likable, so she could draw in more readers, and have her views be more effective. Speculative fiction would lose it’s impact if nobody reads it, and if forced to think about the issues the author brings up. For example, there are many scholarly articles talking about the issues in genetic engineering, however the general population isn’t exposed to that because it’s not suited for them and feels somewhat like nagging or simply pessimism. Whereas, Atwood is able to show the dangers of genetic engineering in a more accessible and entertaining way. However, a problem with this method is that she has no scientific proof to show her points brought up. Though that is not really important because it just starts the
discussion. Overall, the humour helps the tone and effect of the novel, especially because the humour is often times dark and sarcastic. The ways it helps the tone is through showing how humour can help Jimmy deal with his situation, helping compare and contrast Jimmy and Crake, and through making the topics discussed more accessible to the common reader. If Oryx and Crake lacked any sort of humour it would be too dark and very few people would read for fear of becoming depressed. Which obviously would not help the tone, because Jimmy was never entirely pessimistic; even though at many points he should. Without the dash of humour Oryx and Crake would not be the same novel, and probably would not leave as large an impact on the average reader.
and helps Atwood’s message reach the reader. Throughout the novel, Jimmy deals with a multitude of sad situations, yet rather than being cynical he continues to joke and see the humour in situations; though his humour is usually more sarcastic than explicit. For example, in chapter 3, Snowman is watching a caterpillar moving down a thread, and explains the scene in very vivid and beautiful way, only to ruin this beautiful moment of happiness by blaming it on a “vitamin deficiency” (Atwood 41). In this chapter Snowman has been dealing with an apocalyptic situation for a while, yet he is still able to make fun of his situation. Snowman still being able to make fun of his situation reminds me of Abraham Lincoln’s quote "I laugh because I must not cry. That is all...." Snowman seems to find humour in his situation because if he could not find any humour in his life he would be depressed and give up, which would most likely result in his death. Another example of Snowman/Jimmy finding humour in his situation is when he knows he’s on the verge of dying of starvation and he is remembering a survival booklet he has read. “When jumping off a bridge, clench your bum so the water won’t rush up your anus” (151). It’s very unlikely that the survival manual actually said something that ridiculous, but Snowman is simply poking fun at how useless that survival manual turned out to be. Another way the humour helps the tone of the story is through further contrasting the differences between Jimmy and Crake. Throughout most of Snowman/Jimmy’s flashbacks Jimmy is very optimistic and comedic, whereas Crake is more pessimistic, and solemn. A good example of this is an exchange between Jimmy and Crake on page 306 discussing the Crakers: “Can they speak?” he asked. “Of course they can speak,” said Crake. “When they have something they want to say.” “Do they make jokes?”
“Not as much,” said Crake, “For jokes you need a certain edge, a little malice. It took a lot of trial and error and we’re still testing, but I think we’ve managed to do away with jokes.” (306)
Jimmy obviously sees humour and jokes as an important aspect of the human experience, whereas Crake doesn’t really see humour as important. This discussion of what makes us human is a part of the theme, and in turn affects the tone of the story. The humour may also be something that connects Jimmy and Crake, the two of them show interest in dark humour. They spent much of their youth watching morbid things on the internet together as if it was nothing, even laughing at it. This interest in dark humour is one thing that is consistent throughout the novel. Another possible reason Atwood included humour in Oryx and Crake is to attract the general public to read the novel.
If the novel was simply a grim look at the future, and a foreboding to where she thinks society is headed, then readers may feel as though they are being nagged. Which would be off-putting to people who don’t already think about these issues. Atwood’s use of comedy is a way to make the novel more accessible and likable, so she could draw in more readers, and have her views be more effective. Speculative fiction would lose it’s impact if nobody reads it, and if forced to think about the issues the author brings up. For example, there are many scholarly articles talking about the issues in genetic engineering, however the general population isn’t exposed to that because it’s not suited for them and feels somewhat like nagging or simply pessimism. Whereas, Atwood is able to show the dangers of genetic engineering in a more accessible and entertaining way. However, a problem with this method is that she has no scientific proof to show her points brought up. Though that is not really important because it just starts the
discussion. Overall, the humour helps the tone and effect of the novel, especially because the humour is often times dark and sarcastic. The ways it helps the tone is through showing how humour can help Jimmy deal with his situation, helping compare and contrast Jimmy and Crake, and through making the topics discussed more accessible to the common reader. If Oryx and Crake lacked any sort of humour it would be too dark and very few people would read for fear of becoming depressed. Which obviously would not help the tone, because Jimmy was never entirely pessimistic; even though at many points he should. Without the dash of humour Oryx and Crake would not be the same novel, and probably would not leave as large an impact on the average reader.