The Greatest Lesson
The novel “Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood is set in what seems to be a not so far away future where simply the darkest sides of humanity are represented. They way Atwood exemplifies certain traits that the humankind have is both proficient and terrifying. In order to be able to finish Atwood’s terrible novel you as a reader are forced to believe that there must be something more to humankind than what you see in the novel. That humanity somehow can face a very different fate then the one Atwood suggests. By showing the reader the darkest and ugliest parts of humanity Atwood forces the reader to choose the opposite side and question our own lifestyles.
In the beginning of the novel the only valid thing seemed to be that the author Margaret Atwood dislikes other people. Because as Atwood describes this cold and rational world where people put themselves over both other living organisms and other humans; it gives you the impression of that Atwood think humans are some kind of a monster. It is a world where money is the only driving force in the whole society and where every decision is made in order to earn as much of it as possible. Feelings such as love, freedom and humbleness do not have a place in Atwood’s dystopian future. The question is whether Atwood really have lost her faith in humanity and if this miserable picture of the humankind is the only thing Atwood thinks of. But if Atwood didn’t believe that we can change the future by changing our lives today what would then be the point with writing this novel? Because “Oryx and Crake” is not only a science fiction novel and it’s not only Atwood’s imagination that is the background to the story, but the novel is instead a description of the nature of our own species. Many parts of the novel are actually retrieved from real happenings that have occurred during the history of humankind.
A problem today is that in the world around us most of the literature and movies simply concern subjects and emotions that are very easy for us to handle. Movies and books about love and happiness are absolutely most common in the many cultures, especially in the US, because of the fact that people do not want to discuss frightening and difficult subjects. The negative consequence this view of our own existence has is that it makes us feel comfortable which is utterly negative in order to change a behavior. A reason why people nowadays prefer fiction with subjects that are easy to handle might be because of the massive explosion of available information about the world around us. People living in western countries are exposed to news about horrible things that happens in the world all the time, at the same time as they never get in touch with what they read about. This is something that Atwood exemplifies in her book as well by letting two of her characters watch executions online. This leads to that people become more and more indifferent to everything they read about; which is something that we should see as a clear warning.
One more reason to why this “indifferent-trend” is so important to observe is because the situation today likely is going to get worse because of the use of violent video games and of technology is our daily lives. In her novel Atwood describes how people no longer thinks for themselves when it comes to question why to for example implement a task. Atwood’s characters do what they are told and don’t ask why. This is something that we might see in our own society as well because of the fact that many of the videogames that young children play is based on this “no question-mentality”. This development of individuals that don’t think for themselves sadly continues later in life as well. Our society is constructed the way that people in many cases are just a small part of a larger system where they don’t have so much to say about anything. In order to change this behavior the society need to gives people opportunities to reflect over the world and expand their thought, which is something that this novel is a part of. We need to understand that humans do have the potential to create all those bad things that Atwood writes about in order to be able to prevent such things to occur. The greatest lesson of all is that we need to learn is that although people have the capacity of doing awful things it is up to every individual person to actively choose something else and to never stop caring.
Author: Karolina Lagercrantz
In the beginning of the novel the only valid thing seemed to be that the author Margaret Atwood dislikes other people. Because as Atwood describes this cold and rational world where people put themselves over both other living organisms and other humans; it gives you the impression of that Atwood think humans are some kind of a monster. It is a world where money is the only driving force in the whole society and where every decision is made in order to earn as much of it as possible. Feelings such as love, freedom and humbleness do not have a place in Atwood’s dystopian future. The question is whether Atwood really have lost her faith in humanity and if this miserable picture of the humankind is the only thing Atwood thinks of. But if Atwood didn’t believe that we can change the future by changing our lives today what would then be the point with writing this novel? Because “Oryx and Crake” is not only a science fiction novel and it’s not only Atwood’s imagination that is the background to the story, but the novel is instead a description of the nature of our own species. Many parts of the novel are actually retrieved from real happenings that have occurred during the history of humankind.
A problem today is that in the world around us most of the literature and movies simply concern subjects and emotions that are very easy for us to handle. Movies and books about love and happiness are absolutely most common in the many cultures, especially in the US, because of the fact that people do not want to discuss frightening and difficult subjects. The negative consequence this view of our own existence has is that it makes us feel comfortable which is utterly negative in order to change a behavior. A reason why people nowadays prefer fiction with subjects that are easy to handle might be because of the massive explosion of available information about the world around us. People living in western countries are exposed to news about horrible things that happens in the world all the time, at the same time as they never get in touch with what they read about. This is something that Atwood exemplifies in her book as well by letting two of her characters watch executions online. This leads to that people become more and more indifferent to everything they read about; which is something that we should see as a clear warning.
One more reason to why this “indifferent-trend” is so important to observe is because the situation today likely is going to get worse because of the use of violent video games and of technology is our daily lives. In her novel Atwood describes how people no longer thinks for themselves when it comes to question why to for example implement a task. Atwood’s characters do what they are told and don’t ask why. This is something that we might see in our own society as well because of the fact that many of the videogames that young children play is based on this “no question-mentality”. This development of individuals that don’t think for themselves sadly continues later in life as well. Our society is constructed the way that people in many cases are just a small part of a larger system where they don’t have so much to say about anything. In order to change this behavior the society need to gives people opportunities to reflect over the world and expand their thought, which is something that this novel is a part of. We need to understand that humans do have the potential to create all those bad things that Atwood writes about in order to be able to prevent such things to occur. The greatest lesson of all is that we need to learn is that although people have the capacity of doing awful things it is up to every individual person to actively choose something else and to never stop caring.
Author: Karolina Lagercrantz
Connection between Oryx and Crake and the song Demons by Imagine DragonsAs the connecter for this week I have chosen to connect the novel Oryx and Crake with the song “Demons”- by Imagine Dragons. If you examine each paragraph in the song you will notice how similar it is to the book; particularly because the song provides you with an interpretation of the complex relationship that Jimmy have with both Oryx and Crake. These relationships are something that you experience as one of the main parts while reading Oryx and Crake; they are therefore very interesting to reflect on.
Jimmy is undoubtedly in love with Oryx and would do everything in order to keep her safe. This urge to protect Oryx is something that Jimmy hold onto even when Oryx is long gone. This corresponds very well with the paragraph in the song: “I want to hide the truth, I want to shelter you, but with the beast inside, there’s nowhere we can hide.” Just as Jimmy the lyrics talks about someone that deeply wants to protect somebody from something that is impossible to escape from. The “beast” in this case is the anger and hate Jimmy feels towards everyone that have ever hurt Oryx, including those men from her childhood but also Crake. Even though these men no longer cause Oryx any harm. There is nothing to protect Oryx from anymore except the ghosts that Jimmy’s have in his mind. This is something he cannot escape from. Jimmy saves Oryx inside of his mind in a desperate attempt to make up for that he didn’t save her from death. Jimmy describes how he sometimes hears the voice of Oryx and how he almost can sense her presence. This leads us to another paragraph; don’t want to let you down, But I am hell bound, though this is all for you, don’t want to hide the truth. This is utterly similar to the part of the book when Jimmy contemplates to abandon the Crakers but how he cannot do that because of a promise he made to Oryx while she was still alive. The song also interacts very well with the feelings Jimmy has for Crake. In most cases Jimmy blames Crake for the destruction of the human society and the death of the ones he loved. Although Jimmy at the same time blame himself even more then he blame Crake. Partly because of the fact that Jimmy never really understood what Crake wanted to achieve with his actions and partly because Jimmy despite everything cannot blame someone that he loved. Something that can be compared with this part of the song: “So they dug your grave and the masquerade will come calling out at the mess you made.” Where all the actions that Crake did represents the making of the grave; which is resented by the extinction of the humankind. Another association this song has with the novel is the fact that Atwood asks plenty of difficult questions and provides absolutely no answers. It is the same thing with this song. Atwood is one of the very few modern novelists who leads, rather than pulls, the reader into a more heightened state of social awareness. And in the end she somehow turns the responsibility towards the reader instead of to Jimmy. This feeling of being involved is presented in the song as well. “Your eyes, they shine so bright I want to save their light I can’t escape this now you show me how. “ In the end what both the song and the novel really is about is our own guilt and responsibility for our actions that damage our environment. And we all have to just as Jimmy beat our own demons instead of trying to hide from them. Author: Karolina Lagercrantz |
Demons By Imagine Dragons
When the days are cold And the cards all fold And the saints we see Are all made of gold When your dreams all fail And the ones we hail Are the worst of all And the blood’s run stale I want to hide the truth I want to shelter you But with the beast inside There’s nowhere we can hide No matter what we breed We still are made of greed This is my kingdom come This is my kingdom come When you feel my heat Look into my eyes It’s where my demons hide It’s where my demons hide Don’t get too close It’s dark inside It’s where my demons hide It’s where my demons hide When the curtain’s call Is the last of all When the lights fade out All the sinners crawl So they dug your grave And the masquerade Will come calling out At the mess you made |
Don’t want to let you down But I am hell bound Though this is all for you Don’t want to hide the truth No matter what we breed We still are made of greed This is my kingdom come This is my kingdom come When you feel my heat Look into my eyes It’s where my demons hide It’s where my demons hide Don’t get too close It’s dark inside It’s where my demons hide It’s where my demons hide They say it's what you make I say it's up to fate It's woven in my soul I need to let you go Your eyes, they shine so bright I want to save their light I can't escape this now Unless you show me how When you feel my heat Look into my eyes It’s where my demons hide It’s where my demons hide Don’t get too close It’s dark inside It’s where my demons hide It’s where my demons hide |
Connection between Oryx and Crake and the film Cast awayI have chosen to examine some similarities between the book Oryx and Crake and the movie Cast Away; which both displays a protagonist in desperation and solitude. The movie Cast away is about a FedEx employee, played by Tom hanks, whothat gets stranded on an island all by him self with some of the FedEx packages being delivered. His situation as a lonely survivor with no contact to civilization is quite similar to Jimmy’s, or in this stage Snowman’s, situation. He is also left alone as the only survivor, not from a plane crash as Tom Hanks but from a global virus that by the looks of it so far in the book killed all the human population. As they both, Tom Hanks and Snowman, fight for survival the need of companionship becomes clear. In Tom Hanks case he creates a fellow human out of a volleyball and Snowman finds his comfort in the weekly visits from the Crakers and the soothing voice of Oryx.
Another key to mentally survive for both characters is the need of a mission or duty. Without any routines or tasks to be performed the pressure of being left with your own destructive thoughts can become too much for any man. To avoid this from happening both protagonists find their momentum in an attempt to reunite them selves with civilization. In the movie Tom hanks goal is to build a raft that he can use to reunite himself with the mainland or a possible boat passing by. Even though Snowman describes his trip/mission as a hunt for food, I believe that there is still a string of hope left inside him to not be the only survivor and that this also works as a driving force other than the need of new nutrition. This can be seen in Snowman’s description of the dead woman he stumbles upon in the house he clears for food: “… the woman in the bed seems almost like a real woman; as if she might turn towards him, open her arms, whisper to him to come and get her.” So this momentum of reuniting themselves with fellow humans drives both characters out of their new created comfort zones to follow their hopes even though their lives are at stake. In Tom Hanks case this comfort zone is the island free from high waves and deep water and the danger is obviously the risk of drowning and starving out at sea. In Snowman’s case the territory near the Crakers serves as his comfort zone and the wolvogs lurking in the night the danger. Even though the danger is clear in both cases they proceed and this shows how desperation and solitude can make us risk the most preciouses gift of all; life. Author: David Gumpert Harryson Connection between Oryx and Crake and the book KallocainI’ve connected Oryx and Crake (ORC) to the Swedish novel Kallocain (KAL) by Karin Boye, which have some common similarities. Both books present the literature genre dystopia and science fiction, which means that they both create a depressed vision and dull future of the society, in combination with modern technology. In KAL, the inspiration comes from the time period when the Soviet Union and the Nazi Germany existed, which the book reflects upon. These historical events are additionally mentioned in ORC.
The stories both share general elements from its time period which include laboratories, scientific research and the development of new discoveries. In KAL the government plays a major part in a citizen’s everyday life. It’s a futuristic state which controls humans by the use of a hallucinogenic truth drug (Kallocain). Despite its negative impact and effect on their freedom, citizens are dependant of the government. However, they can also been seen as “prisoners”, dealing with compulsions and forced labour. In the same way as in ORC it seems as if Jimmy and his parents are also dependant of voluminous corporations, isolated from the outside world. One can suspect that the world in ORC rules from these great multinational corporations, as if the whole world is one unit, isolated from the remaining countries. Some differences include that KAL describes the life of many humans. In contrast to the story of KAL, ORC declares a world where nearly everyone has died out and instead describes a life of the last surviving human being. ORC additionally discusses contemporary dystopia literatures of today. Questions like environmental pollution, an exaggerated consumer society and the consequences of overpopulation are examples of ordinary elements. Regardless of the differences both of the stories also interprets aspects of the meaning of life, and the power of love. When reading the books there’s a sense of warnings which evoke thoughts and at the same time create debates for the reader. Author: Heli Lindeberg |