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Critically analyse Margaret Atwood as a novelist
Critically analyse Margaret Atwood as a novelist
Critically analyse Margaret Atwood as a novelist
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The Sci-Fi genre often centers on the theme of control. Oryx and Crake, by Margret Attwood, highlights Crake’s ability to manipulate his friend Jimmy to allow Crake to control the current and future generations of inhabitants on planet Earth, whereas Octavia Butler’s Kindred focuses on Dana’s inability to control when she pulled back in time by her ancestor Rufus set against her ability to scare herself back through time. Control can be seen as a manipulation of current destiny, or an adaptation to the current set of circumstances. The use of science can be extremely useful in these manipulations. Man’s degree of adaptability has been in direct correlation as his knowledge of the known elements, properties, and physical laws of nature increases. …show more content…
Crake plans to control the future of the world by destroying it, leaving his friend Jimmy to tend to the Crakes, his created race of supposed improved purity. Crake also invents the BlyssPluss pill which will cause an airborne disease of epic proportions, supposedly wiping out the entire human race except for Jimmy and the Crakes, who will survive in the air-locked dome called …show more content…
Crake takes advantage of this lack by invention the BlyssPluss pill, which promises protection from “all known sexually transmitted diseases” . . .” would provide an unlimited supply of libido” . . . “and prolonged youth” (Atwood 294). Crake knows human nature to never be satisfied, therefore he can manipulate man’s lust for power by providing a vehicle to ensure man’s elusive concept of “more”. Crake discovers the parasitic human desire for more is as powerful as gravity, destructive as cancer, yet can be invisible to even the consciousness and conscience of its host. As the concept of more is considered the constant, Crake can then manipulate the masses to poison themselves by using false claims to appeal to their pride and fear of not being in possession of the newest and most effective remedy of the
Such controlled environments provide examples of humanities belief that it is more sophisticated and indeed more powerful than the wild. Despite being written some fifty years apart both Brave New World By Aldous Huxley and Blade Runner Directed by Ridley Scott present the same message. Both texts argue that with advancing technology humanity feels itself more sophisticated and more powerful than the natural rhythms of the world. However, at the same time aspects represented in each text point out that Humanity can never be completely isolated from nature.
In Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, Atwood seems to be offering a forewarning of the troubles that are to arise if our rapacious, self-obsessed society continues at the current rate. Current rate refers to the lack of regard for nature and animal preservation, the increasing intrusiveness of the NSA, the absolute power that large corporations are accumulating, and the severe income disparity. All of which threatens to bring an end to our society. The social issues listed above are a result of a single entity having absolute control over the people; in this case it is the corrupt biotech companies. Corruption is the driving force behind the evils that arise in Oryx and Crake. Mechanisms of control used in Oryx and Crake are similar to those described in Michel Foucault’s “Panopticism”. Panopticism describes that control is effective when enforced through the principles of surveillance, ability to recognize the presence of authority, and isolation. Pharmaceutical companies utilize technology
Chemicals are excessively used to achieve youth and happiness in both Brave New World and in Canadian Society. The prime example being the use of drugs to achieve a euphoric feeling and to escape something versus dealing with it in both societies. In Brave New World, Soma, a hallucinogenic drug, is a pertinent part of life that is a necessity to keep their world in order. When a member of society is unhappy, it is a natural instinct to consume soma. When Lenina is upset John does not join her after their date, Lenina thinks, “One gramme, she decided, would not be enough; hers had been more than a one-gramme affliction” (Huxley 171). Lenina uses soma to prevent unacceptable unhappiness in the Brave New World, as many Canadians use antidepressants as a simple fix to their unhappiness. The utilization and prescription of pharmacotherapy for depression has increased from 3.2 to 14.5 million between 1981 and 2000 in Canada (University of Toronto Magazine). ...
In his novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley illustrates ways in which government and advanced science control society. Through actual visualization of this Utopian society, the reader is able to see how this state affects Huxley’s characters. Throughout the book, the author deals with many different aspects of control. Whether it is of his subjects’ feelings and emotions or of the society’s restraint of population growth, Huxley depicts government’s and science’s role in the brave new world of tomorrow.
From the moment he is introduced, Crake is described as “more adult”, which really is a nod to the sociopathic nature of Crake’s character. His character does not change throughout the novel: he is intelligent, but egotistical and detached. His nature is mostly portrayed through the fact that he never dates, as far as the reader is aware, and obsessively plays logic based games such as Extinctathon and Barbarian Stomp, in which he always had to be the best, playing Extinctathon until he gained the title of Grand
Additionally, these two very different plots built on the addiction to cortisone portray opposite types of genres. Roueche’s “Ten Feet Tall” is a short story written for the New York Times under the title “The Annals of Medicine” and illustrates the true story of a schoolteacher, Robert, who becomes critically ill. While Bob’s story could fall under the category of science fiction, revealing medical advantages in drug productions and their side effects, Ed Avery’s addiction to drugs displays his manic consumerist society as a scientific, horror film. Cortisone, in Ed’s case, is a manifestation of the American dream gone wrong. The diabolical intake of large, societal doses of rules, discipline, religion, education, non-dependency, life standards, status and power, demonstrates the thin line between living the dream and manic behavior. Specifically, ...
While more empathetic than Crake-both positively and negatively-Jimmy was often a bystander himself. He shows this in his outrage on Oryx's behalf for the wrongdoings she endured during her life. Before then Jimmy used to be sad at the prospect of hurting the pigoons having been so familiar with them (24).When waiting for Crake to arrive to the Paradise building during the spread of the BlyssPluss plague Jimmy tricked and killed the remaining scientists to prematurely ensure his well-being. In his desire for affection, he charmed women using their sympathy for him regarding his relationship with his estranged mother. Before that in his need for attention and to receive a reaction from his mother he often would push her until he received one relating in his need to get a reaction from others. He often attempted this with Oryx, looking for her to get upset to justify his need to after discovering her childhood porn video. And attempted unsuccessfully to do the same wooing to Oryx at first their first official meeting. Snowman played his part in that in an effort to survive in his deliberate action went against Crake in helping establishing him as a higher power with Snowman himself as a messenger. It allowed him to hold sway over the naive species for sustenance and company. Though even then it seems that the Crakers may be starting to have their doubts starting with their somewhat leader
With the advancement of technology and science, we are now able to genetically modify animals. Mary Shelley found a way to make science an epitome, and confirms what could happen if science is taken too far. In conclusion, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is considered to be a historical novel, based on scientific advancements. In this novel Shelley depicts her own definition of human nature, by showing the creature and the ways that humans react to him. The novel also showed the differences between morality and science.
In Oryx and Crake, Crake creates a disease that destroys almost all of humanity. He does this in order to make way for his new humans, the crakers, who he sees as superior in every way. The disease breaks out when Oryx and Crake are away from the office. Jimmy gets a call from Oryx as it is happening, apologizing to him, saying she did not know it was in the pills. Crake then shows up one day, well after the plague has spread, with an unconscious Oryx in his arms. Jimmy meets him at the door. Crake says one final thing to Jimmy, “‘I’m counting on you’” (394) His final words show that from the start, Crake had been manipulating those around him so his plan would succeed. Jimmy often beats himself up for not catching onto Crake’s plan sooner, remembering all the hints he had dropped throughout their lives. Jimmy also wonders if Crake was right in destroying humanity. It is a disgusting society that cast away those who were not smart enough or inventive enough to help them advance further. But on the other hand it was beautiful what mankind was able to create and Jimmy cannot stand the fact that it is fading all away. “Strange to think of the endless labour, the digging the hammering, the drilling, day by day, year by year, century by century; and now the endless crumbling that must be going on everywhere. Sandcastles in the wind” (51-52) It is at this point that Jimmy realizes his own mortality, realizing that when he dies, no one will remember him. No one will be left to recall the time of the homo sapiens. Humanity ends with him. This is something that he again thinks about at the end of the book when the he pursues the humans the crakers came across while he has gone. The news that other humans have survived gives hope to Jimmy, that all of human
Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein cannot merely be read as a literary work of the early 19th century. It represents the workings of young Shelley's mind. Further, it represents the vast scientific discoveries of the time, combined with Mary Shelley's intuitive perception of science. She views science as a powerful entity, but also recognizes the dangers if uncontrolled. Shelley demonstrates this fear in the book as science drives Victor Frankenstein to create his monster. In the end, it is also his use of science that inevitably becomes his demise.
Psychological control creates the star spangled background of science fiction. Those of lesser intellect become oppressed through following spiritual leaders. Western Marxism develops in Dune in the form of people seeking answers to their endless suffering as critic Seigaj writes, “. . . pervasive Western belief in realizing ultimate goals—in an authority, object, state of mind, system, or machine that will provide the final answers . . .” (201).
This book can be a warning to humanity, telling society that brainwashing can become common and destroy the modern day world. This book makes the people of the modern day world think about what could happen in the near future if society decides to go farther and more into scientific research. Misuses in science could contribute to the making of man into an animal, not a smart, adapted, emotional connected human being. In “Brave New World,” Huxley creates a world that is complete and utterly disturbing to what humanity could become. The people in the World State are controlled through psychological conditioning on a ground breaking scale.
“SF characteristically transforms scientific and technological ideas into metaphors, by which those ideas are given cultural relevance.”(Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, page 6). This quote exemplifies texts such as The Time Machine and Solaris as they highlight the different ideas of scientific reasoning and how future adaptations may play its part on how humanity prevails, given cultural relevance. It is natural for the reader to become engrossed within Well’s and Lem’s writing style and how as authors, they manage to incorporate the futuristic tones through their characters and settings. Although many readers believe the future seems as though it will improve the way in which mankind develops especially with technological advancements, these two
In the Time Machine, the effect of science caused the Time traveller to be captured within Time. Thus, the creation of the Time Machine caused the disappearance of a human being which led people to fear science because it could lead to the destruction of humanity. Another novel in which the immense interest in science led to the death of a human being and provoked its readers to fear the effect of science in the nineteenth century is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Basically the novel is about a doctor named Henry Jekyll who wanted to experiment (using science) with the theory that every man has a dual personality, that there will always be an evil side and good side of a person. In proving his theory, Dr. Jekyll mixed up a potion using chemicals that would break the chain of good and evil.
"People and Events: The Pill and the Sexual Revolution." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.