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,
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