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Feminist Science Fiction, Biotechnology: A Negative View?


Biotechnology:  A Negative View?

            This week’s reading was based on Margaret Atwood’s book called Oryx and Crake, which provides the a detailed narrative of a love story of the future of humanity depicting a biotechnological framework and paradigm of the life of Jimmy also known as Snowman before the overwhelming and irresistible effects of mankind by a plague. The novel depicts how Snowman in his new life was struggling to survive, where he seems to be the only human being in this new world. Snowman in this new world awakes unhappily to see himself down in a mango tree.  In his new state, he fails to remember certain phrases associated with his past life. His failure to remember these things continues to disturb him. His inability to remember what happened is embedded in his new nature. He also seems to be confused why he keeps a watch that does not tell the time. His watch, which is a ‘Talisman,’ has the capacity to determine supernatural things beyond the human reasoning. Snowman recalls Jimmy’s earliest life as a human as early as when he was just five years old living on the OrganInc Compound with his parents.  
            He sees a group of children swimming, but the children seem to be different from him. Through his watch; that is, his talisman, Snowman knows the danger of the world-an understanding that the children lacks, indwell to him by his friend Glenn as known as Crake. Quickly, he gains the confidence and respect of the children and has the ability to communicate with Crake. Snowman seems to be frustrated with the lack of understanding of the children of his previous world. With his own contradictions, Snowman expressed extreme hatred against Crake when the children expressed the need for his to show them to Crake. He claims that Crake was just this creator sitting with a magnifying glass and he (Snowman) was actually the one doing the most work and needed to be glorified.
In this new world of his, the earthly diction was insignificant as it was not the built upon earthly framework of human society, but rather a hybrid of both human and other life forms. He also thinks it is frustrating to have them educated in human terms because all was gone and it was useless to educate them in human terms.
            His internal voice longs for a true human companion, a desire that he also wish for subsequently embedded in his acquaintance with Oryx. His perpetuate likeness for Oryx was expressed in his internal voice, which he believes she hears. He blames Crake for his entire predicament. He also felt frustrated about his personal care in the current state of his life as he reflects on his previous life when he used to take care of himself.
            In chapter 2, Snowman reflects on the life of Jimmy and his parent at the OrganInc Compound and presents the dynamics of his parent’s marriage and life at the farm. His father works at the farm as a genographer a work that his wife Sharon dislikes and expressed dissatisfaction with. Her frustration with her husband and the life they were living at the farm prompted her to escape the predicament that she felt alters nature. Her escape prompt search by the Corps and several investigative interviews with Jimmy and his father, but were of no value. Jimmy father later remarried Romana a biochemist.
            Atwood’s work is a classic example of a negative framework of the biotechnical framework of the feminist, nature and culture discourse. Her works portrays how love, hatred and resistance transcend the human terms into different territories.  
           
            

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