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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