Oryx and Crake is a fascinating dystopian novel written by the Canadian author Mar garet Atwood in 2003.

Oryx and Crake discusses major issues which humanity is faced with in an interesti ng and unique way. It is intended for open minded audiences who care about the environment and are willing to help this planet become better and safer. Taking place after a global pandemic which wiped out a large portion of the human race, Oryx and Crake explores advancement in technology and the alteration o f existing species. Throughout the novel, Snowman, who was once known as Jimmy is constantly confron ted by little kids known as crackers and is asked to basically explain to them what this world is and how it came to existence. Snowman decides to deviate from the truth and give concise, incorrect answers. W hile traveling across the land, Snowman comes across the word mesozoic but cannot relate anything to the wor d. However, this word, in a way, relates to the world which Snowman lives in. The Mesozoic era began wh en dinosaurs first became extinct. This was the largest mass extinction in Earth s history. It is a reference to the fact that the planet which Snowman is now stuck in looks barren, desolate and isolated. Snowman s home is now a shipwreck; abandoned, unseen and unheard of for a long period of time. It appears as if his home canno t be revitalized. It appears as if he cannot be revitalized. Snowman grows up in a society in which animals were degraded. Humans were discon nected from nature and were taught that animals were useless, emotionless creatures who did not play an important role on this planet. On page 19 it says, He d been told that the ducks were only pictures, they weren t real and had no feelings, but Snowman didn t quite believe that. In Snowman s society, people beli eved that animals were a nuisance to human beings. On page 32, Snowman was looking at pigoons (an alteration of pigs) and begins a conversation with is dad. Don t fall in , said his father. They ll eat you up i n minutes. No they won t, said Jimmy. Because I m their friend, he thought. Snowman was told that animals were also a danger to humans. Both of Snowman s parents were biologists and worked to c hange and recreate animals with the hopes of making them more useful and efficient. In the early st ages of his childhood, Snowman befriends Crake, a smart but taciturn human being. Crake later grows up to be a bio-engineer and Snowman s worst nightmare. Crake attempts to create his own species of humans and creates a global pandemic with the hopes of making the human race more peaceful. He creates a dis ease which nearly wipes out the whole human race, leaving Snowman left alone with crackers, a species w hich Crake himself had created. Margaret Atwood uses a good sense of logic to effectively convey the me ssage that humans must reconnect with nature and stop genetic modification, otherwise we will be in gra ve danger. Like previously mentioned, both of Snowman s parents, especially his father, striv

ed to recreate animals to benefit the society. Humans transformed forest's, grass and plants into compo unds (an urbanized area where people live in) which are full of businesses striving to make money by cre ating cures to diseases and unknowingly changing and interfering with nature. On page 67, Snowman s mother is complaining about her husband and his job when she says, At NooSkins price, it is. You hype your wares and take their money and then they r un out of cash, and it s no more treatments for them. They can rot as far as you and your pals are concerned. Don t you remember the way we used to talk, everything we wanted to do? Making life better for people-not just people with money. You used to be so... you had ideals, then. NooSkins is the company which Snowman s father works at. Snowman s mother is complai ning about the fact that her husband is doing immoral acts by creating pills and informing citizens that they are cures. All these cures are and were created through technology. Later on in the novel, Crake ends up almost wiping out the whole human race with the help of technology. Although humans bel ieve that using technology and changing the world will benefit us, it won t. The global pandemic w hich Crake created through technology is a reference to the fact that planet Earth will be harmed a nd humans will face a global crises. Margaret Atwood effectively uses dialogue and allusion to make us realize that in the long run, excessive use of technology can and will cause a global crisis. Humans are forgetting about the animals which they share the land with and are a lso forgetting about caring for each other and are doing acts just to please and entertain themselves . While Snowman and Crake were watching pron together, they realized that the women in the video were bein g forced to do these inappropriate acts, yet they continued to watch and amuse themselves. During the video, the girl known as Oryx turns and look straight into the eyes Snowman. Her contemptuous stare at S nowman went straight through him like a dagger. It made him realize that something was wrong and it h urt Snowman. On page 109 it says, But for the first time, he d felt that what they d been doing was wrong. Bef ore, it had always been entertainment, or else far beyond his control, but now he felt culpable. As the story progresses, Snowman and Crake find Oryx and fall in love with her. It is interesting how so meone who Snowman and Crake used to watch suffer turns out to be someone so significant. Someone who t hey love. Someone who, in a way, ripes apart their long and loving friendship. Through logic and figure s of speech, Margaret Atwood effectively makes us realize that although we may not directly know the p eople who are suffering, we should still strive to help them because all of them have potential to be so meone great. They are just like us, the only difference is that they are deprived of food and wealth.

Margaret Atwood is known for writing compelling and well thought out nov els, and Oryx and Crake was no different then the rest of her books. Through logic, dialogue, figurativ e language and allusion, Atwood successfully conveys her message across to the reader. She discusses seve ral different issues which humanity is faced with and presents them in a unique fashion. It is clear that Margaret Atwood put a lot of thought and time when creating the characters and plot of this novel. S nowman s story has become the #1 international best seller in the year 2003 and won an award for Literary Excellence in the U.K. Margaret Atwood encourages us to take an extra step and look beyond the false i mages which are portrayed to us by the media. Atwood encourages us to do research and find out about the r eal world, and what it has in store for us. While Snowman and Crake were watching an execution, the con versation between him and Crake went as follows. Do you think they re really being executed? he said. A lot of t hem look like simulations. You never know, said Crake. You never know what? You never know what is r eality.