Oryx And Crake By Margaret Atwood: Literary Analysis

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All throughout history, science and technology has bettered the lives of men everywhere. However, Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood, explores a world where scientific advancement does more harm than good. The pharmaceutical companies in the novel have gone beyond creating medicines to battle disease and bodily dysfunction. Their expansion into genetically modified animals raises questions about what exactly comprises nature.Margaret Atwood uses the literary elements of theme and character, among others, to explore the social issue of synthetic biology that contributes to the book’s meaning as a whole. Throughout Oryx and Crake, Atwood combines the use of the literary elements theme and character to start discourse on the social issue of “natural” biology versus …show more content…
The novel takes current trends in science and explores what may happen in the future. Some characters are wary of the scientists and their work. “Why is it he feels like some line has been crossed, some boundary transgressed? How much is too much, how far is too far?” (206). Atwood lets the reader decide for themselves what they think “too far” is. The meaning of the book is for the readers to make decisions on the direction they want the world of science to take, and the meaning comes from the social issue of “synthetic” biology versus “natural” biology.
Overall, Oryx and Crake addresses the issue of the dangers of scientific advancement. In the dystopian world, the reader sees what could happen if society chooses science over humanity. Through the use of theme and characters, Atwood shows the reader the struggle between man-made evolution and natural evolution. This struggle gives the entire novel its meaning. Oryx and Crake gives the reader the information they need to decide when enough is enough, and offers the responsibility to hold the world accountable in the event that science crosses “the

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