Apologia

The value of “Oryx and Crake” lies in its themes and accessibility. Of course, Margaret Atwood is a widely acknowledged Canadian writer understood to be “outspoken in [her] critiques of the restrictive tendencies of public policy” (New “1985-97”); part of the influence of “Oryx and Crake” is merely that it is attached to such a respected name. Given the anticipation and guaranteed audience of such a novel, discussions of the eternal human themes of logic versus emotions, reality and existential purpose are made much more poignant by framing the story in a world based on our own. Atwood portrays possible effects of the human tendency for selfishness and lack of compassion on modern issues, from the environment to politics to religion. Furthermore, many of the “fictional” aspects of the book—speculations about disease and terrorism—were closely paralleled by real-world events during and immediately following the book's development. This combination of timeless and contemporary content, discussed astutely and pointedly, makes “Oryx and Crake” a welcome addition to the canon of Canadian literature.

Most important and prevalent of the themes of “Oryx and Crake” is the contrast between science and art (or the humanities), directly paralleled by the discussions between Crake and Jimmy; Atwood's stance on the subject is clear in Jimmy's reflection: “[he] would like to have said Why are you always putting me down? but he was afraid of the possible answers, because it's so easy being one of them” (Atwood 167). In an interview, Atwood clarified her thinking by saying “Science is a way of knowing, and a tool ... it can be turned to bad uses ... But it is not in itself bad ... it's neutral” (“Interview”) and that “The driving force in the world today is the human heart - that is, human emotions” (“Interview”). It is all too easy to infer from “Oryx and Crake” that the “numbers people” really are the most powerful, but one must not forget that Crake, the “avatar of science”, cannot even speak meaningfully to the superior humans he creates; he “[needs] a go-between” (Atwood 309)—namely Oryx—to communicate for him. At the discussion's heart, Atwood is remarking that rational thinking cannot be allowed to dominate emotions. This is an equally important lesson today, with regards to the Canadian Prime Minister's recent actions against arts and culture, and the general trend in education and business to focus more on science-related occupations.

Crucial to the value of the book is the fact that, as Atwood says in her essay, “it invents nothing we haven't already invented or started to invent” (Atwood “Writing”). Furthermore, in accordance with the book's epigram, it “relate[s] plain matter of fact in the simplest manner and style ... to inform you, and not to amuse you” (Atwood epigram). In the world of “Oryx and Crake”, horrible things happen: prostitution and child pornography are widely available, the environment has almost entirely collapsed, democracy has floundered and been replaced by a corrupt caste system where “Compound people [don't] go to the cities unless they [have] to, and then never alone” (Atwood 27), and the genes of all life are manipulated wildly for the thrill of playing God. All of these facts can be explained by the fact that the rich, dispassionate people of the Compounds and Modules have exploited the poor, unintelligent, animalistic pleeblanders to allow their goals for profit and control to flourish—this eerily resembles the gap between the “first” and “third” world. Part of what makes these events so moving is that, much like the broad audience of the real world, the narrator is consistently indifferent to the moral implications of anything that goes on. This resonates with us and disturbs us.

Perhaps the most influential and distinguishing aspect of the novel is how well it predicted actual events: When the September 11 attacks occurred, Atwood remarked: “It's deeply unsettling when you're writing about a fictional catastrophe and then a real one happens” (Atwood “Writing”). Both 9-11 and the chaos caused by the fictional JUVE virus have been described as “mayhem” (Atwood 340), and “conspiracy theories [have] proliferated” (Atwood 341) about both. More disturbing still, according to Atwood, was "not so much the Twin Towers as the anthrax scare" ("Interview"). JUVE's effects—"high fever, bleeding from the eyes and skin, convulsions, then breakdown of the inner organs, followed by death" (Atwood 325)—are strikingly similar, and quite as horrifying as those of anthrax.

Ultimately, Atwood has created a novel that reflects likely outcomes of decisions that are being made by powerful people in the world of today. Her novel illustrates arguments surrounding eternal human themes in a contemporary way that can be easily related to by a broad audience. Most surprising of all, situations in the real world that took place after the novel was published were shockingly similar to fictional events in the story. These facts combine to make "Oryx and Crake" a worthy Canadian novel, deserving of status as a classic.