Born in 1939, the Canadian writer Margaret Atwood has won just about every accolade a writer can win. In addition to historical fiction, poetry, childrens books, short fiction, and non-fiction writing, she is also a renowned exponent of science fiction. Her most famous book, The Handmaids Tale (1985), has become a popular Hulu series, and many cultural critics feel it is highly relevant to our current political culture.
Oryx and Crake (2003) is also being adapted by Hulu, and for much the same reason: many see its dystopian themes of environmental collapse, pandemic disease, and the indiscriminate use of biotech by out-of-control corporations and scientists as a warning against current trends. The novel is the first part of Atwoods Maddaddam trilogyI expect many of you will want to read the next two after reading this one. It deals with a post-apocalyptic world in which there appear to be few humans left. The heroor anti-herois Jimmy, a fairly ordinary guy who somehow survived the disaster. He lives with a new species of humans that were created by his brilliant friend, Crake. The crakers call him Snowman. The novel jumps back and forth in time, gradually reconstructing the events that led up to the apocalypse while also describing the many challenges faced by Jimmy in the post-apocalyptic world.
Discussion Prompt: Choose one of the scenarios below and make an argument for it:
The story presented in Oryx and Crake, or something quite similar, could easily happen given the current trends in areas such as biotech, corporate power, and the erosion of democratic norms.
While thought-provoking, the fate described in Oryx and Crake is ultimately unlikely. There are too many safeguards in place and humans will come to their senses before any such disaster could come to pass.
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