Oryx and Crake Sixth Entry

The novel unit is coming near to the end and everyone seems to be in panic to finish their books. In fact, I'm in panic, finishing the blog posts. Some of my friends aren't even enjoying the book they chose which I feel sympathy for them. I remember when I was choosing the book, I wanted to avoid history and war related novels which narrowed it down to Atwood's two novels and The Life of Pi. Without any regrets, I am certainly glad to study this novel as a group in our English class.

Snowman decides to march on a journey to find food and supplies for his survival. Leaving behind the children of crake, he is on an asphalt road. He suffers from the ultraviolet rays and is constantly in fear from the extreme exposure of ultraviolet ray from a hole in the ozone layer, and genetically motified beasts such as volvogs and pigoons. He finally arrives at a house where he obtain food and suppies. The residents are lying dead on the house, he is slightly scared but at the same time, used to the scenery. He feels somewhat hollow and feels as if the missing child of the household is himself.

Snowman's detailed description simulate imagery in the heads of the readers. As I was reading this part, I felt as if I was seeing the images he was seeing. I saw the destroyed house with shattered windows, empty roads with cracks and dry grains of sand. The author's intentional vivid description was enough to drew my attention through the present world of Snowman, which I secretly thought was less entertaining than the past of Jimmy.

Oryx and Crake Fifth Entry

Indeed, Vancouver has the best weather for reading a novel. I decided to madly read from friday night. Saturday turned out to be the best weather in months, sun shining for the whole day. Yet, I decided to stay home and intensely turned the pages. Actually, the book is thrilling, a real page turner, but after looking at the weather forecast for this week, I instantly regretted for not spending my saturday more wisely (I meant in more entertaining ways)

However, I must admit, I'm starting to fall in love with Oryx and Crake. This kind of novel was exactly what I was looking for, but simultaneously, very original and different from other dystopian novels I have encounted before. The characters, Oryx and Crake is reveiled in more detailed characteristics as Snowman has flashback of the time when he was "Jimmy".

Especially, the childhood of Oryx is presented in a long series of events in chronological sequences which I found very depressing. Oryx was a girl from a poor family background, who was sold to Uncle En for different various types of labours including sex, despite the fact she was only 12. This seemed very unrealistic from certain perspective, but the fact that these incidents has actually existed throughout the history and is still continued to this day in some parts of the world made me feel very bitter.

Atwood touches on not only the environmental issues of today with the setting, she also comments about the social conflicts that is underminded by the society and the trends people's action as the science develops through her smooth interconnected flashbacks Snowman has, changing his name to "Jimmy". I am quite impressed by the author's intend and insight in writing this book and I am greatly satisfied for choosing Oryx and Crake for this unit.

Oryx and Crake Fourth Entry

As I read more, I saw the internal conflict in Jimmy's family in his flashback. Jimmy's mother runs away from home along with Jimmy's pet and his best friend, Killer, Rakunk which caused grief for him. His father is also frustrated from the fact she destroyed his computer as she left.

Then I was introduced to the mysterious character, Crake, who we expect is the creator of the dystopian society Jimmy is living in the present. Crake's odd behaviors and personality caught my attention as I got to know more about him. I saw a great contrast between Jimmy and Crake in their lives and their personality. I am looking forward to learn more about Crake who seems like he is going to be Jimmy's best friend and the mysterious Girl, Oryx, who isn't illustrated in details yet.

I have spent my whole day yesterday, just reading in my bed. I guess I don't regret it since the Vancouver weather is perfect for indoor, educational activities such as reading.

Oryx and Crake Third Entry

As I was researching about the environmental degradation for the Pecha Kucha media presentation, I found myself highly interested by the Atwood's perspective towards the current trends of science development from the setting and the main conflict in her novel. 

The novel takes it's setting in a dystopian future where severe damage has been done to the environment due to the uncontrolled genetic engineering modification. From the severe environment damage, the humanity's standards of living are greatly compromised.  Especially, water pollution has a great emphasis in the setting of Oryx and Crake, relating to a serious plague that has left the protagonist, Jimmy who might be the last man of humanity. 

I came to a moment of self realization about the connection between the setting of the novel to our real world. Humans continue to push technology forward at the expense of the environment. Of course, our collective reason for doing so is to make our lives more comfortable. However, many studies and images easily found on internet reveal the damage that we are doing to the environmental in this pursuit of comfort. Atwood specifically illustrated her setting and the conflict that deals with the environmental problems that is starting to appear as our technology leaps forward with time. 

Oryx and Crake Second Entry

As I got over the introduction of Oryx and Crake, I started to realize Snowman's identity and his background through the narrative flashback. So far in the book, I was introduced to Snowman, also known as Jimmy who is the protagonist. He is left alone in the wilderness where he seems bored but used to living the way he lives. Crake is mentioned several times in Jimmy's monologue, who seems like the creator of the world Jimmy is living in. Jimmy also reveals a hint that Crake was his friend back in the days, which was enough to draw my attention. A serious conflict is not presented yet however, a conflict between man and the environment is foreshadowed in his monologue describing "the world Crake has made".  I personally thought the introduction of the novel way in was quite dreamlike. The setting of woods and wilderness with Jimmy alone has created a mysterious and somewhat suspenseful atmosphere. It also reminded me of the setting of The Hunger Game,where it took place in an artificial wilderness. It seems to me that the description of the setting will be revealed as the story continues on. (guessing by the chapter headings) The setting of Dysotopian future is not only new and strange for the readers as we get to know more about it, but simultaneously, it is narrated in a tone of familiarness illustrated by Jimmy. I believe the setting plays a major role in the construction of the novel and I will learn more in depth as I continue reading. 

Personal Inquiry Blog Entry

I have chosen a dystopian novel Oryx and Crake written by Margaret Atwood for many interesting reasons. For the past years, I have found myself deeply interested by scientific or political novels that deals with dystopian society that takes place in the future. Novels such as The Giver by Lois Lowry and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card are some of the novels I enjoyed reading apart from academic purposes. I am quite excited to learn from these group activities and trying out new approaches in studying novels for high school English class. I hope to learn not only how to effectively use twitter to advertise our blog, but also to learn to connect the theme and motif of the book to our present world, by ourselves in group without the teacher's explanation and instructions (spoon feeding students). For the inquiry question, I would be interested to study further and get to know more about Atwood's perspective on scientific developments of our present society.