Our discussion in class on Thursday sparked an interesting debate regarding “intelligence.” As a species we view intelligence as something that separates us from the animals, as humans. The ability to think and process information in an intelligent manner is what makes us humans. Often times, we only consider those who are meticulous, logical, rational, and mathematically-minded to be “intelligent” in our culture. Continue reading
Something that really stuck out to me in our discussion on Thursday was our construction of what defines intelligence, whether we are referencing human or machine. How we define intelligence in a broad sense directly correlates to the legitimization or rejection of artificial intelligence. Continue reading
As a biology student, it was very hard for me to resist saying on Thursday what a human actually ‘is’. We are defined by our genetic code, not our actions. Our status as species Homo Sapiens is confirmed by our ability to produce viable offspring with other Homo Sapiens rather than other creatures. In biology, it is remarkably easy to disregard action and focus on solely DNA. Continue reading
“‘All it takes,’ said Crake, ‘is the elimination of one generation. One generation of anything. Beetles, trees, microbes, scientists, speakers of French, whatever. Break the link in time between one generation and the next, and it’s game over forever.’”
- Margaret Atwood, Oryx & Crake
This is my favorite line from the novel. It sounds as though Crake has thought this out. At first, I read this and accepted it as truth figuring, “Yeah, that sounds about right.” I still agree with the quote but I reread it a few times and realized that coupled with the Crakers’ inevitable knowledge of the arts, Crake’s quote is more a symbol of Jimmy’s willingness to accept whatever Crake says. Crake never looks at how life may die out but it’s continuously changing and adapting. Jimmy never raises this question either, despite how astute he appears to be. I think this speaks to the definitive manner in which Crake must have uttered these words. Appealing to Jimmy’s emotions by appearing as the dead serious science-type. Continue reading
Five or Six weeks into the course, Hayles’ opening comment that first-wave cybernetics conveys that “boundaries of the human subject are constructed rather than given” (84). In Never Let Me Go the characters had completely conformed to the strangling society that they couldn’t escape from; in The Stone Gods the boundaries that Billie saw as defining what a human was were constantly being questioned by the reader as simple constructions that were prevalent in society; and in Oryx and Crake, Snowman seems bound to the humanity that has been built around him. Continue reading
Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake presents many of the overarching themes that we discuss in our class. The idea of a human in the post-apocalyptic world is exhibited in the character of Snowman. This character intrigued me the most as a reader, especially his constant commentary on human life and existence once all the others are gone. There is one quote from the novel that stood out to me while I was reading and it is in regard to Snowman’s emotions. The narrator states, “these things sneak up on him for no reason, these flashes of irrational happiness. It’s probably a vitamin deficiency” (Atwood41). Continue reading
Throughout the novel, references to a time passed are often made to suggest a reality before such instant gratifications and such easy accessibility to information was possible. It is this construct of a time before the novel, that enlightens the reader into the post-modern concepts that deal with deconstruction of art, language and history. Continue reading
One of the themes I’ve so far found most interesting in Oryx and Crake is the melding of human and animal characteristics. Early in the novel, we are informed of Jimmy’s father’s different occupations in various compounds, and the importance of the pigoons in his endeavors. The animals, which are essentially genetically modified pigs, exist for the sole purpose of growing human organs for harvesting. At OrganInc, Jimmy’s father oversees this procedure. At NooSkins, they manufacture new human skin to replace old the old and aged. Later, he successfully grows a human cortex in a pigeon. Continue reading
With the Children of Crake, there is a landscape of peace, “all admirably good-natured,” (169) or according to Snowman/Jimmy very boring. What I find interesting about Atwood’s representation of ‘posthuman’ is how much their society appears to represent elements of a feminist utopia, which I will complicate and I emphasize that it appears to represent a feminist utopia – not that it actually is. Continue reading
In class on Thursday we noted how both Oryx and Crake as well as The Stone Gods depict a future in which life is dominated by oppressive corporations who destroy the environment. There seemed some consensus that these dystopian worlds were a somewhat exaggerated product of literary imagination, that things most likely would not get that bad. I argue that modern American society is already as bad as the portrayal seen in those works. Continue reading