NEW THESIS: Atwood’s use of dark humor and absurdity in Oryx and Crake is effective in shedding light on societal issues and induces a sense of climate consciousness, especially in the aftermath of a post covid world.

Jergenson, C. (2019). Negative Utopianism and Catastrophe in Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam Trilogy. Utopian Studies, 30(3), 486–504. https://doi.org/10.5325/utopianstudies.30.3.0486

This piece talks about the entirety of the MaddAddam Trilogy and how a core skill used to depict a positive reality. Negative Urbanism (related to tragicomedy as it presents dark themes often in an exaggerated way) is used to show that the ideas associated with a stereotypical utopia provide a false sense of stability surrounding the outcome for the climate crisis. At times, the author does specify Oryx and Crake with the creation of the Crakers providing a basis for utopian neutralization, making this a great fit for establishing what makes a utopia, just that.

Akşehi̇r Uygur, M. (2014). Utopia and Dystopia Intertwined: The Problem of Ecology in Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, the Year of the Flood and Maddadddam. Journal of International Social Research, 7(31), 41–48. https://research.ebsco.com/c/lyrnq6/viewer/pdf/bdmmlgsxcz

This text also talks about the entirety of the MaddAddam Trilogy. The stains of humanity are left behind and serve as reminders of a disjointed past with a bleak future. Adam’s choice to use a standard climate setting around the turn of the climax and the escalation to total annihilation of the human race is a reflection of her concerns about where the climate will be not too long after when the book is set. Oryx and Crake implies that the dystopia set up from the events that take place turns into a utopia but the last entry in the trilogy confirms it. This can help me further develop my basis for one “topia” relying on the other and build on justifying why such a relationship is true.,

Akhter, T. (2021). COVID-19 Pandemic and Apocalyptic Literature: An Analysis of Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake at the time of Coronavirus. Arab World English Journal, 1, 235–243. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/covid.18

The main point is to speak on the real world parallels of the events of Oryx and Crake with the Covid-19 pandemic. It addresses the relationship between science and the arts throughout the novel; science was prioritized over the arts with those gifted with stem skills pursuing successful careers. Humanity ended up being responsible for its own demise, despite how many intelligent workhorses were present among society. The decisions of the intelligent minority outweighed the target demographic of the minority. I feel any thesis surrounding this text should revolve around such a revelation on academic resourcefulness, and might tweak my thesis to be allowed to include this smoothly.

Zakiyah Tasnim. (2025). Storytelling as Environmental Discourse in Oryx and Crake: Climate Change and the Hope for Survival. Canadian Journal of Language and Literature Studies, 5(5)1.https://doi.org/10.53103/cjlls.v5i5.226

This literary review emphasises the importance of Snowman clinging to memories and feelings of a not so distant past. Atwood’s storytelling is not just a world of fiction, but a mirror of reality and what has a likely chance of happening no matter how outlandish it may seem. While Atwood is telling a story, Snowman is also telling a story (to the Crakers), and he serves as the physical bridge between past and present. This serves as a great connection to distinguish the state of the human mindset between two totally different realities, which can serve as great support to the societal issue aspect of my thesis.

Did Margaret Atwood’s portrayal of a pandemic in “Oryx and Crake” prove to be an accurate scenario of a doomsday event?

Right off the bat, Jenny Offil’s Weather shows itself to be a slice of life story, following the routine and daily inconveniences of a mom living in an active city. We are introduced to her emotional and physical obligations as a mother as well as her own ambitions and views of the world around her. It is from this perspective that makes it clear that Weather is a combination of a few things. It is a story of comparison, regret, and untapped potential. 

We travel through the text through the eyes of a loving mother just trying to get by day to day. Her life isn’t bad by any means; she has the support of her husband and is living a life many probably would envy. However, on par with everyone else, she is dealt the hand of life; a brother with a previous history with drugs and the challenge of quality schooling for her kid in a big city, among other things. As we are introduced to Lizzie’s college campus library job in Chapter One, it’s clear she is so over with dealing with the somewhat irrelevant issues and nuances that come with the job. Additionally, I feel as though she is often having an internal conflict with herself; parents with different interests for their kids than her own come to mind. She prioritizes her son’s childlike whimsy over his preparation for his later years as opposed to some of the other parents teaching their kids other skills; learning new languages and hiring tutors are a few things that come to mind. 

As Chapter One progresses, it gives off the impression that Lizzie has some sort of a hero complex; she tries to fill the hole of her own disappointments with the distraction of “helping others”. Her brother and his spouse come off as a charity case; two recovering addicts that at any point could relapse. Mr. Jimmy and his car service is an exemplary example of this complex. Lizzie is the only one who patronizes him and his car company because she “feels bad”. It doesn’t make much logical sense. An inner city couple spending additional money on a pricey car service just to keep said owner satisfied with owning a failing business doesn’t seem right. I think it makes her feel better about herself; a way of stopping her from looking into the mirror of her own life. 

(Apologies for the late post)

Undoubtedly one of the most important things a person should take care of is their mind. It helps us think, process information, and is the driving force behind our decision making. In many cases, we’ve seen the result of people whose mental justice isn’t all there, whether that be from the daily grind of life or circumstances beyond their control. In a nutshell, life can be rough and chapter two of Offill’s “Weather” highlights how influential information can be to molding your mind.

As we continue to follow Lizzie’s day to day, it’s evident that life is becoming increasingly more sporadic from Chapter One. Offill’s inclusion of the many emails sent to Sylvia are a great way of indicating how someone can change the way they think from consuming information. The initial questions from the first chapter were engaging and encouraged long, constructive answers; meanwhile the questions posed in the second chapter convey a sense of dread and despair, and in turn produce answers following the same formula. “What are the best ways to prepare my children for the upcoming chaos?” (Page 92). It’s common for a variety of people to think in a similar fashion to what they consume (figuratively) on a daily basis, and I believe Lizzie is a victim of this. 

Chapter Two sees Lizzie seeing the world through a dark looking glass. She has a recurring dream of her addict brother dying at her place and feels out of place at her job for not holding a degree unlike her other colleges. With this in mind, Offill’s use of scenery and state of being is a good combination to analyze Lizzie’s degrading mental state. There are several occurrences when Offill mentions the season; towards the end of Chapter One the Fourth of July brings about a joyous summer season for the family(albeit in their own creative way) while the end of Chapter Two leaves us in a fall shower. “It’s pouring when I come out of the subway station…Am I crying?”  To add insult to injury, she expresses what seems like heavy regret for her life choices up to this point stating “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can’t seem to stop making bad decisions…My main bad decision is spending too much time travelling or being a fake shrink while ignoring the people I live with.” She’s becoming noticeably distant at home and not very satisfied with her excursions with Sylvia via her job; seems to me the things she comes into contact with regularly are indeed taking a huge toll on her mental health.

What is language? Does it have a solid definition or is it always evolving? Some would say it’s the combination of sounds, and symbols that connect all living organisms to one another. There might be more to that however; the concept isn’t just black and white. Regardless, being able to communicate with one another to convey thoughts and actions is an immeasurable skill that should not be taken for granted.

Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide shines a glaring light over language from the very beginning. Right out of the gate we are introduced to Kanai, a seemingly snarky polyglot translator and Piya, a transplant prepared only with her knowledge of English and a laminated flashcard. Besides her attire and baggage, it is quite clear to Kanai that Piya is a foreigner solely from her accent and lackluster attempts at speaking Bengali. It’s shown that those two oral characteristics allow others to read her like a book. However, it should be noted that this potential language barrier is not the end all for Piya’s journey. On numerous occasions her broken Bengali and exchanges of body language have helped her traverse the Sundarbans.  The application of charades through body movement and critical thinking to communicate with others is highlighted in these interactions and undoubtedly tack on a layer to the arguably general definition of language.

I wanted to somehow find a connection between language and the environment, but based on what I’ve read so far, I can’t make such a point. I did however find the conditions of the settings of the book both interesting and astonishing. Lusibari is described as a slum; lack of electricity (besides the donated generator that’s active a few hours a night), little to no household amenities like a shower and tub, and shabby homes, among other things. The description of the waterways traveled by Piya stood out as well, especially when she fell into the thick, muddy, cloudy water during her encounter with the fisherman. Granted, it’s revealed that weather patterns are a cause of the state of this region but I tend to wonder whether humans are to blame; Is Lusibari a victim of the Anthropocene? wink wink.

All in all, I feel that the constant mention of language throughout the text emphasizes it’s importance in not only progressing the story along, but also shows it’s relevance in our day to day. Ghosh’s use of language in a place of despair such as Lusibari allows for an effective reflection on the Anthropocene and provokes thought about its causes.