Franks, Nadia-Terese Laguna. “‘Belief Rather Than a Memory’: The Relationship Between Gender and Trauma in Margaret Atwood’s ≪Em≫Oryx and Crake≪/Em≫” C21 Literature, vol. 11, no. 1, July 2024, https://doi.org/10.16995/c21.8735. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.

Research Question: How does Atwood challenge the norms of love and sexuality in her novel Oryx and Crake?

Works Cited:

In terms of databases, I first consulted the Hunter Library site. I am very familiar with this site and have used it in the past for previous research papers; therefore, I felt most comfortable searching here first. The majority of my sources (#1, #2, #3, and #5) were found on this website. I found one of my sources (#4) on Google Scholar. I was first introduced to Google Scholar in high school, but never really used it in college. That is the only source that I am not entirely sure is peer-reviewed. I prefer using the Hunter Library site because it’s much more accessible (ability to pin resources, lists if a source is peer-reviewed, and takes only a few clicks to get full free access to articles). In terms of keywords, I used “Oryx and Crake”, “Love”, and “Sexuality”. When I searched up Oryx and Crake, that was when I got the most results, but had to manually look through the sources in order to find what I believe would be relevant to my topic. After looking through Hunter’s website, I switched to Google Scholar to see if I could find more options (but was not able to find much regarding my topic in specific). Lastly, before possibly using these sources, I have to double-check the dates and read them more thoroughly, of course!

In chapter 2, Lizzie seems to be feeling the pressure of responsibility from the essence of motherhood. She’s constantly worrying about the dog, taking care of Eli, and looking after Henry and Catherine. Even as she’s involved with soothing the dog, she thinks, “There’s some antibacterial soap Ben bought last week at the dollar store. It’s a bright pink. Don’t use antibacterial soap!” All the care she has for those in her life and the small observations she makes all lead her to think about health and the state of the Earth, tying back into the bigger picture of what’s going to happen to humans in the near future. Lizzie also mentions how Ben told her about Greek culture and how “…it has historically been considered both a duty and an honor to take care of strangers.” I think Lizzie feels this way towards those in her life. Like motherly duty, she considers it necessary to take care of those in her life deeply, maybe because of the uncertainty of what will become of humans in the end. She does not particularly have a religious faith or some sort of religious principle to guide her through life, which is why, perhaps, she chooses the role of motherhood as her way of survival, to get through the mundanity of life. But rather than being of her own choice, I think she feels obligated to fulfill the duties of this role, to stay close to her loved ones, to feel like she has a purpose on earth. I think she also feels validated through this “role,” in that it is the only way her voice can be heard by the people in her life. Lizzie tells us, “My main bad decision is spending too much time traveling…while ignoring the people I live with.” This, to me, indicates that she feels entrapped by her circumstances of looking over everyone, as a motherly figure, and requires more time for herself. But when she’s by herself, she’s clouded with pessimistic thoughts on the environment. Yet, when she tries to share some of her concerns, she gets shut out. For example, Lizzie says, “…I was forced to learn about something called “climate departure,” and later, at bedtime, when he was half asleep, I was forced to tell Ben about it…I only believe in math, he mumbled.” Clearly, Lizzie cannot stop thinking about the implications of climate, and when it gets to a point where she cannot bottle up her thoughts anymore, she tries to find closure with Ben. However, she’s met with denial and ignorance. At least through Lizzie’s point of view, it feels like Ben is not on the same level of concern as she is about what will become of the planet. At the end of the chapter, Lizzie asks, “Why don’t they farm deer?” to which Sylvia responds, “It’s because they panic when penned.” I saw this as a symbol of how Lizzie feels confined within her motherly role. I think she’s starting to realize her disdain of feeling trapped within her own life, not having any outlet to express her concerns about the climate, and feeling obligated to take care of everyone’s problems, when there isn’t anyone to rid her of pessimistic thoughts.

How is heteronormativity of gender and sexuality reflected in the love triangle between Jimmy, Crake, and Oryx in Oryx and Crake?

Similar to a previous discussion of mine on one of my discussion posts, I am interested in exploring the interesting dynamic that conflicts with the relationships between these three characters. I want to connect it to the idea of heteronormativity and explain how I think this idea projects throughout the entire novel.

It seems to me that Offill intentionally employs a diary-like writing structure to reflect the wavering human mind and the unknown, ever-changing aspect of weather. Lizzie seems to constantly have someone or something on her mind that distracts her at every given moment. Her thoughts, I feel, relate to the literalness of the changing climate and human progression. She is clouded by several impending thoughts of doom, as well as those who surround her life, just like how the weather is unpredictable. Natural disasters, temperature, seasons, and the daylight cycle are all naturally occurring, yet all happen unknowingly and simultaneously. Sometimes they can be predicted, but the weather is one of the aspects of the earth that cannot be directly altered by humankind. It’s just like how Lizzie cannot help but worry about her family, relatives, friends, coworkers, and even strangers. She acknowledges their struggles and wishes to help everyone, but just like the weather, she can only try but not directly change all their life issues. She does her best to lend a helping hand to all the people in her life, but in all honesty, she is struggling with her own problems. The world is very chaotic in Lizzie’s view, which is reflected in how the novel is written, almost as if we are looking into her brain, noting everything that she is concerned about at random intervals of time. And, especially after she took on the responsibility of answering the Hell and High Water questions, it has only increased her concerns about climate change and how it’s going to affect human life. Offill states, “My # 1 fear is the acceleration of days. No such thing supposedly, but I swear I can feel it.” Lizzie makes a note that she can feel the impending doom of how fast time is going. While she’s listening to Eli speak and feeding the dog, she cannot help but have thoughts on what is going to become of the earth and human society. Lizzie also often thinks about her age and how she’s getting old. Offill states, “‘It’s my birthday tomorrow. “Now you are officially middle-aged,” says my coworker who carries around the X-rays. She has never liked me because I don’t have a proper degree.'” When it’s Lizzie’s birthday, she makes a note about the comment that her coworker makes about her growing age. I believe that she takes offense to this, as she immediately tells us that this coworker never particularly liked her. Lizzie makes a lot of comments about her own age, such as how she should stop dressing up like the young students at campus and how old people are constantly concerned about how all of their actions will stick with them forever. I feel that Lizzie is going through a sort of “emotional weather,” in which she faces the unknown and is afraid of what will become of the planet. She navigates this concern through her daily life, and it can be seen in how it reflects in her relationships with Ben, Eli, Henry, and Sylvia. She is exploring this unsteady feeling in her everyday life, being greatly concerned about how the climate is changing the world every second. There are also religious depictions in the novel, as seen through the questions that people send through the podcast, which makes Lizzie think even deeper about the end of the world. It does not appear that she’s strictly religious or follows a faith, but she seems to be looking for meaning and purpose in life, or rather a concept to believe in, that can relieve her of worry about climate.