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Ethics, Morals And Survival In Margaret Atwood's Oryx And Crake

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The Intersection of Ethics, Morals and Survival in Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake Ethics and moral constructs can be insensibly distorted due to one's surroundings. In times of exigency, a build-up of emotions becomes confined within the brain resulting augmentation of compulsion. Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake portrays a world on the cusp of disaster due to the unchecked power of corporations and where moral and ethical standards depend on survival in times of crisis. There becomes a point in a juncture where the sense of survival unconsciously overrides one's ethical and moral beliefs. This can be analyzed through strenuous event themes in Oryx and Crake together with genetically modified organisms and exploiting the environment for their …show more content…

Corporations including OrganInc, RejoovenEsense, HelthWyzer, and AnooYoo engage in the destruction of things such as cutting forests and polluting waterways to create a profit. The consequences of engaging in such actions are portrayed through the protagonist's recollection of flashbacks and memories, underscoring the danger of placing financial gain above moral and ecological considerations. He is forced to live in a world that has been destroyed by environmental catastrophe as the sole surviving human. “Naturally they develop the antidotes at the same time as they’re customizing the bugs, but they hold those in reserve, they practice the economics of scarcity, so they’re guaranteed high profits”. (Atwood 211) The quote implies that corporations engage in a deliberate strategy of manufacturing problems that they can later capitalize on by offering solutions. This approach places profitability ahead of ethical considerations, as companies deliberately withhold treatments to create shortages and maximize profits. This statement underscores the intricate interplay between corporate interests and ethical considerations, underscoring how corporations may prioritize financial gain over the well-being of people and society at large. It raises essential issues about corporate accountability regarding the products they produce and the possible implications of their actions on society. The dangers of allowing corporations to value profit over ethical and moral considerations are displayed in Atwood’s

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In The Crucible, John Proctor the protagonist, becomes a victim of the witch trials when his wife Elizabeth, is accused of witchcraft. In order to free his wife, Proctor must convince Judge Danforth of his wife’s innocence. Judge Danforth does not sign condemnations lightly and takes meticulous inspection of his cases to determine the guilty party. He is also a highly religious man who takes matters between God and men seriously. It is because of Danforth’s dedication to the law and God that Proctor utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade him.

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“On the more modern ‘genes eye view’, evolution may appear to proceed in the interest of the individual, or for the good of the species, but in fact it is all driven by the competition between genes.” (Blackmore 35) All of these corporations that compete to exploit people for their money are only interested in profit. They do not care about the needs of others but only the needs of the company and themselves. Restricting the public resources that we need is not just taking advantage of these people but tossing them aside, demeaning them as not even human beings.

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Ever since the creation of life on earth, humans have tried to achieve one thing and one thing only: perfection. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “The condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects.” In a modern world, the concept of perfection has been distorted and generates an abundance of seemingly negative consequences, ultimately putting into question whether or not perfection is even possible. This striving for perfection is seen in Oryx and Crake, a novel written by Margaret Atwood. Crake’s idealistic personality and intelligence capabilities ultimately led him to replace the human population with a modified version that is free from all the negative aspects of humans.

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How do the Values and Morals that individuals choose to uphold help define personal identity and also affect the wider community? The Values and Morals upheld by Individuals within the progression of the play The Crucible allows for a further understanding of the individuals personal identity, and consequently affects the relationships of these Individuals. The values and morals of an individual determine how they’ll react to a situation as the play progresses, whilst the personal identity of an individual is the personality, and roles within the community that the individual associates himself with. The perception of individuals by the community of Salem is heavily reliant upon the shared understanding of the values and morals of individuals

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INTRODUCTION My research question for this essay is “How can M.A.’s novel ’Oryx and Crake’ be seen as a critique towards modern society?” I have chosen to use this research question, because I find it interesting how literature can be used as a medium to warn society against what could happen, if we do not take action and just let things evolve. The book ‘1984’ written by George Orwell is similar to the book chosen here, since they both, according to how both novels fall into the post-apocalyptic genre, can be interpreted as a warning to our present society about letting technology take over, and letting technological development be more important than developing human qualities. This essay will investigate how the novel can fall into the genre post-apocalyptic fiction based on the characteristics of the genre and the characteristics of the book.

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Margaret Atwood’s contemporary novel, Oryx and Crake, is not only a chillingly dystopian tale, but a warning about our future. Atwood immerses the reader into a post-apocalyptic setting, which Snowman, the lone survivor of humanity, must navigate to understand what has taken place. To create a believable futuristic world, Atwood strays from the typical science fiction notions of advanced technology and space travel, and focuses on the elements of our current society that concern her for our future. Atwood’s rendition of the future clearly voices her viable concerns regarding the increasing power of corporations, unrealistic beauty standards, and the undervaluing of the humanities. In Oryx and Crake, corporations have overthrown the government

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(Johnson , 2014 ) In this case , it shows that under normal circumstances the management level of a company or corporation will choose to hide the truth over honesty and integrity .In other way , profitability has override the important of ethics in the corporation .

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This movie “Erin Brockovich” present few number of business ethical issues. This film is based on true story and demonstrates few business ethical issues for their own profit. The movie describes the story of Erin Brockovich who is a struggling single mother who becomes connected to Ed Masry’s law firm because of an unfortunate car accident, and begins working at the law firm out of desperation for an income. As she spends time filing papers as a clerk, she becomes interested in the human nature of the medical cases and persuades Ed Masry to allow her to investigate further. Erin spends numerous hours examining these cases and finds a link to between the community members of Hinkley, CA and a company by the name of Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), who have a plant in Hinkley.

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Introduction The key ethical issues that were presented in this case study were quality control, lack of customer care, responsiveness, and harming the customer. The Johnson and Johnson case may have been seen as a turning point due to many things the company did right. However, there were many ethical issues in this case which will be explored more throughout this paper.

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