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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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