Neurodivergence In Oryx And Crake By Margaret Atwood

Neurodivergence in Literature

Throughout literature, neurotypical characters have always been prevalent. It is only in recent years that atypical characters have become more common. Representation is an important part of literature that often gets forgotten, especially in regards to disabilities. Two books in particular have different and positive ways to involve disabilities, both of which add to the story and give an accurate but enjoyable reflection of neurodivergence. These are The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, and both will be further analyzed in the following paragraphs.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is by far the simpler of the two

He is inflexible, making life more difficult for those around him, and he has rituals which he follows to the letter - even if they’re detrimental to his life. For example, the amount of red or yellow cars he sees on the way to school affects his behaviour throughout the rest of the day, even on some days choosing to stay in a corner and not talk to anyone. These patterns are irrational, unlike most of Christopher’s thoughts, and yet they follow a clear pattern. Mark Haddon’s depiction of Christopher is realistic and intended to paint him as a human first and foremost, if an atypical

It builds a unique world from the base up, with a new breed of humans specifically engineered to be effective instead of creative. All of the new world is possible because of one person: Crake. He is described as brilliant but odd within the second paragraph of his introduction, and displays symptoms consistent with Asperger’s syndrome. It is never explicitly stated that he is neurodivergent in the novel, only implied, but it nevertheless is a core part of the story and eventually changes the fate of the world. Like Christopher Boone, Crake is intelligent but socially lacking, and both stay relatively friendless throughout the course of the story. Crake is fortunate in that he has a best friend: Jimmy, the protagonist. Fans of the novel speculate that Jimmy is the only person Crake ever trusted, which is why he allowed Jimmy to lead his creations into a new