Oryx And Crake Quotes

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. Although being

He proves to be unsuccessful as the Crakers start being curious about themselves. “‘You don’t get it,’ said Crake, in his you-are-a-moron voice. ‘That stuff’s been edited out.’ ‘Well, actually, they did ask,” said Oryx. ‘Today they asked who made them.’” (chapter 12, page 311) This quote shows that even before the deadly epidemic, the Crakers asked a question that forms the basis of almost all theology. The Crakers eventually develop the belief that Crake is their god and that Snowman is their prophet. “Crake thought he’d done away with all that…God is a cluster of neurons, he’d maintained…They’re up to something though, something Crake didn’t anticipate: they’re conversing with the invisible, they’ve developed reverence.” (Atwood, 157) Atwood presents the Children of Crake as a primitive society starting to develop their own belief system – a liturgy in crescendo – despite Crake’s thunderous efforts to eliminate credence. “We knew we could call you, and you would hear us and come back.” (Atwood, 361). Wishing for Snowman’s safe return, the Crakers create an icon of him and celebrate it in a call for his safe return, demonstrating varying levels of religious worship—a call-and-response is reminiscent of the Catholic mass, they worship an idol, and use language that recalls that of Judeo-Christian religion. Snowman’s

“Hierarchy could not exist among them, because they lacked the neural complexes that would have created it … there was no territoriality: the king-of-the-castle hard-wiring that had plagued humanity had, in them, been unwired.” (Atwood, 305) Crake thinks that the Crakers do not the ability to put one another in a chain of command but this is proven untrue when Snowman sees the traits of hierarchy in the Crakers when Crake is gone. “‘Let us come too! We want to see Crake!’ ‘Only Snowman can ever see Crake,’ Abraham Lincoln says mildly. That seems to settle it.” (Atwood, 160). This proves that the Craker named Abraham Lincoln has assumed a leadership type role in the group and that the rest of the Crakers listen to him. “… He’s getting to be a bit of a leader, that one. Watch out for the leaders, Crake used to say. First the leaders and the led, then the tyrants and the slaves, then the massacres. That’s how it’s always gone” (Atwood, 184). This quotation is talking about Abraham Lincoln once again and it shows Crake’s point of view on why hierarchy is bad for the world. Humanity is what leads to murder and death according to Crake: if someone leads, it will eventually end badly for the rest of the people. Atwood further puts emphasis on this viewpoint again later on in the book. “Next they’d be inventing idols, … and kings, and then slavery and war.” (Atwood,