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Faustian Dreams and Apocalypse in Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake

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Faustian Dreams and Apocalypse in Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake Faustian Dreams and Apocalypse in Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake ] ————————————————— GIUSEPPINA BOTTA Introduction FTER THE DISCOVERY of the deoxyribonucleic acid molecule on a cold February morning in 1953, the scientist James D. Watson had a great intuition: “DNA, as Crick and I appreciated, holds the A 1 very key to the nature of living things.” He was right, since the discovery of DNA has enabled the understanding of the mechanisms of the genes, which regulate the vital cycle of all cells. Furthermore, the achievements of molecu- lar biology have allowed to isolate, analyze, and manipulate DNA molecules, creating a technology which has modified all fields of experimental biology: from cellular biology to biochemistry, from genetics to physiology. The possi- bility of directly affecting fundamental human faculties implies, on the one hand, a reconsideration of certain aspects of the concept of the body in itself, and, on the other, a new definition of the border between the spontaneous and the artificial. Margaret Atwood builds the plot of Oryx and Crake (2003) around the extreme consequences of an excessive and unscrupulous exploita- tion of genetic engineering. Futuristic themes are not a brand-new topic in the author’s literary produc- tion. Atwood, in The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), had previously created a narra- tive universe projected on a future society and, in particular, on the conse- quences of a military and theocratic regime controlling every aspect of peo- ple’s lives, including maternity, which turns out to be both the rarest and the 1 James D. Watson & Andrew Berry, DNA: The Secret of Life (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003): vi. 244 G IUSEPPINA B OTTA ] most longed-for. In Oryx and Crake, however, despite the future projection, there is no trace of a societal and governmental structure, with the narrative focused on the dramatic consequences of a wild use of bio-engineering. The aim of my essay, starting from the discovery of DNA and passing through the most advanced products of genetic engineering and the myth of Faust, con- sists in analyzing the effects of this unscrupulous use of zoe which turns out to suggest a dehumanized and too mechanized vision of the human body. Once upon a time there was DNA In Oryx and Crake, Atwood weaves a story of a near future, a speculative and satirical look at where our world might be heading. The novel opens with a question contained in the epigraph from To the Lighthouse, which lies at the bases of the whole work, a ‘what-if scenario’, where the protagonist moves in quest of safety, searching for a guide, a shelter, and faces all the consequences of an unchecked use of biotechnology. The novel, in fact, “projects a world defamiliarized not through military or state power but through the abuse of scientific knowledge, where genetic engineering has created transgenic mon- sters and humanoid creatures in a post-apocalyptic scenario,”2 in which one last man attempts to both survive and adapt. The borderline between the pre- and post-apocalyptic world is clear, as well as the split within the protagonist’s self. At the start of the novel, he is introduced as Snowman, a name which recalls isolation, solitude, but also oneiric and unreal atmospheres. The Abominable Snowman is, according to legend, an unidentified creature, part-man and part-ape, wandering about woods or forests. First of all, the protagonist shares a sense of solitude and isola- tion with this creature due to his being the last specimen of a supposedly extinct species; his diversity arouses the curiosity of the Crakers, especially the young- sters, who frequently ask him questions about his origin and are fascinated by his stories. The decision to adopt the name of a creature halfway between the human and the animal also suggests the protagonist’s internal crisis, which has led him to create a new identity. He feels alienated from both the trans- formed world and the new living species. The omission of the adjective ‘Abominable’, concealed by Snowman/Jimmy as “his own secret hair shirt,”3 2 Coral Ann Howells, “Margaret Atwood’s Dystopian Visions: The Handmaid’s Tale and Oryx and Crake,” in The Cambridge Companion to Margaret Atwood, ed. Coral Ann How- ells (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2006): 163. 3 Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake (London: Virago, 2003): 8. Further page references are in the main text. .
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