What does it mean to be human?

The representation of society and religion in 's dystopian The Handmaid's Tale, and

Diplomarbeit

zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades einer Magistra der Philosophie an der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz

vorgelegt von

Marina Tomic am Institut für Anglistik Begutachter: Ao. Univ. - Prof. Mag. Dr. phil. Martin Löschnigg

Graz, 2012

To those who lovingly supported me throughout my entire studies. You know who you are. Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION 5

2 FROM UTOPIA TO 7

3 THE HANDMAID'S TALE 14

3.1 Setting and historical connections 14

3.2 Religion 15

3.3 Women's roles 17

3.4 Men's Roles 19

3.5 Gilead's power politics 21

3.6 Resistance movements 28

3.7 Epigraphs and Historical Notes 30

3.8 Conclusion 32

4 ORYX AND CRAKE 34

4.1 36

4.2 Power and freedom 40

4.3 Environmentalism 42

4.4 Religion 43

4.5 Ethics and Humanity 44

4.6 Science vs. the humanities 45

4.7 The main characters 47

4.8 Conclusion 50

5 THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD 51

5.1 Religion 51

5.2 The Pleeblands 57

5.3 The CorpSeCorps 59

5.4 Genetic engineering/technology vs. Nature 61

5.5 Women in The Year of the Flood 63

5.6 The main characters 65

5.7 Conclusion 69

6 COMPARISON OF ATWOOD'S DYSTOPIAN NOVELS 70

6.1 Religion 70

6.2 Environmentalism 71

6.3 Survival 72

6.4 Humanity 74

6.5 The Endings 75

6.6 What does it mean to be human? 76

7 CONCLUSION 76

8 BIBLIOGRAPHY 80

1 Introduction

The days are gone. Only one day remains, the one you're in. - Margaret Atwood, A Visit

Margaret Atwood, a renowned Canadian writer, has received numerous awards, including the Booker Prize for in 2000. In 1985, she published her globally acclaimed first dystopian The Handmaid’s Tale. Though a successful novel, she took a break from dystopian novels until 2003 when she released the first part of a dystopian trilogy with the first novel titled Oryx and Crake. Atwood published The Year of the Flood1, the second part of the MaddAddam trilogy, in 2009 and will release the final installment in 2013 (Online, 2012). In this thesis, I will discuss Atwood’s dystopian novels The Handmaid’s Tale, Oryx and Crake, and The Year of the Flood. By writing in the dystopian tradition, Atwood attempts to raise awareness about the flaws and errors of our society that might eventually lead to catastrophic situations, as depicted in her nightmarish novels. In these three novels, Atwood represents different visions of a terrifying future, namely an extremist theocracy in HT, and a world governed by genetic engineering and consumerism in the first two parts of the trilogy. Already in HT, she alerts her reader to issues such as pollution and environmental destruction, which is led even further in OC and YF. Atwood claims that “we’ve run out of stuff […] It’s a people issue, and it cuts across all our categories. The problem is huge” (Online, 2012). The shocking images Atwood creates in our minds of a world where nature has been exploited to the extremes, leaving behind ruins and a society that has eradicated basic human rights, causes the reader to contemplate our contemporary world and our responsibility to prevent such disastrous visions from becoming true. HT, which was written in the 1980s, deals with the issue of a fanatic religion gone too far, still a very current and pressing topic in 2012 – perhaps even more than 30 years ago. Everything that occurs in the novels is taken from existing trends and issues and is not an invention of Atwood’s brilliant imagination. Of course, she has taken theses issues to the extreme in order to open her readers’ eyes to what the course of the future might be if we do not act in time. In this thesis, I want to take a closer look at these dystopian societies created by Margaret Atwood as a warning of a bleak future. One of the main topics, particularly in HT, is misuse of religion, which I will investigate. In her later works, especially in YF, Atwood again takes up the

1 The titles will be referred to as HT (The Handmaid’s Tale), OC (Oryx and Crake), and YF (The Year oft he Flood). 5 topic of religion, but in a different way. With the background of Margaret Atwood as a feminist writer, I will also examine the distinction between the roles of female and male characters, which is particularly striking in HT as it illustrates a misogynistic society dominated by men. In an attempt to understand and illustrate the structures of a dystopian society, a detailed analysis of the societal aspects that form such a society will be made. In order to grasp the idea of the dystopian genre, there will be a chapter to clarify the term and provide examples of other similar works. Various other prevailing issues in OC and YF, such as genetic engineering, power, ethics, humanity, environmentalism, will be explored in order to obtain a clearer and more understandable picture of the society. In the final chapters, I will endeavour to compare these three novels, which are closely linked as they all represent a dystopian world, but are also quite different. The question “What does it mean to be human?” more or less permeates all three novels as it questions the humaneness of individuals deprived of all basic human rights, feelings, and individuality. Additionally, the human race is replaced by a race of humanoid creatures that, according to their creator, are more suitable to sustain the world than the current humans. Ultimately, this analysis will attempt to obtain a better understanding of the dystopian world created by Margaret Atwood.

6 2 From Utopia to Dystopia

The word “utopia” was coined by Thomas More from the Greek words “u/ou” meaning “not”, or “eu” meaning “good”. The state of a utopian society is unattainable and unrealistic as it aims at a society that is too idealistic and impossible to achieve. Not only literature dealt with the topic of utopia but real utopian visions and communities were established such as the Esperanto-speakers who believed that a universal language would lead to world peace. Additionally, utopian religious communities existed, such as the Quakers, Mennonites and Amish. Even the Puritans in New England started with a utopian vision in the form of a City of God in action. They wanted to start anew and do things right this time, but they first built prisons and scaffolds which were already signs of a dystopian society (cf. Mohr 2005: 11-12; cf. Atwood 2011: 81-83). Literary utopia differs from other utopian visions which portray an ideal society and are often based on religious concepts such as paradise and Eden or political concepts such as communitarianism (political theories of Robert Owen, Charles Fourier and Étienne Cabet). Literary utopias are usually not religious and do not represent a biblical paradise, likewise do not illustrate hell. Religion might occur as a theme but primarily utopias and dystopias are concerned with sociopolitical themes and changes. Another difference between the religious paradise and a literary utopian vision lies in the time frame and the view of society; utopia puts its focus on the future and religious concepts speak of a paradise in the past. A major element in literary utopia is politics, usually represented by discontentment with the current political situation and a wish to change it (cf. Mohr 2005: 11-14). Darko Suvin defines literary utopia as follows: “Utopia is the verbal construction of a particular quasi-human community where sociopolitical institutions, norms, and individual relationships are organized according to a more perfect principle than in the author's community, this construction being based on estrangement arising out of an alternative historical hypothesis.” (quoted in Mohr 2005: 15, 1973, 132; 1979, 49)

The first literary utopia was written by Thomas More in 1516 in Latin in which he describes an imaginary state on a fictive island. The earlier utopias are mostly set on fictive, dislocated geography spaces such as islands, lost continents or other planets as people of that era had an urge to explore unknown parts of the world. There was a strong desire for equality for all humans as, for example, in the French Revolution with its slogan “Liberté et egalité” and the hope of a better new world in recently discovered America. At that time utopia was considered an attainable political act. After the world had been more or less discovered, the setting changed from current unknown places to the future, indicating a shift from space to time. An example of this is Louis Sébastien Mercier's L'An 2440 (1770) which depicts an altered Paris in the future in which the narrator awakens after a long sleep. Another example is Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward 2000-1887 (1888), which is a

7 socialist utopia that presents an industrialist republic where technology serves for the good of mankind. William Morris' News from Nowhere (1890) and Butler's Erewhon (1872) follow a different theme and renounce technology. The utopias that were created in the 19th century were inspired by social thinkers such as William Cobbet and Karl Marx, but also Christian socialists such as Charles Kingsley and John Ruskin. Nineteenth century utopia concerned itself more with material improvements, whereas 20th century utopia dealt with the physical and spiritual realm. In the world of art, the new genre of utopian modernism came into being with movements such as Bauhaus, De Stijl, and Russian Constructivism. At the turn of the century H.G. Wells's The Time Machine (1895) juxtaposes positive and negative images within one text presenting fears and hopes of that time. A new genre of dystopian literature emerged due to swift, sudden technological, scientific, and medical changes at the beginning of the 20th century (cf. Mohr 2005: 17-21; cf. Atwood 2011: 82-83). In politics, alleged utopias were practiced on a large scale with examples including the U.S.S.R under Lenin and Stalin and Germany under Hitler, which were demonstrably failed utopias and may be considered dystopias instead. Another, less prominent, failed utopia was Henry Ford's “Fordlandia,” a capitalist construction of a workers' paradise in Brazil where workers grew rubber trees with the plan to produce tires for Ford cars in the 1920s and 1930s. Female utopias also emerged at the end of the 19th century as women were struggling for political rights such as the right to vote. Until then the utopian genre had been dominated by male writers. Despite the alleged improved ideal society, women's situation did not show much improvement because they were still restricted to the traditional roles as housekeepers and mothers as in More's, Bellamy's and Morris's works. Their characters are usually flat, marginalized and silenced. The first all-female utopia – Mizora: A Prophecy - was written by Mary Bradley Lane in 1880 and later Charlotte Gilman published Herland (1915) and its sequel With her in Ourland (1916), which became the most prominent utopia of that time. After the women's liberation movement in the 1970s more feminist utopias, dystopias and works emerged (Mohr 2005: 22; 25). The 20th century was so filled with wars and other horrible events that it was hard to imagine a utopian society. Some found dystopias easier to create as it seemed that failed societies were heading in that direction. It is evident that the notion of a utopian society is rather comical because it cannot exist due to human nature. An ideal society with no diseases, wars, poverty, famines, or inequality cannot exist. Dystopia, the direct opposite of utopia, represents a society with suffering, tyranny, oppression, and other atrocities. Within each utopian society there is a fragment of a dystopian one and vice versa. In a utopia, for instance, there are always some who do not follow the rules and who are then sent to prison, exile or execution (cf. Atwood 2011: 84-86).

8 Booker (1994:15) argues that utopia and dystopia are not entirely opposed as they aim to achieve the same goal, namely to criticise the current state. According to Suvin (2010: 381) we already live in a moral and material dystopia as the world is morally decaying and wealth is disproportionally distributed. As already noted, works in the 20th century were mainly devoted to dystopian visions of the future in which they reverse, mistrust and satirize the perfect society of utopia. These works present the worst of all possible future scenarios, often with a tendency for totalitarianism. The common goal of dystopian and utopian works is to cause sociopolitical change. The term dystopia, meaning “a non-existing bad place,” was supposedly coined by John Stuart Mill during a parliamentary speech in 1868. Other terms such as “anti-utopia” and “utopian satire” have also been used to describe this genre, however, dystopia is the broader term which is more suited (cf. Mohr 2005: 27- 28). Sargent (quoted in Moylan: 2000: 155) defines dystopia thus: “a text in which a non-existent society [is] described in considerable detail and normally located in time and space that the author intended a contemporaneous reader to view as considerable worse than the society in which that reader lived.”

There has been extensive debate over the terms anti-utopia and dystopia and whether these two can be used interchangeably. Suvin (2010: 385) argues that anti-utopia specifically refutes a utopia but it is also dystopian in nature, whereas a dystopia is not necessarily an anti-utopia as well. Aldridge (1984: 8) supports this statement by arguing that anti-utopia is a clear attack on utopia and it is also a satire. Thematically, dystopias often criticize the scientific worldview and technology due to its negative consequences such as long working hours, child labour, and a poor mass proletariat. Technology can be misused to serve as a dehumanizing and destructive tool against humankind. Such anxieties about the hybridization of human and machine are expressed in some early dystopian works such as in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, or even earlier with the myth of the Jewish Golem. In 1909 E.M. Forster's The Machine Stops also expresses this fear of a mechanistic society that depends entirely on technology and neglects human contact. The consequence of a malfunction of the machines would lead to the total collapse of the society. Other prominently featured themes in dystopian novels are the threat of capitalism and communism. After people had experienced the atrocities and miseries of the First and Second World War, Stalinism and Fascism, the worldview changed and writers were inspired again. Terrible visions of totalitarian society and mass technology, in which humans are repressed, emerged as themes. Orwell stated (quoted in Mohr 2005: 31) in 1947, “Making people conscious of what is happening outside their own small circle is one of the major problems of our time, and a new literary technique will have to be evolved to meet it.” This new technique is dystopia, which he soon demonstrated in his own novel 1984 (cf. Mohr

9 2005: 29-32). Dystopia represents an exaggeration of the current state in a near future scenario to exercise pressure on the reader morally. Usually there is a who is trapped and attempts to escape a society which propagates extreme collectivism and prohibits individualism. All the prominent classical dystopian works, such as Burgess's A Clockwork Orange, Huxley's Brave New World and Orwell's 1984, attempt an attack on collectivism and behavioural engineering. Considered as the first modern dystopian writer, Russian Yevgeny Zamyatin, in his novel We, attacks the violations of freedom, brainwashing, surveillance, brutality and totalitarianism which dehumanize people. Other prominent topics that are features in dystopian works are nationalism, militarism, slavery, exploitation, racism, rape, overpopulation, drug addiction, sexual perversions, ecological pollution and totalitarian regimes. They also point out potential future developments such as cloning, as suggested in the artificial mass production of humans in Brave New World. Even the manipulation of emotions through medication is a goal as it facilitates maximum control over the population, e.g. the drug “soma” in Brave New World. Media is used as a propaganda tool to manipulate and brainwash the population into believing whatever the new regime dictates, as it is illustrated in 1984 and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. Language is used as a weapon through which people are manipulated, such as the Newspeak in 1984 and the manipulation which occurs in The Handmaid's Tale where only the victories of the regime are reported and the Book of Genesis is rewritten to serve the regime's purpose. Additionally, the protagonist is prohibited to use the language and obtain information as, for example, Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale. However, the language ultimately often also serves as a means for resistance by remembering the past and recording the present (cf. Mohr 2005: 32-33; cf. Moylan 2000: 148-149). Typically, there is a male protagonist, who is part of the masses, but then awakens and starts to rebel until he is persecuted by the regime. The story begins in medias res with the reader instantly being introduced to this terrible world, unlike the typical utopian form in which the protagonist first travels to this utopian society. Sometimes the protagonist’s rebellion is caused by the love for a female rebel such as Clarisse in Fahrenheit 451 and Julia in 1984, or a male rebel such as Nick in The Handmaid's Tale. In the case of Lenina in the Brave New World, the protagonist has to persuade her of the falsehood of the regime which she supports. A key factor to resistance is language and it usually begins with it. Stereotypically, the female characters are flat and are loyal followers of the system. In these dystopian societies, individual relationships are prohibited and eliminated and sex mainly serves as procreation lacking all emotion. In the end, the protagonist is faced with three options, namely the escape to a safe colony, disappearance in the underground movements, or the confrontation with the regime, which often results in the protagonist's death by execution or suicide (cf. Mohr 2005: 34; cf.

10 Baccolini and Moyland 2003: 5-6). In order for the reader to accept the dystopian reality presented in the book, he or she has to accept the perception of the protagonist and identify with him or her. The common method employed here is de-familiarization, which means that the reader is unfamiliar with aspects and features of this new society and therefore he or she judges like the narrator while empathizing with the narrator in order to be able to condemn the society (cf. Varsam 2003: 205-6). Booker (1994: 19) also points out the aspect of de-familiarization stating that: “by focusing their critiques of society on spatially or temporally distant settings, dystopian fictions provide fresh perspectives on problematic social and political practices that might otherwise be taken for granted or considered natural and inevitable.”

In the 1930s, the first female dystopian writers emerged such as Katherine Burdekin who wrote Swastika Night (1937) about Nazi Germany. After the Women's Liberation Movement, both utopia and dystopia celebrated a revival again with works like Doris Lessing's The Four Gated City or Angela Carter's Heroes and Villains. Later, in the 1970s, more dystopian works were published, such as Piercy's Dance the Eagle to Sleep (1970), Lessing's The Memoirs of a Survivor (1974), Charnas's Walk to the End of the World (1974) and Carter's The Passion of New Eve (1977). These novels feature topics like gender hierarchy, slavery, exploitation, inferiority of women, lesbianism and homosexuality, misogyny, male violence against women, female sexuality, reproduction, and rape. In Elgin's The Native Tongue (1984), all women are declared legal minors through a fictional amendment of the American Constitution (cf. Mohr 2005: 34-37). In the second wave of dystopian literature in the 1980s a new dystopian genre emerged with writers such as Cadigan, Robinson, Butler and Piercy, namely that of critical dystopia. Sargent defines it as: “a non-existent society described in considerable detail and normally located in time and space that the author intended a contemporaneous reader to view as worse than contemporary society but that normally includes at least one eutopian enclave or holds out hope that the dystopia can be overcome and replaced with a eutopia.” (quoted in Baccolini and Moylan 2003: 7)

In the traditional dystopian novel there is some hope maintained outside of the pages as it should be regarded as a warning to prevent such a vision to come true but in the pages there is no escape for the characters such as Winston Smith, Julia, or John the Savage. In critical dystopia, however, there is hope because there is no explicit closure as the ending remains ambiguous and open, which suggests a utopian impulse within the pages. As in dystopian fiction critical dystopia often also blurs with other genres (cf. Baccolini and Moylan 2003: 7). A genre that is closely related to dystopian fiction and emerged as a result of industrialization and technology is science fiction, which praises the benefits of technology and science. Science fiction attempts to combine two opposing languages, namely that of the fiction, which often does

11 not represent the truth, and that of science which always aims at describing the truth. By combining these two, the language of fiction provides the story, whereas the language of sciences contributes the hypothesis. Often, the line between utopia, dystopia, and science fiction is blurred. , fabulation, science fantasy and social science denote science fiction and contemporarily science fiction is also used to include fantasy, folk-tale, utopia and dystopia. The beginning of the 20th century with Jules Verne and H.G. Wells signifies the beginning of science fiction as a genre and they pose as its founding fathers. Gothic could have been considered science fiction as well with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Science fiction developed from the celebration of technology and science to the examination of the inner doings of humans such as their identity and consciousness. Similar genres emerged later, namely cyberpunk, which portrays a bleak, computer- driven, high-tech society in the near future which is set in mega cities that are ruled by multinational corporations. Examples for this genre are William Gibson's Neuromancer (1983) or Bruce Sterling's Islands in the Net (1988) (cf. Mohr 2005: 37-43, 47-48). It has been wildly debated whether dystopia belongs to the genre of science fiction or not. Hillegas and Katterer (cf. Aldridge 1984: 13-14) claim that dystopia is part of science fiction and Ketterer even goes so far as to stating that the reasons for dystopian works do not stem in disillusionment with the current situation but are a “consequence of the startling growth of science fiction over the past hundred years” (quoted in Aldridge 1984: 14). Therefore, all dystopian works are actually science fiction works. Suvin (cf. Aldridge 1984:15) similarly states that utopia and dystopia are subgenres of science fiction. Aldridge, on the other hand, notes that science fiction usually coexists harmonically with the scientific world view, whereas dystopian science fiction “emerges when an author creates a partial picture of an alternative socio-political structure whose failure is somehow linked to its uses of science and technology.” (Aldridge 1984: 18). She distinguishes “pure” dystopian works from dystopian science fiction by the author’s attitude toward the social effects of technology and science. In the latter the author does not necessarily show hostility towards these effects as opposed to the “pure” dystopian novel in which the author is hostile. Essentially, dystopian works are modernist works, which focus on themes such as isolation, emptiness and alienation, with the distinction from other mainstream modernist fiction lying in the special focus on the alienating effects of science and technology. Further, they do not only concern an individual’s alienation but also deal with social consequences on the larger scale. Aldridge further points out that dystopian works are not necessarily against technology and science but they are more cautious of scientific values such as objectivity, neutrality and instrumentalism intruding into society. Briefly said, dystopia attacks the “scientizing of society” as Aldridge terms it (cf. Aldridge 1984: 18).

12 Margaret Atwood stresses that her works are speculative fiction and not science fiction. She draws a distinction between these two by pointing out that science fiction concerns itself with unlikely events that are often set on other planets such as H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds, which are the ancestors of science fiction, whereas speculative fiction deals with events that might actually happen on the Earth and can be traced back to Jules Verne (Online, 2012). Speaking about The Year of the Flood she expresses: “Speculative Fiction involves things that we can do right now, so I would call my book speculative fiction stretched a bit. It’s made from components that we already have, but those are pushed forward into the future and expanded.“ (Online, Bigthink). She states that she writes speculative fiction because of “a number of burning issues that have now become even more burning.” (Online, Bigthink)

13 3 The Handmaid's Tale

3.1 Setting and historical connections

It is the beginning of the 21st century in a state named Gilead, which used to be the United States of America and is now ruled by a totalitarian system. After the President and the entire Congress had been eliminated, the Constitution was declared invalid, leaving room for a completely new law under Gilead's authoritative regime. Gilead's laws are supposedly based on the Old Testament with links to 17th century Puritanism in America and the American New Right ideology from the 1980s (cf. Howells 1995: 127). The entire population, some to a larger extent, is deprived of their freedom. There is censorship everywhere, hardly anything is allowed anymore and the borders are strictly controlled as nobody is permitted to leave the country. A religion that is radically based on the Bible is used as an excuse to suppress and control the people. At that time, society was facing numerous threats such as low birth rates, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and the rise of infertility and birth-defect rates due to pollution and radiation (Ibid, 128- 129). These events were used as a justification for the establishment of a regime that is allegedly trying to combat these issues. In reality, the surge of feminism and emancipation is counteracted by a patriarchal elite which deprives particularly women of everything in order to gain power. Atwood claimed that there is nothing new in the novel which has not occurred in the past or was not happening at the time of publication. As the historian of Gilead mentions in the Historical Notes: “there was little that was truly original with or indigenous to Gilead: its genius was synthesis” (HT: 319). Before writing the novel Atwood informed herself through newspapers and magazines about issues including Greenpeace, atrocities in Latin America, Iran and the Philippines, new methods for reproduction, surrogate motherhood and institutionalized birth control in Nazi Germany. She chose Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Harvard University, where she herself was a student, as the centre of Gilead. The location also bears significance due to the “American New Right” or “Extreme Right” movement, which was racist, anti-feminist and anti-homosexuality. The movement was prominent in Harvard where a collection of seminar papers named The New Right at Harvard were published. These papers deal with family issues, abortion and pornography and speak of a wish to form a coalition, “a small dedicated corps,” to “resist the Liberal democracy”. Thus, it becomes evident that the rhetoric of the Gilead was already present at Harvard 3 years before the publication of The Handmaid's Tale (cf. Howells 1995: 130). Atwood chose America as the setting because, as she explains (quoted in Mohr 2005: 242), “The States are more extreme in everything.” America is more likely to realise a dystopian vision because it strives for a utopia based on Puritanism according to Atwood. In the novel, Canada is a

14 place people flee to but Canada does not oppose or intervene with the policies of its neighbour, which signifies that Canada has assumed the feminine victimized role (cf. Mohr 2005: 242). As already mentioned, Gilead's regime greatly resembles the Puritanism of the 17th century. The book is dedicated to Mary Webster and Perry Miller. Mary Webster was Atwood's ancestor who escaped a hanging after she had been accused of witchcraft in 1683 in New England and Perry Miller was one of Atwood's professors at Harvard, who wrote about Puritans. Atwood used much of Gilead's practices from Miller's books such as the Founding Fathers reference to women as “handmaids of the Lord”. The “Birthing Stool,” which is utilised in The Handmaid's Tale, was also a common practice among Puritans (ibid).

3.2 Religion

Religion is abused and manipulated to serve the purposes of the new regime, which legitimises its practices and laws through the false, newly created religion. The entire society is allegedly based on the Bible, which has been rewritten and altered to fit the new laws. In reality, a power-greedy and reckless elite uses religion as a means to obtain power and control the population. Some would argue that religion is often abused by evil and greedy people to subjugate others. In Gilead's case the population is divided into various categories according to their function and their rank in the hierarchy. Strict moral values such as chastity, modesty and faithfulness are propagated and imposed on the population. By using old biblical passages as justification, particularly women are deprived of their freedom and individuality and given certain roles such as Wives, Handmaids or Marthas. Propaganda is spread, reinforcing Gilead's system and power and intimidating people who might not be fully convinced by the new regime. Oddly, there is no mention of churches or priests as it appears that those have been abolished as well, which indicates that nothing of the old prevailing religions has remained. Members of any other religion are either forced to convert or executed as, for instance, the Jews, who receive a special treatment: “Because they were declared Sons of Jacob and therefore special, they were given a choice. They could convert, or emigrate to Israel. A lot of them emigrated, if you can believe the news. […] You don't get hanged only for being a Jew though. You get hanged for being a noisy Jew who won't make a choice. Or for pretending to convert.” (HT: 210- 211)

Gilead bears great resemblance to Hitler's and Stalin's dictatorships, which were one-party systems that used intimidation to control people. An ambivalent state of law and lawlessness prevails in Gilead, which is very characteristic of a totalitarian dictatorship, in which excluding an entire class, or, in the case of Gilead, an entire sex, is legally accepted in order to maintain the system. As in Nazi Germany, one group of people is deprived of their freedom and their human

15 rights. Gilead uses a long-existent gender hatred and misogyny to create a scapegoat, which results in an inhumane state in which women are enslaved legally. As in fascism, methods of intimidation and fear are employed to make people obedient (cf. Gottlieb 2001: 106). The main difference between these regimes and Gilead is the use of religion to justify the actions, which in Hitler's and Stalin's case was absolutely not the case. Certain roles and tasks, which are primarily justified by fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible and thus legitimise the regime's actions, are imposed on women. Thus, women are separated into groups such as the Handmaids, whose perspective the reader experiences in the novel. The Handmaids are “national resources” of Gilead because they are responsible for reproduction, which seems to be of great value in Gilead. They are marked with a tattoo on their ankle showing four digits and an eye; thus they cannot disappear (cf. HT: 75). All women, who are of child-bearing age and healthy, were chosen to become handmaids and to fulfil their purpose. Their training is conducted at the Rachel and Leah Center, or Red Center, which is named after the biblical figure Rachel who could not bear children but ordered her maid Bilah to conceive from her husband. The biblical verse says: “Give me children, or else I die. Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? Behold my maid Bilah. She shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her” (HT: 99). These words legitimise the Handmaids' duty and have been indoctrinated into the Handmaids at the Red Center; all Handmaids always repeat the verse before “The Ceremony,” which is the act of intercourse. The Handmaids have no freedom whatsoever. They are given a small room in their Commander's house which lacks everything except for the basic, necessary items. Their names are altered into “Of” plus the name of the Commander, for instance, Offred, and their real names are forgotten, which already indicates that they belong to the Commander. The lack of the real name signifies that the person has been deprived of their identity (cf. Slettedahl Macpherson 2010: 56). Further, the Handmaids are not allowed to write or read or enjoy any kind of entertainment, which in the long run will make them illiterate and less intelligent and therefore easier to control and brainwash. Their sole purpose is to have intercourse with their Commanders and bear his children, who will then be given to the wives. After a child is born, the Handmaid's task is fulfilled and after a short period of recovery and perhaps breastfeeding she will be sent to another household to become pregnant again. At the Rachel and Leah Center, the Aunts have brainwashed them into believing that the new times are of advantage to them because before Gilead women were not under protection due to dangers such as rape and violence against women, which were lurking behind every corner. According to Aunt Lydia, “there is more than one kind of freedom […] Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don't underrate it” (HT: 34).

16 Handmaids wear long red robes and a white veil to conceal their bodies and faces. Red is the colour of blood, which defines the handmaids. Aunt Lydia said: “To be seen – to be seen – is to be […] penetrated. What you must be, girls, is impenetrable” (HT: 39). They must exercise strict modesty at all times and must, for instance, lower their heads when a man is present and if possible refrain from talking to him. Further, “vanities” are not allowed anymore due the wives' wish that Handmaids should not be attractive because, as Offred states, “We are containers, it's only the insides of our bodies that are important” (HT: 107). The insides have to be kept healthy and functional by eating well and regularly having doctor's visits. Gilead's laws are allegedly based on the Bible, however, people are mistreated and violated enormously, which differs greatly from a peaceful religion with a loving God. In fact, God himself is not mentioned often in the book as it is not really God dictating these new laws, but the elite of Gilead that are turning the “word of God” whichever way it suits them best. One could claim that Gilead operates similarly to some Muslim countries in the form of their Sharia law, which appears rather strict and misogynist for our Western societies. A comparison of these two is perhaps not entirely accurate because Gilead appears much crueler, stricter and more inhumane than what we know from countries living under the Sharia law. As Atwood expresses (quoted in Cooke 1998: 278) she based the treatment of women in Gilead on experiences from Iran and Afghanistan “where women are treated in the same light as they are in [Gilead's] society – some ways better, some ways worse”. However, the current situation in some Muslim countries is still not entirely comparable to the situation in Gilead because the religious evidence for imposing such strict laws is fake and invented by the elite of the Gilead to further their own ends. Particularly, the categorization of women and men into certain roles and tasks is a notion that is not written in the Bible and was never propagated by any religion as such.

3.3 Women's roles

In The Handmaid's Tale, women are forced to the margins by depriving them of everything, starting with bank accounts and jobs to all other basic human rights. As Offred recalls she felt an imbalance in her relationship with her husband Luke when her money and job were taken away from her: “We are not each other's, any more. Instead, I am his” (HT: 192). Men and women are strictly segregated with the men living in the public sphere and women restricted to the domestic sphere. Due to the hierarchical order, some women are deluded into thinking they have some power such as the wives who dominate the homes and the aunts who are spared and rewarded for the collaboration with the regime. The women themselves are not supposed to mingle and are discouraged to have contact with each other (cf. Mohr 2005: 234; 245-246).

17 Primarily the women are separated into groups according to their fertility and age. As Rubenstein (1988: 101-102) argues, the portrayal of procreation and maternity resembles a feminist nightmare. Women are solely defined by their fertility or infertility while procreation and maternity are simultaneously idealized and dehumanized. As mentioned, the Handmaids are the central figures of the novel who are considered national resources in Gilead because they are the only remaining fertile women. Additionally, there are other tasks and roles assigned to women such as the role of the Wife. The Wives, who are characterized by their blue dresses, are quite passive characters who basically have no functions except for tending to their gardens and occupying themselves with the wish for a baby. Naturally, they despise the handmaids due to jealousy and because they are regarded as “defeated women” (HT: 56) - women who could not bear children. As a consequence, the handmaids are usually treated poorly, or simply ignored. The wife to who Offred is assigned used to be a famous TV singer named Serena Joy, who now is an old, withered woman suffering from bitterness and depression. Despite their high rank in the hierarchy, the wives appear rather dissatisfied with their lives and the system; however, they recognise their privileged position as they are protected and free compared to other women. They assume their roles as wives similar to the traditional image of a good wife and mother, yet, they do not need to serve as child-bearers. Another group of women, who are more privileged than the Handmaids, are the so-called Aunts, who are elderly, old-fashioned and religious women and are therefore quite pleased with the outcome of the system. They are in charge of the re-education centres but they are also prisoners because like all the other characters they are trapped in their roles. The most effective way to control women was through women, which was already used by colonisers who used “indigenous” people to control the indigenous (cf. Gottlieb 2001: 107). It is rather questionable whether the Aunts themselves believe what they teach the Handmaids but it is possible that they were also brainwashed into believing the doctrines and rules of the new system. They are well-aware of the harsh conditions in which the Handmaid must live but one of the Aunts - Aunt Lydia - claims that the next generation of Handmaids will have much better conditions. “The women will live in harmony together, all in one family […] women united for a common end! Helping one another in their daily chores as they walk the path of life together, each performing her appointed task. Why expect one woman to carry out all the functions necessary to the serene running of a household? […] Your daughters will have greater freedom.” (HT: 171-172)

Furthermore, there is a group of female servants and cooks who are employed at the households – the Marthas. Like the others, they are also deprived of their freedom but still enjoy more liberties than the Handmaids. They look down on the Handmaids, whom they regard as prostitutes in a way, despite knowing that they had no choice. Their clothing is dull green and, unlike the Handmaids, they have no wings, which prevent them from seeing clearly. Marthas wear

18 veils when they go outside although nobody cares much about seeing a Martha. Plenty of gossip is passed among the Marthas and they are not supposed to form friendships with the Handmaids. Other groups of women exist such as the small group of Econowives, who are the wives of poorer men and do everything if possible, including child-bearing. Further, so-called Jezebels, who are basically prostitutes, exist in secret and forbidden clubs, which indicates that even in the strictest of societies there are loopholes for illicit activities. The last group of women are the Unwomen, who are women who have either broken the law, are too old to serve as Marthas or Handmaids, are sick and therefore useless to the regime, or have not been able to complete their task as Handmaids. These women have been conditioned to regard each other in their segregated roles and not mingle with one another. There is a clear hierarchy among them, ranging from the Wives occupying the highest ranks to the Aunts, who have the power over the Handmaids, to the lowest class of the Unwomen. One might expect a feeling of sympathy and solidarity among these women, however, the feelings of rivalry, jealousy and hatred prevail. They are discouraged to see themselves as companions and fellows but rather as rivals and unequals, who should avoid each other's contact. This again is a method employed by Gilead to control women and prevent them from forming bonds of solidarity and trust, which might lead to suspicion and disbelief in the regime.

3.4 Men's Roles

Gilead's society is clearly a society dominated and ruled by men, who have much more liberties than the women. It is unclear, however, who established the new law in Gilead, but one can assume that it originated from a group of men who aimed at a patriarchal, misogynistic society, in which mainly women are suppressed. According to the regime, the reason for underpopulation is female infertility, however, male sterility remains unquestioned. When Offred visits the doctor and he offers to impregnate her she remarks: “'Most of these old guys can't make it anymore,' he says. 'Or they're sterile'. I almost gasp: he's said a forbidden word. Sterile. There is no such thing as a sterile man any more, not officially. There are only women who are fruitful and women who are barren, that's the law” (HT, 70-71)

The notion that it might be men's fault that the population has been decreasing is entirely dismissed and all the blame is laid upon women. However, even the male members of this society live under the constant threat of breaking the rules and being captured and executed. The lowest rank of men are the Guardians, who serve as drivers or assume other functions in a household and are not permitted to have wives. Men, similar to women, are highly restricted in their sexuality and have to repress their natural urges. Offred

19 observes some of the Guardians: “As we walk away I know they're watching, these two men who aren't yet permitted to touch women. They touch with their eyes instead and I move my hips a little, feeling the full red skirt sway around me. It's like thumbing your nose from behind a fence or teasing a dog with a bone held out of reach, and I'm ashamed of myself for doing it, because none of this is the fault of these men, they're too young.” (HT: 32)

Disguised as chastity and abstinence imposed upon people by religion, these men have to suffer loneliness and sexual starvation. In compliance with the law they have to observe and spy on the Handmaids in particular as they are very valuable. Additionally, there is a group of so-called Eyes and Angels, who are responsible for security and surveillance, primarily of the Handmaids. The term Eyes reminds the reader of the “Big Brother” who is constantly watching us, similarly to the CCTV system in Britain. It is the Eyes who gather the traitors of the regime and execute them. Of course, courts and lawyers do not exist anymore and thus people are deprived of their basic human rights to defend themselves. The Commanders seem to hold the highest rank in society as they are often rich business men or military commanders who have aided in shaping and establishing the regime. However, like the rest of the population, they must also abide by the laws; thus cigarettes, alcohol, and basically any form of fun and pleasure are forbidden. Nevertheless, it seems as if the Commanders have most liberties and therefore they secretly smoke, drink alcohol, and entertain themselves in their mysterious clubs. Offred's Commander invites her to his office to play Scrabble with him, which is also strictly forbidden. Mainly he is the one breaking the rules but it would be primarily Offred who would receive the punishment. For some reason, he is particularly kind to her and provides her with forbidden items such as magazines and hand lotions, which do not exist anymore. When asked why he possesses these items he says that he has an “appreciation for old things” (HT: 166). Such items, especially books, were all burned during the house to house searches and bonfires. According to Offred, the Commander showed ignorance towards the conditions under which the Handmaids had to live. After Offred confronts him with the current state, he says: “You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs […] We thought we could do better. […] Better never means better for everyone, he says. It always means worse, for some.” (HT: 222) Thus, it becomes evident that the Commanders are very aware that for their sake, their well-being and power, others have to be sacrificed. However, they are also trapped in their own system as they are not free to do as they please. Sex, for instance, has purely become a means for reproduction without the element of fun and satisfaction. Not even the Commanders can choose the Handmaids they will have to copulate with but, since sexuality is only meant for procreation and lacks emotions and attraction, it is of no importance anymore. The Bible and God normally propagate love and peace and certainly do not

20 support emotionless relationships with intercourse which only serves reproductive purposes.

3.5 Gilead's power politics

The new regime usurped the old regime by annihilating the old government through a coup d'etat as Offred narrates: “It was after the catastrophe, when they shot the President and machine-gunned the Congress and the army declared a state of emergency. They blamed it on Islamic fanatics, at the time. Keep calm, they said on television. Everything is under control. […] That was when they suspended the Constitution. […] Newspapers were censored and some were closed down, for security reasons they said. The roadblocks began to appear, and Identipasses.” (HT: 182-183)

It seems rather absurd that a new regime could so easily replace the old one without resistance from the population. As Offred remembers: “There were marches, of course, a lot of women and some men. But they were smaller than you might have thought. I guess people were scared.” (HT: 189). From the beginning, the new government gradually started depriving people of their freedom by firstly cancelling their bank accounts, firing them from their jobs and ultimately recruiting them for their new places in society. In order to justify their actions, they painted a picture of the world as a polluted, ruined place with brooding diseases such as AIDS and other STDs, which cause high infertility and underpopulation. The only way to stop further decline in birthrates and thus population is to establish this new system which enslaves healthy, fertile women to become child- bearing machines. The entire population, some to a larger extent, is reduced to the very basic human rights and the imposition of new rigid rules which prohibit a huge amount of activities. Reading is not permitted because one might read about the past and about attitudes which do not conform with Gilead's ideology. The signs for shops have been replaced by pictures with the goal that eventually the lower classes will become illiterate. This will serve the regime's goals because the population will become uneducated and primitive, which makes it easier to brainwash and control. Already, the language is corrupted by, for instance, changing the meaning of “freedom to” to “freedom from”, as mentioned above. Freedom of speech and expression is unthinkable in this society, therefore the protagonist of the story, Offred, has to express her voice from the underground. In order not to forget her existence and her identity, she speaks her own name out loud to remind herself that she still exists. As she is deprived of the smallest of joys in life, such as touching and smelling whatever she wants, she expresses: “I hunger to touch something, other than cloth or wood. I hunger to commit the act of touch.” (HT: 21). Gilead's aim is to annihilate memory and thus the past which includes the

21 numbing of personal desires and creative energy, but Offred struggles to maintain her memory, the past and her identity. She reconstructs the story which brings her back into existence and opposes the regime which desires to silence everyone. Her story becomes an act of hope and faith and it serves as a therapeutic means for her because she feels strong guilt for lacking courage and for succumbing to her Commander's desires and becoming his mistress (cf. Staels 1995: 163-168). New words for technological devices have been invented such as Compuphone, Computalk, Compubank; in addition to the new practices and institutions such as Prayvaganzas and Salvagings that ensure the regime's power (cf. Slettedahl Macpherson 2010: 54). One of the institutions for this system of intimidation are the Colonies. “Unwomen” who are too old, sterile, or have committed a crime against the state such as adultery, and Handmaids who could not fulfil their task even after the third household, are all sent to the Colonies, which bear great resemblance to the death camps during Nazi times. Apparently there is a huge accumulation of toxic waste which has to be cleaned, which becomes the task of these women, who gradually work themselves to death there. Offred watches a film about the Colonies and recognises her mother in it, who had always been a feminist and activist and was eventually captured and sent to the Colonies. By spreading propaganda about the Colonies, fear and anxiety are spawned among the population who consequently obey. A Handmaid is guaranteed not to be sent to the Colonies if she bears at least one child, thus the Handmaids' lives depend on bearing children. Additionally, the so-called “Wall” is used to invoke fear in the people by displaying the hanged corpses on a wall in public for everyone to see. Their heads are covered with bags, which makes them anonymous, almost non-human. They have to be de-humanized, made an “it”, before they can be killed (cf. Stein 2000: 198). Many of them are doctors who used to perform abortions when it was still legal, and they are receiving their punishment for it now because abortion in Gilead is unthinkable. They set an example for others who committed similar crimes. The Handmaids are supposed to feel hatred towards them, not sympathy, because, according to the new law, they rightfully deserve these cruel punishments. Nobody would ever even take an abortion into consideration in Gilead as children are to be the most valuable and desirable thing in those times (cf. HT: 40-43). Another institution, which is named after biblical figures, The Rachel and Leah Center or the Red Center, which was mentioned previously, serves as a re-education centre for the Handmaids to prepare them for their future tasks. Basically, they undergo a brainwashing to make them believe that it is just and moral for them to solely function as child-bearers. Security at the Center is very strict because they are well-aware of the Handmaids’ initial reluctance towards their important task. Therefore, it is the Aunts' duty to convince them that the new society is the right path and that they must obey and follow the rules because they have been set by God and the Bible. God wants

22 humans to reproduce and the Handmaids are the only group of women who can still fulfil this assignment. The past, before Gilead, is always frowned upon and used as a bad example which should teach the present generation to act differently. As Aunt Lydia claims about former times: “Of course, some women believed there would be no future […] That was the excuse they used. […] They said they was no sense in breeding. […] such wickedness. They were lazy women, she says. They were sluts.” She continues: “We want you to be valued, girls. […] Think of yourselves as pearls” (HT: 123-124). On the one hand, Handmaids are supposed to be granted high value and prestige, on the other, they are held as captives with no freedom. Several practices are employed at the Red Center such as Testifying, when Handmaids must testify of an event which depicts the cruelty and danger of the former society. It is a woman named Janine who tells the story of how she was gang-raped at the age of fourteen and consequently had to abort the baby. The following scene unfolds afterwards: “But whose fault was it? Aunt Helena says, holding one plump finger. Her fault, her fault, her fault, we chant in unison. Who led them on? Aunt Helena beams, pleased with us. She did. She did. She did. Why did God allow such a terrible thing to happen? Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson.” (HT: 81-82)

Janine is forced into admitting that it was her fault and that she seduced the men. It is evident here that the Aunts are using methods of brainwashing, flawed logic and a sense of guilt to manipulate the Handmaids. They ought to display piety, modesty, simplicity and compliance to God's rules. Here, the question is raised whether the Aunts truly believe in their teachings or whether they have also undergone some kind of brainwashing. It is likely that they solely assumed their positions as Aunts in order to save themselves and avoid having to work in menial positions such as Marthas or even be declared an Unwoman and sent to the Colonies. As Aunts, they enjoy considerable prestige and protection as they are the ones who assure that the duty of the handmaids is carried out. The “Ceremony,” with its festive and formal name, refers to the night of intercourse between the Commander and the Handmaid, when the Handmaid performs her religiously justified duty. Nothing about this act is in any way festive or ceremonial. The entire household assembles in the living room to begin with the Ceremony, which is followed by the Commander's reading from the Bible, which is locked up in order not to be stolen by the servants and Handmaids who are not permitted to read it anyway. The usual stories about God and Adam and God and Noah are presented. “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” (HT: 99), and again the passage about Rachel and Bilah, which has been hammered into the Handmaids' brains at the Center. This is followed by a moment in silent prayer and the Commander’s final words: “We will ask for a blessing, and for a success in our ventures” (HT: 101). Indeed, that is what it is – a duty, a job, a

23 task, a business venture almost, which will hopefully be successful (cf. HT: 97-103). The actual “Ceremony” goes as follows. The Handmaid lies on her back fully clothed with the Wife above her. The Wife's legs are spread and the Handmaid places herself in between them. The Handmaid's arms are raised and she is holding hands with the Wife to signify that they are one flesh, which, in fact. means that the Wife is fully in control of the situation. The Handmaid's skirt is raised to her waist and below her the Commander is copulating. It cannot be called “making love” because it has no notion of love or romance at all. It is simply a task that has to be performed by them. It also cannot be termed “rape” because this is what the Handmaid chose although there was not much choice. Arousal or orgasm on her part are not the goal, they are not a necessity; they are superfluous even. The Commander is also fully clothed and anything remotely romantic such as kissing is forbidden. When he eventually reaches his climax, the Wife also releases a moan pretending that she had received pleasure from it as well. The Commander leaves the room and the Wife orders Offred to “Get up and get out” (HT: 106). It is an unpleasant event not only for the Handmaid but also for the Wife (cf HT: 104-106). The notion of love and sex as pleasure and entertainment is entirely dismissed in the new society of Gilead. According to the Commander, love and sex were outdated because everyone was able to get it so easily and thus they were of no interest anymore: “The main problem was with the men. There was nothing for them any more. […] I'm not talking about sex, he says. That was part of it, the sex was too easy. Anyone could just buy it. There was nothing to work for, nothing to fight for. […] You know what they were complaining about the most? Inability to feel. Men were turning off on sex, even. They were turning off on marriage.” (HT: 221-222)

According to him they are able to feel now. Now sex would only be used for reproduction, apparently the way it is written and commanded in the Bible. On top of that, one is not even free to choose who to reproduce with as it remains unclear in the story whether the Commanders can choose the Handmaids. In fact, it is of no significance because the Commander is not required to feel attracted to the Handmaid, which, if he was, would only result in problems with the Wife. The concept of physical and mental attraction is invalid and unnecessary in this society. Only the product, that is, the baby, is of importance. Another practice in Gilead are the so-called Prayvaganzas, which are events that take place for weddings, usually Women Prayvaganzas, or for military victories, which are commonly Men Prayvaganzas. Attendance at a Prayvaganzas means a demonstration of one's obedience and piety and thus all women, namely Wives, Marthas, Econowives and Handmaids are to be found there. However, they are segregated according to their social rank; wives are seated, whereas the Handmaids are obliged to stand. This is a suitable place for Handmaids to exchange gossip and news as they are normally not allowed to speak to each other. The Commanders are in charge of the

24 service and hold speeches which are followed by prayer. The main ceremony begins when the twenty Angels enter along with the twenty veiled daughters, who are given away by their mothers to these arranged marriages. The service is continued with the Commander's speech: “I will that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, he says, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. […] But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived , but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved by childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety” (HT: 233)

Their justification and reasoning behind enslaving and silencing the woman is based on the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Eve was created after Adam, which automatically gives her a lower status, and on top of that she committed the first sin by eating the forbidden fruit. Consequently, Adam is far superior because he resisted the temptation. However, Eve is given a chance to save herself and all women who are to come by bearing children in very heavy pain which serves as a punishment. This biblical story is taken literally and interpreted in a way to suit the agenda of the totalitarian regime. After removing the veil, the new wives take a first look at their husbands as they have never seen them before. It is not necessary to love them, they must only fulfil their duty as a wife. If the wives are infertile their husbands will qualify for a Handmaid. (cf. HT: 224-235). Offred recalls a conversation with her Commander about how negative and disadvantageous previous times were compared to these. He calls it a “meat market” (HT: 231), with all the girls who were longing for love and affection and who, in their desperation, would use methods such as plastic surgery and starvation to become appealing to men. Additionally, they were not respected by their husbands as mothers once they got married and had children. Once their husband left them they would have to rely on the state, or if the husband stayed he would mistreat her, and if the woman was working she would be heartless enough to leave her child in daycare. “This way they're protected, they can fulfil their biological destinies in peace” (HT: 231). According to Offred, the notion that is missing is love and falling in love. For the Commander, love was not worth it and arranged marriages function equally or even better. Aunt Lydia said about love: “Don't let me catch you at it. No mooning and June-ing around here, girls. […] Love is not the point.” “Those years were just an anomaly, historically speaking, the Commander said, just a fluke. All we've done is return things to Nature's norm” (HT: 232). Thus, the Commander wants to convey the belief that love is unnatural and unnecessary for humankind. All we need for humankind's survival is reproduction, which, purely biologically speaking, might be true. However, in the long run, humans' psyche and mind would be destroyed if we had to live without love and affection. Offred remarks: “[...] nobody dies from lack of sex. It's the lack of love we die from. There's

25 nobody here I can love, all the people I could love are dead or elsewhere” (HT: 113). In a free world with choices, most people would not have sex and reproduce purely for the sake of reproduction if they were lacking love. Moreover, God propagates love and affection, so the reasoning that Gilead was constituted in the name of God is rather flawed. Some of the Prayvaganzas are also held for nuns who recant, which mostly took place earlier when all the nuns were captured and forced to convert. This also proves that there is no remnant or even respect for the previous religions as they are also considered wrong by the new regime. Some nuns are still found; the old and infertile ones are sent to their death in the Colonies because they are useless, whereas the young ones must renounce their celibacy and become Handmaids. They are particularly miserable and desperate and some of them deliberately choose the Colonies instead of renouncing their service to God – the “God” or religion that used to be, but does not fit into the image of God and religion in Gilead anymore. Often “rebels,” such as Baptists and Quakers, are captured and hanged for their false belief (cf. HT: 232). Salvaging and Particicution are public executions, which serve as a means of invoking fear and docility among the population. The word “Salvaging” for an execution is quite ironic because “to salvage” actually means “to save”, which is definitely not what happens during an execution. Perhaps the regime is “saved” from traitors and rebels, hence the choice for this word; or they believe in the notion that the “heretic” is purified and saved by his or her death. The Salvagings are hangings of “criminals.” Particicution is a word that does not exist and was invented by Gilead, but, according to Mohr (2005: 247), is a combination of the word “participation” and “execution” and denotes a special treat for the Handmaids as they are allowed and encouraged to harm a criminal by basically tearing him to pieces. The victims are constantly living under the threat of the victimizers, and therefore it becomes a privilege to them if they are given the chance to act as victimizers themselves. The victim is randomly chosen by the state as is explained in the Historical Notes: “Scapegoats have been notoriously useful throughout history, and it must have been most gratifying for these Handmaids, so rigidly controlled at other times, to be able to tear a man apart with their bare hands once in a while” (HT: 320). Everyone is in constant fear due to this random selection of victims; they could be chosen any time. It can be concluded that the basis of religion in Gilead is human sacrifice. Permitting the victimized to operate as victimizers is one of the most crucial methods of dictatorships. There is a hierarchy of victimization in which even the women of the lowest status are still privileged to condescend and harm the least privileged ones (cf. Gottlieb 2001: 107-108). The Salvaging is also segregated into women's and men's salvaging. The Aunts hold speeches and the women who have committed crimes are brought forward to be hanged. Their convictions are not made public due to events in the past where similar crimes were committed afterwards.

26 Some of the main convictions for Handmaids are violating chastity and attempting murder on the Commanders or the Wives. At the Salvaging, which Offred attends, there is also a convicted Wife which is a rare sight. Wives have been given more liberties and lead a good life, relatively speaking, and therefore is it unusual for one to commit a crime. Some of the main crimes they commit are murders of Handmaids, adultery and an attempt to escape (cf. HT: 284-288). The Particicution follows and the Handmaids can do whatever they want to a criminal who was supposedly convicted of rape. According to Deuteronomy 22:23-29, the penalty for rape is death, sometimes for both the rapist and his female victim. Gilead is very likely referring to this passage in which the victim is spared: “But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death.” (New International Version, Deut 22.25-26). Again, a passage from the Bible is taken literally and applied to the new law. Aunt Lydia describes his crime and encourages the Handmaids to act violently by giving them false details such as the misinformation that the attacked woman was pregnant and the baby died. Although Offred clearly disagrees with the entire regime, the religion and its practices, she also feels a surge of rage and bloodlust towards this man. She says: “A sigh goes up from us; despite myself I feel my hands clench. It is too much, this violation. The baby too, after what we go through. It's true, there is a bloodlust; I want to tear, gouge, rend” (HT: 290-291). In this moment she was temporarily entangled in the propaganda and false information she was being fed. Before the Handmaids plunge into attacking him, he utters, “I didn't...” (HT: 291). “Freedom, like everything else, is relative” (HT: 242), Offred notes, and, thus, being allowed to do anything with the convicted man feels like freedom to the Handmaids. “The air is bright with adrenaline, we are permitted anything and this is freedom” (HT: 291). The idea of freedom changes; in a society where everything is normally prohibited even the smallest or the most bizarre and terrible action becomes a free action. Meanwhile, the daughters, Wives and Aunts are watching with interest. In reality, this man was not a rapist but a political activist who was against the regime and therefore he had to be eliminated (cf. HT: 289-292). The day of giving birth is a significant event in the Handmaids' and Wives' lives. The Handmaids are picked up by a red Birthmobile and brought to the house where one of their fellow Handmaids is about to give birth. The Wives of the district arrive in a blue Birthmobile as the colour blue signifies them. Speculations arise as to whether the baby will be born an “Unbaby,” which means that it is handicapped. Apparently one out of four babies is born that way due to all the chemicals and radiation in the air that infiltrates everyone's body. It is unclear what happens to the babies that are declared “Unbabies,” but it is very likely that they are simply disposed of. At the house, there is also an Emerge van with doctors and the necessary machines for helping the birth,

27 however, utilising these for the birth should be avoided. The old, unnatural method of giving birth in hospitals while connected to various machines that aid the birth is frowned upon in Gilead. It is shameful that machines and drugs were used and, moreover, that the women were shaved and often cut open. Nowadays, no utilities are needed as it is seemingly advantageous to the baby. Additionally, the Bible says: “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children.” Thus, women are supposed to suffer during childbirth as a punishment for their original sin (HT:121-125). The Wife is present during the birth and she receives a massage, as if she were the one suffering through the tremendous pains of giving birth. Once the Handmaid is nearly ready, she will be placed on a Birthing Stool, as was practiced in Puritan times. During all this, the Handmaids are chanting in support of the future mother. When the Handmaid is moved to the Birthing Stool, the Wife arrives as well and places herself below the Handmaid as in the act of intercourse. The Handmaid gives birth and the baby is taken away from her and given to the wife while the Handmaid is crying desperately and the others are trying to distract her and give her some comfort. This newborn baby is a victory for all the Handmaids and it appears as if they have all just given birth and feel the pain: “By now I'm wrung out, exhausted. My breasts are painful, they're leaking a little. Fake milk, it happens this way with some of us. […] We ache. Each of us holds in her lap a phantom, a ghost baby” (HT: 137). As a reward, this Handmaid will never be declared an Unwoman and transferred to the Colonies. After she has nursed the baby for a few months, she will be sent to another family to attempt another birth (cf. HT: 126-137).

3.6 Resistance movements

Gilead seems to be working perfectly, without any signs of resistance that might pose a threat to the system. However, even in the strictest of regimes there are always loopholes which allow for illicit activities to take place. For example, the black market provides cigarettes and various other prohibited items. Furthermore, even the Commanders, who hold great responsibility in shaping and establishing this regime, break its law by gathering in a secret Club and indulging in alcohol, sex and amusements of all sorts. This shows hypocrisy and inconsistence on the side of the leading figures of Gilead. Officially, they represent all the beliefs and rules of the regime but, secretly, they bend the rule to pursue their own hedonism. Offred is taken to the Club by her Commander after she has changed into a ridiculous, pompous outfit, which is a rarity because all “fancy” clothes had been destroyed. The burnings were shown on TV and the manufacturers and salesmen were forced to repent and show themselves publicly with hats that said SHAME. In a way, this is freedom for Offred because she is doing something prohibited.

28 Since their night trip is illegal, Offred has to hide under a cloak to get through the checkpoints. In general, Wives are not allowed at these gatherings and she is only an “evening rental.” The hotel where it takes place is filled with women who are dressed festively or very scarcely. Everything resembles the way it was in the past. After Offred inquires about this forbidden meeting and how it is possible that such events still exist, the Commander explains: “[...] everyone's human, after all'. […] 'It means you can't cheat Nature', he says. 'Nature demands variety, for men. It stands to reason, it's part of the procreational strategy. It's Nature's plan.' […] 'Women know that instinctively. Why did they buy so many different clothes, in the old days? To trick the men into thinking they were several different women. A new one each day.'” (HT: 248 - 249)

Offred counters with the argument that nowadays this problem is solved by having a variety of women for a man instead of the women wearing different clothes. This again underlines how Gileadean society is entirely created for men by men who truly hold the belief that it is Nature's and God's way for women to be submissive and subjugated. As Mohr (2005: 252) notes, sexuality, emotions and desires are eliminated in Gilead because they are regarded as inherently feminine and thus a threat to the masculine, patriarchal system. However, in the secret brothel these desires are fulfilled without the usual duty of sex as only a means of reproduction. The club seems to counteract Gilead's policy but, in fact, it supports its duality of men as subjects and women as their objects. The Club is for high rank officers to pursue their business and make new acquaintances. The women who work there are either professional prostitutes from former times or women who chose to work there instead of as Handmaids or any other task designated for women. Rules such as no drinking and smoking do not apply in the Club. There, Offred spots Moira, her old friend, who escaped from the Red Center and was never heard of again. Moira explains to her that, after they captured her again, they gave her the choice of either working in the Club or being shipped to the Colonies; naturally she chose this. Relatively speaking, the Club is not an entirely disadvantageous choice because the workers receive food, drinks and have certain freedoms. For Moira, it was perfect because she is a lesbian and the other workers are all women. She is, at least, given the freedom to pursue her sexual desires. However, Offred is disappointed due to Moira's indifference. She used to be a fighter who struggled and resisted but it seems that even she has given up now. The women at the Club call themselves Jezebels (cf. HT: 241-262). The name “Jezebel” derives from the biblical character, who was the daughter of the king of the Phoenicians, Ethbaal, and the wife of Ahab, who was the king of North Israel. 1 Kings and 2 Kings in the Bible tell the story of Jezebel, who worships the pagan god Baal and poses as an enemy of God's prophets. She was a very powerful woman who used deception and murder to achieve her goals. Eventually, she was brutally killed by being thrown out of the window and then

29 eaten by her own dogs. Nowadays, the name “Jezebel” is occasionally used to describe an evil woman due to Jezebel's belief in a pagan god, but also because she exercised much power and influence as a woman (Online, Pelaia 2012). The Club, as such, is not a resistance movement as it does not pose a threat to the regime and its members certainly wish to preserve it. The real resistance movement is an Underground movement named Mayday, which attempts to help people flee the country into Canada through some hidden tunnels. It is unclear whether this organisation wishes to overthrow the government or whether their agenda only works on a small scale by trying to save as many people as possible. The members of it are very discreet and secretive as it would be very dangerous and risky to let it be known. Several times in the story its members have been discovered and executed because any sort of resistance and opposition to the regime is unacceptable. This proves that, despite the strictest, most cruel government, there will always be a handful of courageous people who will struggle and not give up. Most of the population, however, will have succumbed to the gruesome reality of the new regime due to fear and helplessness. Many of them will be brainwashed into believing that this is the right and only path. Furthermore, there is always a group who actually truly believes in the twisted, horrible attitudes which are represented by Gilead. These people are the ones who are power-greedy and have no reservations whatsoever in obtaining their goals. As they are the ones who lead the country and determine its laws, they also have the liberties to bend the laws to pursue their own hedonistic, hypocritical activities. In a way, through their secret Club they are also resisting the regime and its strict rules, on a small scale, however, and without attempting to change them.

3.7 Epigraphs and Historical Notes

The novel beings with two dedications, which I have discussed already, and three epigraphs, namely a passage from Genesis, a passage from Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, and a Sufi proverb. These serve as a frame for the reader to read the book in a certain way. The Handmaids in the story have also been imposed a frame: the veil, through which they are visible, actually blinds them. They are only permitted to see the world through a narrowed view. By partially blinding these women, Gilead takes control over them (cf. Stein 2000:191). The Historical Notes serve as a concluding frame to the novel and represent an academic conference on the topic of Gilead at the University of Denay, Nunavit. First of all, this passage functions as satire about academic pretension but, more importantly, it creates parallels between the dystopian society of Gilead and the post-Gileadean society. The Historical Notes further emphasise the story's function as a satire. According to Stein (2000:193): “Satire, like dystopian science

30 fiction, is a genre which addresses its exaggerated version of present evils to readers who have some power to act and, by this means, hopes to bring about social and political change.” This, presumably, was also the purpose of Offred's recordings – to inform and motivate her audience to act and fight against the horrors of Gilead. Returning to the dedications in the novel, there are some parallels between Mary Webster and Offred and Perry Miller and Professor Pieixoto from the conference. The latter show ignorance to the misogynistic attitudes in Gilead and in former Puritan times, whereas Offred and Webster break free from the traditional roles that have been imposed on them (cf. Stein 2000: 193-4). The significance of the choice of A Modest Proposal as an epigraph lies in its parallels between the novel and Swift's text. A Modest Proposal was published in 1729 in an attempt to expose the negative effects of the British economic policy towards Ireland. In 1985, Atwood published The Handmaid's Tale in order to expose the consequences of a misogynist and patriarchal society in a fictional state, which allegedly is not completely fictional. Regarding the themes and style, the two texts have numerous features in common. Stylistically, both use irony as a device, and thematically they create links between women, procreation, animals and food. Most importantly, they both illustrate the terrible effects of a misguided political system. Swift shows how a wrong English policy resulted in poverty and famine in Ireland; and Atwood presents the atrocities of a fictional totalitarian regime which she claims is true to life as well. In both texts, there are problems of population – the issue of the Irish overpopulation is being tackled in A Modest Proposal, whereas in The Handmaid's Tale's the regime of Gilead is very keen on solving the problem of underpopulation. The measures taken in both cases are horrendous – the Proposer in A Modest Proposal resorts to cannibalism and the regime of Gilead creates sexual slavery. Like Gilead, the Proposer shows hostility towards women and desires to exercise control over them and their children (cf. Stein 2000: 196-97). In both texts children are used as commodities; in The Handmaid's Tale, the Handmaids' children are taken away and given to the state. The Handmaids are properties of the state and subsequently of the Wives that make use of them so they therefore have no rights to the children they give birth to. Due to the heavy pollution, many babies are born with deformities and thus cannot be commodified; they are “Shredders” or “Unbabies.” Similarly, in A Modest Proposal, the children are only a marketable commodity; their value is determined by their weight and flavour. There is a subtle hint of cannibalism in The Handmaid's Tale as well: the food that is eaten by the Handmaids symbolizes wombs and fertility such as pears, eggs, chickens and bread baking in the oven. Further, there is a to Offred's childhood in which she remembers her mother's description of the deaths in Nazi concentration camps through ovens. As a child she believed that the people had been baked and subsequently eaten. Not only is this an allusion to Cannibalism but

31 also a link between Gilead and Nazi Germany (Ibid, 198-200). Turning back to the Historical Notes, the professor gives the reader another interpretation of Offred's story. The conference takes place around 200 years after Gilead and there is not much left from those times except for some diaries and letters that allow historians to reconstruct the society of Gilead. Through the interpretation of a male professor's voice, Offred's voice is threatened to be undermined and the significance of a woman's autobiography is unnoticed. Atwood provides a second futuristic scenario with the Post-Gilead society set in the seemingly unpolluted Arctic Canada. The chairwoman's name is Maryann Crescent Moon, which indicates that she is a native and further alludes to Canada as the setting. The place name is the evidence of the location, namely the University of Denay, Nunavit. The Dené are a native people of northern Alberta and Nunavit is a large area in the eastern Artic, which was declared the first self-governing territory for Aboriginals in Canada. Additionally the place name is also a pun meaning “deny none of it,” which advises the reader to believe Offred's story despite all other interpretations (cf. Howells 1995: 145- 146). The Professor at the conference offers a false interpretation of Offred's tale and it seems that sexist views still exist in this post-Gileadean society. He shows no concern for Offred but is only occupied with the authenticity of her text and its historical value. In his view, Offred is the one to blame for not collecting sufficient data and evidence of those times, such as the Commander's computer printouts. He is shifting “herstory” to “history” by not giving Offred's story enough credit and blaming her for a lack of attention to relevant information. There is no interest in Offred and her tragic story, which confirms what Offred herself feared would happen to the Handmaids: “From the point of view of future history, we'll be invisible” (HT: 240). As her story is reconstructed by men, her authority over her own life story is being removed. Ultimately, the reader is challenged with the interpretation because he or she has read it all. As Howells (1995: 147) notes: “Offred has put herself 'into the world and into history', challenging readers to connect her world with our own in the present in the hope of averting a nightmare like Gilead for our own future”.

3.8 Conclusion

To conclude, the society that is presented in The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian vision of oppression, lack of freedom, and misogyny. Supposedly based on the Bible and the law of God, it deprives the entire population of its freedom – freedom of choice, freedom of speech, freedom of actions. People are categorized according to their function and tasks and women are degraded and given menial tasks and purposes. One group of women, the Handmaids, solely serve to bear children for the elite class of Commanders and their Wives. Various methods of intimidation and 32 propaganda are used to brainwash the population into believing the absurd, twisted moral of the new regime. Enemies of the regime, or, simply, people who are useless to the regime, are executed or sent to so-called Colonies to work themselves to death. Issues such as AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases, pollution and toxic waste are used an excuse for underpopulation and thus for a radical system to re-populate the nation. Atwood depicts a society that is allegedly fictional, however, she claims that numerous of its features and practices have been used already. The best example is given by the parallels to Nazi Germany, where one group of people were excluded and subsequently eliminated from society. Similarly, in Atwood's narrative, an entire group of people, in this case a sex – women –is subjugated and enslaved to serve the regime's power-hungry ends. Further, Atwood features a world riddled with pollution and sexually-transmitted diseases, a scenario that is not very far-fetched for the real world if humans continue to pollute the planet and destroy themselves. Atwood also thematises the problem of radical, fundamentalist religious groups who use the Bible or other scriptures literally to serve their own extreme ideologies. She warns that the fear of too much power on the part of an undesired group, in this case women, can lead to drastic measures such as the establishment of a misogynist society by a patriarchal elite. With her novel, she intended to raise our awareness in order to prevent such a system before it can take shape.

33 4 Oryx and Crake

Oryx and Crake is Atwood's second dystopian or, as she prefers to call it, speculative fiction novel. The novel can be regarded as the sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, although the dystopian vision in OC is fairly different. In HT, the entire world is already highly polluted and destroyed environmentally, resulting in the radical climate change that is occurring in OC. The mass consumerism that was strictly prohibited in the society of Gilead has now changed to a completely consumerist and hedonist society that is very technologically advanced. It is the beginning of the 21st century when one man finds himself alone on Earth after a global disaster has annihilated the entire human race. While Atwood was working on the novel a real catastrophe hit the USA with the 9/11 attacks, which in a scary way predicts Atwood's dystopias (cf. Howells 2006: 161-162). Atwood's main literary models and inspirations for OC were Johny Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, H.G. Wells's The Island of Dr Moreau, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Again, as in The Handmaid's Tale, she uses a passage from Swift as an epigraph, this time from Gulliver's Travels. This symbolises her shift from political and social satire to a satire against mankind just as in Gulliver's Travels. As Howells (2006:169) states: “Snowman, like Gulliver, is both mouthpiece and butt of Atwood's satire, but unlike Gulliver he does not become alienated from human beings.” In fact, he is very eager and excited to get involved with humans again. Similarly to Offred in HT, Snowman is trying to survive in this catastrophic dystopian world; however, his survival narrative resembles more a castaway and wilderness story. His question of survival is mainly physical as he will starve to death if he cannot find food. Snowman is represented as “The Last Man,” though the reader learns later that he actually is not. In the castaway narrative, he can be regarded as a Robinson Crusoe-figure, who is making use of all the material left to survive (cf. Howells 2006:163-170; cf. Ingersoll 2009: 112). When writing this novel, Atwood constructed a hypothetical situation answering the question: “What if we continue down the road we're already on?” One of her aims was to reveal the potential threats and dangers of reliance on advanced science and technology. However, as Atwood expresses (quoted in Cooke 2006: 107) in an interview: “Our tools have become very powerful. Hate, not bombs, destroys cities. Desire, not bricks, rebuilds them. Do we as a species have the emotional maturity and the wisdom to use our powerful tools well?” Therefore, she is not criticising science and technology per se, but humans who misuse and abuse them to achieve their malicious goals. The end of humanity is a human problem and not a technical one. Her motivation to compose a novel such as OC came from a journey to the Arctic where she witnessed the melting of the polar icecaps and also from a trip to Australia where she could observe indigenous people living in harmony and close connection with their environment like the Crakers

34 in her novel. She occupied herself thoroughly with science to create a world that has scientific cohesion and credibility. The science that is portrayed in Oryx and Crake is simply a development of the existing knowledge in the field of genetic engineering. Therefore, Atwood's nightmarish vision of the future seems rather believable. The polar icecaps are melting, the ozone layer is destroyed and genetic engineering has gained great importance and dominance as an industry in which companies are highly competitive in their aiming for hegemony (cf. Howells 2006:162-163; cf. Ingersoll 2009: 112-113). Atwood herself grew up in a family with numerous scientists so she started reading popular science in order to be able to contribute to the conversations. According to Atwood, the story in OC is “fact within fiction” and she disagrees with people who claim that there are only positive aspects about biotechnology. If biotechnology develops further and researchers involves humans in their tests, Atwood poses the question: “do you want the human race to remain human?” She also remarks that if we continue the way we have started, “How slippery is the slope? What are our saving graces? Who's got the will to stop us?” (Bouson 2009: 94). In Oryx and Crake, Atwood portrays two dystopian societies, namely the post-apocalyptic world in which Snowman appears to be the only human left, and also the world before the catastrophe occurred. Before the disaster, consumerism, vanity, hedonism, pollution, climate change, violence and terrifying technological advancements dominated the society. There is a division between producers and consumers – the producers control the masses of consumers. The elite producers are privileged and live in strictly guarded Compounds, which are residential areas for employees of the big technological companies. All the other people live in the degenerate, lawless and dangerous Pleeblands, which are of no interest to the elite, who attempt to avoid any contact with the Pleebs. Occasionally, producers will visit Pleeblands for shopping or beauty treatments, however, the Pleebs who live there are looked down upon and considered poor and criminal. The Pleeblands used to be the “cities,” which where then abandoned and left to deteriorate. As Cooke (2006: 110) notes about the Pleeblands: “There is the sense of a post-human bazaar economy, reminiscent of the street scenes in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982)”. On his visit to the Pleeblands, Jimmy observes: “There was so much to see, so much being hawked, so much being offered” (OC: 339). The Compounds need the Pleeblands as consumers because science needs a market. Through her depiction of the Pleeblands, Atwood alludes directly to our contemporary society of the Western world in which sexuality, excessive consumption, capitalism, and drugs are everyday components of life. The internet offers wide ranges of pornography and fetishes for everyone and there are pills available that resemble the BlyssPluss miracle pill, which seems to be a combination of Viagra, Human Growth Hormone (HGH), and a standard vaccination. Often, we receive spam e-mails attempting to sell us promising

35 miraculous pills (cf. Cooke 2006:110-112; 115). The main character, Jimmy or, later, Snowman, grows up in the privileged elite Compounds due to his father's employment at OrganInc Farms, a company that is working on the latest engineering methods for growing human organs. Similarly, Glenn, or Crake, also enjoys the privilege of growing up in the Compounds due to his parents' employment. In order to grasp the vision of a dystopian society which Margaret Atwood presents to us, I will point out the various aspects which shape it.

4.1 Genetic Engineering

Society in Oryx and Crake is technologically and scientifically highly advanced with genetic engineering as its main business. The scientists and their families live in the Compounds, which are run by the extremely rich companies. Naturally, a huge amount of money is circulating in these companies and there is fierce competition between the leading ones. Jimmy's father works for OrganInc Farms as a genographer working on the pigoon project and, thus, Jimmy grows up in close proximity to the developments of genetic engineering, such as the pigoon project which he describes as follows: “The goal of the pigoon project was to grow an assortment of foolproof human-tissue organs in a transgenic knockout pig host – organs that would transplant smoothly and avoid rejection, but would also be able to fend off attacks by opportunistic microbes and viruses, of which there were more strains every year” (OC: 25).

It appears that numerous new diseases and viruses have also developed and thus it was necessary for science to outrun them and advance even faster. Pigoons would not be used for meat because no human would want to eat an animal with cells that might be identical to some of their own. Later Jimmy's father changes jobs and works at “NooSkins” where he also works with pigoons to create new skins which could replace old, wrinkly and blemished skin so that older people could look young and beautiful again (cf. OC: 62). Further, new animal species were created by splicing the genes of two existing animals such as a skunk and a racoon which resulted in a “rakunk.” Rakunks were then used as pets and Jimmy received one as a child. Often, scientists would simply create a new species because it was fun as one of the scientists states: “create-an-animal was so much fun […] it made you feel like God.” (OC: 57). Some of these were destroyed soon after due to their danger and uselessness such as the splice between rats and snakes (“snats”), which indicates that scientists were playing with the technologies rather than using them for good, regardless of the negative consequences that might occur. The rakunks, which had lost the smell of skunks and the meanness and destructiveness of

36 racoons, served as perfect cute and calm pets (cf. OC: 57-58). More of these spliced animals were created such as “wolvogs” which seem to be a very dangerous wolf and dog cross that still look like playful pet dogs but are ready to attack humans. The domestication of wolves over thousands of years to create familiar pets has been reversed far too easily and quickly. The wolvogs were created, again without considering the possible consequences, primarily to serve security purposes for the CorpSeCorps. In the post-disaster world in which Jimmy is living, most dogs have disappeared because they were killed and eaten by the fierce wolvogs (cf. OC: 125, 241). On top of that, many of these gene-spliced creatures now pose a danger to Jimmy as carnivores which are hungry like him. Like the wolvogs, pigoons were initially harmless but now roam around, ready to hunt and attack Jimmy. “Bobkittens” are another new creation which was introduced to lower the population of the green rabbits, which was also a new splice, and feral cats which were killing the already scarce population of songbirds. At first, they fulfilled their purpose but soon, they got out of control and started attacking dogs, babies and even people (cf. OC: 192-193). Additionally, there are the so- called “spoats” or “giders,” which are goats crossed with spiders, one of the first successful splices, whose purpose was to “produce high-tensile spider silk filaments in the milk. The main application nowadays was bulletproof vests. The CorpSeCorp swore by the stuff” (OC: 235). This again proves that the reasons and purposes for which these spliced species were created often resulted in a completely different use and sometimes in a disaster. Additionally, there was new a gen-modified coffee, “Happicuppa,” which monopolized the growth of coffee and thus eliminated the small growers, who then were on the brink of starvation and poverty. However, riots broke out globally, which shows that there were still people who resisted the advanced, profit-driven and unethical big companies (cf. OC: 209-2012). One of these resistance groups, the God's Gardeners, are the central figures of The Year of the Flood, which I will discuss in the next chapter. Another, rather gruesome and terrifying invention are the “ChickieNobs,” which are bulblike objects with whitish-yellow skin. In fact, they are headless chickens which only grow either the breasts or the drumsticks. As one of the employees explains: “There's a mouth opening at the top, they dump the nutrients in there. No eyes or beak or anything, they don't need those. […] You get chicken breasts in two weeks – that's a three-week improvement on the most efficient low-light, high-density chicken farming operation so far devised. And the animal-welfare freaks won't be able to say a word, because this thing feels no pain.” (OC: 238)

Even Jimmy, who grew up in a world with genetical engineering of all sorts, is rather astonished and disgusted by this invention. All these creations are only minor inventions compared to the huge step that Crake took when he created his “Children of Crake,” or “Crakers,” as humanoid creatures who, according to his mad

37 plan, should replace imperfect humans beings. The first step was the invention of the BlyssPluss pill which would serve as birth control, protect from any sexually transmitted disease, increase the libido and prolong youth. Its function as a birth control pill would be kept secret with the long term plan to reduce the population. According to Crake, humankind was in big trouble: “Demand for resources has exceeded supply for decades in marginal geopolitical areas, hence the famines and droughts; but very soon, demand is going to exceed supply for everyone” (OC: 347). He adds: “With the BlyssPluss Pill the human race will have a better chance of swimming” (OC: 347). In reality this meant, “Endless high-grade sex, no consequences” (OC: 348), a notion that might seem very appealing to the majority of the population. However, the first trial runs were not successful and further work had to be done. The test subjects were taken from prisons and brothels from poorer countries, which again stresses the immorality of science to achieve its goals. What is unknown is that the BlyssPluss Pill contained a lethal virus which was installed to wipe out the entire human race. The next step was the so-called “Paradice” project, which concerned itself with the quest for immortality, where Crake created the “floor models” (OC: 355), his “Crakers.” They are naked, grow much faster than humans, and they simply drop dead at the age of thirty without diseases or aging or the fear of dying. According to Crake, “Immortality […] is a concept. If you take 'mortality' as being, not death, but the foreknowledge of it and the fear of it, then 'immortality' is the absence of such fear” (OC: 356). Therefore, he removed the knowledge of death in his Crakers, who would simply die at the age of thirty without knowing anything about it before. The project was top secret due to rivalry from the other Compounds and other countries. The aim was to create entire populations with characteristics that can be pre-selected such as beauty or docility. UV-resistance, a built-in insect repellent, and a digestive system that allows to eat all kinds of plants were already developed in the new creatures. Further, high immunity against diseases is implemented and skin colour registering does not exist any more, meaning there is no racism. The brain is much simpler and thus concepts such as hierarchy, territoriality, marriages, divorces and so on would simply not exist. Due to their diet of only leaves, grass and berries, they would always have sufficient food available. Their sexuality would simply serve the purpose of reproduction and would be uncomplicated and pragmatic as there would be mating seasons. No sex drives, feelings, love or anything similar would torment them. They would live in perfect harmony with their environment and thus there is no need for housing or clothing. Most importantly, they would have no need for symbolisms such as gods, kingdoms, and money that are all very harmful and sometimes fatal to humanity. As not all customers would want all these features, they would be custom-made according to characteristics chosen by the buyer. As Crake explains: “These are the floor models. They represent the art of the possible” (OC: 359). As the reader soon learns, however,

38 this idea of creating entire populations with certain characteristics is not Crake's real aim; rather, he aims to eliminate all imperfect humans and replace them with his perfect humanoids. As it becomes evident later in the novel, Crake's idea of human creatures who do not question their origin or have any kind of symbolic thinking, art or culture, eventually fails. “Watch out for art, Crake used to say. As soon as they start doing art, we're in trouble” (OC: 419). Symbolic thinking would follow and they would start inventing idols, funerals and so on, which would all lead to war. Humankind's history would repeat itself. When Snowman returns from his trip to find food he discovers that the Crakers have built an image of him and seem to be worshipping it. Thus, they have started creating art and idols. Further, they regard Crake as their creator and Oryx as the creator of the animal world, which is very ironic, because that is exactly what Crake wanted to prevent and erase in humans. This indicates that the Crakers would develop further in that direction and that it is impossible to create humanoid creatures by removing their most human aspects. As a joke Crake names all his Crakers after famous historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Leonardo da Vinci, or Madame Curie. Though Atwood presents the Crakers rather satirically, she does intend to seriously warn humans of the consequences of gene manipulation. Scientists hold the dangerous power to alter human biology and thus our reality (cf. Bouson 2009: 103). Crake clearly has an illusion of mastery which he masks as a mission to “save the world” even if it first needs to be destroyed for its own sake. Humans have destroyed their environment so much that they will no longer be able to survive in it and, therefore, a new species must be invented to withstand this environment and survive. As humans are bound to be extinct, Crake must create a new species to maintain life. However, as Ingersoll (2009: 116) points out: “If traditional human qualities have to be sacrificed in order to survive, it may not be worth surviving.” The Crakers do not resemble humans much anymore as they are perfect, beautiful creatures which do not have any desires and emotions such as love. Their intelligence is also very limited and, in fact, they are like children because they need protection and care, which Jimmy is providing for them in the post- disaster world (cf. Ingersoll 2009: 116-117). With her depiction of Crake and the Crakers, Atwood shows great respect for Crake and his invention, however, she also mocks it in a way. The reader simply cannot accept the Crakers with their perfect appearance, blue bottoms and penises, citrus- smell, purring, and excrement eating, with full seriousness (cf. Dunning 2005: 95). By making genetic engineering and technology a central theme in her novel, Atwood clearly shows concern for the future. According to Francis Fukuyama (quoted in Bouson 2009: 94), a “significant threat posed by contemporary biotechnology is the possibility that it will alter human nature and thereby move us into a 'posthuman' stage of history.” Oryx and Crake exposes the possible outcomes of genetic engineering if it is taken too far (cf. Bouson 2009: 94). The scientist Edward Wilson speaks of a “rampant technophilia” and urges us to pose the question: “What, after

39 all, in the long term does it mean to be human?” (quoted in Hengen 2006: 72-73). This is a question that Atwood also addresses in her novel. By creating the Crakers in OC, Atwood ignores her own “belief that human nature cannot change” (Hengen 2006: 74). Hengen further states: “Being human to Atwood clearly implies acceptance of the whole range of our physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual state. To deny or splice out any of that state is to amputate the self as it has been known so far, and so to stress nature perilously.” (Hengen 2006: 74)

4.2 Power and freedom

The society in which Jimmy lives before the disaster is one of many restrictions and limitations to individual freedom. The elite of highly intelligent scientists and their families live in well- protected Compounds which provide for them. However, they are strictly guarded and kept under surveillance, making it difficult for the Compounds' inhabitants to leave. One needs passes to be allowed into the Pleeblands, which are highly dangerous, and therefore Jimmy and Crake received protection when they made a trip there. They went to the Pleeblands “north of New New York,” which indicates that everything has changed drastically. In order to be safe in the Pleeblands, it is advised to get vaccinated due to the high risk of contagious viruses. Pleeblanders, who spent their entire lives there, were immune to them but the privileged and protected Compound inhabitants were easily infected. For further protection, they used nose cones to avoid the highly polluted air. People are divided into the elite Compounds inhabitants and the poorer Pleebs, whose territories have been abandoned and neglected. There is terrible violence, anarchy, criminality and pollution in the Pleebs and nobody is reacting to change anything. All the highly advanced products that are invented and created in the protected Compound companies are sold in the Pleebs where it “turns to gold” (OC: 339), as Crake describes it. The shops are illuminated with slogans such as “Why Be Short? Go Goliath!” or “Weenie Weenie? Longfellow's the Fellow” (OC: 339). It is a mass consumerist society in which anything seems to be possible, yet the Pleebs are trapped in the degenerate Pleeblands, while the Compound people make all the profit. Jimmy is surprised to see people with different skin colours, beggars, street musicians and other types of people who do not exist in the Compounds (cf. OC: 337-341). When Jimmy takes the train to the Watson-Crick Institute where Crake is studying, he passes by the Pleeblands and describes them as follows: “Rows of dingy houses, apartment buildings with tiny balconies, laundry strung on the railings; factories with smoke coming out of the chimneys; gravel pits. […] Everything in the pleeblands seemed so boundless, so porous, so penetrable, so wide-open. So subject to chance.” (OC: 231)

Equally, it appears that the Pleebland inhabitants cannot simply enter the guarded Compound

40 areas or advance in the social ladder and become a Compound resident. Hierarchical structures prevail and cannot be easily altered, but, naturally, the option of moving down the social ladder is more easily accessible. The so-called CorpSeCorps seem to be the leading party of the country supervising and controlling everything. Additionally, all the major companies and Compounds, which operate very closely to the CorpSeCorps, are the economical leaders which are simply greedy, profit-driven, exploitative organizations. In order to maintain their power, companies such as HelthWyzer, which is a pharmaceutical company, create their own hostile bioforms that are secretly included in vitamin pills. The virus spreads in the Pleeblands and therefore people need a cure, which is also provided by HelthWyzer and, thus, guarantees the company profits. Crake adds: “The best diseases, from a business point of view […] would be those that cause lingering illnesses. Ideally – that is, for maximum profit – the patient should either get well or die just before all of his or her money runs out. It's a fine calculation” (OC: 248). Once again, the elite maliciously use science in order to maintain power over the powerless. If a scientist shows resistance or even simply discovers these evil plots, which are kept strictly secret, he is eliminated. Crake's father worked for HelthWyzer and was killed for discovering how they were spreading diseases to make profit. He was pushed from a bridge which was disguised by the company as suicide (cf. OC: 246-248). Scientists who fled from the Compounds were usually persecuted such as Jimmy's mother, who escaped into the Pleeblands. Years later, the CorpSeCorps men would still find and interrogate Jimmy to discover where his mother was hiding. She was one of the few who disapproved of the immoral, unethical way the Compounds and companies were using genetical engineering to make profit. Like many others, she reminisced about the past: “Remember when you could drive anywhere? Remember when everyone lived in the pleeblands? Remember when you could fly anywhere in the world, without fear? Remember hamburger chains, always real beef, remember hot-dog stands? Remember before New York was New New York? Remember when voting mattered?” (OC: 72, Italics in original)

This passage clearly illustrates how much society has changed from a liberal place with hardly any restrictions to a place where imposed regulations and restrictions pervade everything. Not only did society and government change drastically, but the nature and environment were also altered in a way that restricted the population even further.

41 4.3 Environmentalism

The world in which Jimmy and Crake live appears to be a destroyed, polluted, and neglected place. People are too preoccupied with either inventing new beauty treatments that will only be of use to vain humans or advancements that will render more efficient and fast products, such as the ChickieNobs. Meanwhile, environmental catastrophes such as animal extinction and draughts occurred as, for instance, in the case of an entire state: “Amanda was from Texas, originally; she claimed to be able to remember the place before it dried up and blew away” (OC: 286-287). Most people do not seem to be concerned with any of this as they are continuing to embrace all the new advancements without any consideration for the environment. However, there are some radical environmentalist groups which lament the destruction and deterioration of nature and try to combat its further downfall. One of these groups is called God's Gardeners, who are mainly featured in The Year of the Flood and therefore I will discuss them in detail later. The most evident example of the extent of the destruction of nature is the macabre video game called Extinctathon, which Jimmy and Crake play as teenagers. It is a game in which one has to guess the names of extinct animals. The Grandmasters were the ones who achieved very high scores and could name the highest number of extinct species. They had to select code names, usually of extinct animals, and so Crake, whose real name was actually Glenn, picked the name of an extinct Australian bird named “Crake” and Jimmy received the name “Thickney,” which is also an extinct Australian bird that used to roam around cemeteries. According to Bouson (2009: 98), this could be a hint at the future in which Jimmy basically inhabits an enormous cemetery left behind by Crake. The nickname Crake remained with Glenn since then. The people, who were the Grandmasters of Extinctathon, are later forced to help Crake develop the BlyssPluss pill and the Crakers (cf. OC: 92- 93; 351-352). Crake is aware of the destruction and pollution that humans have inflicted on Earth and he knows that we no longer can survive in it. Therefore, he creates his humanoid Crakers who will have a chance of survival in the new, ruined environment. The Crakers are the perfect new humans species who live in harmony with nature and do not abuse or exploit it. They only use the natural resources the environment is providing for them without destroying it. Thus, for instance, they only graze and eat berries because animals are Nature's creatures and should not be eaten. Hengen (2006: 82) states that: “As biologists argue, the natural environment in its profound resourcefulness will outlast human abuse of it and continue to be beautiful.” Despite all the devastation human beings have brought upon the planet, it still remains beautiful. Snowman wonders: “After everything that's happened, how can the world still be so beautiful? Because it is.” (OC: 429).

42 4.4 Religion

In Oryx and Crake's society religion seems to play a minor role as it is hardly ever mentioned apart from its connection with God's Gardeners. The God's Gardeners are mainly mentioned in connection with Bernice, who is Jimmy's roommate and a devout member of the Gardeners. They are regarded as a lunatic, vegan and fundamentalist sect that is no real threat to the system. Apart from the brief mention of the Gardeners, the topic of God and religion is picked up by Crake and Jimmy: “'I thought you didn't believe in God', said Jimmy. 'I don't believe in Nature either,' said Crake. 'Or not with a capital N’” (OC: 242). Ironically, Crake himself, who does not believe in God or religion, is later worshipped by the Crakers as their creator and God. Jimmy is free to invent stories because the Crakers are very gullible and ignorant and thus he speaks of Crake as their creator, which is true. Jimmy enjoys inventing these stories and fostering the Crakers' belief in a supernatural power in order to spite Crake and prove him wrong. They also worship Oryx as the creator of the animal world and they pray to her. As Jimmy notes: “Crake thought he'd done away with all that, eliminated what he called the G-spot in the brain. 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.” (OC: 186)

Contrary to Crake's expectation, they are very eager to learn about their origin and their creator. In fact, by creating human-like beings, Crake did play God in his own little genesis. Later, when Snowman returns from his search for supplies, he finds the Crakers chanting and worshipping some sort of effigy of him they have constructed. They started thinking symbolically and worshipping images just as Christians worship the image of Jesus. Jimmy appears to be some sort of saint or prophet who has remained on earth to serve as a medium between the Crakers and their God Crake. Further, the Crakers assume that Crake dwells in the sky because Jimmy once mentioned that he is responsible for thunder and lightning. They concluded that he lives in the sky and is thus unreachable, just as members of other religions believe that God dwells in heaven. It becomes evident that the Crakers are starting to construct their own religion to answer their questions, which Snowman is capable of answering by inventing his own little fable. This could perhaps be regarded as an allusion or critique to other religions in whose origin lay unanswered questions that one man or a group of men could have answered according to their own agenda.

43 4.5 Ethics and Humanity

The society depicted in Oryx and Crake appears to be one of no morals and humanity at all. First of all, there are the corrupt Compound people, the scientists and the elite, who have no inhibitions whatsoever in regard to exploiting and using the lower class Pleebs. Further, they also do not draw any boundaries concerning the abuse and misuse of animals for their experiments and genetic splicing. They create animals such as wolvogs and pigoons without considering the possible consequences; they only think about the potential profit. Jimmy's mother was one of the few people who was of the opinion that these companies are acting recklessly and immorally. His mother and father once have a fight about this topic: “[...]'It's wrong, the whole organization is wrong, it's a moral cesspool and you know it'. 'We can give people hope. Hope isn't ripping off!' 'At NooSkins' prices it is. You hype your wares and take all their money and then they run out of cash, and it's no more treatments for them. They can rot as far as you and yours pals are concerned. […] What you're doing – this pig brain thing. You're interfering with the building blocks of life. It's immoral. It's ... sacrilegious'” (OC: 64)

Moreover, people seem to have lost their sensitivity towards violence and crime – nothing shocks them anymore, nothing outrages them and makes them react against it. As teenagers, Crake and Jimmy would spend hours and hours playing violent video games or surfing websites with rather gruesome and shocking contents. These websites include animal killing sites such as “Felicia's Frog Squash” where cats were “being torn apart by hand” (OC: 93) or live execution sites such as “hedsoff.com,” which would broadcast live executions with the audience cheering. Other executions websites showed electrocutions and lethal injections, like “Shortcircuit.com,” “brainfrizz.com,” and “deathrowlive.com.” Another site, “alibooboo.com,” showed stonings to death or hands being cut off somewhere in the Middle East. On top of that, there were assisted- suicide websites such as “nitee-nite.com,” which allowed users to appear in a live show. Pornographic sites were also very prominent. “HottTotts,” one that Jimmy and Crake visited, showed sex tourism and the sexual abuse of children in countries “where life was cheap and kids were plentiful, and where you could buy anything you wanted” (OC: 103). This is where they first lay eyes on Oryx and since then both of them, especially Jimmy, were infatuated. This seems rather obscene and wrong because at that time Oryx was an eight year old girl. Jimmy and Crake did not regard these websites as shocking or appalling; on the contrary, they were purely entertained and amused by the contents (cf. OC: 93-103). Further, the Pleeblands are teeming with violence and violations that the government simply ignores. The Pleeblands, of which there are probably many more than Compounds, seem to be forgotten and abandoned, similar to slums where violence and lawlessness have become an

44 everyday occurrence. From the perspective of the rich Compound inhabitants, the Pleeblands are to be avoided and frowned upon and there is not even the slightest hint of sympathy towards the Pleeblanders who live in poverty and misery. An example of this is the rather twisted and absurd idea that the University, through their Student Services, offers prostitutes who come from the Pleeblands. As Crake explains: “As a system, it avoids the diversion of energies into unproductive channels, and short-circuits malaise. […] You can get any colour, any age – well, almost. Any body type. They provide everything” (OC: 244). The way Crake speaks of these women as if they were purely objects for the use of genius students from the privileged Compounds shows his apathy towards the Pleeblanders. Another example of Crake's apathy and carelessness towards other human beings is given when he explains to Jimmy where they obtained their guinea pigs for the BlyssPluss Pill. With a grin Crake explains: “From the poorer countries. Pay them a few dollars, they don't even know what they're taking. Sex clinics, of course – they're happy to help. Whorehouses. Prisons. And from the ranks of the desperate, as usual” (OC: 349). Before that, he notes how numerous of the test trials failed, leaving the test subjects deformed or even dead. Jimmy and Crake speak of these subjects with complete detachment and coldness towards the victims of their lunatic experiments (cf. OC: 348-349).

4.6 Science vs. the humanities

In this world, only science and technology matter and humanities and arts become redundant and useless; their only purpose is to make the products of the corporations marketable. There is an ongoing conflict between the arts and science in which Jimmy represents the arts and Crake represents science. Jimmy and Crake have a discussion about arts which begins with Crake's observation that sexuality only leads to misery. Jimmy counters by claiming that sexuality, or the lack thereof, have helped produce some masterpieces of art: “It's been an inspiration, or that's what they say. Think of all the poetry” Crake condescendingly replies: “Art […] I guess they still do a lot of jabbering about that, over where you are. What is it Byron said? Who'd write if they could do otherwise?” Frustrated Jimmy responds: “When any civilization is dust and ashes […] art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning - human meaning, that is – is defined by them. You have to admit that.” The argument continues and they do not find a common ground (cf. OC: 196-197). Here, art is represented as the “feminine” and science is the “masculine,” gaining power over the arts. Jimmy, then, is the representative of the feminine and Crake symbolises the masculine. This is also asserted later when Jimmy works “under” Crake's

45 power as part of the Paradice project and its campaign. Through this Atwood warns about the trivialisation of the arts in our own contemporary culture, which might escalate in the future (cf. Ingersoll 2009: 115-116; cf. Bouson 2009: 98). Crake's plan to replace humans with his Crakers also involves erasing all sorts of art, knowledge or learning from society. His Crakers are illiterate and cannot grasp the concept of art or learning. However, in order to create a similar human-like being, Crake could not remove some features which were innate in humans such as dreaming and singing. “We're hard-wired for singing” (OC 411), he notes. Singing is also a form of art and culture, which could not be successfully removed. As Ingersoll (2009: 120) puts it: “Art will be utterly irrelevant – indeed, dangerous to the stability and well-being of Craker culture.” Consequently, there will be no sort of art, or religion or learning. Writing and reading will become obsolete – even if Snowman recorded what happened after the lethal plague, there will be nobody who will be able to read it, possibly ending in the death of literature. As I have mentioned before, it appears as if Crake's plan to eradicate all culture, art and religion is beginning to crumble when the Crakers start building images and worshipping them. His “Paradice” seems to be heading in the wrong direction. Thus, the story attempts to illustrate that it is impossible to create human beings with a minimum of intelligence without the possibility that they might destroy themselves in the future. Atwood also points out how science and technology might not be successful because of unpredicted outcomes (cf. Ingersoll 2009: 120-122). Jimmy, believing he is the only human left, desperately tries to preserve words and their meaning. If he forgets them they will remain in oblivion. “'Hang on to words,' he tells himself. The off words, the old words, the rare ones. Valance. Norn. Serendipity. Pibroch. Lubricious. When they're gone out of his head, these words, they'll be gone, everywhere, forever. As if they have never been” (OC: 78). In his mind, words emerge that he once knew the meaning of but now he cannot recall it anymore. He notes: “This is happening too much lately, this dissolution of meaning, the entires on his cherished wordlists drifting off into space” (cf. OC: 43). He is longing for words and wishes he could read or write again. Words are floating in his mind but they are all useless now. “'I used to be erudite,' he says out loud. Erudite. A hopeless word” (OC: 175). However, he can still tell stories to the Crakers and use his creativity to create stories of their maker Crake, who they will believe without doubt (cf. Bouson 2009: 106). Howells (2006: 172) claims that he also tells these stories to remind himself of his own identity and psychological need to talk and remember. The Crakers love his stories, which might indicate that the human brain is also hard-wired for narrative and not only singing and dreaming as Crake had claimed.

46 4.7 The main characters

The two main characters, Jimmy and Crake, can be regarded as opponents despite their long- lasting friendship. It seems rather ironic that two people, who seem to have no friends except for each other, are also rivals at the same time. Despite growing up with a similar background, they develop in different directions with Jimmy becoming the “word man” and Crake the “numbers man” as Bouson (2009: 94) puts it. This, as I have mentioned before, also symbolizes the conflict between humanities and science. However, as teenagers, they both enjoy the same rather twisted and wrong activities such as watching these websites about executions and pornography. In their society it seems rather ordinary and normal to enjoy these types of entertainment instead of regarding them as cruel and immoral. Yet, Jimmy generally seems to show more compassion and sympathy than Crake. After playing these atrocious, violent games he often suffered from nightmares showing cruel scenes from the games such as “the one where the Parthenon was decorated with cut-off heads” (OC: 92). Crake's apathy is also depicted by his cold, unemotional stance towards his dead parents. Both of them died when he was a child and he even watched his mother dying of some virus but, instead of showing sadness and sympathy, he describes her death as “impressive” as “froth was coming out” (OC: 207). Jimmy's reaction shows that he is more sensitive: “Jimmy didn't understand how he could be so nil about it – it was horrible, the thought of Crake watching his own mother dissolve like that” (OC: 208). Jimmy, on the other hand, suffered badly from the loss of his mother, who had disappeared along with his pet rakunk. He could not comprehend why she had abandoned him and, although it appeared as if their relationship was not very good, he was devastated by her disappearance. He is haunted by it even as an adult due to the frequent visits by CorpSeCorps men, who continue to interrogate him in order to find his mother. One day the Corps men shows him a video of an execution and he recognised his mother in it, leaving him in a depression for a long time (cf. OC: 303-305). Jimmy grows up in the Compounds with his mother and father who are both scientists. Yet, Jimmy ends up loving words and the humanities unlike his parents and his best friend Crake. Crake appears to be a genius from an early age and, therefore, he is also able to attend the prestigious Watson-Crick Institute while Jimmy attends the useless and forgotten Martha Graham Academy for arts. Both of them represent masculinity but it is depicted in different ways. Jimmy receives his male reassurance from indulging in promiscuity and getting involved with as many women as possible. Particularly at Martha Graham, he spends a lot of time seducing women, who then leave him once they realise that Jimmy is incapable of having a serious relationship. Jimmy is portrayed as a womanizer and sex addict which is comically illustrated in this example: “'If you were ninety

47 and you had the chance for one last fuck but you knew it would kill you, would you still do it?' Crake asked him once. 'You bet,' said Jimmy. 'Addict,' said Crake” (OC: 319). In contrast, Crake is very different as he regards sex and love as a waste of time. According to him, we are simply “hormone robots” (OC: 196) who are tormented by our sexual desires, which we often cannot satisfy (cf. Bouson 2009: 102). This is probably the reason why he eliminated sexuality and sexual desire as such when he creates his Crakers. Jimmy observes: “Falling in love, although it resulted in altered body chemistry and was therefore real, was a hormonally induced delusional state, according to him. It addition it was humiliating, because it put you at a disadvantage, it gave the love object too much power. As for sex per se, it lacked both challenge and novelty, and was on the whole a deeply imperfect solution to the problem of intergenerational genetic transfer.” (OC: 227)

Crake asserts his manhood by being superior to others through his intelligence and knowledge, which gives him power. Especially when he becomes a student at the Watson-Crick Institute, his intelligence and arrogance are boosted. Only later it becomes evident how much power Crake actually had because his genius inventions annihilated the entire human race. In his condescending superiority, Crake calls all other ordinary humans “neurotypicals,” who are people “minus the genius gene,” including Jimmy (OC: 228). Despite all his intelligence Crake is socially inept and it is suggested that he suffers from Asperger's syndrome. His father gave him the name Glenn after a famous genius pianist called Glenn Gould who supposedly suffered from this syndrome. Asperger’s syndrome includes symptoms such as narrow and obsessive interests, a very keen memory, but also a lack of social skills and the ability to empathize. This is a change to the stereotype of the mad scientists as it portrays a troubled character who views the world rather as a game that ends in the annihilation of humankind (cf. Bouson 2009:98-99). Crake is not simply a mad, evil scientist whose motivation to destroy humankind stems from greed, but, rather, he has a desire to change a world already lying in ruin. Unlike all the other profit-driven projects, Crake aims at altering human nature for the better (cf. Bergthaller 2010: 735). Ultimately, science in the name of Crake triumphs over Jimmy's humanities and arts, however, the only human left is a person of words, despite the uselessness of them. Jimmy is trapped in Crake's dream, regarding himself as a living joke as he is everything that remains of humankind. He feels guilty because he blames himself for being ignorant to Crake's plans. “How could I have missed it? […] How could I have been so stupid? No, not stupid. He can't describe himself, the way he's been. […] Ignorant, perhaps. Unformed, inchoate” (OC 215-216) (cf. Bouson 2009: 105). He claims that there were hints which he missed, such as Crake's wish that Jimmy takes care of the Paradice project in case he is gone (cf. OC: 375-376). Dunning (2005: 95) suggests that Atwood ironically depicts Jimmy, Crake and Oryx as the

48 Christian Trinity, a notion which has been widely dismissed since the authority of science. In this analogy, Crake plays the role of the Father, the creator of all, Jimmy acts as his Son, and Oryx is the mysterious omnipresent Spirit. At first Jimmy only serves as as a priest or prophet, but is then sent into heaven – Crake's secular Eden – where he lives with the Crakers and serves as their guide. What is unclear is Crake's reasoning behind leaving Jimmy as the only human to protect the Crakers when Jimmy represents exactly the features which Crake rejects. Oryx, who he murders, would have been more suitable as a protector and guide to the Crakers than Jimmy. As an egocentric person, Crake might have simply murdered Oryx due to jealousy and revenge because he knew that Jimmy loves her (cf. Dunning 2005: 95-96). Although both of them seem unable or unwilling to commit to one woman, they show great affection for the mysterious Oryx. Jimmy is infatuated or, rather, obsessed with her since the first time he saw her as a child. Crake's love is of a different nature as he mainly uses Oryx to achieve his goals; however, it is evident that he does have some sort of feelings for her. Jimmy notes: “And Crake loved Oryx, no doubt there; he was almost abject about it” (OC: 368). She served as a teacher to the Crakers who needed instruction for everything, ranging from what they could eat to what would hurt them. What was more crucial was her work as a distributor of the BlyssPluss Pill with its lethal virus. Crake had found her through the student service which provided them with prostitutes, but he promoted her to work as a teacher and saleswoman (cf. OC: 362-365). Perhaps Crake regards himself as defeated as even he, who rejects the notion of love entirely, succumbs to it. In this embarrassment, he manipulates, lies and uses her as a means to his evil ends. Ultimately, by murdering Oryx, he symbolically asserts his ego and his undefeated views of love and humanity (cf. Dunning 2005: 97). Oryx's life story is a very sad one as she was sold by her family to work as a child. Her origin is unknown but it is very likely to be a poor country in South East Asia, which again emphasises the cruelty of the present world. Due to the radical climate change, the poorer countries have to suffer great losses in their crops, which leads them to desperate measures such as selling their own children. By creating a character like Oryx, Atwood perhaps also wanted to point out the atrocities and violations that are also happening in our contemporary world. Oryx was forced into sex slavery as a child and continued this as she became an adult, eventually managing to come to America. She is portrayed as the victimized woman who has no choices or rights and whose life is dominated and controlled by men. She serves as an object of desire to both Jimmy and Crake. Even when she works for Crake, who in a way seems to be her saviour from sexual abuse, she still has to serve as his personal “sex slave” although now she has more freedom such as her choice to have an affair with Jimmy (cf. Bouson 2009: 101). Through Jimmy's estimation, Oryx is represented as the exploited third-world “Other,” who is victimized by the imperialistic, masculine world. Yet, Jimmy

49 is also a member of this world that perpetuates this system in which women are exploited and used as objects. Perhaps his guilt – not only his desire – is one of the reasons why first her photograph as a child and, ultimately, her voice haunts him throughout his life (cf. Dunning 2005: 97). The female character of Oryx only plays a minor role as this time Atwood chooses her to be male, which is a change from Atwood's usual choice. Jimmy is the focalizer whose story is told through an omniscient narrator and so the novel is narrated through a third- person indirect interior monologue, which shifts from the present where Snowman is trapped, to his memories of how everything unfolded in the past (cf. Howells 2006: 171). Yet, Oryx seems to always haunt him as he hears her voice speaking to him. In this way, despite it being a narrative by a man, the woman has great power and influence over him and is always present. Despite her victimization and helplessness, even the genius of the story – Crake – who refrains from love as it is a waste of time, seems to be trapped by Oryx's spell. In the end, however, Crake takes her life and has power over her but, ultimately, Crake has power over everyone's life as he wipes out the entire human race.

4.8 Conclusion

Similar to HT, Atwood creates a dystopian vision of a world filled with horrors such as pollution, violence, lawlessness, and technology and genetic engineering taken to the extreme. She claims that nothing has been entirely invented but it is merely an extension and exaggeration of the current trends in science. As opposed to HT, she mainly deals with technology, environment and genetic engineering in this novel, but she also briefly touched upon the topic of religion. Through the narration of the main character, Jimmy, the reader learns about a world that had neglected nature, animals, the environment and also humans in order to gain more profits through reckless and unethical scientific inventions. Jimmy's counterpart, Crake, recognises the demise of the earth but, in his lunacy and illusion of mastery, his only solution to save the world is to wipe out humankind and replace it with his invented humanoids, who have little in common with real human beings. The entire story is set in a society divided into groups of privileged and protected scientists and neglected pleebs, common people, who are trapped in places teeming with violence and injustice. Atwood attempts to warn her reader of the possible future tendencies if we continue on the path we are already on. If science and technology gain even more power and humans abuse it for their own ends, it could have devastating consequences as illustrated in OC. Human rights are neglected, animals are tortured, nature is exploited and destroyed, and the arts and humanities are losing importance as science is gaining it. How far can humanity go before losing its humaneness?

50 5 The Year of the Flood

The Year of the Flood serves as a sequel to Oryx and Crake and is the second part of a trilogy. Consequently, it is set in the same world as Oryx and Crake and overlaps in many aspects such as characters, time and themes. Atwood claims that her motivation for writing a sequel to Oryx and Crake mainly sprung from the numerous questions she received asking “What happens next?” after the ending of OC. YF is not only a dystopian post-apocalyptic story but it comprises many genres such as the castaway-survivor tale, the coming-of-age story, which can be found in Ren's story, the romance plot between Ren and Jimmy and Amanda, and even a political thriller and mystery story due to the readers' speculation on the connection between Crake and the God's Gardeners (cf. Bouson 2011: 10-11). Bouson (2011: 14-16) claims that Atwood criticises the “virus” of Americanism, which is a culture of violence, corporatization, commodification and endless consumption, which has spread globally. Frederic Jameson (quoted in Bouson 2011:15) describes the “Fall” in The Year of the Flood as “a fall into Americanism” in a “global near future” in which “the term American is no longer necessary.” The “virus” of Americanism has led the world into degeneration through, on the one hand, a selfish and greedy elite and on the other the extreme violence and lawlessness of Blanco and his likes. This time, different from OC, Atwood chose to narrate her story through two female protagonists, who both, like Jimmy, survived the world-wide catastrophe, which annihilated the human race. These two women, Toby and Ren, used to belong to a sect named God's Gardeners, which is also briefly mentioned a few times in Oryx and Crake in a rather condescending, mocking way. As already mentioned in the chapter on Oryx and Crake, Jimmy's roommate Bernice was also a member of the God's Gardeners and he regarded her as a ridiculous, crazy person. In this novel Atwood allows the reader to view this world from the perspective of these allegedly insane and bizarre sect members. It is year 25 after the sect was founded when Toby and Ren interchangeably narrate their survival stories. Each chapters begin with a speech by Adam One, the leader of the sect, and end with a hymn from the so - called God's Gardeners Oral Hymnbook, followed by either Ren or Toby narrating part of the story.

5.1 Religion

The society in YF like in OC appears to be a secular one in which religions either do not exist anymore or play very minor roles. However, sects seem to be booming as is usually the trend when a society becomes very secular. Some of these sects are the “Pure-Heart Brethren Sufis”, the “Ancients of Days”, “Hare Krishnas”, the “Lion Isaiahists” and the “Wolf Isaiahists” (cf. YF: 47).

51 Another one of these sects are the God's Gardeners, who are the central characters in this novel. The God's Gardeners are a sect which resemble Christianity but includes numerous new elements which emphasise the environment and the preservation and protection thereof. Atwood juxtaposes this counter-vision of the God's Gardeners against the background of a consumerist, morally corrupt elite. She (quoted in Bouson 2011:17) notes: “We seem to be hard-wired to have a belief system of some kind. . . . Very few people don’t have some belief system that includes something other than themselves.” With the notion that environmentalism in this entirely environmentally unfriendly world will not function if it does not become a religion, Atwood creates a new religion combining science, religion and environmentalism. Not only are they a religious group, but they are also a resistance group who refuses to consume excessively, destroy the environment and exploit humans. Some of the members of this cult used to belong to the corporate world of elite scientists who then decided to change their life (cf. Bouson 2011: 18-19). In the Acknowledgements in the novel, Atwood claims that, “The Gardeners themselves are not modelled on any extant religious, though some of their theology and practices are not without precedent.” (YF: 517). The hymns chanted by the Gardeners are influenced by William Blake's lyrics, and The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada (cf. YF: 517). The God's Gardeners resemble a real fully - fledged organized religion with their hymns, ceremonies and long list of saints (cf. Bouson 2011:18). They followed their own set of rules and ceremonies as, for instance, their marriages, which were very simple and did not require a marriage certificate. “Both parties had to proclaim in front of witnesses that they loved each other. They exchanged green leaves to symbolize growth and fertility and jumped over a bonfire to symbolize the energy of the universe, then declared themselves married and went to bed.” (YF: 137-138). Additionally, they also believe that “ownership was wrong” (YF: 95) so they did not own any buildings but only had control over them. The Gardeners had their own historical accounts, which the children had to memorize: ”Year One, Garden just begun; Year Two, still new; Year Three, Pilar started bees; Year Four, Burt came in the door; Year Five, Toby snatched alive; Year Six, Katuro in the mix; Year Seven, Zeb came to our heaven […] Year Eight, Nuala found her fate; Year Nine, Philo began to shine.” (YF: 73)

With regard to the great importance of animals, the first speech held by Adam one deals with the Creation and the naming of animals: “And for Adam himself, the Names of the Animals were the first words he spoke – the first moment of Human language. In this cosmic instant, Adam claims his Human soul. To Name is – we hope – to greet; to draw another towards one's self. Let us imagine Adam calling out the Names of the Animals in fondness and joy, as if to say, There you are, my dearest! Welcome! Adam's first act towards the Animals was thus one of loving-kindness and kinship, for Man in his unfallen state was not yet a carnivore. […] How much have we lost, dear Fellow Mammals and Fellow Mortals! How much have we wilfully destroyed!

52 How much do we need to restore, within ourselves!” (YF: 15)

This points out that the God's Gardeners strictly believe in harmony between humans and animals and all of nature, which they rigorously practice by eating no meat and solely utilising natural goods. Even in the post-apocalyptic world, in which Toby and Ren find themselves trapped with very limited goods, Toby refuses to eat meat. After she shoots a pigoon, which posed as a potential threat to her, she considers eating its meat but then changes her mind. “She'd taken the Vegivows when she joined the Gardeners, but the prospect of a bacon sandwich is a great temptation right now. She resists, however: animal protein should be the last resort.” (YF: 22). In order to recruit more members and raise awareness about the cruelties happening in the world, the God's Gardeners organize processions shouting and chanting their slogans: “God's Gardeners for God's Garden! Don't Eat Death! Animals R Us!” (YF: 48). Adam One holds a speech: “'My dear Friends. My name is Adam One. I, too, was once a materialistic, atheistic meat- eater. Like you, I thought Man was the measure of all things […] Spare your fellow Creatures! Do not eat anything with a face! Do not kill your own Soul!'” (YF: 48) The reactions they receive are usually negative and they are regarded as “ecofreaks” and lunatics. During one of these processions at SecretBurger, a terrible, low-quality fast food chain, Toby, who works there, flees with the Gardeners because her boss, Blanco, abuses her sexually. She did not join the Gardeners out of her own free will and her belief in their doctrines but because she was fleeing from Blanco's abuse and the Gardeners were willing to grant her protection. Through Toby's initial period at the Gardeners' the reader is provided with a lot of information on them such as the hidden hierarchy among them. Adam One, who was clearly the leader, insisted that every member was equal on the spiritual level, but on the material one the Adams and the Eves had a higher ranking than the others. Further, it seems that the Adams – the men - are ranked higher than the Eves as Adam One is the founder of the sect but there is no Eve One. As all the other Gardener women Toby also had to grow her hair long. The Gardeners believed in the so-called Waterless Flood, which according to Bergthaller (2010: 738) refers to God's promise that he would never repeat destroying humanity by water. This Waterless Flood will hit humankind due to overpopulation and its wickedness; and the Gardeners were certain that only the members of their cult could survive this by preparing themselves and establishing secret store places which they called Ararats. Not only would they save themselves, but also animals, similar to the story of Noah and the Ark, and thus they would replenish the Earth. It was incomprehensible to Toby why they would have such strict rules and doctrines if the world was soon coming to an end anyway (cf. YF: 54 – 56). As Toby points out there are numerous practices and beliefs employed by the Gardeners, which

53 seem rather exaggerated and unnecessary in the light of the approaching apocalypse. An example for this would be the use of paper, which was not permitted, because “paper was sinful because it was made from the flesh of trees” (YF: 73) or the prohibition to shower daily because water should not be wasted and, in fact, nothing should be wasted or thrown away. Toys for the children were scarce because the Gardeners believed that “Nature is our playground” (YF: 78) and thus the children should only use naturally produced toys. Likewise, the clothes were very simple and natural – as Ren describes them: “We were so flat, so plan, so scrubbed, so dark.” (YF: 80) Toby considered leaving them because she could not believe in their teachings but she decided not to because she was safe and protected with them. Adam One explains why the Gardeners are under protection: “'It would be bad for their image to eviscerate anything with God in its name […] The Corporations wouldn't approve of it, considering the influence of the Petrobaptists and the Known Fruits among them. They claim to respect the Spirit and favour religious toleration, as long as the religions don't take to blowing things up: they have an aversion to the destruction of private property.'” (YF: 58)

Thus, it appears that religions do still exist and the elite grants them tolerance and protection if they do not pose a threat to the system. Despite the close link to Christianity, the God's Gardeners differ greatly from our present notion of a Christian religion. The Gardeners believe in evolution as Adam One states in one of his speeches: “One the Feat of Adam and All Primates, we affirm our Primate ancestry – an affirmation that has brought down wrath upon us from those who arrogantly persist in evolutionary denial.” (YF: 61). Yet, they also hold the belief that everything was created by God and that thereby all animals are equal to humans and it is not humankind's right to destroy them. “God's commandment to 'replenish the Earth' did not mean we should fill it to overflowing with ourselves, thus wiping out everything else.” (YF: 63) With their arrogance and greed humans have destroyed countless animal species and their negligence and exploitation of the Earth has led to great environmental disasters and the destruction of nature. Adam One further states: ”Then God says a noteworthy thing. He says, 'And the fear of you' – that is, Man – 'and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air … into your hand are they delivered.' Genesis 9:2. This is not God telling Man that he has a right to destroy all the Animals, as some claim. Instead it is a warning to God's beloved Creatures: Beware of Man, and of his evil heart.” (YF: 109)

The God's Gardeners' duty is to preserve what is left of nature and the animal world and live in peace and harmony with them because humankind so far has not been able to fulfil this task set by God. Unlike the Gardeners cult, Christianity does not lay such great emphasis on the harmony between mankind and animals. As already mentioned Atwood claims that the Gardeners cult was not modelled on any

54 other religion but it is very evident that Christianity was used as a basis, or at least The Bible. There are numerous references to biblical stories and themes, yet these are then often combined with scientific theories as well and thus reject a fundamentalist, literal reading of the Bible. In his speeches Adam One refers to the Bible as “Human Word of God”. In his first speech “Creation Day” Adam One speaks of the creation combining it with the Big Bang Theory claiming that in essence they signify the same: “Darkness; then, in an instant, Light.” (YF: 14). He refers to the Bible directly quoting Psalm 104: “Thou sendeth forth thy Spirit, they are created: and Thou renewest the face of Earth.” According to science like Christianity, Man was created the last and he was given free will because God allowed Man to name the animals he created as quoted from Genesis: “[...] and brought them to Man to see what he would call them.” (YF: 14). In his second sermon “The Feast of Adam and All Primates” Adam One attempts again to combine the teachings of the Old Testament and genesis with scientific approaches. He condemns “scientific fools” who claim there is no God. “These claim to prove the non- existence of God because they cannot put Him in a test tube and weigh and measure Him. But God is pure Spirit. […] God is indeed the No Thing, the No-thingness.” (YF: 62) In his creation God has made man “a little lower than the Angels” as is quoted from Psalm 8:5 and Adam One also speaks of the “Fall”, which is known from the Bible when Adam and Eve committed the first sin and condemned humankind to sinfulness. According to Adam One the Fall is still continuing as humans are falling into greed: “why do we think that everything on Earth belongs to us, while in reality we belong to Everything?” (YF: 63) Adam One later also describes the Fall of Man as “multidimensional”: “The ancestral primates fell out of the trees; then they fell from vegetarianism into meat-eating. Then they fell from instinct into reason, and thus into technology; from simple signals into complex grammar, and thus into humanity; from firelessness into fire, and thence into weaponry; and from seasonal mating into an incessant sexual twitching. Then they fell from a joyous life in the moment into the anxious contemplation of the vanished past and the distant future.” (YF: 124)

In Adam One's speech “The Festival of Arks” he speaks of the well-known myth of Noah's Ark from Genesis. He sums it up thus: “According to the Human Words of God, the task of saving the chosen Species was given to Noah, symbolizing the aware ones among Mankind. He alone was forewarned; he alone took upon himself Adam's original stewardship, keeping God's beloved Species safe until the waters of the Flood had receded and his Ark was beached upon Ararat. Then the rescued Creates were set loose upon the Earth, as if at a second creation.” (YF: 108)

God regretted his decision to keep man alive, which Adam One quotes from the Genesis 8:21: “I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart

55 is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite every thing living, as I have done.” (YF: 109) Adam One warns that not God would destroy the Earth but that humankind with their evil and exploitative behaviour towards the Earth will ruin it. Thus, they believe in a Waterless Flood caused by humans, not by God. He stresses that God established a Covenant with Noah and “every living creature” as is mentioned in Genesis 9:9, which means God also established this Covenant with animals which therefore must be creatures with souls and not simply pieces of meat. This is further confirmed in Job 12: “But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee … and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.” (YF: 110). Adam One uses the story of Noah's Ark as a justification for vegetarianism, which is not the interpretation of Christians in general. The God's Gardeners are, like Noah, the chosen ones to survive the next upcoming flood, they are “a plural Noah” (YF: 110), who will be ready when the flood hits. God will protect them and as Psalm 91:6 quotes from the “Human Words of God”: “thou shalt not be afraid of the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.” (YF: 110). Further biblical references in close connection with the flood include the word “Ararat” which is used for the store places the Gardeners are preparing to provide them with supplies after the Waterless Flood. Ararat, as mentioned in the quote above, is the mountain where Noah's Ark landed (today it is situated in Armenia and Turkey), which symbolizes safety and supplies hence the use of Ararat for the Gardeners. In another of Adam One's speeches he speaks of the fish as an early symbol of Christianity. The first two Apostles that Jesus chose were fishermen and according to Adam One “surely chosen by him to help conserve the Fish population. They were told to be fishers of men instead of being fishers of Fish, thus neutralizing two destroyers of Fish.” (YF: 234), again indicating how the Gardeners try to combine biblical stories with environmentalism and animal conservation. Another quote refers to Matthew 10:16 saying: “Be ye therefore wise as Serpents, and harmless as Doves.” (YF: 277). By interpreting this Bible passage Adam One points out further references to the Bible such as the Leviathan, which is a snake-like water monster mentioned in the Bible several times. With this reference he emphasises the need for a Serpent Wisdom which is “feeling directly, as the Serpent feels the vibrations in the Earth.” (YF: 278-279). God cannot be believed in through measurements and reason but “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (YF: 279). Therefore, humans “must labour to believe” (YF: 279), because it is impossible to truly and fully grasp the notion of God. In another sermon Adam One speaks of the symbolism of fruits for the God's Gardeners which correspond to some symbols of fruits in Christianity such as the apple as a symbol for evil. According to Adam One the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which was

56 one of the trees in Garden Eden which tempted Adam and Eve, was a fig, or a date or a pomegranate. His reasoning behind the fruit being tempting for humans is that humans used to be “fruitivores”. The fruit as a seed also symbolizes potential new life and a new beginning as it grows and brings more life. Another quote from the “Human Words of God” says: “By their Fruits ye shall know them”, perhaps indicating that the fruit – that is a man's deeds and actions not his appearance – will inform of his real character. An indirect reference to Christianity and the Bible is the idea of a garden as a safe haven for humans like the Edencliff Rooftop Garden in which the Gardeners live. The name of their garden even includes the word “Eden”, which in the Bible is used as the word for the garden in which Adam and Eve reside before the Fall of Man. The Edencliff Garden is a paradise-like place for believers in God but it is surrounded by the “Exfernal World” which thrives with evil and immorality. It is a place that guarantees its inhabitants safety, peace and harmony but it is later destroyed by humans – that is the CorpSeCorps – representing the evil that has led the world to ruins. In the Bible the integrity and meaning of the garden as a paradise-like place is destroyed by the humans living in it, who then are faced with a world of sin and evils. The God's Gardeners worship numerous saints who all do not seem to be saints that Christians believe in. The Gardeners' saints mostly come from a natural science background as, for instance, Saint Dian Fossey, who is a real American zoologist, who died defending Gorillas. (cf. YF: 372). Further there are Henri Fabre, Anna Atkins, Tim Flannery, David Suzuki, Peter Matthiessen, Chico Mendes and Rachel Carson who have all been natural scientists such as zoologists and botanists or environmentalists and activists, and have all been declared saints among the Gardeners. Further, Terry Fox, who was a humanitarian and cancer research activist, who had lost his leg due to his cancer, and Sojourner Truth, African American civil rights activists, are worshipped as saints. One of the saints, Saint Julian of Norwich who lived in the 14th century, is also venerated in the Anglican and Lutheran Church.

5.2 The Pleeblands

In contrast to OC, the story in YF is set in the Pleeblands, which are the degenerate, abandoned cities in which anarchy and violence is the rule. This time the reader receives the perspective of characters who grew up and still live in these unprivileged parts of the country. Through Jimmy and Crake the reader gained a good insight into the life in the elitist, privileged Compounds. One of the protagonists, Toby, survived through a very harsh childhood after her mother's death due to a mysterious illness, which could have been caused by her use of HelthWyzer products which, as mentioned before, secretly incorporated viruses to profit more from the cures they themselves

57 invented for these viruses. Her father committed suicide soon after and Toby was left alone to struggle in a world which did not show much kindness for young women. In order to avoid paying for her father's debts she had to go underground and erase her identity, which meant that she no longer had an identity, which resulted in difficulties for finding a job. She moved into a small flat, which was “in one of the worst pleebs – Willow Acres was its name, though the locals called it the Sewage Lagoon because a lot of shit ended up in it.” (YF: 36) She resorted to questionable jobs such as selling her hair and even her eggs on the black market, which was a common practice for young women in desperate situations. Eventually, she found a job at a “Pleebmob” business at SecretBurger, which was a fast food chain whose food occasionally included cat fur, mouse tails or human fingernails. These food scandals and other illicit activities are ignored by the CorpSeCorps, who are supposedly responsible for the security and protection but treat the pleeblands with great negligence and indifference. They themselves are the most corrupt of all as they can simply be bribed to turn a blind eye to such events. “In return, the CorpSeCorps let the pleebmobs run the low-level kidnappings and assassinations, the skunkweed gro-ops, the crack labs and street-drug retailing, and the plank shops that were their stock-in-trade. They also ran corpse disposals, harvesting organs for transplant, then running the gutted carcasses through the SecretBurger grinders. So went the worst rumours.” (YF: 40)

Such activities were everyday occurrences in the pleeblands and nobody was there to prevent them. However, “most people felt the CorpSeCorps were better than total anarchy” (YF: 41), although the representation of the pleeblands appears very much like an unimaginable situation to a contemporary reader, which resembles the reader's notion of anarchic state. Ren notes of the pleeb in which the Gardeners lived: “[…] which was called Apple Corners. This was the official name of our pleeb, though everyone called it the Sinkhole because people vanished into it without a trace” (YF: 85). The people living in the pleeblands view these events with normalcy and without fear and shock, as any other person would view it. These situations have become normal and acceptable in such a dystopian world, in which most of the population lives under constant threat of murder, violence and injustice. Immoral behaviour is the norm in the pleeblands and particularly young adolescents are prone to activities such as smoking marijuana or having intercourse. According to the Gardeners “pleebrats” “were ruined children, thieves and liars all, and once a child had been ruined it was like a wild dog, it could never be trained or trusted” (YF: 94). As the Gardeners kids lived under very restricted and simple conditions they wished to live like the “pleebrats” and enjoy more liberties. After Ren encounters some girls from the pleeblands she remarks: “Those girls were wearing the sort of clothes they usually wore: miniskirts and

58 spangled tops, candyfloss boas around their necks […]. They looked as if they already owned everything from every single store and were bored with it. I envied that look so much. I just stood there, envying.” (YF: 87)

Eventually, Ren is forced to live in the pleebs and work as a sex workers, which seems to be the job most girls have to resort to in this immoral, cruel world. To illustrate even more clearly the terrifying and violent society in which Toby, Ren and the other Gardeners have to live the so-called Painball Arena serves well. Painball was a facility for criminals, who are given the choice to either be killed or going to the Painball Arena, which was an enclosed forest. They received a Painball gun, which shot paint like normal paintball guns “but a hit in the eyes would blind you, and if you got the paint under your skin you'd start to corrode, and then you'd be an easy target for the throat-slitters on the other team.” (YF: 117). It was being kept secret, but later it was available to watch it. The Painballers who stayed there for a long time became extremely rough and violent and posed a danger to society. They had crossed all the limits in the Arena struggling for survival and proving their strength and maliciousness. “Some teams would hang their kill on a tree, some would mutilate the boy. Cut off the head, tear our the heart and kidneys. That was to intimidate the other team.” (YF: 118) After their time in the Arena they were damaged individuals and they were encountered with fear and caution by others as this example shows when they visit Scales and Tails, the brothel in which Ren works: “We Scalies were never allowed to be alone with them: they didn't understand make-believe, they never know when to stop, and they could break a lot more than the furniture.” (YF: 155) These brutal punishments are very counterproductive as they do not prevent the person from committing even more crimes but they often lead to the criminals' development into an even more evil and violent person if he does not die a gruesome death in the Arena. If this is taken as an example of the way the country deals with criminals, it shows the reader how wrong, inhumane, useless and counterproductive this system is. As I have mentioned in the chapter on OC already, the society before the catastrophe is very much dystopian already, which is perfectly evident in the example of the pleeblands.

5.3 The CorpSeCorps

In YF the reader is provided with more information on the activities of the CorpSeCorps. From OC it is known already that they work closely with the Compounds and the elite living there but they neglect the pleeblands, which they only view as places that can be exploited and used to make profit and achieve their goals. Corruption seems to be a common practice among them as the example with the SecretBurger case, which I mentioned above, proves. On the outside, the Corps

59 attempted to represent a good image of the security forces, which are keeping the country safe: “They had an image to uphold […] : defenders of the peace, enforcers of public security, keeping the streets safe.” (YF: 40). However, in reality there is enough evidence to declare them an authoritarian, profit-driven, greedy, cruel and inhumane corporation, which has no resemblance to our notion of a peace-keeping, protecting security force. Anybody who did not fit into the CorpSeCorps system and seemed suspicious was hunted down and interrogated and often eliminated. Ren remembers the teachings of the Gardeners: “As for writing, it was dangerous, said the Adams and the Eves, because your enemies could trace you through it, and hunt you down, and use your words to condemn you” (YF: 7). The Gardeners suggested not keeping any written documents but preserving everything in their memory in order to be less vulnerable and traceable. People who were unwanted such as illegal immigrants were treated thus: “[...], so they'd resorted to the method used by farmers who found a diseased cow in the herd: shoot, shovel, and shut up.” (YF: 37). In order to prevent more refugees from entering the country they had erected a wall, which Amanda had to pass when she fled from Texas after it was ruined due to a drought (cf. YF: 101-102). In order to maintain control and surveillance over every single person the CorpSeCorps urged everyone to keep an eye on their neighbours and family members: “The CorpSeCorps encouraged you to do that – to turn in your neighbours and family members. You could even get money for it, said Amanda.” (YF: 183). Another example illustrating this is presented in the following passage: ”Technically, the endangered trade was illegal – there were high fines for it – but it was very lucrative. People in the neighbourhood know about it, but they had their own worries, and who could you tell, without risk? There were pockets within pockets, with a CorpSeCorps hand in each one of them” (YF: 37)

The CorpSeCorps are all-present and almost seem omniscient permeating every part of society in an attempt to control it. Some of the members of the God's Gardeners, such as Zeb, were former CorpSeCorps men, who came to the conclusion that they did not want to participate in this corrupt, power-hungry system anymore or they themselves were involved in some illicit activities, which did not please the Corps. It seems there is no legal, permitted way to leave the Corps but one has to flee and be on the run with caution because the Corps would surely persecute them. Due to the growing number of fanatic green cults riots emerged such as the Boston Coffee Party when activists disposed of Happicuppa beans in the harbour. The CorpSeCorps could have violently stopped these riots, however, they did not react because according to Zeb, “they wanted to be perceived as honest and trustworthy, friendly daisies, guileless as bunnies. They couldn't afford to be viewed by the average consumer as lying, heartless, tyrannical butchers.” (YF: 318) But in reality this is what they were, but only covertly and secretly. They had influence and power in every

60 part of society and after the army had been privatized they even served as army, which meant they were the only ones who possessed weapons (cf. YF: 318). The elite, of course, profits from an organisation such as the CorpSeCorps because they work hand in hand with them in order to achieve a common goal, which is power, wealth and authority. Therefore, we do not learn much of the illegal, negative aspects of the Corps in OC because we receive it from the perspective of Compound inhabitants but YF reveals their methods in a truer and more accurate light.

5.4 Genetic engineering/technology vs. Nature

Like Oryx and Crake, Year of the Flood also deals with the topic of genetic engineering and advanced technology but it is portrayed from a different perspective as the centre of science is in the Compounds and less so in the pleeblands in which most of the story of YF is set. Therefore, the reader receives a limited, narrow perspective on the activities of genetic engineering and the portrayal of it is certainly rather negative and critical. The Gardeners as the central figure of the story reject all sorts of technological devices and advancements reinforcing their doctrines of green, environmentally friendly and natural ways of life. Since they do not have an insider perspective into the developments taking place in the Compounds they also seem rather unaware of them. However, the pleeblands are the main markets for the products of the Compounds so they are familiar with most products such as the Mo'Hairs for instance. They were newly spliced sheep with coloured hair, which can be used as transplants for new hair: “Onscreen, in advertisements, their hair had been shiny – you'd see the sheep tossing its hair, then a beautiful girl tossing a mane of the same hair. More hair with Mo'Hair!” (YF: 283). After the plague, Toby encounters wild Mo' Hairs and liobams, which are spliced lion-sheep that were commissioned by another sect named the Lion Isaiahists. As already evident in OC, these splices were created for a purpose but after the plague they were loose and wild and posed a threat to the surviving humans. The Gardeners generally reject anything that is not natural, which seems like a challenging task in a world that is so over-saturated with technology and science. All remedies used against diseases are natural: “For every ill, God has provided a remedy in His great Medicine Cabinet of Nature.” (YF: 193). They take it a step too far, however, when one of their members, Pilar, is dying of cancer and refuses to be hospitalized and treated, which results in her death. The Gardeners are warned not to consume any pills from the Compounds: “[T]hose Corporation pills are food for the dead, my dear. Not our kind of dead, the bad kind. The dead who are still alive. We must teach the children to avoid these pills – they're evil.” (YF: 126). The Gardeners seem to be among the rare people in this society who treat the Compounds with suspicion and refuse and reject anything produced there, which to the reader appears like the right decision knowing that the Compounds are evil, greedy,

61 power-driven and exploitative Corporations. However, as I have mentioned in the chapter on OC, it is a materialistic and consumerist society, which gladly accepts these rather immoral technological advancements in order to satisfy their own hedonism and vanity. Gen-modified food and drinks such as the dubious SecretBurgers or the environmentally unfriendly Happicuppa coffee occur in YF and are strictly forbidden for Gardeners but once Toby and Zeb are undercover and have to drink a Happicuppa to remain unknown. Toby protests about drinking it: ”Gen-mod, sun-grown, sprayed with poison? It kills birds, it ruins peasants – we all know that.” (YF: 221) Yet, not long ago she used to work at SecretBurger and eat the questionable meat and products offered in the pleeblands. Even laptops are prohibited so Toby is quite shocked when she discovers that the Adams and Eves possess laptops for certain purposes. Other technological devices that are mentioned and condemned by the Gardeners are the newly invented cyborg bees: “[...] we are informed that, in addition to the virus-resistant strain introduced after the recent honeybee die-off, the Corps have now developed a hybrid bee. It is not a genetic splice, my Friends. No: it is a greater abomination! Bees are seized while still in larval form, and micro-mechanical systems are inserted into them. Tissue grows around the insert, and when the full adult or 'imago' emerges, it is a bee cyborg spy controllable by the CorpSeCorps operator, equipped to transmit, and thus to betray.” (YF: 329)

This again not only illustrate the advanced splicing and technology applied by the Corps but also the constant surveillance of the population in order to eliminate enemies of the system. Rumours said that in the CryoJeenus Compounds offered its inhabitants to freeze their heads after death to regrow them onto a body once such a method was invented, which does not even seem far-fetched and unrealistic in a world with terrifying scientific advances. Throughout most of the story the Gardeners are unaware of the BlyssPluss pill and the Paradice project, which was to annihilate the human race. During her work at Scales and Tails Ren encounters the pill because it was mainly used in brothels to be tested: “Scales was testing the BlyssPluss for the ReJoov Corp, so they weren't handing it out like candy – it was mostly for the top customers – but I could hardly wait to try it.” (YF: 155). However, she did not try it, which saved her life. Glenn/Crake and his Paradice Project are also mentioned in YF, first when Glenn serves as a sort of messenger for the Gardeners, whose connection to each other is quite unclear because Glenn represents the opposite of the Gardeners, namely science and technology as opposed to nature. Amanda and Ren meet Glenn when they are children and he visits Pilar already then expressing his desire to improve humankind: “'Illness is a design fault,' said the boy. 'It could be corrected.' […] 'So, if you were making the world, you'd make it better'? […] 'Yes,' he said. 'As a matter of fact, I would.'” (YF: 176-177). Having read OC the reader knows Glenn's twisted idea of improving the world.

62 Ren is the only Gardener who hears about the Paradice Project due to Crake's visits to her brothel but she only learns that it is about immorality and designing the perfect human beings. Only later the reader discovers that the remaining Gardeners along with Zeb, Croze and Shackie were among the MaddAddam scientists who were forced to work for Crake and develop the deadly pill and the Crakers: “They were all helping Crake with his big experiment: some kind of perfectly beautiful human gene splice that could live forever. They were the ones who'd done the heavy lifting on the BlyssPluss pill too, but they weren't allowed to take it themselves.” (YF: 474). Now the reader understands how some of the former Gardener members played a crucial role in developing the pill that wiped out humankind.

5.5 Women in The Year of the Flood

Year of the Flood is centred around female characters as the two protagonists are both female and the reader receives the narrative from a female point of view. These women, including Toby and Ren, however, are often portrayed as victims to the male dominated society. Toby, who had a horrible, traumatizing childhood, continues to live a life full of suffering and abuse when she starts working at SecretBurger, where she is sexually abused by her boss Blanco. Ren, on the other hand, chooses voluntarily to work as a prostitute at Scales and Tails. According to Bouson (2011: 13), women are metaphorically consumed in the novel, as Toby is prey for Blanco – that is meat, which reduces her to an object of flesh. After Blanco killed one of his female victims, who had run away in an attempt to escape his violence and abuse, he had taken Toby as his sexual slave to torture and humiliate her. According to him, she should even show him gratitude: “His view was that a woman with an ass as skinny as Toby's should consider herself in luck if any man wanted to stick his hole-hammer into her […] She should thank her lucky stars. Better, she should thank him: he demanded a thank you after every degrading act. He didn't want her to feel pleasure, though: only submission.” (YF: 46)

Even after Toby manages to escape Blanco, with the help of the Gardeners, she is in constant fear that he will find her and kill her. Thus, Toby remains a victim of male abuse and is haunted by Blanco. Additionally, Blanco appears to have traumatized Toby in regard to sex as she does not have any desire for it: “She'd had no sex recently, nor did she miss it: during her immersion in the Sewage Lagoon she'd had far too much sex, though not the kind anyone would want” (YF: 123). Atwood presents a divide in generations between feminists and post-feminists in which the middle-aged Toby represents the feminist stance with an awareness of the potential danger of male- female relations, and the younger Ren is a representative of post-feminists who, after growing up in the privileged Compounds most of her life, chooses to be made a sexual commodity and humiliated. Women such as Ren – high-class prostitutes – are viewed as “valuable assets” in this immoral and 63 sexist culture, whereas women who are prostitutes outside the Corp-controlled SeksMart are regarded as “pathetic” and “wrecked” women and are called “Hazardous waste” by the Scales and Tails girls (cf. YF, 9). Similar to Ren, Amanda, who grows up in the pleeblands, views sex as a commodity which women can use to trade. “She says you trade what you have to. You don't always have choices” (YF, 70). She also believes that love is “useless because it led you into dumb exchanges in which you have too much away, and then you got bitter and mean” (YF: 260), which contradicts Ren's romantic notion of love. Precisely love is what makes Ren appear as a weak, dependent female character because of her strong attachment to Jimmy, who has damaged her in regard to love and relationships. When Croze wants to have sex with her Ren notes: “But all of a sudden I don't want to have sex without loving the person, and I haven't really loved anybody in that way since Jimmy” (YF: 473). Sadly, Jimmy does not have the same long-lasting feelings as is hinted at in OC. Most of the women in YF are portrayed as rather weak, passive characters such as Lucerne, who hopelessly engages in a romantic relationship with Zeb and leaves her husband and the Compounds for him. Further, there is the character of Veena, Bernice's mother, who is in a constant state of depression, which the Gardeners call “Fallow state” as they do not believe in depression. The other women such as Pilar, one of the Eves, are portrayed as stronger, more independent women; however, Pilar, for instance, dies due to cancer. The only truly outstanding, strong and active female character is Toby, who, after surviving a terrible childhood and adolescence, develops into a brave heroine. She survives the plague and manages to live and defend herself on her own by using a rifle and her intelligence to fight for her survival. During her time at the God's Gardeners, she develops from a person who did not wish to be a member to one of the highest ranks a woman can hold – an Eve. The children called her “Dry Witch Toby” and acknowledged her strength as well: “We could never make Dry Witch Toby cry. The boys said she was a hardass – she and Rebecca were the two hardest asses” (YF: 75). Through her intelligence, willingness to learn, and endurance, she gains more knowledge that helps her later in the post-catastrophe world. Ren too survives, but in contrast to Toby, she depends on other people to save her as she is trapped in the Sticky Zone where ill Scales and Tails workers recover. While the global epidemic was eliminating humankind, Ren was locked in there and therefore she did not catch the virus. In the end, Amanda is captured and abused by the Painballers and becomes the ultimate female victim as she is just an object, which can easily be traded. In a conversation, the Painballers talk about their brutal plan to “dispose” of Amanda and trade her to the Crakers: “'Bet they'd human-sacrifice her in about two minutes […] After they all had sex with her. […] A sex toy you can eat. […] Maybe we could go back there, do a trade'” (YF: 500-501). Toby and Ren show a strong female solidarity as they are the brave women, particularly Toby, who risk their lives in order to save Amanda (cf.

64 Bouson 2011: 21-22). By portraying the women in the novel as victims to male abuse and objectification, Atwood expresses the fear that the feminist movement is only temporary as women show acceptance to the sexist cultures and do not protest against being seen as sexualised objects (cf. Bouson 2011: 13-14).

5.6 The main characters

Toby and Ren serve as the two protagonists whose point of view the reader receives through alternating passages told by them. Toby's passages are narrated in the third person, which distances the reader from her, as opposed to the first person narration by Ren, which brings the reader closer to Ren's experience. Ren is certainly the more emotional and vulnerable character, which can be particularly perceived through her narration that gives the reader more insight into Ren's inner life as the following example shows: “After that first time I felt very happy, as if I was singing. Not a doleful song, more like a bird song. I loved being in bed with Jimmy, it made me feel so safe to have his arms around me, and it was amazing to me how slippery and silky one skin felt against another skin. […] I was in love with Jimmy, and I had to believe that Jimmy was just as in love with me.” (YF: 266)

Ren's hopes that Jimmy might love her too are in vain because the reader learns in OC, and partly also in YF, that Jimmy has no strong feelings for Ren. Ren, on the other hand, is left with a broken heart, which almost makes it impossible for her to forget Jimmy. Toby is more reserved regarding her emotions, but she is also more mature as she is older. Yet, the reader probably sympathises more with Toby due to her entire life story, including her terrible childhood with both parents dying and her difficult situation as an adult and victim of sexual abuse. Once she joins the Gardeners, which initially was rather involuntarily only to protect herself from Blanco, her character develops radically from the young traumatized adolescent to a strong, brave woman who grows higher in the Gardeners' hierarchy to become an Eve. Despite her initial reluctance to accept the task of an Eve because she'd act hypocritically, she accepted it eventually because Adam One convinced her by stating thus: “[…] action precedes faith. You've been acting as if you believe, dear Toby. As if – those two words are very important to us. Continue to live according to them, and belief will follow in time” (YF: 201). In the long run, Toby adopts countless practices and teachings of the Gardeners without ever truly believing in them. This indicates that people often follow certain traditions and practices in a religion without real faith in it. As opposed to Toby, who accepts the Gardeners, Ren behaves more naively and immaturely towards them, which might be due to her young age. Like Toby, she also did not choose to become a Gardener but was forcibly brought there by her mother, who joined

65 them because of her lover Zeb. She could not grasp the Gardeners' deeper doctrines and teachings but only viewed it on a very superficial level commenting on the lack of material goods or the plainness of the clothing: “The other thing I disliked so much at the Gardeners was the clothes. The Gardeners themselves were all colours, but their clothes weren't. If Nature was beautiful […] why couldn't we look more like butterflies and less like parking lots?” (YF: 80). Nevertheless, Ren has close ties to the Gardeners even after she is forcibly removed from them once again by her mother who returns to the Compounds. Her mother's cold and insensitive behaviour towards her drives Ren into other people's arms as it appears she is searching for a substitute for maternal love. She forms a very strong attachment to Amanda, another Gardener who used to live in the pleebs, which lasts long until they both leave the Gardeners. She seeks protection from several people as she seems unable to protect herself. While living at the Gardeners' she remains safe with Zeb, Amanda, Toby and the three Gardener boys Shakie, Croze and Oates, and when she leaves them she relies greatly on her first love Jimmy. Later as an adult, when she starts working at Scales and Tails, she views her boss Mordis as a protective, kind man, who the reader might suspect is a rather questionable character. “I liked having Mordis for a boss because at least it was clear what pleased him. He made me feel safe, maybe because he was the closest thing to a father I was ever going to get” (YF: 362). Not only did Ren remain attached to the people she encountered at the Gardeners, but she is also remembered and cherished some of the teachings she learned there as the following one: “You create your own world by your inner attitude, the Gardeners used to say” (YF: 376). It can be assumed that living among the Gardeners for several years did leave an impact on Ren despite her initial reluctance to accept it. Her young age surely played a significant role in her approach to the Gardeners and as she grew older she came to the realisation that not all of it was negative. Another important female character, who briefly occurs in OC as well, is Amanda, who is closely linked to Ren. She is portrayed as a strong, independent girl who was living in the pleeblands without her parents until Ren brought her to the Gardeners. She had fled from Texas, which was destroyed after a flood and now most of the Texans were refugees without an identity. “She changed her name, because she didn't want to be put back in the football stadium: the refugees were supposed to be farmed out to work in whatever job they were told to” (YF: 101). Joining the Gardeners was only to her advantage because it granted her protection and a family, which she lacked. Amanda tells Ren the harsh story of her survival to which Ren contemplates: “In her place I would have just laid down in a ditch and cried myself to death. But Amanda says if there's something you really want, you can figure out a way to get it. She says being discouraged is a waste of time” (YF: 102). This again shows the weakness of Ren's character, particularly in comparison to Amanda's strength and bravery. Amanda learned how to survive in this unkind world and she knew

66 how to obtain what she wanted. On the one hand, she still was a thieving, deceiving pleebrat but when it was necessary among the Gardeners “no one was as pious as her” (YF: 103). Ren and Amanda complement each other very well as Ren is the one in need of protection representing the feeble character, whereas Amanda represents the strong woman whom other women can admire. Their friendship lasts long after they have to leave the Gardeners, but it is weakened by Amanda's relationship with Jimmy, whom Ren still loves. Naturally, she was very jealous but she was fighting it: “I tried to visualize my jealousy as a yellowy-brown cloud boiling around inside me, then going out through my nose like smoke and turning into a stone and falling down into the ground. That did work a little” (YF: 363). Later Amanda's relationship with Jimmy fails and their close friendship is not ruined because of a man. Later, Amanda rescues Ren from her enclosure in the Sticky Zone, saving her life and again emphasising Amanda's endurance and strength. Ultimately, Amanda is being kept hostage by the surviving Painballers and Toby and Ren venture out to save her, which they do but also with Amanda's help by using her last remaining strength to attack one of the Painballers. Then she breaks down crying and Ren remarks: “[...] it takes more than a lot to make Amanda cry” (YF: 503). Turning away from the female characters who dominate this novel, I would like to point out a few important male characters as well. In contrast to OC, the male characters play quite insignificant roles compared to the female ones as the reader does not receive their perspectives. However, a few of them are relevant to the plot such as Adam One, Zeb and Blanco. Adam One is the central figure of the God's Gardeners and the sect's founder whose thoughts and attitudes the reader mainly learns from his sermons at the beginning of each chapter. He resembles a prophet who founds a new religion and predicts events in the future such as the Waterless Flood. He appears very mysterious as the reader does not learn about his personality or even his real name because he only serves as a reflection of the Gardeners' teachings. Yet, it is evident that he is a kind and protective person permitting strangers to join his cult knowing that most of them do not believe in its teachings. When Amanda joined them, Ren noted about Adam One: “He loved people joining the Gardeners, especially kids – he was always going on about how the Gardeners should mould young minds” (YF: 94). His kindness and affection might conceal his rather authoritarian power over the Gardeners and its hierarchy, which is, however, gladly accepted by the members. Another important male character and member of the Gardeners is Zeb, who, out of all Gardeners members, is mentioned most often. The reader learns that he used to be a Corps man, which makes him suitable for the mysterious trips he undertakes. He gets in trouble sometimes as that one time when he returned with a serious injury. Zeb's strength and courage are admired by the Gardener boys and they invent heroic stories about him: “'He ate the co-pilot. After he was dead though' Crozier said” (YF: 131). He gave himself the liberty to ignore many of the Gardeners' rules

67 such as “No daily showers” (YF: 77), despite his high rank as a leading Adam. Unlike Adam One, the reader receives more information on Zeb such as his appearance which is described by Ren: “He was large and solid, with a biker's beard and long hair – brown with a little grey in it – and a leathery face, and eyebrows like a barbed-wire fence. […] He was strong as a bouncer, and he had the same menacing but genial expression, as if he'd break your neck if necessary, but not for fun.” (YF: 78)

Despite his rough outer appearance, Zeb is a very likeable characters as he shows great concern and affection towards Ren and Toby. He also does not appear as pious and sterile as the other Gardeners characters and he allows himself to joke and be rude, which makes him more interesting for the reader, as this example illustrates: “Adam one said they should take a moment of silence and put Light around Burt in their hearts, and Zeb said they'd already put so much light around him the guy was probably burning like a suicide bomber in a fried-chicken franchise” (YF: 228). The last male character worth mentioning is the villain Blanco, who is a suitable representative of the violence and horror of the pleeblands. He is first introduced as the manager of the SecretBurger chain where Toby works. A tattoo around his neck describes his character well: “Around his neck was a tattooed chain […] According to rumour, that chain went right down his back, twined around an upside-down naked woman whose head was stuck in his ass” (YF: 43-44). He regarded women solely as objects ready to be used and exploited by him and if they do not comply he simply kills them. The girl he was sexually abusing before he set his eye on Toby was murdered brutally after she had tried to escape this torture. His next victim Toby is saved by the Gardeners escaping Blanco's fangs who during her escape yells: “I'll slice off your tits” (YF: 51), revealing his unimaginable brutality and hatred towards women. He becomes even more malicious and violent after he spends some time in the Painball Arena and then returns to attack the Gardeners and kill Toby. They manage to defeat them but Toby knows he will come back again and therefore it is decided that Toby has to be moved in order to be safe. Toby has to change her entire appearance and work at an AnooYoo Spa to disguise her old identity, which is the only way she can escape Blanco. Blanco represents the harsh reality of the pleeblands and the powerlessness of, particularly, women in that society. It also stresses the uselessness and ignorance of the CorpSeCorps, who claim to be a security corporation that keeps the population safe. In the end, the humiliated and abused Toby triumphs over Blanco because she murders him with a natural poison: “'May his Spirit go in peace,' she says out loud. Such as it is, the fuck-pig” (YF: 459). The characters that Atwood chooses to survive could be representatives of different approaches. On the one hand, several of the Gardeners, including Toby and Ren, survive and could symbolically represent nature and God. On the other, a few Painballers remain alive including

68 Blanco initially, who is then injured and killed by Toby. They symbolize the pleeblands with its violence, atrocities and injustice, but they are certainly in the minority. Finally, there are the Crakers, the perfect humanoid creatures, and Jimmy, who survived the plague. The Crakers are products of genetic engineering and a mad scientist's beliefs, but with their environmentally friendly tendencies and their lack of intelligence they do not represent a triumph of science over nature. In fact, it becomes apparent that Crake and the God's Gardeners have a common goal, namely the preservation of nature and the desire to build a new group of people who would live in harmony and peace with nature. However, their approaches differ and the Gardeners make use of their belief in God to change the world, as opposed to the obsession with science and its possibilities. Ultimately, if the majority of survivors are God's Gardeners, they have the possibility to establish a new society along the lines of their teachings. However, the reader cannot be sure whether the survivors from OC and YF are the only ones because there is another sequel in this trilogy which might open up an entirely new storyline.

5.7 Conclusion

As a sequel to Oryx and Crake, Year of the Flood is set in the same dystopian society, which is ruled by the greedy CorpSeCorps. This time, however, the story is told from the point of view of two women who live in the pleeblands, the neglected, degenerate cities in which anarchy prevails. These two women are members of a sect, the God's Gardeners, which is a green, environmentally- friendly, vegetarian sect with loose ties to Christianity and the Bible. Therefore, the role of religion plays a more significant role in YF than in OC because it is centred around the beliefs and practices of the Gardeners. One such belief is that a Waterless Flood will eliminate humankind, leaving them the only survivors. Indeed, several of the Gardeners survive along with Crakers and Jimmy. With the pleeblands as the setting, the reader receives a good insight into the desperate and violent life there, as opposed to the perspective of the Compounds in OC. More information about the CorpSeCorps unfolds, which reveals and affirms their corruption, ignorance and greed as already known from OC. The themes of genetic engineering, nature and environment occur again, but this time the natural approach of humans living in harmony with animals and nature without technology is favoured. Once again, it becomes evident that the society before the global plague was as much dystopian and horrible as it is after the plague when the remaining people have to struggle for their survival. Since the two protagonists are women, the reader is provided with more information on the role of women in the society and thus exposing its sexist, abusive tendencies. One of the two main characters, Toby, is sexually abused by her violent boss Blanco, whereas Ren is driven into

69 prostitution in a society in which morality and decency have been completely abandoned. However, the women, especially Toby and Amanda, also show strength and particularly female solidarity in a world dominated by men.

6 Comparison of Atwood's dystopian novels

Originating in the same literary genre Atwood's dystopian novels share several features but they also differ greatly regarding other aspects. Since Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood are part of a closely connected trilogy, they obviously have numerous similarities. In contrast, The Handmaid's Tale offers a large amount of contrast with OC and YF. In this chapter, I will attempt to point out shared themes in all three novels, but I will also take a look at the differences and discrepancies between them.

6.1 Religion

One very apparent theme that plays a central role particularly in two of the novels, namely HT and YF, is religion. As I have discussed in the previous chapters, religion dominates the narrative in HT as a strict theocracy has been established, which allegedly legitimizes its actions and views through the Bible. In fact, religion is abused to subjugate the population, mainly the women, and methods such as intimidation and fear are employed to ensure the population's obedience. Atwood presents a nightmarish vision of a fundamentalist religion taken too far and how religion can be used and abused by the elite to achieve their malicious goals. Possibly, she intends to allude to the notion that religion in the past has been used in such ways and that her story is not simply a fictional dystopian vision but that it exists in reality too. Particularly today, the reader can draw similarities between the theocracies of the Islamic world with the Sharia law based on the Quran and the dystopian vision in HT based on the literal interpretation of the Bible. In HT, the Bible was even manipulated and rewritten to fit with the agenda of the political party, which clearly illustrates the abuse of religion. In contrast to the depiction of religion in HT, The Year of the Flood portrays a different aspect of it, but the theme of religion still prevails in the novel. YF centers around a sect, the God's Gardeners, which resembles Christianity strongly by using the Bible as a source, but also science and nature teachings. The God's Gardeners do not take the Bible literally and attempt to interpret it in a way that fits with science as well, as the following example illustrates:

70 ”The Human Words of God speak of the Creation in terms that could be understood by the men of old. There is no talk of galaxies or genes, for such terms would have confused them greatly! But must we therefore take as scientific fact the story that the world was created in six days, thus making nonsense of observable data?” (YF: 13-14)

Contrary to the religion in HT, the God's Gardeners' agenda does not include obtaining more and more power and using their religion to subjugate others and reign them. They believe that their path is the right one in a world, which has been God-less and destructive towards nature, but they do not intend to impose their teachings on the entire population and, thus, assert their power. They act peacefully and try to avoid conflict with others, but conflict often arises anyway. The religion in YF is depicted as the desirable path, the way out of a world in which humaneness and ethics have been abandoned for the sake of genetic engineering and science. Thus, although the reader might view the Gardeners as a bizarre, eco cult, they are more likely to sympathise with them than the greedy elite living in the Compounds or the materialistic inhabitants of the pleeblands. In contrast, the reader is appalled and shocked by the religion used in HT as it promotes submissiveness, obedience, piety, rigid rules, and no freedom. Atwood shows how religion in a different setting can have such a different function and appeal to the reader. In one story, it is the destructive force which captures the protagonist while in the other, it is the ethical, right movement which opposes the undesirable, wrong society and eventually leads to its members' survival. In OC, the topic of religion is neglected as it presents the perspective of the Compounds inhabitants, who do not adhere to any religion and completely disagree with the notion of religion or God, as Crake does. Ironically, the idea of God and religion does emerge in connection with Crake and his created Crakers, who were programmed to abandon any thought of a God or creator, but who, in the end, start questioning their existence and creating God-like figures. This shows that one cannot create humanoid creatures and erase the most human features, such as intelligence, symbolic thinking, and the questioning of our existence. Viewing OC and YF as part of a trilogy, one can claim that religion as a whole plays a crucial role that might re-emerge in the final book.

6.2 Environmentalism

The issue of the environment and nature is dealt with in all three novels, however, in HT, the reader can only infer that the world is highly polluted and destroyed. One example is given in this passage: ”The air got too full, once, of chemicals, rays, radiation, the water swarmed

71 with toxic molecules, all of that takes years to clean up, and meanwhile they creep into your body, camp out in your fatty cells” (HT: 122). However, this information cannot be entirely trusted because it could simply be a method employed by the regime to scare the population and to justify their actions. According to the regime, women have become infertile due to radiation and pollution; therefore, the small number of remaining fertile women have to be utilised as birth machines. Allegedly, the “Unwomen” are sent to colonies where they have to clean toxic waste but this could also just be a fabrication to invoke fear and obedience in the population. In contrast to this, the topic of environmentalism is very apparent in OC and YF as they are set in a highly advanced, technical world that has been neglecting nature and the environment for the sake of science and technology. Nature and, especially, animals are abused for experiments to invent more and more unnecessary animal splices, which serve useless purposes. The best example of this carelessness towards animals and nature is the game Extinctathon, which requires the player to name extinct animals such as the bird crake, which, in reality, is not yet extinct. Particularly the pleeblands are highly polluted and degenerate because they have been abandoned by the elite, who only take good care of the Compounds. OC presents the perspective of the Compound inhabitants, who do not show any concern for the environment, whereas YF portrays the few people who are actually concerned with the environment and struggle to save what is left of it. Through the Bible, they seek to justify their idea of a harmonious world in which humans and animals live side by side without humans killing animals. “[…] Animals are not senseless matter, not mere chunks of meat. No; they have living Souls” (YF: 109). The Gardeners reject technology and only make use of natural goods, as opposed to the rest of the society, which embraces all forms of technological and scientific advances without considering the negative effects it might have on the environment. Instead of utilising science to improve and preserve the environment, the scientists in OC completely ignore it.

6.3 Survival

Another common theme that occurs in all three novels is the issue of survival; the protagonists strive to succeed in a world that poses challenges to their survival. In HT, it is more a psychological issue of survival than a physical one. Offred has to deal with her imprisonment and her fate on a mental level rather than a physical level since she is provided with a room and food. Mentally, it is an enormous burden that she has to live in such a restricted conditions, only serving the purpose of giving birth to children. She has to face the

72 fact that her former life with her husband and daughter is over and she has to accept her new existence as a muted, subjugated, imprisoned person. The change was rapid and sudden, not giving the Handmaids enough time to grasp the situation and adapt themselves as well as possible. However, Offred refuses to embrace her new task and, thus, she struggles to retain her identity and remain sane in this twisted new society. Numerous Handmaids have committed suicide and Offred remarks, “They've removed anything you could tie a rope to” (HT: 17). Offred tries to refrain from thinking too much about her current situation and the past because: “Thinking can hurt your chances, and I intend to last” (HT: 17). She is determined to survive in this society that has no mercy towards her because she is hopeful that she can escape and flee to a safe place and eventually find her husband and daughter. Similarly, the characters in OC and YF struggle to survive psychologically as they have to understand that the world as they knew it has come to an end and they have to accept the new, destroyed world. However, they also face a physical survival because supplies are short and they are under the constant threat of attack by wild animals. Jimmy even lives outside and sleeps on trees to avoid the animals and he is not able to move around freely without fearing an attack. Ren and Toby are initially inside and protected, but the food supplies are limited so they have to venture outside. Jimmy believes that he is the only human being left, which ultimately drives him insane as the reader can see at the end of YF: “Jimmy doesn't recognize me at all, or Amanda either. He keeps talking to some other woman, who appears to be standing by the fire” (YF: 514). During his time alone he was struggling to find tasks to employ himself with: “He has to find more and better ways to occupy his time. […] Make a chess set, play games with himself. […] Or he could keep a diary. Set down his impressions. […] He could make lists. It could give his life some structure” (OC: 44-45). He is struggling to maintain his identity and his sanity as he uses words to assert to himself that he is still alive. His upcoming insanity is foreshadowed by his illusion that he hears his former lover Oryx speaking to him: “Oh sweetie, a woman's voice says from the corner of the room. You're doing really well” (OC: 280). Ren and Toby also have to fight for their survival in the post-apocalyptic world and, particularly Toby, display great courage and capability of handling the situation. She retrieves an old rifle from her parent's garden, undertaking a dangerous trip there only shortly after the epidemic had broken out. When she finds Ren, they are encouraged to fight on together and to survive in order to find more of the remaining Gardeners. As I have mentioned in the chapter on women in YF, it becomes evident that even before the epidemic, especially the women had to struggle and survive in a society which did not show any kindness to them. A good example of a strong and tenacious attempt at survival is Amanda, who lost both her parents and fled as a refugee from Texas. Similarly, Toby struggled through her adolescence because her parents

73 also died and she was left alone without any money or opportunities. Nevertheless, she managed to stay alive and support herself until she was saved by the God's Gardeners. Ingersoll (cf. 2009: 123-124) suggests that Atwood herself had to survive and struggle to become a female Canadian writer in a society which regards women as housewives and mothers. She had to struggle to break out of the convention and pursue a career that is not desirable for a woman. Additionally, she had to fight the influence of American culture, which has dominated Canadian culture immensely.

6.4 Humanity

All three novels deal with the way humans are treated by others who deprive them of their freedom and impose restrictions on their lives. The Handmaid's Tale focuses on the unfair and exploitative treatment towards women through the portrayal of one woman who has to endure the cruelties afflicted on her. In a society that is supposedly based on religious motives, a humane and ethical treatment of a large portion of the population is simply abandoned, making them “national resources” and thus objects. As objects, they solely serve the purpose of giving birth and if they fail, they will be eliminated like all the other undesired people. There are countless violations of human rights in HT because it has suddenly become legal and ethical to imprison women, execute anyone without a trial, and keep the entire population under close surveillance. It is mainly the handmaids who suffer from all these restrictions, but the whole population is somehow restricted and observed, ultimately limiting everybody's freedom. In the society of OC and YF, there are is a huge gap between the privileged Compound inhabitants and the abandoned pleeblanders. The people living in the Compounds consider themselves highly superior compared to the inhabitants of the pleeblands. They only view them as potential costumers for all the products invented by the elite scientists. When Jimmy visits a pleebland with Crake, he observes: “The pleebland inhabitants didn't look like the mental deficients the Compounders were fond of depicting, or most of them didn't” (OC: 339). This illustrates how the Compounders regarded the pleeblanders as inferior beings who could be exploited to achieve their own goals. YF gives the reader an insight into the lives of people who grew up in the pleeblands and the reader learns that they are just as normal as the Compounders, only that they have not been privileged enough to live in the Compounds. Sadly, even among the pleeblanders, inhumane treatments prevail as the more powerful people, such as Blanco, exploit and abuse the weaker ones – the women. As mentioned above, particularly women struggle in the pleeblands and are forced to accept jobs at which they are

74 humiliated. Ren, too, is driven into working as a prostitute, but she does not realise that she is being sexually exploited.

6.5 The Endings

All three novels end on an ambiguous note, leaving the reader wondering what happens to the characters. Particularly The Handmaid's Tale is open-ended as there is no sequel to it, like there is for OC and YF. The ending of HT offers two options, namely a happy ending that is and positive and rewarding for the protagonist Offred, or an ending that will result in her deportation to the colonies and, therefore, her death. It is unclear whether Nick is her saviour and the resistance movement succeeded in saving Offred, or whether he is the person who betrayed her and ensured her death. Offred wonders: “Whether this is my end or a new beginning I have no way of knowing: I have given myself over into the hands of strangers, because it can't be helped. And so I step up, into the darkness within; or else the light” (HT: 307). Offred does not know if she can trust Nick, but she cannot resist his help – she can only hope that he saving her. “'Trust me,' he says; which in itself has never been a talisman, carries no guarantee. But I snatch at it, this offer. It's all I'm left with” (HT: 306). In the Historical Notes, it is explained to the reader that the tale is a transcribed document from audio tapes, which have been recovered many years later. This indicates that the protagonist must have been saved and brought to a place where she could have recorded her story. The professor in the Historical Notes states: “Obviously, it could not have been recorded during the period of time it recounts, since, if the author is telling the truth, no machine or tapes would have been available to her, nor would she have had a place of concealment for them” (HT: 315). The reader can assume that Offred has been saved after enduring all the misery, but it will never be known whether she could find her daughter and her husband Luke. Oryx and Crake ends in a very thrilling and exciting way, which encourages the reader to read its sequel The Year of the Flood; however, YF was published six years later in 2009. Throughout the entire novel, it is assumed that Snowman is the only remaining survivor because there is no sign of other human survivors. In the end, this assumption is retracted as it becomes known that there are at least three more survivors. Snowman, however, is suspicious and anxious to face them: “What if they should see him? A hairy naked maniac wearing nothing but a baseball cap and carrying a spraygun. What would they do? Scream and run? Attack? Open their arms to him with joy and brotherly love?” (OC: 431). Living alone in anxiety and isolation all this time, Snowman probably cannot believe that there are other humans left and that his misery might be over. Atwood devised this ending cleverly, leaving

75 the reader in anticipation and curiosity to know how to story continues. In The Year of the Flood, Atwood only revealed towards the end of the novel that the three people Snowman sees are the two Painballers and her hostage Amanda. From the beginning of OC, there is evidence for even more survivors, but the reader is left guessing and wondering which of them Snowman encounters. In the end, the reader learns that Snowman eventually faced the three people and immediately aims his gun at them. Once Ren and Toby also appear in the scene, they prevent Snowman from shooting anyone and succeed in saving Amanda from the Painballers. Jimmy is reunited with other people that he knew but no longer recognises because it appears as though he has lost his sanity. The last few lines indicate that there are either more people or possibly the Crakers approaching them; the latter seems more likely because the protagonists can hear Craker-like singing. “We listen. Jimmy's right, there is music. It's faint and far away, but moving closer. It's the sound of many people singing. Now we can see the flickering of their torches, winding towards us through the darkness of the trees” (YF: 516). The reader is curious to discover who else survived and what their next steps are, but is left waiting until the final book of this trilogy is published in 2013. In general, Atwood's dystopian novels end positively, indicating that, despite the terrible dystopian world in which the characters find themselves, there is often a way out and a way to defeat the oppressors. In HT's case, the reader is informed by the Historical Notes from a conference in Gilead in the year 2195 that the former Gilead eventually ceased to exist and a more liberal and humane society replaced it. Since it is the “Twelfth Symposium on Gileadean Studies” (HT: 311), it can be assumed that the regime of the Gilead did not last very long; however, there is no information on how it ended. In OC and YF, the situation is more bleak as there is no way to undo the annihilation of almost the entire human race; however, it becomes clear that numerous people have survived, mainly Gardeners, who could gradually rebuild humanity. Since mainly Gardeners survived, they would rebuild the human race in an environmentally friendly way without high technology and advancements and with more consideration towards the animal world, which would give the human race a second chance for doing it better this time.

6.6 What does it mean to be human?

In her novels, Atwood indirectly poses this same question, approaching it from different angles. In HT, Offred has lost many of her human rights, which enables a person to live a happy and successful life. Offred is deprived of her freedom, her sexuality, her money, her

76 love, her words, even her thoughts and opinions. Instead, she is instructed to take up opinions she does not support. In order for Gilead to function successfully, a vast group of people have to be deprived of their humaneness to make them comply with the new system. Can the Handmaids still be considered human if they are lacking human features such as writing, reading, speaking freely, moving freely, thinking freely? Their lives seem pointless as they are only breeding machines with no free will whatsoever. At some point in the novel, Offred questions whether she can continue such a life or whether it might be better to end it. “Oh God oh God. How can I keep on living?” (HT: 205). The option of suicide has been chosen by some Handmaids, who could not endure living such a restricted life; however, even this option is highly restricted in Gilead. OC and YF also deal with the question of what it means to be human, but from a different perspective. Here, Crake believes that the current human race has failed and that it should be replaced by better, more adaptable human beings. Thus, he creates his humanoid figures with several features also possessed by humans, but without many fundamentally human traits. Physically, they are perfect looking, they are adapted to their environment, they lack intelligence and knowledge, which is of advantage to them because they do not have notions such as racism or war. They also lack emotions and feelings, which are vital to humans. They are highly limited in their learning capacity and resemble little children who do not possess much life experience. The Crakers are very gullible as they believe anything Snowman tells them. Due to their lack of intelligence they would not be able to develop further as human beings have done. Humans have evolved drastically and our intelligence has made it possible for us to create and invent new things and to think freely and creatively. The Crakers do not posses the kind of sexuality that human beings have, as their mating seasons resemble the animal world and only serve the purpose of reproduction. The notion of love and pleasure is completely abandoned. Eliminating all these innately human features in order to save the planet, according to Crake, is rather a step backward in the evolution of humankind. Many would argue that, once stripped of essentially human features such as intelligence, emotion, and free will, these human-like creatures could not be classified as human beings. By challenging the idea of what it means to be human, Atwood ultimately asks if it is justified to alter human nature in order to save the planet.

77 7 Conclusion

With her bleak and shocking portrayal of a potential future, Atwood warns her reader of the possible consequences we might have to face if we continue on our current road. In this thesis, I attempted to investigate the fictional societies she has created in order to raise her readers’ awareness about issues such as pollution, environment, genetic engineering and human rights. These issues are all very pressing and relevant in the 21st century – a world with highly advanced technology, exploitation of the environment, and neglect of human rights. Atwood’s dystopian novels were written over more than three decades. Her first, The Handmaid’s Tale, was written in 1985 and dealt with current issues such as the topic of extremist religion. Today, we find this topic is even more relevant than it was at the time of HT’s publication. Atwood also utilises the issues of pollution and environmental destruction in that novel and then revisits them in Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood. With the MaddAddam trilogy, she introduces the main theme of genetic engineering and its possible negative effects on humankind. In order to understand the tradition of dystopian fiction better, I provided a chapter outlining the literary development from utopian to dystopian literature and other related genres such as science fiction, cyber punk and speculative fiction. In the subsequent three chapters, a detailed analysis of the three novels is attempted, starting with The Handmaid’s Tale, then Oryx and Crake, and finally The Year of the Flood. The most prevailing issues in HT were obviously the misuse of religion to control the population, in particular a large group of women named the Handmaids, who are forced to serve as child-bearing machines. From a feminist point of view, Atwood explores a potential patriarchal, misogynist society based on a false reading of the Bible. The topic of religion also occurs in OC and YF in the form of the environmentally-friendly cult The God’s Gardeners, who pose as a counter movement to the overall materialistic, unethical and exploitative society. However, the main theme of these first two parts of the trilogy is genetic engineering and science. These technologies are highly misused and taken too far – eventually, all of humankind is annihilated to be replaced by a more suitable, superior human race. Throughout all these novels, Atwood poses the question of what it means to be human in a society that completely deprives humans of their rights. In the case of HT, the Handmaids lack basic human rights and needs, such as freedom to speak, freedom to think, and freedom to feel. In the other two novels, humanity is questioned by the creation of other, “better” human beings, who are more suitable than present humans to preserve the environment. Atwood asks whether creatures, which lack full human intelligence, free will, and the capability to create symbols, can still be considered human beings. Further, she questions the justification of creating such creatures when the planet’s survival is at stake.

78 In a comparison, I attempted to examine the differences and the similarities between the three works. Naturally, OC and YF are very similar as they are part of a trilogy and are, therefore, set in the same world. However, the two novels show different perspectives, namely the privileged scientific Compounds and the opposing, anti-technology, and anti-materialism cult of the God’s Gardeners. Thus, Atwood illustrates that in a highly technical, amoral, unethical world, there are always resisting movements that do not conform to the majority of the population. Despite the apparent differences in these novels, they also deal with common themes such as religion, pollution, and power. Most importantly, they share a common message to warn the reader of potential trends that might be taken to the extreme and end fatally. In the dystopian tradition of works such as Brave New World and 1984, Margaret Atwood has created a vision of the future as a nightmarish scenario governed by extremism. With an insight into the human psyche, Atwood exposes what certain human beings are capable of if they are given too much power and control, while others are ignorant of these catastrophic developments and powerless to prevent them. Yet, she offers hope in the form of resistance movements and open endings, which suggest that the devastating situation of humankind might be altered in the future. However, Atwood’s main intention is to raise our awareness about the environment, science, and politics to not even allow it to get this far. Ultimately, humans are responsible for protecting and preserving our planet, even though we are the species that has brought about the most destruction.

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