The Final Answers and Heartfelt Words

That Was a Love Story?

According to the back cover of the novel, this is a love story.  Looking back, I see how this is developed, but it was not obvious to me until late in the book.  I didn’t know whether to trust Snowman’s paranoia; also, Crake’s character is so focused on intellectual pursuits that I did not expect him to be using Oryx for more than physical relief.  I expected this because when inquiring with Student Services, he “’… told them what [he] was looking for – you could be very specific there, take them a picture or a video stimulation [(not simulation)], stuff like that, and they’d do their best to match you up’” (310).  I have no idea what a "video stimulation" is, but I can confirm that is what Crake calls it; anyway... From this dialogue, I would think that he isn’t looking for a relationship, but the chapter is called “Crake in Love” and he does continue to see her outside of the Student Services when he “’… [wasn’t] supposed to” (310).  I guess the narration has made me so paranoid that I doubt everything the characters say, but I can put this one to rest.

The Acknowledgments

Like in The Handmaid’s Tale’s “Historical Notes,” I thought something would be up with the “Acknowledgements” at the end of the novel, but it was surprisingly genuine.  After digging for a while, most of what is in the acknowledgments check out, with the notable exception of “oryxandcrake.com” not existing.

The Epigraphs

This is an appropriate time to discuss the epigraphs.  After completing the novel and thinking about its themes for over a week, I would like to comment on them.

I could perhaps like others have astonished you

with strange improbable tales; but I rather chose

to relate plain matter of fact in the simplest

manner and style; because my principal design

was to inform you, and not to amuse you.

Jonathan Swift,

Gulliver’s Travels

This quote could be taken two ways.  I first interpreted it as ironic, because of how clearly spectacular the contents of the novel are and how its style is by no means simple, but after thinking about it, I noticed something else.  As part of the themes of the novel of the dangers of extreme capitalism and genetic engineering, the idea of “inform[ing]” is appropriate in a foreboding manner.

Was there no safety?  No learning by heart of

the ways of the world?  No guide, no shelter,

but all was miracle and leaping from the

pinnacle of a tower into the air.

Virginia Woolf,

To the Lighthouse

Although I have not read To the Lighthouse, I interpret this as questioning whether anything can be certain in the world and if everything that happens is but a miracle of leaps of faith.  In the context of cautionary science fiction, this is a very interesting quote.  In the past, everything seems so certain; it is written and so it is, but the future is always the question.  In this perspective, however, the past was just as uncertain as the future is today and we must consider that in our evaluation of who we, as a society, should be.  Don’t just remember the past; rather, remember how the future looked in the past and consider that perspective for advice on how to move forward. 

The other question I see coming from this quote is about preparing for the future; is there any way we can predict the evils that are yet unseen?  After being put down in the post-disaster world, the whole novel builds up an answer to that question.  The answer I extracted is that only those who have the control to prepare for the future will really know before it’s too late and although for small, relatively insignificant events it may seem quite the contrary, in the time of world change that we haven’t seen the likes of since World War II, the masses will only be faced with the undeniable, absolute truth of it.

What Now?

Before my parting words, I would wholeheartedly recommend Oryx and Crake to anyone.  I don’t know if I would warn them about some of the uncomfortable content because it plays an important role in the tone the novel sets.  I would venture to say most people would not enjoy some parts of the novel, but that is what makes these parts so critical.  Satires should focus on making the reader uncomfortable and thus provoke thought.

Usually, this is the time I say my farewells to the world I have invested the past month into, but this time I don’t have to.  Should I?  What comes after that, then?  Is it better to live knowing the world continues to exist in the mystery of my imagination, or would it be better to have closure, to know the entire universe has died? 

Much like the long-awaited game, Half-Life 3, I don’t know if I want to find out what happens next because once it’s done, it’s done (and I mean really done); closure is the enemy of fantasy.  I don’t live every second of my life in anticipation of this game, but every time I replay the game, the cliffhanger at the end is just as emotionally shocking.  I suppose Oryx and Crake is conclusive and inconclusive enough to be more satisfying than a cliffhanger, but they both evoke similar emotions.  I would stare into my computer monitor whose blank panel reflects my outlook.  I don’t want life to go on; I want to say in this moment forever, to continue this euphoria.

But life goes on, and, after writing that last paragraph over a week ago, I can confirm that it does.  This will be the last time you hear from me, but know that I appreciate the audience and countless fans that flock to my weekly blog posts as soon as I publish them only several hours before the due date.


(With the exception of this one of course)