Oryx And Crake And Political Practices - 911 Words

Oryx and Crake and Political Practices The dystopian future depicted in the novel Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood is one that is composed of a multitude of premises that are capable of being applied in fields other than strictly literary ones. One such field that this work can apply to is that of politics, and more specifically political theory. Atwood’s dystopian world is one that many political philosophers would compare to premises set forth by Thomas Hobbes, Niccolà ³ Machiavelli, Aristotle, and Plato. The political lens that this work can be viewed through allows for a portion of each philosophers ideas and theories to shine through. The first theory that is applicable is that of Plato. In Plato’s Republic one is introduced to a theoretical work in which the perfect just society is divided into three categories based on the metal soul that one is born with. The souls of gold are the philosopher kings, while those of silver are the warrior class, and the ones of bronze are the working class. This idea applies to Snowman for after the entire societal system has collapsed around him, he protects the Crakers from the harm that knowledge of what really happened could bring. Also Snowman would be a part of the philosopher kings for he lives apart from the Crakers, and has the wisdom and capability to think on a higher level and consider other options. Plato states in Book 2 that the philosopher kings lead simple lives due to the ever increasing complexity of the definitionShow MoreRelatedMargaret Atwood : A Social Activist1225 Words   |  5 PagesFeminist Literature The 1980s signified the continuation of an era of social and political upheaval in the United States of America. At the forefront was a socially conservative agenda that aimed to rescind women’s rights only ratified less than a decade before, a marked display of the nation’s desire to uphold traditional values that defined the preceding generation (Franà §oise). Among the devastating political climate, however, was Margaret Atwood: a voice that refused to be silenced, a progressiveRead MoreAnalysis Of Oryx And Crake By Margaret Atwood1619 Words   |  7 PagesIn the novel Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, the protagonist, Snowman, lives in the aftermath of a society that was controlled almost entirely by pharmaceutical companies. Snowman, who used to be known as Jimmy, lives in isolation as the human population has been wiped out by a disease that was spread through a drug meant to prevent aging. This was at the hand of his boss and childhood friend, Crake, wh o wanted to make way for a new race of genetically engineered humanoids that are designedRead MoreOryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood1014 Words   |  4 Pagesthe world today is an ever present debatable issue in our current society. In the science fiction novel Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, the author as put by Jayne Glover in critical analysis â€Å"Human/Nature: Ecological Philosophy in Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake†, Atwood â€Å"speculates on what the near future may be like considering the realities of contemporary environmental, social and political issues† (Glover 50). Atwood’s novel specifically focuses on the question: when will the line be drawn