Jimmy's Character Development In Gripless

One of the driving forces regarding Jimmy’s character development is his relationship with his mother. Throughout the first half of the novel, Margaret Atwood spends considerable time describing Jimmy’s childhood. For the latter section of the book, however, it seems as if the parents are completely absent. Thus, two sections of Oryx and Crake that are worthy of investigation are Chapter 4, “Hammer”, and Chapter 10, “Gripless”. The juxtaposition of events provides commentary on Jimmy’s morals and values, signifies a change in direction and events, and elaborates on his sexual tendencies. The central plots to each chapter are completely opposite; in “Hammer”, Jimmy copes with his mother’s desertion, while in “Gripless” he must endure their reunion. Jimmy’s responses, however, seem to contradict the events of their respective chapters. For instance, in regards to her disappearance, Jimmy states that, “His mother was just a mother” (63). In general, Atwood avoids directly describing how Jimmy felt; instead, the author focuses more on Jimmy’s dismay toward Killer’s liberation, the CorpSeCorps’ investigation, and his father’s reaction. The lack of pathos within “Hammer” indicates that Jimmy dismisses human compassion and empathy. The absence of emotion portrays Jimmy as cold-hearted with no sympathy toward his mother. However, Jimmy’s mother comes up once more in “Gripless”, in the form of a recorded execution. Juxtaposed to Atwood’s original style, there is more poignancy in