Jimmy's Relationship In Oryx And Crake

Margaret Atwood, in her novel Oryx and Crake, presents a post-apocalyptic dystopian world that revolves around a man named Snowman, formerly known as Jimmy. Along the way, Jimmy meets Oryx, a troubled young lady. Jimmy had a difficult childhood that has shaped him into the person he has become. His loss of adolescence reveals that a lack of close-loving relationships can have a great effect on one’s upbringing. Throughout the novel, Snowman constantly has flashbacks of his life when he is younger. The use of anecdotes helps reveal the interesting relationships Jimmy had with both his mother and father. Jimmy’s relationship with his mother is very obedient; he is always trying to please her. For example, Jimmy recalls a memory of him and his

His father felt that Jimmy is too feminine for his liking, especially when Jimmy expressed remorse for burning animals. When Jimmy saw the animals being burnt alive, a part of his innocence is taken from him. Their relationship became even more distant after his wife leaves. Jimmy’s father is very perplexed when the whole thing happened and he is not sure how to handle it all. His father eventually marries his co-worker, Ramona. Jimmy would often hear his father and Ramona’s love making, which confused Jimmy, because he is always used to seeing his mother and father together. Ramona would also help Jimmy with coping about his mother, which is probably confusing for him, because his mother had just left them, and now some woman who is sleeping with his father is trying to help him deal with all of this. His father and Ramona’s relationship affected Jimmy, because he is at a difficult time in his life and he is not able to fully comprehend all the events that were occurring. His father’s capableness of helping Jimmy affects Snowman. Snowman is very pessimistic, and is often very conflicted about everything around him that has happened. Jimmy’s upbringing is always pessimistic, he is always trying to please his parents as best he could, but his best is not good