Theme Of Oryx And Crake

Oryx and Crake entails many themes pertaining to the ideas of: disease, human life vs non-human life, innocence, relationships, and immortality. All of these themes are prevalent throughout the novel and have a significant impact on both Jimmy and Snowman. Disease, the most prevalent and important theme throughout the book, is used to drive the plotline. Atwood uses disease to show the distinction between the past and the present. Readers learn that when Jimmy is little, disease is a topic that is frequently talked about with his parents, and now, disease is something that has heavily affected Snowman’s life - it has killed all of mankind, leaving him as the last human being. In the past, disease marked the distinction between the different social classes. For example, people who have good-paying jobs with pharmaceutical companies live comfortably in a disease-free society, like Jimmy; compared to the other people who have jobs in a disease-infested society. Disease is ubiquitous throughout the novel and has a significant impact on everyone. In the present, disease represents mass destruction. It is Crake’s invention that had caused the entire human race to vanish; he wished to eliminate hunger, war, crime, and rape from all human life, but unfortunately, his plan backfired. Disease in the novel reveals that there is a distinction between social classes in and outside of the novel and that it is not just money that divides people. Human life and non-human life is