Character Development by Dunja Matic
Why Oryx and Crake?
After reading Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on another one of her novel’s. In fact, a friend of mine suggested that I read Oryx and Crake, so naturally as soon as I was presented with that opportunity, I happily obliged. As a fanatic of novels that revolve around dystopian societies I was more than excited to delve into Oryx and Crake. Soon after starting the novel, I became hooked and Atwood’s ability to develop the characters made the novel feel very real.
Snowman
The first chapter of the novel introduces us to the story’s central character, Snowman, also known as Jimmy (the past version of Snowman). Although they are the same person, Jimmy and Snowman appear to be very different as they exhibit completely opposite personality traits. Snowman is the novel’s troubled protagonist, who is living in a place that seems to be deserted from the human race. The first impression we receive of him is that he is an intelligent person of habit. Although he cannot practice excellent hygiene in the world that he lives in, Snowman is very cautious and tries to remain psychologically healthy. To help him do so he says to himself, “‘It is the strict adherence to daily routine that tends towards the maintenance of good morale and the preservation of sanity’” (Atwood 4). For this reason, Snowman starts every day in the same fashion: “Out of habit he looks at his watch” (3), then “he scans the ground below (...)” (4), and flicks on his Red Sox baseball cap. Clearly, Snowman cares enough about himself to have the same daily routine in attempts of remaining mentally stable. He also shows intelligence as he rations what little food he has and does his best to avoid sickness and disease.
It appears that the only communication Snowman has is with a superhuman race called the Craker children. The few interactions they share highlights his desperation for human dialogue. At first, Snowman shows that he wants to protect the Crakers from the past that he lived in so he chooses to shut their curiosity down. However, Snowman quickly becomes annoyed, aloof and blunt with them yelling “go away!” (9) which is perhaps a defence mechanism to protect the children and himself. In general, Snowman exhibits many signs of pent up aggression, that seem to be caused by his haunting childhood. Snowman constantly hears voices from the past in his head and is tormented by them. Although he attempts to detach himself from it (for example by renaming himself), he is never fully able to let go of his past and Atwood uses these memories to tell the story of how Snowman got to where he is.
Jimmy
Chapter two is the first time that the reader is introduced to Snowman’s childhood when he was known as Jimmy. Even Snowman recognizes that he was different before as he says “he’d been a good boy then” (15). Jimmy is a very innocent, empathetic and sensitive character who grew up rich and privileged. Throughout his dialogue, Jimmy reveals that the world in which he lives in tends to give preference towards those who are talented with science and numbers. Unfortunately for Jimmy, he knows that this does not apply to him and reveals so by saying “[he] already knew that he himself was not a numbers person” (25). This is the first point in the novel in which an important theme topic is explored, which is that of the numerical versus the verbal. Jimmy’s inability to fit into this numerical society demonstrates the divide in his society where those who are talented with words are outcast by a world that is governed by ‘number people’.
Child-parent relations
Jimmy’s relationship with his parents helps to reveal why Snowman’s character is as arrogant and angry as he is. His father and mother never seem to be able to agree on anything and the tension between them relentlessly grows. Jimmy never had an intimate relationship with his parents. In fact, he was only ever able to create a solid relationship with two people: His babysitter Delores and his best friend Crake. Crake is a very intelligent boy, a characteristic that even Jimmy’s mother is able to appreciate, and he is very determined to succeed as “[he] would get fixated (…) until he was sure he could win (77).” Crake gives Jimmy a place to escape from his tense home life which has created intimacy issues for him. Jimmy consistently shows that he wants to make his parents happy, and his inability to do so, due to their distant nature, is strongly reflected in his present self of Snowman. It is due to the way he was raised that Snowman speaks to the Craker children with such hostility even though he clearly cares for them.
Jimmy’s imperfect relationship with his parents stood out the most in this section of the novel as it allowed me to make many connections to the real world and prompted me to delve into a deeper psychoanalysis of the effects of such a relationship. The relationship between a parent and child has a huge influence and effect on that child’s behaviour as an adult. A poor relationship at a young age can have many serious repercussions as seen with Snowman and his inability to build a nurturing and intimate relationship with others. Children are first exposed relationships through their parents so it is natural for them to use this relationship as a model for future ones. I am intrigued to find out how this novel further explores this topic as well as these characters, particularly Snowman/Jimmy.
Sources
Atwood, Margaret. Oryx and Crake: a novel. Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2009. Print.
I found your comments on Jimmy’s linguistic personality very interesting, and I would like to add on to them.
ReplyDeleteThis side of Jimmy is revealed from the first three pages of the novel when he attempts to recite a passage from an obsolete book about managing plantations. He frequently quotes scholarly novels he read back when books weren’t obsolete and other humans existed. As you said, his intellect for language sets Jimmy apart from the science-driven society he lives in (e.g. OrganInc Farms, Nooskins, etc). Oftentimes, however, Jimmy forgets words or phrases he once knew before this world apocalypse: “From nowhere, a word appears: Mesozoic. He can see the word, he can hear the word, but he can't attach anything to it" (45). Although Jimmy still is a words person after all these years, his memory falters and blank spaces fill the stub of his brain (7). With this, Jimmy appears less human, and more like Snowman, a dehumanized (his name, after all, is a man that really isn’t a man), broken version of his past self. The fact that he begins to forget words, something valuable to him and made him unique throughout his youth, is saddening.
Perhaps this characterization of Jimmy reinforces the numbers versus words theme topic you mentioned: do number and science-driven individuals triumph over linguists. I guess we will discover more evidence of this theme topic as we continue reading. Regardless of relation to theme, however, it is clear that our protagonist is losing his identity as he loses his memory of words.
Overall, I agree with your characterization of Snowman/Jimmy. You've made a lot of excellent points, especially on the subject of Jimmy's relationship with his parents. It makes sense that a child's first primary relationship would impact the way they deal with all others. I could definitely see Jimmy's relationship with his mother heavily influencing his relationships in the future. Additionally, I was wondering if someone was going to mention the 'he'd been a good boy' line. I was very happy that you did. I think it's a really intriguing line, that potentially tells you a lot about Snowman/Jimmy's character, and the way Snowman views his present and past selves.
ReplyDeleteHowever, while I agree with 90% of what you said, I disagree with your statement that Snowman is arrogant. I see indications of anger and hostility like you pointed out, but I don't really see the arrogance. I'd be interested in hearing more about your thoughts around this part of his character. :) To conclude, great post! You made well-thought-out points that showed a thoughtful approach to Snowman's character. Very good read.
Interesting post Dunja, you brought up some things I hadn’t thought of before. I like what you said about what Jimmy not being a numbers person, and I think it relates to many of the themes in the novel.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Jimmy mentions multiple times that he is not a numbers person ties into his greater feeling of unworthiness which is planted in his mind by his parents. As you said, this society clearly values the numbers person more than others, and Jimmy shows that such value placed in one type of person leads others to unhappiness. Not fitting the ideals of the society also leads Jimmy not to respect his parents (as shown with the Evil Dad and Righteous Mom acts), rejecting the source telling him that he is not valued in society. I think this is Atwood criticizing our tendency to idealize a specific set of traits, and not to appreciate different kinds of intelligence or skill. Jimmy is harmed by this mindset, and his feeling of unworthiness alters the way he makes decisions throughout his life.
This is developed further by the irony of Jimmy’s situation growing up. In a world where climate change is a major threat to humanity, and has caused widespread disease and poor living conditions (in the pleeblands, where most of the population presumably lives), one would expect people to put the most value in scientific minds: minds that can help humanity survive its dilemma. And while the society of Jimmy’s youth values science above all else, it is not because science might be the answer to climate change, but rather because of the capitalist opportunities it presents. By developing this irony, I think Atwood is suggesting that valuing one specific skill or trait is not something that benefits society. In Oryx and Crake, the numbers people are the only ones who benefit from being valued by society. At that, even they do not really benefit from it, as they are nowhere to be seen by the time Jimmy becomes Snowman.