The Future is Ours:
Delineations of Posthumanity in Brave
New World and Oryx and Crake
Student name: Brendan Nijboer Student number: 2042118 Supervisor: Dr. Vera Alexander
24 May 2018 Word count: 14147
Master’s Thesis Literary Studies English Literature and Culture
1
Table of contents
Abstract 2
Introduction 3
Chapter 1: Posthumanism and utopian literature 9
Chapter 2: Brave New World 17
Chapter 3: Oryx and Crake 26
Chapter 4: Brave New World and Oryx and Crake in context 38
Conclusion 45
2
Abstract
This thesis discusses the depictions of posthumanities in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. Both novels deal with the effects of technology on humanity. Brave New World's soma, Bokanovsky's Process and neo-Pavlonian conditioning have altered individuals to such extent that the World State can be called a posthumanity. This posthumanity is characterized by a lack of autonomy and a defamiliarization from nature. This renders the novel dystopian from both a transhumanist and a cultural posthumanist perspective. Huxley's dystopia serves as a framework in which he criticizes the scientific optimism of his time by envisioning a posthumanity that is an uncanny reflection of his contemporary society. Oryx and Crake's post-apocalyptic society is a vision of an environmentally conscious posthumanity. The apocalyptic turning point from a techno-capitalist era to an ecologically sustainable posthumanity, allows for a eutopian reading in which Atwood's environmental idealism is prominent. Ultimately, Brave New World's
posthumanity signifies Huxley's pessimism toward technology and politics, whereas Oryx and
3
Introduction
A defining feature of the 21st century is global technological and scientific progress. Superpowers such as China have recently disclosed their plans for becoming the leading economic power in the world, characterized by investment in artificial intelligence and robotics (Wiegman). At the same time, breakthroughs are also occurring in smaller countries. On 2 May 2018, Dutch scientists revealed that they have successfully created synthetic mouse embryos, a step that can improve the understanding of human infertility problems (Gaukema and Herderschee).
Likewise, research in the fields of other sciences, such as nanotechnology and
xenotransplantation, suggest that technology is capable of drastically altering individual lives and society as a whole. Scientific breakthroughs are met with enthusiasm on the one hand, and with criticism on the other. Enthusiasts applaud the possibilities of new developments. Human stem cell therapy, for instance, may be a welcome treatment to many diseases, but it is also met with significant ethical debate. Similarly, artificial intelligence can make human life more convenient than ever, but what happens when AI starts getting in the way of human autonomy?
It can be argued that 'technological progress' is a broad concept that can be found in many different fields of study. Technological progress is met with discussion, as theorists examine how technology may change the way humans perceive themselves and the external world. As a result of decades of speculation amongst scholars, futurologists and science fiction enthusiasts, a vision has emerged of a hypothetical successor to the human race. This concept is known as the posthuman. The posthuman is by no means easily defined. It is more than an evolutionary successor of the human. The posthuman, has reconceptualized traditional humanist views. This is the result of a diffusion between man, machine and animal, and a breakdown between the artificial and the natural. A popular example of this is the cyborg,
4 which humans and machines have merged. This blurring of boundaries calls for the critical evaluation of such humanist notions such as anthropocentrism and autonomy.
The idea of the posthuman raises more questions than it can answer. At what point do we speak of 'the posthuman'? Is there even a clear turning point? What might this posthuman look like? What distinguishes a human from a posthuman? The more technology pervades human lives on a physical and psychological level, the more concepts such as 'humans', 'artificial', and 'natural' lose their footing, and the bigger the call for answers to such questions becomes. In recent decades, the influence of technology on society is being studied within the posthuman discourse, or posthumanism. This field of study is concerned with the prospects of scientific and technological developments and their ethical and cultural implications. More specifically, posthumanism scrutinizes humanist notions, and analyzes how technology may change the way humans relate to non-humans others. Effectively, posthumanism is interested in the philosophical and cultural shift as a result technological innovation. It analyzes the shift to a posthuman society, also called a posthumanity.
While posthumanism as a phenomenon has been gaining exposure in the late 20th century in the works of theorists such as Donna Haraway, N. Katherine Hayles and Cary Wolfe, the concept of the posthuman has already been explored hundreds of years earlier. In the Enlightenment, humanist thinkers "celebrated the human subject as a being with a unique essence whose goal was self-realization. This unique self was housed in an equally unique physical body that, in an ideal world, would interact with social institutions designed to foster the individual’s self-actualization" (Yaszek and Ellis 71-72). This mode of thinking coincided with new ideas on anthropocentrism. The early 18th century physician and philosopher Julien Offray de La Mettrie, for instance, tried to break down the distinctions between humans, machines and animals. He claimed that "the human body is a machine which winds itself up" (La Mettrie 7) and that "man is a machine constructed in such a way that it is impossible first
5 of all to have a clear idea of it and consequently to define it" (La Mettrie 5). The idea that philosophers such as Offray de la Mettrie postulate is that humans are not "the endpoint of some grand religious or scientific plan but as the raw material from which to make whole new species" (Yaszek and Ellis 72).
The human malleability by means of technology is a theme that has been explored in science fiction for many years. The early 19th century had Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allen Poe who dealt with the discovery of pharmaceuticals like morphine and digitalis in their works. Their gothic science fiction is dominated by themes in which the human cognition is altered through the use of elixirs (Yaszek and Ellis 72). While Hawthorne and Poe explored the manipulation of mental processes, Mary Shelley explored the boundaries of the human in
Frankenstein (1818). This novel deals with new developments in the field of surgery and
electromagnetic manipulation. In her novel, Shelley explores the boundaries of human nature, essentially warning her readers about the potential malpractice of new technologies (Yaszek and Ellis 72). In the decades to follow, the posthuman as a concept became a more popular theme as the Industrial Revolution gained ground, and scientific discoveries such as the evolutionary theory sparked interest in genetic malleability. By 1936, the word 'posthuman' could already be found in H. P. Lovecraft's novella The Shadow Out of Time (Yaszek and Ellis 71). After the war, the cognitive revolution of the 1950s gave way to literary
experimentation with the transformation of the human mind as well (Yaszek and Ellis 76). The 1980s saw a rise in texts inspired by political activism and the concept of the posthuman. This age was marked by developments in nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and computer science. These innovations gave rise to new ideas on the transformative power of technology on social relations. For instance, Donna Haraway's "A Cyborg Manifesto" (1985) considers the cyborg a symbol of progressive possibility. She defines it as "a
6 a creature of fiction. Social reality is lived social relations, our most important political
construction, a world-changing fiction" ("Cyborg Manifesto" 3). By this she illustrates the prospects of social change as a result of new technologies. The cyborg is not merely an object of fiction, but it holds the opportunity to cross on dualisms. The most notable of these
dualisms in her example of the cyborg is the distinction between humans and machines, but her ideas can be extended to other dualisms, such as the physical/non-physical and the
male/female. Yaszek and Ellis emphasize the role of women in science fiction writing, paying particular attention to the feminist science fiction of the 1970s fueled by the legalization of the birth-control pill and the emergence of artificial insemination. Joanna Russ, Marge Piercy and Suzy McKee Charnas, for example, propose posthuman societies in which there are new reproductive technologies that allow for abandoning patriarchy and establish new societal norms relating to sexuality (Yaszek and Ellis 80). Moreover, technological innovations also inspired other strands of science fiction that dealt with political activism. Afrofuturist writers such as Octavia Butler have dealt with posthumanist themes (Ferreira 404) and
environmentalist concerns also give way to envisioning posthuman societies (Bouson 140). "Taken together, such works depict how posthuman alliances with the nonhuman, which includes aliens and artificial beings, might produce modes of psychological and social organization that secure justice better than did earlier, human-oriented modes of political activism" (Yaszek and Ellis 80).
Over 200 years of literary experimentation have proven that science fiction writing can be a powerful vehicle for representations of a potential posthumanity. Representations of the posthuman, or posthumanity, can be drawn into extremities in utopian literature as a means of projecting an author's social or political ideals or fears. The previous paragraph demonstrated that writers can employ the concept of posthumanity as a way of envisioning a world in which technology serves the means of an idealized society. Conversely, an author can also present
7 his anxieties by depicting a dystopian posthumanity, in which society has lost its grip on technology. Science fiction critic Darko Suvin argues that a utopia is "an imaginary community [...] in which human relations are organized more perfectly than in the author's community" (Metamorphoses 45). In the context of posthumanism, this imaginary community takes the form of a population that is modeled on either optimism or pessimism towards humanity. A posthumanity, within utopian writing, can present the potentialities of the human race. Science fiction and utopias can thus be closely intertwined and they can evoke powerful imaginations of a posthuman future. In a utopian frame, an author has the liberty to explore new technologies, as well as the consequences these technologies may have on social relations and identity.
This thesis critically assesses the posthumanities in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932) and Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake (2003). Huxley's Brave New World depicts a future world that is extremely concerned with social stability. The World State enforces this by genetically engineering, conditioning, and drugging its citizens. Controversial subjects such as eugenics and drug use go unquestioned, and are even supported in the World State. Huxley realized the potential of these technologies, and in his depiction of the future, he presented a posthumanity that has become enslaved by technology. Atwood's Oryx and Crake also expresses concerns with humanity's relation to technology. In this novel, corporate greed and unrestrained scientific research culminate in a catastrophe. Society has become
obliterated, and only relatively few human survivors, bio-engineered animals, and a group of genetically altered children remain.
In my reading, I analyze Brave New World and Oryx and Crake in light of cultural posthumanism. I argue that posthumanity, in Brave New World, is undeniably dystopian as the posthuman identity lacks both human autonomy and affirms binary dualisms. The
8 an environmentally conscious society. I conclude by arguing that the posthumanities of both novels are a utopian frame in which Huxley and Atwood warn their audience against the potential threat of technology on humanity. Whereas Huxley's posthumanity is an uncanny mirror against the scientific optimism of contemporaries, Atwood's version calls for an environmental consciousness.
9
Chapter 1: Posthumanism and utopian literature
Before analyzing Brave New World and Oryx and Crake in more detail, this section provides a brief overview of posthumanism. Moreover, this section examines how utopian literature can serve as a powerful means for portraying posthumanities.
Since posthumanism is a relatively new theoretical approach, its definition is subject to much debate (Ferrando 11). At the very least, posthumanism is an umbrella term for a number of studies that are interested in the relation between the human subject and the external world in light of technological developments. I limit myself to discussing
transhumanism and cultural posthumanism. This decision is motivated by my observation that
Oryx and Crake and Brave New World deal with posthumanities in which identity and social
relations play a central role. Both of these topics are closely scrutinized in cultural
posthumanism. Moreover, transhumanism's concern with human autonomy illuminates my interpretation of the World State citizens in Brave New World, which makes it worthwhile discussing transhumanism in this light.
Given that technology is a broad term, a brief definition is in order on what it means in light of my analysis. I consider technology a myriad of scientific, biological and mechanic innovations that influence humans both directly and indirectly in terms of psychological or physiological capabilities. This includes inventions that allow for biological or artificial augmentation, such as genetic engineering, pharmacology, or prosthetics. Such technologies have a twofold function. On the one hand they enhance an individual in terms of mental or physical performance, on the other they allow for a reconsideration of human identity. For instance, artificial intelligence gave rise to the study of robo-ethics, which investigates how, and to what extent, AI should be designed to act ethically. Cognitive enhancement of a human individual by means of a micro-chip implementation could partially take over the decision making process. This blurs the distinction between the human and the non-human, and the
10 natural and the artificial, and consequently it requires new theories on what constitutes a human identity. This thesis also treats Brave New World's 'neo-Pavlonian conditioning' as a technology, as it is able to manipulate cognitive processes. In short, by technologically I mean all innovations that influence human performance, and that have the potential to change perceptions of the self or the relation of the self toward the external world.
Proponents for the technological enhancements of humans are grouped in an intellectual movement better known as transhumanism. While transhumanism is often considered under the umbrella of posthumanism (Nayar 16), it differs from other
posthumanisms in that it is an extension of humanism (Wolfe xv). Transhumanism has two aims. Firstly, it seeks to improve "the human condition through applied reason, especially by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities" (qtd. in Sharon 25). Secondly, it studies "the ramifications, promises, and potential dangers of technologies that will enable us to overcome fundamental human limitations, and the related study of the ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies" (qtd. in Sharon 25). The goal of transhumanists is to seek the liberty for enhancement by embracing technological progress. In his book Are You a Transhuman? (1989), Nick Bostrom argues that a transhuman is a
“transitional human, someone who by virtue of their technology usage, cultural values, and lifestyle constitutes an evolutionary link to the coming era of posthumanity" ("Transhumanist Thought" 13-14).
Cultural posthumanism, on the other hand, can be summarized with the question 'what does it mean to be human?' This type of posthumanism draws extensively on social studies and critical theory, which makes it worthwhile for conceptualizing humanness and social relations in science fiction. Cultural posthumanism primarily aims to challenge the idea of humanness as a fixed concept. Furthermore, it questions humanist values (Miah 14). Within
11 cultural posthumanism, the idea of the posthuman as a concept is, perhaps, best explained by N. Katherine Hayles in her book How We Became Posthuman (1999), one of the fundamental texts within the discourse. According to Hayles, the 'posthuman view', is characterized by four assumptions. Firstly, "the posthuman view privileges informational pattern over material instantiation, so that embodiment in a biological substrate is seen as an accident of history rather than an inevitability of life" (Hayles 2). Secondly, "the posthuman view considers consciousness, regarded as the seat of human identity in the Western tradition long before Descartes thought he was a mind thinking, as an epiphenomenon, as an evolutionary upstart trying to claim that it is the whole show when in actuality it is only a minor sideshow" (Hayles 2). In these two notions, Hayles claims that the posthuman view treats consciousness as the product of the mind, body and the external world.
The posthuman view accounts for the possibility that the body can consist of abiotic factors as well. Therefore, consciousness does not necessarily have to originate in a biological agent. Hayles's third assumption "thinks of the body as the original prosthesis we all learn to manipulate, so that extending or replacing the body with other prostheses becomes a
continuation of a process that began before we were born" (Hayles 3). This point pushes the idea of non-dualistic thinking even further. In Hayles's view, it is a mere evolutionary
coincidence that humans are located in a biological body. Technology brings the possibility to swap human body parts for animal transplants or prostheses. A human view may consider these substitutions an attack on humanness, but the posthuman view assumes that the body is 'melting pot' of biological and artificial, animal and human, and physical and virtual elements. This is perhaps best illustrated in her last assumption:
the posthuman view configures human being so that it can be seamlessly articulated with intelligent machines. In the posthuman, there are no essential differences or
12 absolute demarcations between bodily existence and computer simulation, cybernetic mechanism and biological organism, robot teleology and human goals. (Hayles 2-3) From these assumptions, it becomes evident that Hayles's posthuman view breaks down dualisms that are firmly entrenched in humanist thinking, such as the mind/body, the natural/artificial, and the human/animal.
Cultural posthumanism acknowledges that current developments in technological research can radically alter the way humans view themselves. Central to this is the critique on anthropocentrism.
Anthropocentrism literally means human-centered, but in its most relevant
philosophical form it is the ethical belief that humans alone possess intrinsic value. In contradistinction, all other beings hold value only in their ability to serve humans, or in their instrumental value. From an anthropocentric position, humans possess direct moral standing because they are ends in and of themselves; other things (individual living beings, systems) are means to human ends. (Goralnik and Nelson 145)
Cultural posthumanists generally believe that advances in various technologies eventually require a rejection of anthropocentrism. This is the result of the mixing of the 'body as a prosthesis', as Hayles explained in her third assumption. The posthuman identity decenters the human as a result of the merging of the human with the non-human. Traditional boundaries are broken down as a result of increasingly ingenious techniques of weaving technology and the human body together. This also extends to xenotransplantation, for instance, in which organs or tissues are transplanted from one organism to another. The loss of demarcations that Hayles refers to, means that the posthuman view is characterized by a realization that the body is a whole of different components and that their interplay gives rise to consciousness. In recognizing the interdependency of human and non-human biological factors, the
13 posthuman has adopted a biocentric view. This can be defined as "the ethical belief that all living individual beings have moral value as ends in themselves, rather than as means to human ends" (Goralnik and Nelson 145). However, the posthuman view is not strictly limited to physical bodies, as Hayles noted in her fourth point. The posthuman view accounts for a virtual representation of the posthuman as well. For instance, consciousness could be partially or wholly located in a virtual environment. A popular example of this is the film The Matrix (1999).Moreover, the posthuman, from the perspective of cultural posthumanism, "does not necessitate the obsolescence of the human; it does not represent an evolution or devolution of the human. Rather it participates in redistributions of difference and identity" (qtd in Miah 6). The sociological aspect of cultural posthumanism often overlaps with other social movements as environmentalism, robo-ethics and animal rights (Ferrando 10). Therefore, some concepts that are discussed in this thesis, such as 'estrangement ' and 'the uncanny effect', can be related to cultural posthumanism, as they support my interpretation of posthumanity in this literary analysis.
Science fiction often depicts societies that can be regarded posthumanities. Science fiction has the powerful quality to depict the desires and anxieties of the prospect of a
posthuman future, whilst remaining in a fictional framework (Herbrechter and Callus 104). A cultural posthumanist reading of some science fiction can expose "the subversive potential of the foreclosed human other, and examin[es] whether it could lead to alternative non-humanist notions of humanity and non-humanity" (Herbrechter and Callus 98). Cultural posthumanism does this by exposing inscribed humanism in texts (Herbrechter and Callus 107), which allow for critical assessment of these values and offer possible alternative ways of imagining humanness. For instance, Shelley's Frankenstein is a classical example in which a biological creation turns grotesque and dangerous when it is rejected by society. A
14 if humans insist on their separateness and superiority in regard to machines (as well as other animals), viewing them as a threatening new “species” rather than as a part of their own creation, will they, indeed, bring about the very state of alienation that they fear" (Miah 12). This is precisely what happens in Frankenstein. The monster turns into a threat only after it is alienated. A posthumanist interpretation underscores the rejection of the monster. In
highlighting this anthropocentrism, a cultural posthumanist analysis can lead to new views on humanness and the human to non-human relation. Utopian literature is especially suited for posthumanist thought experiments, and it is in this genre that one may find many such endeavors.
Utopian literature is characterized by dissatisfaction with the present and the longing for a time and place with better alternatives. A key concept within utopian literature is that it engages with contemporary problems that are rooted in society. Essentially, utopias are social dreaming, aimed at provoking thought by means of identifying core problems in society and providing alternatives (Sargisson 8). Utopian literature experiments this way by often holding up mirrored representations of the societies it is trying to criticize and providing thought experiments for another one. Therefore, utopian literature has a twofold function in that it is both a narrative frame in which social and political ideas can be explored, and at the same time is a reflection of its contemporary issues (Sargisson 21). Thus, analyzing utopian literature can shed light on societal or political problems of the time it was written in. Conversely, analyzing the socio-political context of a utopia can help in gaining a better understanding of that work.
Utopian literature can be divided into two categories. On the one hand there are eutopias, which are characterized by the longing for a better, idealized society. Likewise, dystopias are also critical of the present, but the imagined alternative is a darker one. Dystopias are negative utopias: they draw on fear (Sargisson 9). As Erica Gottlieb puts it:
15 "Dystopian satire focuses on society, not on the cosmos, and it has a primarily social-political message, a didactic intent to address the Ideal Reader’s moral sense and reason as it applies to the protagonist’s – and our own – place in society and in history" (15). In the end, an idealized society is subjective, and for that reason a utopian literary work may be considered eutopian by one reader, whereas another might consider it dystopian. In light of a posthumanist interpretation of utopian writing, it is essential to note that posthumanism is ultimately
theorized from a human perspective. Since posthumanism can only speculate on the nature of a posthuman identity, there is no frame of reference on what a posthuman actually is. It is primarily a theoretical successor of the human race, but its exact nature is yet to be
determined. Hence, what may be a eutopian posthumanity from a human perspective could be dystopian from a posthuman perspective, and vice versa. In accordance with the posthuman discourse, this thesis assesses posthumanity from a human perspective.
Utopian literature is transgressive (Sargisson 21), which allows it to overstep social and moral boundaries. This quality helps in shaping thought experiments in which the contemporary social and moral fabric are overturned and molded in a eutopian or dystopian vision of the alternative. This transgressive quality has three functions: "First, it steps over boundaries that order and separate. Secondly, this renders the boundaries meaningless and/or emphasizes their porosity. Thirdly, this act of crossing borders and showing them to be porous creates a space where previously there was none" (Sargisson 21). This space allows the author to conceptualize ways in which a new relation to the world can be explored.
Utopian science fiction is a powerful vehicle for depicting posthumanity. Through its transgressive power, utopian literature is able to depict posthumanities in which identities and social relations appear defamiliarized to the reader. As a result, new views on human nature can be explored and that the distinction between humans, animals and machines can be redefined, paving the way for new insights that may contribute to our moral understanding of,
16 for instance, non-human entities. Posthumanity, in the context of utopian literature, is a way of framing human identity and social relations in a different light. Utopian literature allows authors to overstep boundaries, presenting extremities and alternatives. In doing so, utopian depictions of posthumanity can offer its readers new perspectives on themselves and the external world.
17
Chapter 2: Brave New World
In Brave New World, there are three technologies in particular that shape the posthuman identity of the World State citizens. Firstly, there is Bokanovsky's Process. This is "the principle of mass production […] applied to biology" (Huxley, Brave New World 5). It is essentially a form of eugenics by which individuals are genetically engineered. This is done in the 'hatchery', a state-controlled laboratory. In the hatchery, egg cells are 'bokanovskified'. This process divides egg cells into great quantities, fertilizes, and genetically alters them. Each embryo is deprived of oxygen, in order to predetermine the physical and mental capabilities of individuals. This is done so that each embryo is predestined for a particular position within the social hierarchy of the World State. An alpha plus embryo, for instance, having been subjected to little to no genetic modification, will grow out to be a top tier individual within this caste system. In this way, they are destined to fulfill highly respected and intellectual jobs in society (Huxley, Brave New World 10). Conversely, an epsilon has been significantly deprived of oxygen, so that it belongs to the lowest caste, designed to work menial jobs (Huxley, Brave New World 10). Once 'hatched', citizens are brought up by
conditioning and sleep-learning. This is done to raise social consciousness in each individual. The population is psychologically molded in such a way that each citizen respects his or her own position within the caste system. Lastly, a drug called 'soma' has been designed to
counteract any emotions that may be subversive to the World State's ideology. Soma is a form of mood-control technology in the form of a tablet. When taken in low doses, soma acts as a mood enhancer, which may be comparable to alcohol in contemporary society. It acts as a tranquilizer, and citizens of the World State use it to calm their anger, as well as make them more patient and sociable. Taken in high doses, however, soma use turns into escapism. This is described as a 'soma-holiday':
18 and absolute holiday. As soon as they got back to the rest-house, she swallowed six half-gramme tablets of soma, lay down on her bed, and within ten minutes had embarked for lunar eternity. It would be eighteen hours at the least before she was in time again. (Huxley, Brave New World 122)
Soma lulls citizens into accepting the status quo. Should anyone become angry, rebellious, sad, or in any way feel emotionally uncomfortable, individuals are conditioned to consume soma. Taken together, these three technologies influence the cognitive processes of the World State citizens to such extent that they are 'embodied'.
Embodiment makes clear that thought is a much broader cognitive function depending for its specificities on the embodied form enacting it. This realization, with all its exfoliating implications, is so broad in its effects and so deep in its consequences that it is transforming the liberal subject, regarded as the model of the human since the Enlightenment, into the posthuman. (Hayles xiv)
Embodiment is a fundamental concept in Hayles's view. It rejects the Cartesian mind/body split (Dawson 206), which presupposes that the sense of 'being' is a product of the mind, and that the body acts as a separate biological vessel for it. Instead, embodiment considers the mind a product of the interaction between the brain, the body and the external world (Dawson 206). By extension, it means that our sense of self is not only determined by biological
factors, but also by abiotic factors, such as prostheses, types of food, and pharmaceuticals. A posthuman view is characterized by the realization that the body as a whole is understood as an intricate network of informational patterns, and that cognition is derived from the perpetual interaction between the bodily agents and the external world. In light of this, the World State citizens are posthumans, because they recognize that the technologies of their world define their identity. For instance, the World State's citizens keep each other in check by repeating mantras they are sleep-taught, such as "a gramme is better than a damn" (Huxley, Brave New
19
World 47) and "a gramme in time saves nine" (Huxley, Brave New World 77). In other words,
by advising one another to take soma as a sedative, they realize that its chemical composition affects their cognitive processes. Similarly, citizens are taught how conditioning determines their affections and aversions. In an excursion to the 'neo-Pavlonian conditioning rooms', the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning, or D.H.C., shows a group of students how Delta children are being conditioned to hate books and nature by means of electrical shocks and explosions (Huxley, Brave New World 16). "They'll grow up with what the psychologists used to call an 'instinctive' hatred of books and flowers. Reflexes unalterably conditioned" (Huxley,
Brave New World 17). Since reflexes are bodily processes that bypass the brain, this type of
conditioning affirms that their distaste is the product of the bodily sensation of pain.
This posthuman identity is ultimately predetermined by the World State, as it enforces these technologies upon its subjects. The World State uses these technologies as a way of asserting control over its citizens. They are a means to enforce social stability. Conditioning and sleep-learning are the World State's way of maintaining totalitarian control. The D.H.C. notes that "the mind that judges and desires and decides–made up of these [conditioned] suggestions. But all these suggestions are our suggestions! […] Suggestions from the State" (Huxley, Brave New World 23-24). In other words, the World State uses technology to brainwash its citizens into accepting its totalitarian regime. Moreover, their identity is not only determined these technologies, but also by the fact that the external world is completely controlled by the World State. Each individual has been programmed to the extent that they live by and exert the State's ideology. In considering that embodiment recognizes the external world as one of the nodes from which consciousness is derived, it means that cognitive process are not only the product, but also produce a perpetual affirmation of the World State's values. The recommendation of soma to one another and endorsement of eugenics and
20 own information bubble. Considering that all these factors are determined by the ideology of the World State, it can be said that the World State determines the identity of its citizens.
This state-determined identity concerns transhumanists, as it entails a lack of
autonomy. Transhumanists aim to enhance human potential through technology. At the core of this aim lies the liberty to choose one's own evolutionary path and an own stance towards technological progress. In light of Nick Bostrom's definition of transhumanism, the
posthumanity of the World State is irreconcilable with transhumanist libertarian values: Transhumanism is a loosely defined movement that […] can be viewed as an outgrowth of secular humanism and the Enlightenment. It holds that current human nature is improvable through the use of applied science and other rational methods, which may make it possible to increase human health-span, extend our intellectual and physical capacities, and give us increased control over our own mental states and moods. (Bostrom, "Posthuman Dignity" 202-203)
While soma allows users to control their mental states and mood, in reality it is the World State that has programmed them into using it. Moreover, the physical capabilities of the citizens have been engineered on the basis of their caste, and conditioning ensured that they are happy with this. Furthermore, the citizens are not at liberty to enhance themselves any further, as society exists in a technological and scientific stasis. This becomes evident when Mustapha Mond, one of the World Controllers, explains the ideology of the World State to John the Savage:
'We don't want to change. Every change is a menace to stability. That's another reason why we're so chary of applying new inventions. Every discovery in pure science is potentially subversive; even science must sometimes be treated as a possible enemy. Yes, even science.' (Huxley, Brave New World 196)
21 Technology has dehumanized the World State citizens, because they lack what transhumanist Francis Fukuyama calls 'Factor X' (Kashi and Ladani 33). This is a genetic endowment that distinguishes humans from other creatures. It is the combination of "moral choice, reason, language, sociability, sentience, emotions, consciousness, and any other quality that has been put forth as a ground for human dignity" (Fukuyama 171). The elements that constitute Factor X are all under state control. Moral choice is manipulated through conditioning, as is reason. "Language is manipulated by the repetition of certain slogans through hypnopedia, which convinces the members of this state to believe that these slogans are axiomatic, self evident, utterly indisputable" (Hamamra 13). Sociability, sentience, emotions and consciousness are all altered by soma. All the elements that constitute Fukuyama's Factor X are thus controlled by the World State. As transhumanism is an extension of humanism, the lack of moral choice turns the World State into a transhumanist hell. A transhumanist would consider the World State citizens technologically enslaved. They have the perks of enhancement, but they cannot freely use them. They are not autonomous; they are simply programmed to respect the status quo and they do not have the means, nor the desire, to seek the limits of their potential.
Compared to transhumanism, cultural posthumanism allows for a different
interpretation of Brave New World's posthumanity, as it challenges humanist values. From a cultural posthumanist perspective, the problem with Fukuyama's approach is that he renders humanness as a fixed concept. A transhumanist would consider Brave New World dystopian because the World State inhabitants lack of autonomy. Cultural posthumanism is antithetical to transhumanism, in that it rejects the humanist mode of thinking. It acknowledges the idea that the posthuman identity differs from the human identity, as a result of embodiment. However, to cultural posthumanists, an integral part of embodiment is the hierarchical positioning of humans against non-humans as a consequence of the variable posthuman identity. Cultural posthumanists consider posthumans entities that reject binary oppositions as
22 a result of embodiment. The merging of machines and humans, for instance, breaks down any distinctions between artificial and natural. Ideally, cultural posthumanists see the posthuman future as freed from humanocentrist views. Posthumans, in that regard, are characterized by an ecologically balanced relation with the external world.
Despite its depiction of an embodied posthumanity, the World State has only affirmed binary dualisms. The World State citizens are conditioned to hate nature, as enjoying nature is incongruous with the State's ideology of mass-consumerism: "A love of nature keeps no factories busy" (Huxley, Brave New World 18). The aversion against nature is especially prominent when Bernard Marx and Lenina Crowne visit the Indian Reservation Malpais. Its inhabitants are called savages, as the people outside of the reservations look down upon their practices. Unlike the World State citizens who exclusively wear synthetic clothing, the Indians wear feathers, fur, and deerskin moccasins. When one of the Indians approaches Lenina, she expresses her discomfort. When Linda, a long-time 'civilized' inhabitant of Malpais and mother of John, who unwillingly got stuck in Malpais, notices Lenina's acetate clothing, she becomes ecstatic because she hates the non-synthetic clothing that she is forced to wear. Technology has only widened the gap between the World State inhabitants and anything natural. Instead of crossing the dualism between artificial and nature, technology has made society only more confident in its supremacy over nature. This is also expressed by the D.H.C. He remarks that Bokanovsky's Process brought civilization "out of the realm of mere slavish imitation of nature into the much more interesting world of human invention"
(Huxley, Brave New World 10). Moreover, the World State inhabitants consider themselves distinct from animals, as a phenomenon such as birth-giving has become unorthodox and scandalous. This is especially apparent when John calls Linda his mother.
'I'm not your mother. I won't be your mother.' 'But, Linda … Oh!" She slapped him on the cheek.
23 'Turned into a savage,' she shouted. 'Having young ones like an animal … If it
hadn't been for you, I might have gone to the Inspector, I might have got away. But not with a baby. That would have been too shameful.' (Huxley, Brave New World 109-10)
Here, giving birth has become outmoded to such extent in the technologically advanced World State, that it is now considered a vulgarity. The human/animal dichotomy has only become greater as Linda renders birth-giving to the status of animals. The decanting process has made birth-giving obsolete. As a result, the posthumans of the World State consider themselves categorically different from animals.
In the end, any attempt to challenge the World State values is futile, which is
evidenced by John. John's beliefs are antithetical to the World State ideology. Since he was born and raised in Malpais, he is the only major character who was has not been created in the Hatchery. Consequently, he has never been exposed to the World State's technology. Since he was not conditioned, sleep-trained or deprived of oxygen, he is not modeled to fit in the hegemonic society. Unlike the World State citizens, he is intellectually curious and stubborn. Once Bernard brings him to London he finds himself unable to adjust to the community's convictions, resulting in a growing resentment against its socio-political dogmas. After the death of his mother as a result of a soma addiction, he rebels in a fit of rage. He is then quickly apprehended by the State's law enforcers and brought before the World State leader Mond. At this point a debate ensues between these two key moral figures. Mond represents the State's ideology, whereas John represents everything the State is not. The discussion between John and Mond ends with John expressing his desire for authenticity, which he feels is missing in the World State:
'I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.'
24 'In fact,' said Mustapha Mond, 'you're claiming the right to be unhappy.'
'All right then,' said the Savage defiantly, 'I'm claiming the right to be unhappy.' 'Not to mention the right to grow old and ugly and impotent; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have too little to eat; the right to be lousy; the right to live in constant apprehension of what may happen to-morrow; the right to catch typhoid; the right to be tortured by unspeakable pains of every kind.' There was a long silence.
'I claim them all,' said the Savage at last. (Huxley, Brave New World 211-212) Upon this, John proceeds to live out the rest of his life as an ascetic, away from society, in which he resorts to self-flagellation in the hopes of experiencing authentic feelings. It is not long, however, before hitting himself with a whip gathers the interest of passersby. Collective fascination causes John to lose his temper, which results a frenzy that triggers him into whipping Lenina to death. The frenzy culminates in an orgy, the pinnacle of the World State's collective hedonism. John realizes that he partook in the orgy, upon which he is struck by shame because he succumbed to the World State's values that he despises so deeply: "'Oh, my God, my God!' He covered his eyes with his hand" (Huxley Brave New World 228). This passage demonstrates John's realization that there is ultimately no place in this world for his ideals. Finally recognizing this, he commits suicide. John's suicide can be considered his capitulation to the World State's ideology. Moreover, the ostracism of Bernard and Helmholtz Watson, the two others that rebelled against the State, further asserts the dominance of the State's ideology. By the end of the novel, there is no one to oppose the World State and the totalitarian status quo remains.
The World State does not allow change, both in terms of individual enhancement and in terms of cultural values. It is an evolutionary and social standstill. The State's ideology is at the center of the world, and in order to keep their subjects in line with this ideology, they have
25 been specifically molded into rejecting nature. In other words, it is a posthumanity because technological innovation gave way to a posthuman identity based on embodiment, but where the binary opposition between the self and nature is intensified. There is no option to explore different values than those of the World State, or to find a middle road between the
primitivism of Malpais on the one hand, and the technologically advanced World State on the other. Brave New World essentially presents two kinds of society. The first is the natural way of life of the Indians in Malpais. The other offers the perks of technological progress, but at the cost of autonomy and being separated from nature. John shows that these options are irreconcilable in that technological augments and biocentrism are mutually exclusive. An Indian such as John does not fit in the society of the World State, and a posthuman such as Lenina cannot function in Malpais. Ultimately, Huxley's depiction civilized society trades liberal subjectivity for technological comfort. It is a posthumanity in which people have only grown more distant toward the external world.
26
Chapter 3: Oryx and Crake
Society before the apocalypse in Oryx and Crake is marked by rampant advances in bio-technology fueled by corporate capitalism. In the novel, a laissez-faire policy has allowed for the unrestrained growth of the 'Compounds', gated communities in which researchers are unrestricted in scientific conduct. The Compounds stand in sharp contrast to the 'pleeblands', areas for the masses that are ridden with poverty, plagues and crime. Society is run by
corporations, and a private security firm called 'CorpSeCorps' preserves the shroud of mystery that surrounds the Compounds. "The whole world is now one vast uncontrolled experiment" (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 228). As a result, environmental degradation has gone to extremes, and humans have grown increasingly ingenious in their exploitation of nature.
This exploitation is evidenced by genetic engineering. Gene splicing has spawned animal hybrids such as the 'pigoon'. This is a type of pig with human gene insertions, especially designed as a biological container for human organs, catered for
xenotransplantation. Another hybrid that is specifically bred for human need is the ChickieNob. This is a type of transgenic chicken that is purely grown for its meat. Bio-engineering removed any undesirable body parts such as the beak or eyes, so that all that remains is a grotesque monster that solely exists for the exploitation of its meat.
Atwood's depiction of this society is an extrapolation of the modern Western world. Themes such as corporate capitalism and its inherent potential for economic inequality, as well as climate change and technologies such as genetic engineering, xenotransplantation, in-vitro meat are by no means unfamiliar in modern Western society. Atwood has acknowledged that the novel takes place in the United States as they "are more extreme in everything" (Howells 163) and because "everyone watches the States to see what the country is doing and might be doing ten to fifteen years from now" (Howells 163). Oryx and Crake offers a mirror
27 image of Western society, in which corporate greed comes at the cost of the environment, and in which the exploitation of animals for human gain is intensified.
At the head of one of the most prestigious projects within the Compounds is Crake, a brilliant scientist who appears to embody the values that the Compounds stand for. Crake ostensible symbolizes the pitfalls of modern society: he is greedy, he has an insatiable hunger for progression, and he is arrogant and secretive. These traits are an affirmation of humanist anthropocentrism. Crake illustrates his relation to nature by saying that "I don’t believe in Nature […]. Or not with a capital N" (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 206). According to Victoria Addis, this line highlights Crake's monist perspective on nature, which perceives humans in single unity with nature (9). Following his logic, Crake considers genetic engineering an extension of evolution; to him there are no moral objections to it. Crake realizes that "as a species we’re in deep trouble" (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 295). He hatches a plan to replace the human race with a new, genetically improved successor. His plan to achieve this is
twofold. The first step is the destruction of mankind through the BlyssPluss pill. This is a drug that, being marketed under false pretenses, is specifically designed to prevent human
reproduction while, at the same time, infecting its users with a highly contagious and deadly virus. The second step is repopulating the earth with genetically engineered humanoids, dubbed the Crakers, who ought to replace humanity after the virus annihilated the world population.
However, a cultural posthumanist reading suggests that Crake is not the evil scientist he appears to be. Crake himself believes he acts in the best interests of mankind: "In the long run, […] the benefits for the future human race of the two in combination would be
stupendous" (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 304). To this, Gerry Caravan points out that Crake merely speeds up the inevitable collapse of technological civilization. According to Caravan, "a humanity that has become the dominant agent of extinction on the planet accepts the
28 mantle of global responsibility that has been thrust upon it—and decides to finally stop the insanity by extincting itself" (151). While Caravan makes a fair point, he is not entirely right in that humanity extinct itself. Crake's goal ultimately conflicts with his own character: he epitomizes the very progress-driven, resource-wasting, arrogant human that he seeks to
eliminate. It only makes sense that because of this, there is no place for him in this new world. Moreover, by immunizing Jimmy and Oryx it appears that Crake was hesitant in fully
committing to his plans. Nonetheless, Crake's actions are morally two-sided. Global annihilation of mankind is abhorrent, but he acts in the interest of the planet's survival, and tries to achieve this by engineering a posthuman race specifically programmed for its
sustainable relation with nature. Stephan Herbrechter and Ivan Callus argue that "the interest of a posthumanist reading of science fiction […] lies specifically in analysing the subversive potential of the foreclosed non-human other, and examining whether it could lead to
alternative non-humanist notions of humanity and non-humanity" (98). In light of this, Crake acts in the best interest of the future of humanity. He tries to cure humanity's damaged relationship with nature by programming his Crakers to be more environmentally conscious than their human predecessors. A cultural posthumanist interpretation of Oryx and Crake suggests that a sustainable future for our planet is possible, but that it requires a radical new stance towards nature, as well as a reconsideration of humanist values. The apocalypse set in motion by Crake is a turning point between the pre-apocalyptic society with all its human flaws, and the post-apocalyptic rejection of anthropocentrism. Put differently, Crake catalyzes the turn to a sustainable posthumanity.
A product of Crake's genetic manipulation, the Crakers are markedly different from the human characters in the novel. To Jimmy, the Crakers represent the Other.
The Other or otherness is the ability to objectify a part of self, another person, and/or a group of people that results in an imbalance of power. The human ability to other
29 allows for detachment to happen in social and personal relationship, which affects the self-perception and identity. (Martinez 153)
Their particular appearance causes Jimmy to doubt their exact nature: "Are they robots or what?" (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 305). Jimmy others the Crakers by measuring them against his human identity. At one point in the novel, Jimmy observes that their eyes are an inhuman luminescent green (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 8). Moreover, the Crakers appear primitivist to Jimmy: "They were naked[…]: there was no self-consciousness, none at all" (Atwood, Oryx
and Crake 302). In altering the "ancient primate brain" (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 304), Crake
and his team of researchers carefully removed any genetically embedded destructive features. Racism, for instance, does not occur with the Crakers, as they do not register skin color. Similarly, any concept of social hierarchy has been removed, as has any notion of
territoriality. Instead, the Crakers are considerably altruistic. For instance, their ability to treat any wounds by means of 'purring' shows a high level of benignity (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 156). Moreover, their digestive system has been modeled on that of a rabbit, so that they can live solely on a vegetarian diet. This feature renders the exploitation of animals for their meat and its consequential toll on the global climate obsolete. Sex has also been reduced to a mere biological necessity. When females ovulate, a spliced gene borrowed from baboons turns her backside blue and pheromones spread that attract males. Sexual desire now only occurs once every three years; any concept of romance or lust has been removed and, as a result, so has sexual envy. Intercourse has effectively been reduced to the level of animals, in that it is purely a reproductive act. "No more No means yes […], thinks Snowman. No more
prostitution, no sexual abuse of children, no haggling over the price, no pimps, no sex slaves. No more rape" (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 165). Moreover, the Crakers simply do not
understand human concepts such as violence (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 367) or prayer (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 97). Crake has effectively removed, or at the very least reduced
30 any embedded genetic features that give rise to the suppression of one another and the non-human Other. This is also because of their inability of abstract thinking (Atwood, Oryx and
Crake 305). Abstract reasoning could give rise to concepts aimed at subjugating others. In
modifying any genes responsible for this, the Crakers "would have no need to invent any harmful symbolisms, such as kingdoms, icons, gods, or money" (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 305). Taken altogether, the Crakers are characterized by their peaceful personalities. Human dominance has been carefully erased out of their genetic structure, which distinguishes them from their human predecessors.
In removing any destructive traits from the human genome, Crake designed a new race that can be called 'posthuman'. Firstly, their genetic make-up is a blend between the animal and human genome. "The merging of these various states of being is indicative of an ecosystemic representation of humanity’s relationship to nature […] To the extent that we perceive boundaries, we fall short of an ecological consciousness'" (Addis 10). In other words, the hybridity of the Crakers breaks down the dichotomy between humans and animals. They are both human and animal, as their genetic structure is a combination of the two. Secondly, they are hard-wired to have a more sustainable relation with the planet. For instance, they recycle their own excrement, which reduces their need for natural resources. On top of that, “they’re programmed to drop dead at age thirty – suddenly, without getting sick. No old age, none of those anxieties. They’ll just keel over" (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 303). In their lack of traits that are responsible for dominant behavior, the Crakers are unable to exploit nature in the same way as the humans before them. Moreover, any ingrained anthropocentric
sentiments are expunged. As Caravan noted, their lack of "abstract thought prevents them from replicating Homo sapiens’ previous attempt to master nature through technical artifice. The Crakers cannot read; they do not waste; they cannot build" (146). Put differently, they do not tax the environment to the extent of their human antecessors.
31 In providing a community that is largely ridden of human exceptionalism, Atwood depicts an idealized society. The idiosyncratic behavior of the Crakers evokes a sense of estrangement that allows the reader to reconsider what constitutes human identity and how humans relate to non-humans. Estrangement is a core principle in utopianism, as
it permits utopias to function critically and occurs in both the structure and the content of utopian visions. […] The act of estrangement involves a certain exercise of will or force; to estrange is to place a person or thing ‘outside’ (of one’s affections, from a place, from perception). It also involves loss; estrangement in interpersonal relations often implies a lost affection or trust: ‘my estranged husband’, ‘her estranged parent’, these figures have become emotionally distanced from us. The once- familiar has become strange. (Sargisson 18)
The eccentricity of the Crakers thus creates a clear distinction between their posthuman identities on the one hand, and on the other the corrupt human identity of that is symbolized by the Compounds. Melissa Roddis notes that
the Crakers are not monsters that, born of scientific hubris, have replaced the human race – the Crakers represent the potential for humanity to embrace intimate, networked relationships with nature and technology in order to engage in a more fruitful, healthy and caring way of living, and their creation speaks to the very human exercise of ‘the overstepping of given limitations’. (31)
Roddis is right in claiming that the Crakers offer a more intimate relation with nature than humans. The primitivism of the Crakers evokes a heightened sense of environmental consciousness. Since their relation to nature is markedly different from the pre-apocalyptic zeitgeist, they offer a utopian frame in which anthropocentrism can be criticized. Atwood essentially 'others' the Crakers by drawing their biocentric nature into extremes. Before the apocalypse there is anthropocentrism, which is then followed by post-apocalyptic
32 biocentrism. Measuring the posthuman identities of the Crakers against the pre-apocalyptic human identities underscores the call for environmental consciousness. Thus, Atwood uses the posthuman identity of the Crakers as a means of depicting an ecologically sustainable human relation to the planet. In effect, the world after the apocalypse is a romantic ideal of a decentered humanity.
The characters of Jimmy and his mother evoke a somber image of the pre-apocalyptic society. Jimmy is depicted as an ordinary individual. His school results put him in sharp contrast with his brilliant friend Crake, and as a result of his mediocre grades he ends up with a menial career. His teenage pastimes include smoking, drinking, watching internet
pornography and playing online games with Crake. Despite his mundane life, he shows a latent uneasiness with the vibrant techno-capitalist culture in the Compound he resides in. For instance, when Jimmy's father tries to feed him pigoon meat, it upsets Jimmy: "He didn’t want to eat a pigoon, because he thought of the pigoons as creatures much like himself" (Atwood,
Oryx and Crake 24). Like Jimmy, his mother also has moral objections against the
bio-engineering in the compounds. In a heated debate between his parents that Jimmy overhears, his mother attacks Jimmy's father on his role in the pigoon-project: "It’s wrong, the whole organization is wrong, it’s a moral cesspool and you know it” (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 56). Eventually, her growing disgust with her husband's work culminates in their separation, and Jimmy's mother is rarely heard from again. As a result, CorpSeCorps attempts to track her down in an effort to protect sensitive company secrets. Years later, Jimmy watches a video of an environmentalist protest, in which he spots his mother. Fearing that the CorpSeCorps is able to identify and locate his mother, "he’d entered full-blown dejection" (Atwood, Oryx and
Crake 182). As CorpSeCorps repeatedly inquires about the whereabouts of Jimmy's mother,
and when more former employees are missing, Jimmy grows more cold and apathetic towards the practices of the Compounds. Upon learning of the death of his mother, he is initially able
33 to hide his reaction to the Corpsmen, but soon after he is struck with grief and he resorts to alcoholism (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 260). Putting these events together, a picture emerges of Jimmy as depressed character. As an average student who lacks ambition, he suffers under the pressure of the competitive Compound culture. Although he is eventually able to get a job (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 245), he is impassionate about his line of work. The death of his mother has turned him restless and insensitive to others (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 253), and it is not until after the outbreak of Crake's virus that his mindset begins to change.
The transformation of Jimmy to Snowman is a key aspect in the novel, as it
underscores the eutopian hope for humanity. After the outbreak of the virus, he is in a survival situation in the wilderness. In this new situation, he starts to call himself Snowman. As his alter ego Snowman, he is considerably more composed and responsible than he was before the virus outbreak. Surrounded by the Crakers, he admires their playful innocence as they swim in a nearby lagoon. "He watches them with envy, or is it nostalgia? It can’t be that: he never swam in the sea as a child, never ran around on a beach without any clothes on" (Atwood,
Oryx and Crake 7). Here, an image starts to emerge of a new Jimmy. In his new life, he has
gained a sense of humility, paired with a newfound appreciation of simplicity, inspired by the primitivist life of the Crakers. He lodges in a tree, and starts to appreciate his environment: "After everything that’s happened, how can the world still be so beautiful? Because it is" (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 371). With this appreciation comes confidence as well. After all, living in a world after an apocalypse has become a matter of survival, and in this world there is no place for Jimmy's lethargic attitude. Coral Ann Howells notes that "Snowman has survived the end of the world and has to confront the scandal of apocalypse alone" (169). The apocalypse has burdened him with the survival of the Crakers. As the virus spreads across the globe, Snowman and the Crakers still reside in the Paradice compound in which they were conceived and monitored. Considering the dangers of a free-for-all scenario in a crippled
34 civilization, paired with mutated animals running rampant, Snowman is forced to choose a course of action. Whereas joining a human group could possibly increase his chance of survival, he decides to side with the Crakers by leading them out of the compounds and killing any humans along the way (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 352). He becomes a father figure to the tribe, telling them makeshift stories about their origin and harboring their safety. "He feels protective towards them. Intentionally or not, they’ve been left in his care" (Atwood,
Oryx and Crake 153). In taking on this responsibility, Snowman effectively adopts Crake's
ambition of repopulating the earth with ecologically responsible posthumans. In doing so, he symbolizes humanity's restored balance with nature. Sargisson notes that in the utopian tradition
central characters are exceptional people who swim against the tide of normal (weak, selfish, fearful) responses to terrible events and insist upon action and compassion. They enable hope to persist, even in dark post- apocalyptic times. This is interesting and it suggests something about the role of the individual in twenty- first- century utopianism. (115)
This notion underscores the role of Snowman as a responsible figure. Whereas he could have chosen to abandon the Crakers and venture into the world in an attempt to find a human community, he instead tries to fulfill the dream of his former friend by naturalizing the Crakers in the outside world.
Snowman reconfigures his position in relation to the Other by forming an
interdependent relationship with the Crakers and nature. Due to the genetic structure of the Crakers, Snowman is unable to communicate on an equal level with them. "The Crakers would hear him, but with brains from which passion and imagination have been erased, they would not understand him. It is the lack of these distinctively human qualities in Crake’s […] creatures which reminds Snowman of his radical isolation" (Howells 172). This isolation
35 marginalizes the human role in the post-apocalyptic world. The marginalized human role accentuates the cultural posthumanist rejection of anthropocentrism. "A posthuman reading accepts that for some of Atwood’s characters the human is no longer at the centre but gives value to other life forms, animal or alien" (Bone 630). For Snowman, his isolation means that as a human, he cannot exploit nature in the same way as humans did before the apocalypse. Instead, he has to rely on the Crakers for his survival. They support him by catching fish for him (Atwood, Oryx and Crake 363). The Crakers rely on Snowman to harbor their safety, and Snowman depends on the Crakers for his food.
The relation between Snowman and the Crakers echoes Haraway's theory of 'companion species'. This cultural posthumanist concept is fundamental in the rejection of anthropocentrism, as it underscores the interdependency of the human and the non-human. "Companion species bring[s] together the human and non-human, the organic and
technological, carbon and silicon, freedom and structure, history and myth, the rich and the poor, the state and the subject, diversity and depletion, modernity and postmodernity, and nature and culture in unexpected ways" (Haraway, "Companion Species" 4). The concept of companion species is a cultural posthumanist effort to break down any human notions on the distinction between nature and culture. In this reading of Oryx and Crake, it can be argued that Snowman and the Crakers are companion species. They have a symbiotic relationship, as they depend on each other's survival. Similarly, the environment is a companion species to both Snowman and the Crakers as well: they both depend on its natural resources.
Conversely, the environment depends on its preservation at the hands of Snowman and the Crakers. The post-apocalyptic world thus rejects the anthropocentric stance of exploitation for human gain. Instead, it presents a biocentric scenario in which the human and the non-human are interdependent. "Imagining or figuring an environment in which we celebrate our role not as conquerors but as companion species will [...] lead us to “a more livable place, one that in
36 the spirit of science fiction I have called ‘elsewhere'" (Hengen 73). This is precisely what the novel's posthumanity offers: a habitable society, in which companion species have decentered the human.
The novel ends with Snowman's departure from the Craker encampment as he walks towards a group of humans. It is unclear whether Snowman will attack them in order to protect himself and the Crakers, or that he will side with them in order to increase his chances of survival. Roddis argues that by walking away from the ecologically conscious Crakers, Snowman's departure can be considered a break from conventional humanism (31).
While Roddis is right in that "the Crakers are an allegorical acknowledgement of humanity’s enduring, and intimate, relationship with technology and with nature" (30-31), she falls short on her notion that Snowman's separation from the Crakers symbolizes a break with humanism. Roddis disregards the ambiguity of the novel's ending, as it remains unclear whether Snowman will join the humans, or attack them. Roddis may be too hasty in her conclusion, as a cultural posthumanist interpretation remains inconclusive towards the novel's ending. The fact that several bands of humans still remain gives the impression that in this new environmentally conscious world, there is still a place for humanity. At the very least, the interdependency of Snowman and the Crakers suggests that the apocalypse has marginalized the role of humans, which require them to reconsider their hierarchical position within the environment. For Snowman, this means treating the Crakers and nature as companion species. He no longer stands above nature, but he is part of it. The ending of the novel is therefore not necessarily a break with humanism, but rather a call for a biocentric stance towards the external world before humanity has gone too far in its exploitation of nature.
The novel's repeated alteration between the pre-apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic timeline underpins the difference between the two. The post-apocalyptic eco-posthuman status quo stands in sharp contrast to the corporate capitalist, egocentric and ecologically
37 unsustainable society before the release of the virus. The Crakers, by their very nature, allow for a different conceptualization of human identity. Human-animal hybridity and their harmony with nature characterize their posthuman identity. Their genes have been altered to such extent that anthropocentrism made way for environmentally balanced values. The fact that Jimmy is not only able to survive the apocalypse, but also able to adapt in this new world and live in harmony with the Crakers, suggests that Atwood believes in a future for humanity after all. The novel's posthumanity is essentially an allegorical warning that calls for a radical new human stance towards nature. The Crakers, in that sense, are an idealized version of humanity in terms of cultural values and identity. The power of the novel "lies […] not in prediction or in program, but in this reopening of possibility: the assertion of the radical break, the strident insistence that things might yet be otherwise" (Canavan 155-56). In other words, Oryx and Crake suggests that there is a place for humanity in the future, but it requires reconsideration of who we are and what our place in this world is.
