This essay sets out to analyze Margaret Atwood’s use of black humor and satire in her novel "Oryx and Crake". Furthermore, it examines the function of such. Especially this essay looks at Atwood’s intention to provide a satiric tone and black humor and shows that they are based on social observations and concerns that are evident in the early twenty-first century.
To achieve this, the paper is structured into two main chapters. In the first chapter on "Black Humor and Satire" the author gives an overview of these terms, serving as a framework for further investigations. Additionally, the paper deals with laughter, to show which kind of laughter derives from Atwood's humor. In the next chapter on "Observations on Black Humor and Satire in Oryx and Crake", the paper focuses on the satirical tone and the black humor in the novel, based on the author's own reception of the text.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Black Humor and Satire
2.1 Definition
2.2 Kinds of Humor-Based Laughter
3. Observations on Black Humor and Satire in Oryx and Crake
3.1 Misuse of science/genetic engineering
3.2 Global Warming
3.3 Division of society
3.4 Function
4. Conclusion
5. Bibliography
Objectives & Core Themes
This paper examines the usage and function of black humor and satire in Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel "Oryx and Crake". The primary research question addresses whether laughter is an appropriate and necessary response to the novel's earnest and dismal subject matter, ultimately exploring how Atwood utilizes humor as a weapon and a tool for social criticism.
- The theoretical definition and categorization of black humor and satire.
- The classification of humor-based laughter as a survival mechanism.
- The critique of genetic engineering and the misuse of scientific progress.
- The environmental implications of global warming within a dystopian framework.
- The sociocritical analysis of the divide between the "pleeblands" and the "Compounds".
- The role of dark humor as a warning and call to action for the reader.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 Misuse of science/genetic engineering
Basically, Atwood’s satiric vision is about the misuse of science, especially about genetic engineering, on which the whole novel is based and eventually turns out to be the reason for the destruction of humanity. On the one hand, bioengineered animals are used as a deterrent example for genetic experiments, which are partially considered as morally wrong. Many of these transgenic monsters that live in Jimmy’s world are a creation of Atwood’s phantasy: There are for instance pigoons, wolvogs and rakunks. But one of them indeed is not only fictional: The luminous green rabbit, which is an actual gene-modified invention of the early twenty-first century. This animal appears not only on the novel’s cover, but also in a short passage of the chapter Toast:
Across the clearing to the south comes a rabbit, hopping, listening, pausing to nibble at the grass with its gigantic teeth. It glows in the dusk, a greenish glow filched from the iridicytes of a deep-sea jellyfish in some long-ago experiment. […] Even in Snowman’s boyhood there were luminous green rabbits, though they weren’t this big and they hadn’t yet slipped their cages and bred with the wild population, and become a nuisance (109f.).
Here, Atwood states, how the modification happened – namely through the use of jellyfish DNA – and she provides an example of a possible future trend of the genetically modified rabbit. When Jimmy visits Crake at Watson-Crick, Jimmy is introduced to some student projects. He is disgusted, for instance, by the headless object that grows chicken parts (238) or the shocking pink butterflies with wings as big as pancakes (235). When Jimmy asks whether those creatures are “real or fake” (ibid.), Crake answers that “the process is no longer important” (ibid.), as for the new gene-modified form is what the species now “look[s] like in real time” (ibid.).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the research interest in Atwood's use of dark humor and establishes the dystopian context of the novel.
2. Black Humor and Satire: This section provides the theoretical framework by defining key terms and exploring the diverse kinds of laughter associated with humor.
3. Observations on Black Humor and Satire in Oryx and Crake: This chapter applies the previously defined theoretical concepts to analyze specific themes in the novel such as genetic engineering, climate change, and social stratification.
4. Conclusion: The conclusion synthesizes the findings, confirming that humor acts as both a weapon for criticism and a necessary tool for human survival in a dismal world.
5. Bibliography: This section lists all academic sources and internet references used for the research.
Keywords
Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake, Black Humor, Satire, Dystopia, Genetic Engineering, Global Warming, Social Division, Gallows Humor, Survival Laughter, Posthumanism, Literary Criticism, Contemporary Literature, Social Criticism, Rhetorical Techniques
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this paper?
The paper explores how Margaret Atwood employs black humor and satire in her novel "Oryx and Crake" to address serious social and environmental concerns.
What are the primary thematic fields analyzed?
The study centers on the misuse of genetic engineering, the consequences of global warming, and the stark division between socioeconomic classes.
What is the central research question?
The research investigates whether laughter is an appropriate reaction to the earnest and grave themes presented in the novel, and what function this humor serves for the reader.
Which scientific or theoretical approach is utilized?
The author uses a literary analysis approach, drawing upon theoretical definitions of satire and humor to interpret the textual evidence from the novel.
What content is covered in the main body of the paper?
The main body examines three specific examples of Atwood’s critical observations—science, environment, and social hierarchy—and discusses their satirical function within the narrative.
Which keywords characterize this study?
Key terms include satire, black humor, dystopia, genetic engineering, social division, and gallows humor.
How does the author define the "pleeblands" versus the "Compounds"?
The author identifies these as the two main spheres of the divided society, where the pleeblands represent a chaotic, dangerous, and diverse world, while the Compounds are portrayed as uniform, controlled, and privileged spaces.
What is the significance of the "laughter of survival"?
Based on Atwood’s own theories, this kind of laughter is interpreted as a necessary mechanism to maintain one's sanity and humanity in the face of overwhelmingly dismal circumstances.
Does the novel offer any hope for the future?
The paper concludes that the presence of humor and the warning contained within the satire imply that human choice and responsibility remain possible, offering a subtle form of optimism.
- Quote paper
- Jule Grassmann (Author), 2016, The Function of Black Humor and Satire in the Dystopian Novel "Oryx & Crake" by Margaret Atwood, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/354695
