A Hybrid World: Genetic Engineering in Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake

Oryx and Crake is Margaret Atwood's most influential work, focusing on the current trends and extrapolates them to explore what the future might look like. I consider the heavy use of science in the novel, as a clear genre marker of science fiction. The speculative fiction deals with transgenic biotechnology and scientific innovations that run amuck throughout the novel. The representation of genetically engineered animals as a commodity for human consumption, or a creation of a whole human race genetically modified for a better future, altogether challenges the existing dichotomies. The understanding of genetically engineered animals and human requires the redefinition of humans and animals. Along the line, the paper will analyse the capitalistic agenda behind growing technology and the way it is perceived.