• No results found

Dystopias in the Rear-View Mirror

N/A
N/A
Protected

Academic year: 2021

Share "Dystopias in the Rear-View Mirror"

Copied!
28
0
0

Loading.... (view fulltext now)

Full text

(1)

2010:087

B A C H E L O R T H E S I S

Dystopias in the Rear-View Mirror

Jill Westfal

Luleå University of Technology Bachelor thesis

English

Department of Language and Culture

2010:087 - ISSN: 1402-1773 - ISRN: LTU-CUPP--10/087--SE

(2)

Abstract

I came in contact with Margret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake in a course entitled

“Sustainable development” which is a part of the Teacher Programme. This novel and another one, George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-four (1984) are analyzed in this essay. Oryx and Crake deals with topics related to the end of the world and Orwell’s novel deals with the

disadvantages of a totalitarian state. The essay aims to look at these dystopian novels

retrospectively and draw parallels to the current situation in Sweden in 2010. In order to make

this essay comprehensible, one theme has been chosen for in-depth analysis from each novel

respectively. The theme chosen for analysis from 1984 is Control and the one chosen from

Oryx and Crake is Science. The conclusion that one can draw from this essay, is that some of

the authors’ worries about the future turned out to be justified while some of them could

simply be considered to be fantasies.

(3)

Table of contents

Introduction... 1

Autobiographical notes on the autors... 2

1 Background ... 4

1.1 Dystopian literature ... 5

1.2 About Nineteen Eighty-four ... 6

1.3 About Oryx and Crake ... 7

2 Analysis... 8

2.1 Science and control as portrayed in the novels ... 8

2.2 Control in Nineteen Eighty-Four ... 8

2.3 Science in Oryx and Crake... 13

2.4 Parallels to Sweden... 18

3 Summary and conclusion ... 23

Bibliography ... 25

(4)

1 Introduction

Big Brother turned sixty last year and the debate about sustainable development has become even more of a pressing issue. These are the reasons why the topic has been chosen as well as the novels I came in contact with Margret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake in a course entitled “Sustainable development” which is a part of the Teacher Programme. Oryx and Crake deals with topics related to the end of the world and Orwell’s novel deals with the

disadvantages of a totalitarian state. Big Brother is a fictional character in Orwell’s novel and the obscure dictator of Oceania, which is the place where the main character of the novel lives. It is a totalitarian state where almost every citizen is under constant surveillance by the authorities. Today the phrase is often used to describe authorities’ abuse of governmental power.

This essay’s aim is to look at these dystopian novels retrospectively. Two themes, one from each novel, have been chosen for specific analysis namely Control and Science (primarily the problems connected to science). The goal is to find out what, if anything, has happened in Sweden when it comes to these aspects. The main reason why parallels are drawn between the novels and Sweden is mainly because I am a part of the Swedish society. Another reason is that the essay would become too extensive if parallels would be drawn to society in general.

Are the authors’ dark speculations about the future our reality today? Through the themes chosen, this is what this essay aims to expose. The choice of themes has been made because they concern the majority of people in Sweden, in one way or another. Both novels are extreme in many ways, but they still convey important messages.

The essay is divided into three chapters. The term dystopia is defined in the first chapter.

Subsequently, the literally genre is introduced as well as summaries of the two novels used.

(5)

2 The second section consists of autobiographical notes on the authors and an analysis of the themes. In the final section of the second chapter parallels to Sweden are drawn. A summary and a conclusion constitute the third and final part of the essay.

Atwood has two quotations in her novel, before the actual story begins. One of them is from Jonathan Swifts novel Gulliver’s Travels.

I could perhaps like others have astonished you with strange and improbable tales; but I rather chose to relate plain matter of fact in the simplest manner and style; because my principle design was to inform you, and not to amuse you1.

The novels themselves might be improbable (which is fortunate) but their messages are real. I believe that we must reflect upon the fact that the authors were concerned about a number of trends in society. This should make us take the messages and the moral of the novels seriously because we want the dystopian societies that they envisioned to continue to be imaginary.

Autobiographical notes on the authors George Orwell

George Orwell (pseudonym for Eric Blair) was born in India in 1903. He was the son of Richard Walmesley Blair and Ida Mabel Blair. During the first year of Blair’s life, he was brought to England by his mother and they settled in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. Blair studied in Sussex from 1908 to 1916 and between the years 1917 and 1921 he went to college.

In 1912 his father retired from the India Civil Service and came to England. Blair’s first work, which was a poem entitled Awake Young Men of England, was published in 1914. George Orwell was later on hired as a teacher at a private school in Middlesex, from 1932 to 1933.

His First book, Down and Out in Paris and London was published by Victor Gollancz in 1933. This is when it is said that Blair first used his pseudonym "George Orwell". Orwell was

1 Margaret, Atwood. Oryx and Crake. (London: Little, Brown Book Group, 2004) Introduction.

(6)

3 hospitalized with pneumonia the very same year. He met a woman in 1934 together with whom he, in 1944, adopted a child. One year later, the woman died. After a couple of years, Orwell was put into a tuberculosis sanatorium. George Orwell was again hospitalized after some time and during his stay at the hospital he met a woman that he married. Unfortunately, George Orwell died very suddenly in the hospital one year later at the age of 47

2

. Nineteen Eighty-Four, published in 1949, is one of his most well-known works. Over 400.000 copies were sold the first year after publication.

Margaret Atwood

The other author that has significance in this essay is Margaret Atwood. She was born in 1939 in Ottawa, Ontario. Her father was a forest entomologist and she spent the early years of her life in the bush of North Quebec. The family moved to Toronto when she was seven years old.

She studied at the University of Toronto and got a Master’s degree at Radcliffe College in Massachusetts in 1962. Margaret Atwood is said to be one of Canada’s most well-known novelists and poets. In addition, she also writes “short stories, critical studies, screenplays, radio scripts and books for children”

3

. Atwood’s works have been translated into more than 30 languages, even though she has only been a full-time writer since 1972. Her very first publication was a poetry book named The Circle Game which received the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. She has published many poetry collections since but she is perhaps best known for her many novels. Her novel Oryx and Crake was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2003 and for the 2004 Orange Prize for Fiction

4

. Margaret Atwood has received many awards throughout the years.

2 Web source: Steven Kreis (2000): An Orwell chronology. Retrieved on December 4, 2009.

<http://www.historyguide.org/europe/orwell.html>

3 Web source: Dr Nick Turner (2009). Margaret Atwood. Retrieved on December 4, 2009.

<http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth03C18N390512635243#contact>

4 ---

(7)

4 1 Background

The term dystopia will be defined very briefly in the opening part of this section. Then some general information about dystopian novels will be presented as well as summaries of the two novels analyzed in this essay.

There are a number of different definitions of dystopias. One could basically say that it is a dark vision of the future, but such a definition is hardly satisfactory. In order to define the term, it is suitable to contrast the term dystopia to a more well-known term, namely, utopia. In Collins English Dictionary, the following definitions are used for utopia and dystopia

respectively. Utopia is defined as: “any real or imaginary society, place, state, etc., considered to be perfect or ideal”

5

. In contrast to utopia, the term dystopia is defined as “an imaginary place where everything is as bad as it can be”

6

.

The short definitions reveal that a dystopia is the opposite of a utopia but in order to add something to the definition, a dystopia (or cacotopia) is a made-up society that very often exists in the future. Contemporary social trends are frequently included and often taken to an extreme and the living conditions in the imaginary society are almost certainly as bad as they can possibly be due to different catastrophic circumstances.

5 Patrick, Hanks. Collins English Dictionary. (London: William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd, 1979) 1595.

6 --- 485

(8)

5 1.1 Dystopian literature

Dystopian novels frequently include one or a few of the following themes: environmental pollution, overpopulation, cities turning into slums, violence, criminality and drugs

7

. There are probably many reasons for why this kind of literature has come into existence. One hypothesis is that they might serve as warnings. Another is that they simply serve as satire

8

. Göran Hägg who wrote a book about Nineteen Eighty-Four together with nine other authors, claims however, that it is essential when discussing the future to remember to call attention to the fact that the future is not something that can be predicted. He also expresses that it is something one chooses or at least can chose. It is not something one passively must accept

9

.

There are some other traits that often are included in dystopian literature but only a few of these will be mentioned here. It is very common in dystopian novels that “[s]trict conformity among citizens and the general assumption that dissent and individuality are bad” is a present trait

10

. Another common feature that appears in this literary genre is “constant surveillance by state police agencies”

11

. Furthermore, “a protagonist who questions the society, often feeling intrinsically that something is terribly wrong” is also common in dystopian novels. Moreover, it is common that a character or characters in the novel experience “a fear or disgust of the world outside the state”

12

.

Dystopian fiction often involves one other trait as well which is that of familiarity. If the works were to lack this characteristic they would not have any effect on the reader. The

7 Rune, Lindskog. Litteraturhistoria – För grundskolans senare skede. (Stockholm: Natur & Kultur, 1995) 112, my translation.

8 Web source: Charles’ George Orwell Links. Dystopia. Retrieved on December 2, 2009.

<http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/articles/col-dystopia.htm>

9 Vinge, Louise, et al, Tankar kring Nittonhundra åttiofyra. (Lund: Kursverksamhetens förlag, 1984) 100, my translation.

10 ---

11 ---

12 ---

(9)

6 society that is portrayed in a dystopian novel must have “echoes of today, of the reader’s own experience”

13

because it is not enough to describe how people live in an unpleasant society, without any connection to the reader’s own.

Authors that manage to write about dystopian societies in a credible way can very effectively highlight aspects and trends in society which concern them. Their goal might be to create debate about different things in society that need to change in order to avoid future disasters.

Writing dystopian literature is indeed a powerful way to criticise modern society and one of the moralistic goals ought to be to “wake people up”. Mankind must realize that the world may end up like the societies in dystopian novels if nothing is done to prevent it from happening.

1.2 About Nineteen Eighty-Four

Orwell’s novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), was published in 1949 and is still considered to be one of the most famous novels in the dystopian genre

14

. Orwell’s novel should not be considered to be about how life would be in the year 1984, instead it should be looked upon as a novel about developmental processes that Orwell saw in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. “He wanted to illustrate tendencies in society, express his concerns about their consequences and put up warnings”

15

. A short introduction to the novel will now follow.

The story begins in April 1984 and the main character is a 39 year old man named Winston Smith who lives in London, England. He does not know much about the society or its history, but he did know that “Big Brother is watching you” wherever you are. He worked at the

13 ---

14 Web source: Sparknotes. 1984. Retrieved on December 4, 2009.

<http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/1984/context.html>

15 Louise Vinge, et al. 9, my translation.

(10)

7 Ministry of Truth and seemed quite well-adjusted to the totalitarian society, but deep inside he knew that he was guilty of “thoughtcrime” and that Big Brother had the opportunity to register both his facial expressions and his innermost thoughts. Now that we have the answer, we know that the world that George Orwell envisioned, luckily, has not fully appeared.

Orwell saw trends in society that he feared would affect all nations. The state that is described in 1984 had the possibility and the power to control everyone and everything through telecommunication. This “truth” is sneaking up on us. 1984 is scary and perhaps even more so when we know what has actually happened in our society. The destiny of Winston Smith is our business, perhaps more than we are willing to acknowledge

16

.

1.3 About Oryx and Crake

Margaret Atwood claims that Oryx and Crake is “a speculative fiction, not a science fiction proper. It contains no intergalactic space travel, no teleportation, no Martians”

17

. The narrator in the novel is Snowman (formerly known as Jimmy). In the beginning of the novel Snowman is sleeping in a tree, wearing only an old, filthy sheet. He is grieving his adored Oryx and his best friend Crake. He is now wasting away because of starvation. Snowman’s life had been a privileged one even if there had been flaws in his life in the past.

Jimmy, or Snowman, questions how things could break down so quickly. He also wonders if he himself in some way could be responsible. He is left alone with a lot of bizarre memories and the Children of Crake, who are beyond perfection and who consider him to be a monster.

Snowman survives the extinction of the human race and is now living in a nearly uninhabited world. He looks back on the past and wonders what went wrong.

16 George Orwell. 1984. Ove Pihl/Kristina Lundqvist. (Höganäs: Bra Böcker, 1984) The cover, my translation.

17 Web source: Margaret Atwood (2003) Perfect storms: writing Oryx and Crake. (O.W. Toad Ltd, 2003) Retrieved on December 4, 2009.

<http://www.oryxandcrake.co.uk/perfectstorm.asp?p=4>

(11)

8 2 Analysis

2.1 Science and Control as portrayed in the novels

Both novels chosen for analysis in this essay are extreme in many ways and there are a number of interesting themes to analyze. In order to make this essay comprehensible, one theme has been chosen from each novel respectively. The theme chosen for analysis from 1984 is Control and the one chosen from Oryx and Crake is Science and primarily problems

that are connected to science. The choices have been made because a modern-day Swede could easily relate to these aspects in our own society, in the year of 2010. The novels are extreme, but they both convey important messages.

2.2 Control in 1984

Winston Smith lives in a society that is full of surveillance where Big Brother watches all citizens and their every move. The Party is able to monitor its members at all times, thanks to the telescreens and the hidden microphones that are placed, not only in every citizen’s home, but also across the city. The telescreens served two purposes: spreading propaganda that was mostly designed to make the failures and weaknesses of the Party appear to be glorious successes as well as monitoring and controlling people. This is a constant reminder of the fact that privacy does not exist and that “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”

18

. The people of London are convinced that Big Brother is, and should be, the leader of the nation and the head of the Party. Winston Smith, the main character in the novel, cannot make a decision about whether he truly believes that Big Brother actually exists or not, but to most people is Big Brother’s name a reassurance that he is able to protect them. It is also obvious to the majority that he is an open threat due to the fact that nobody can escape his constant surveillance.

18 George Orwell. Nineteen Eighty-Four. (London: Penguin Books Ltd, 2008). 4

(12)

9 The Thought Police is another social and institutional authority and their purpose is basically to control the thinking of the citizens so they will not commit ”thoughtcrimes”

19

as it is called.

People are not allowed to think individual thoughts and if they do, the Thought Police would hunt them down.

Winston Smith does not care much about this unwritten law and makes a big mistake quite early in the novel. He starts to write a diary and even if “it was not illegal (nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws), but if detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death, or at least by twenty-five years in a forced-labour camp”

20

. A bit too late, he asks himself why he is writing this diary and he reaches the conclusion that he is writing for the future and for the unborn so they will have some kind of evidence about the past since all history had been erased by Big Brother. This was not a fact the citizens knew.

Smith knew that it was risky to write such a document to begin with because of the telescreens and the Thought Police. Without thinking he writes “down with Big Brother” in capital letters in his diary which is one of the most dangerous things a citizen could express.

When this was done, it did not matter whether he kept on writing or not, because he had committed a horrible ”thoughtcrimes” and the Thought Police would catch him all the same

21

. Of course it was also a terrible felony not obeying Big Brother and unfortunately Winston Smith has a feeling that Big Brother is a scam. He works at the Ministry of Truth and his main task is to change historical facts so they will fit the, at the time, predominant conception. He is not at ease with this and strongly believes that the Party is erasing the history and all memories of the past. He uttered: “Always in your stomach and in your skin there was a sort of protest, a feeling that you had been cheated of something that you had a right to. It was true

19 George Orwell. Nineteen Eighty-Four. 21

20 --- 8

21 --- 21

(13)

10 that he had no memories of anything greatly different”

22

but still he was having a feeling that things are fundamentally wrong and that things had once been different. He thinks that these circumstances could not be what had always been because the situation made “one´s heart sickened at discomfort and dirt and scarcity/.../”. If the essence of one’s being, mind and soul, indicates that the present situation is intolerable one must have “some kind of ancestral memory that things had once been different”

23

.

As the story goes on, he gets more and more convinced that his suspicions are correct. This is made obvious in the quotation below when Winston speaks to Julia, the woman with whom he has an affair with. This is a fraction of their dialogue:

Do you realise that the past, starting from yesterday, has been actually abolished? /…/ Already we know almost literally nothing about the Revolution and the years before the Revolution. Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been re-written, every picture has been re-painted, every statue and street and building has been re-named, every date has been altered. And that process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right. I know, of course, that the past is falsified, but it would never be possible for me to prove it, even when I did the falsification myself. After a thing is done, no evidence even remains. The only evidence is inside my mind, and I don’t know with any certainty that any other human being shares my memories24.

The passage is in the middle of the novel and it is obvious that Winston Smith has figured out that there is something essentially wrong with the circumstances in their society. Julia can not understand why it would be a problem if the past is erased or any reason why Winston Smith would keep old things, like a lump of glass that he had bought in an antiques store. His reason for keeping these things from the past is that they serve as evidence for future generations that the past actually has existed and was nothing like the present. She herself, does not care about future generations, she only cares about her relationship with Winston.

22 --- 62

23 --- 63

24 --- 162

(14)

11 Big Brother and the Party controlled society with an iron fist and even history, which is a quite fundamental aspect of society, was changed because it did not suit Big Brother and the Party. Julia says to Winston that she is willing to take risks but only for things worthwhile.

Additionally, even the children are controlled and educated so they could become spies who reported their parents and other traitors who did not fully obey Big Brother. Winston Smith believes that the majority of kids were horrible and not to be trusted because the Party was turning them into savages who are out of control and only obedient to the Party. The children love the party and everything connected to it. “It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children”

25

. The Party even messed with the children’s minds proves that nothing would hinder them from succeeding. Nothing is sacred, not even love or making love. The Party wants to prevent men and women from forming loyalties to one another because the Party would perhaps not be able to control it. They also wants to take away all pleasure connected to the sexual act. “Not love so much as eroticism was the enemy /.../. All marriages between Party members had to be approved /.../”

26

and if there was any sign of physical attraction, the marriage was not approved. The only purpose of sexual intercourse should, according to Big Brother, be to produce babies for the service of the Party.

It becomes obvious in the end of the novel how bad the situation really is in this totalitarian society. The Party and Big Brother are in total control and Winston Smith becomes painfully aware of this fact when he talks to O’Brien, in the last part of the novel. O’Brien asks Smith if the past exists concretely and if it is a place where the past is still going on, like it is the present. Winston Smith says “no” and O’Brien continues the conversation by asking where

25 --- 26-27

26 --- 68

(15)

12 the past does exist. Smith’s answer is that it exists “in records /.../” and “in the mind. In human memories”

27

. This proves a point for O’Brien who simply explains that the Party controls all records and all memories. His conclusion is that the Party controls the past.

Winston Smith is still doubtful about this because he does not believe that the Party has been able to control his memory. O’Brien responds:

‘On the contrary’, he said, ‘you have not controlled it. That is what has brought you here. You are here because you have failed in humility, in self-discipline.

You would not make the act of submission which is the price of sanity. You preferred to be a lunatic, a minority of one. Only the disciplined mind can see reality, Winston. You believe that reality is something objective, external, existing in its own right. /.../ Whatever the Party holds to be truth, is truth. It is impossible to see reality except through the eyes of the Party’28.

Winston Smith is brought to a place, probably the Ministry of Love but he is not sure because there is no way he could find out. The reason is that the Thought Police had revealed his every act of betrayal and they have to “cure him”. His description of the room that he is put in makes it obvious for the reader that it is some kind of cell and the entire area is described as a prison. The purpose of people being brought to this place is that the Thought Police want to convert people to the “right side” and their methods are merciless. It is also intolerable to Big Brother that there exist an erroneous thought anywhere in the world, and that is the reason why the Thought Police act in this way. It is their mission to wash everyone clean before killing them.

We do not destroy the heretic because he resists us: so long as he resists us we never destroy him. We convert him, we capture his inner mind, we reshape him. We burn all evil and all illusion out of him; we bring him over to our side, not in appearance, but genuinely, heart and soul. We make him one of ourselves before we kill him29.

27 --- 260.

28 --- 260-261

29 --- 267

(16)

13 Big Brother is indeed an evil force in this society and the common opinion that he was able to and would protect the citizens is quite mind-boggling. The examples mentioned above are just a few of many that can be found in the novel. Parallels will be drawn to our modern-day society in Sweden after the analysis of the theme Science in Oryx and Crake.

2.3 Science in Oryx and Crake

One of the main themes in Oryx and Crake is that of Science and it is portrayed in a way that is very skilful. The reader sees the world through the eyes of Snowman (Jimmy) and one becomes aware of his concerns. It is evident that the situation is critical. One could say that the text is about hubris and humans playing God.

When Snowman was a child his name was Jimmy and he was an ordinary boy who lived in the Compounds with his parents. His father worked for OrganInc Farms and was a genographer. Very early in his career he had been a part of the creation of the Methusalah Mouse which was a part of Operation Immortality. The purpose of this project was to eliminate death so people and animals could live forever. Subsequently, he becomes one of the “foremost architects of the pigoon project, along with a team of transplant experts and the microbiologist who were spicing against infections”

30

. The animal’s real name was multiorganifer and the goal of the project was to “grow an assortment of foolproof human- tissue organs in a transgenic knockout pig host – organs that would transplant smoothly and avoid rejection, but would also be able to fend off attacks by opportunistic microbes and viruses /.../”

31

. These scientists also injected a gene that would make animal kidneys, livers and hearts grow faster. They were also on their way to create a pigoon that could grow up to

30 Margaret, Atwood. Oryx and Crake. 25

31 --- 25

(17)

14 six kidneys. These extra organs could then be used and the animal could keep on living and grow new organs instead of being killed.

The pigoon organs could be customized, using cells from individual human donors, and the organs were frozen until needed. It was much cheaper than getting yourself cloned for spare parts – a few wrinkles left to be ironed out there, as Jimmy’s dad used to say – or keeping a for-harvest child or two stashed away in some illegal baby orchard32.

The people at the OrganInc Farms believed that they did a great job when they expanded and created life. There were a lot of projects going on and many of them were successful.

On Jimmy’s tenth birthday, his father gave him a pet rakunk (which was a modified skunk) and the formation of these animals had “begun as an after-hours hobby on the part of the OrganInc biolab hotshots. There’d been a lot of fooling around in those days: create-an- animal was so much fun, said the guys doing it; it made you feel like God”

33

. However, some of the animals created at OrganInc had to be destroyed because they were too dangerous to have among people. The “snat” was one of these projects which was an unfortunate blend of snake and rat.

Jimmy’s dad came home one day and had great news which he was eager to tell his wife about. He had brought a bottle of champagne for a celebration but he did not get the reaction that he was hoping for. He and his colleagues had finally been successful in a neuro- regeneration project that they had been working on. They had been able to insert genuine human neocortex tissue in a pigoon and make it grow, which would create great possibilities for stroke victims. Jimmy’s mother had said “’That’s all we need’ /.../ ‘More people with the

32 Margaret, Atwood. Oryx and Crake. 27

33 --- 57

(18)

15 brains of pigs. Don’t we have enough of those already?’”

34

. Her real objection was that she believed that it was wrong to play God and interfere with the building blocks of life.

In the text, there are similar aspects of science that are morally wrong on a higher level.

Crake, Jimmy’s best friend, began his studies at a school called Watson-Crick while Jimmy began his at a less prestigious school, called Martha Graham. When Jimmy visits Crake one day at the institute, he enters a different world. A lot of projects are going on there and Crake is interested in all of them. He says to Jimmy that they are “a wave of the future”

35

.

Snowman tells the reader the story about his visit at the NeoAgriculturals and things that happened there. Before they could enter, they had to put on biosuits because what they were about to see was not yet “bioform-proofed”

36

. He and his friend looked at “a large bulblike object that seemed to be covered with stippled whitish-yellow skin. Out of it came twenty thick fleshy tubes, and at the end of each tube another bulb was growing”

37

. Jimmy was appalled when he learned that the objects were chickens that grew specific chicken parts. The odd thing with these chickens was that they did not have any heads. He understood the concept

(

since he had grown up with sus multiorganifers) but he believed that this was going too far. One of the scientists explained to him that the animal’s “head” was in the middle and that there was a mouth opening on the top in which they dumped the nutrients. The animals did not have beaks nor eyes because they were unnecessary. Then, Jimmy asked what the chickens were thinking but the female scientist said very businesslike that all brain functions that had nothing to do with digestion, assimilation and growth had been removed. Jimmy

34 --- 64

35 --- 236

36 --- 237

37 --- 237

(19)

16 thought that this whole thing was a nightmare

38

. “Why is it he feels some line has been crossed, some boundary transgressed? How much is too much, how far is too far?”

39

. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning. Crake was about to create total chaos in the world through one of his projects.

Crake told Jimmy that he worked at a unit named “Paradice” and that they worked on immortality. The goal was to eliminate death and make people live forever. The unit worked on two different projects. One of them was the BlyssPluss Pill whose purpose was to eliminate the external causes of death. According to Crake the following were the causes:

War, which is to say misplaced sexual energy, which we consider to be a larger factor that the economic, racial, and religious causes often cited.

Contagious diseases, especially sexually transmitted ones. Overpopulation, leading – as we’ve seen in spades – to environmental degradation and poor nutrition.40

The goal was to create a pill that would do four things. The users, however, did only get to know that the pill would do the three following:

 Protect the users from known sexually transmitted diseases.

 Provide an infinite supply of libido and sexual expertise, together with a generalized sense of energy and well-being. It would also reduce frustration and block the extra amount of testosterone that lead to jealousy and violence. Feeling of low self-worth would also be removed.

 Prolong youth.

41

38 --- 238

39 --- 242

40 --- 345

41 --- 346

(20)

17 The fourth point would not be advertised because it might cause people not to take the pill. It would also act as “a sure-fire one-time-does-it-all-birth-control pill”

42

for both men and women which would reduce the population. Crake did not want to express it this way, but Jimmy realized that Crake was about to sterilize people against their will and knowledge. His best friend did not seem to care about the individuals, only the possible benefits for the world.

Soon Jimmy began to see the positive aspects with the pill: endless good sex without consequences. Besides, his libido needed a boost. The pill was not yet completely done, however, it was still in the clinical trial stage because “a couple of test subjects had literally fucked themselves to death, several had assaulted old ladies and household pets, and there had been a few unfortunate cases of priapism and split dicks”

43

. When these problems were solved, the pill would become a major gold mine, according to Crake and Jimmy was involved in all this because Crake wanted him to design the ad campaign, and he had no choice but to accept the task.

Snowman articulates one more thing that happened at his stay at NeoAgriculturals. Crake had one more thing to show his friend at Paradice, something which was Crake’s lifetime achievement: “the Crakers”

44

. These people were the result of seven years of research. First and foremost, they were created through altered ordinary human embryos and programmed to drop dead when they reached the age of thirty, “-suddenly, without getting sick. No old age, none of those anxieties. They’ll just keel over. Not that they know it; none of them has died yet”

45

. Jimmy said to Crake, that he thought that they were working on immortality and Crake replied: “Immortality /…/” “is a concept. If you take ‘mortality’ as being, not death, but the

42 --- 347

43 --- 348

44 --- 355

45 --- 356

(21)

18 foreknowledge of it and the fear of it, then ‘immortality’ is the absence of such fear. Babies are immortal. Edit out fear, and you’ll be…”

46

. This was Crakes thoughts on the matter and his solution to how to eliminate death.

Another company, worked on a project that would result in that babies could be created with specific characteristics. Although, Crake believed that the Paradice method was safer and preferable because whole populations could be created with predetermined characteristics.

After a long explanation of the benefits, Jimmy asked Crake if he had not been a bit carried away but Crake could not see that there was any legitimacy in his friend’s question

47

.

The chaos that follows this is a different story Snowman, blames himself for the present situation even if he is not primarily responsible for the outcome. “Now comes the part that Snowman has replayed in his head time after time. If only haunts him. But if only what? What could he have said or done differently? What change would have altered the course of events?

In the big picture, nothing. In the small picture, so much”

48

.

2.4 Parallels to Sweden

In the following section, parallels to Sweden will be drawn from the two themes mentioned.

As a Swedish citizen, I have experiences of how our society controls us, the section will be written primarily out of own experience. As I do not have as much experience or knowledge about science, articles and other sources are used in order to strive for validity.

The situation in our own society in Sweden is not as severe as the one portrayed in 1984 when it comes to control, but the dystopian world Orwell envisioned is in fact not completely

46 --- 356

47 --- 359

48 --- 373

(22)

19 imaginary. We still have access to our history, even if we at times pay little or no attention to it. The so called ”thoughtcrimes” are not punished in Sweden, only actual deeds. However, actions have been taken to reduce the number of crimes. One of these is that people in Sweden, each and every day, are monitored. Big Brother is watching us through surveillance cameras in public places like stores, banks, cash dispensers and on the buses. Even our every move on the internet can be observed through the FRA-law and ipred. In fact, even Google registers what kind of information the individual seeks.

However, I find the current situation in Sweden quite interesting. Big Brother in the novel 1984 is an evil force that the citizens ought to be afraid of since if they do not obey, they will

indeed be punished. On the contrary, we literally welcome Big Brother in our lives in different ways in Sweden and we have done so for several years. One example is the television programs that have become really popular, namely reality shows like Paradise Hotel and Biggest Loser not to mention Big Brother. In general terms, Paradise Hotel is about

sex, alcohol and intrigues and about winning money and Biggest loser is about fat people going to boot camp where they are supposed to lose weight with the help of a personal trainer and strict diet. The individual who has lost the most weight in the end of the season wins a lot of money (and hopefully a new body). The people participating in Big Brother live “trapped”

in a house for more than three months, where they, according to me, seeks publicity and attention. They are given assignments each and every week that they have to perform.

“Ordinary” people voluntarily live their lives while being watched by “ordinary” people who

are interested in watching these television programs where people expose themselves in all

kinds of ways. It is difficult to pin down why people participate (besides the possibility of

fame and a grand prize) and perhaps even more difficult to understand why people watch

these shows.

(23)

20 When it comes to love and sexuality in Sweden, the common attitude is quite loose and there is no party that controls this part of our lives as grown-ups. Big Brother does not interfere much at all in this aspect of our lives. The existing laws concerning marriage are very reasonable. They all concern the legitimacy of the marriage. The law say that no one under the age of 18 is allowed to get married in Sweden and that close relatives may not marry each other. One is not allowed to be married to more than one person at the time and no one has the right to force another person to marry him or her

49

. There are no regulations when it comes to giving birth to children in Sweden and they are certainly not born into this world in order to serve a party.

Our Big Brother is not an evil force because society would most likely collapse without him even if one can easily understand the objection that Big Brother interferes with people’s integrity when nothing is private anymore. Even if one has nothing to hide, it can feel uncomfortable to know that somebody is watching you!

It seems unlikely that everything that is brought up in Atwood’s novel could happen, but there are actually quite a few things that are similar to the circumstances in Sweden when discussing science.

Just like the projects undertaken in Oryx and Crake it is possible to transplant animal organs into humans. The reason for these transplants is the existing, huge shortage of human organs to transplant. A large number of animal hearts and livers have been successfully transplanted across the world (including Sweden) into humans. Scientists are now hoping that cells from

49 Web source: Justitiedepartementet (2004). Nya regler för äktenskap i Sverige. Retrieved on February 25, 2009. My translation.

< http://www.sweden.gov.se/content/1/c6/01/97/73/03d0c551.pdf>

(24)

21 animals could cure new and large groups of patients, like diabetics and people with Parkinson’s disease. There is however, a debate going on and critics ask questions about whether it is worth transplanting animal organs into humans despite the risk that the animal donor might carry infections. The transplants could result in that infections are being spread in the population and could possibly cause epidemics

50

. In this case, I agree with Jimmy’s mother as I am a Christian that believes that only God should be in charge of life. People should not mess with the building blocks of life.

Crake and his colleagues interfered with how chickens were genetically built. They created ChickieNobs which was chickens without heads, beaks and eyes that grew different chicken parts that are desirable for humans to eat. In these animals, they had inserted hormones so they would grow faster. The present situation is not as severe in Sweden and no food from genetically modified animals is sold in grocery stores but according to Henrik Branden, an author on a website dealing with genetic engineering, it is only a matter of time. In laboratories, there are a couple of different animal species that have been genetically modified in order to make the food more healthy, cheaper and more environmental friendly.

51

To claim that there is an “Operation Immortality” going on in our society might be claiming too much, but our physical appearance has become more and more important. It has also become more important to prolong youth in different ways. Botox and plastic surgery have become quite common and there are plenty of anti-wrinkle crèmes in stores that promise that signs of aging will be eliminated in just a couple of weeks. Clinics promise the same. One

50 Web source: Monica Starendal (1998) Djurorgan i människor. Retrieved on February 25, my translation.

<http://www.fof.se/tidning/1998/8/djurorgan-i-manniskor>

51 Henrik Branden. (2002) Mat från genmodifierade djur. Retrieved on February 25, my translation.

<http://www.genteknik.nu/index.asp?id=474>

(25)

22 example is a clinic with the slogan Eternal Youth – holding back the years

52

where they offer a lot of different treatments to “hold back the years”. Crake in Atwood’s novel created people who died before they got too old and he removed all contagious diseases and all external causes of death. The external causes of death are not removed and there is no pill (yet?) that protects the user from sexually transmitted diseases or provides an infinite supply of libido or sexual expertise. The “BlyssPluss” pill has no single equivalent in Sweden but there is a well- known pill that takes care of erectile dysfunction, namely Viagra, which indeed is similar in at least one way to the “BlyssPluss” pill.

52 Web source: Paul Cronin. Eternal Youth…mind, body & facial rejuvenation centre.

<http://www.eternalyouth.co.uk/index.php> . Retrieved on February 25.

(26)

23 3 Summary and conclusion

It has been shown in this essay that some of the authors’ misgivings turned out to be justified, and some have, luckily, not come true. Considering the circumstances, we live in a society that is quite far from the two that Orwell and Atwood envisioned, but both writers have cast light upon important aspects of society that indeed are worth our attention. Big Brother is not an evil force in Sweden but one can easily understand that the surveillance and the control can make some people uncomfortable and that some people feel that the control interferes with their integrity.

When discussing science it became evident that organs from animals have been successfully transplanted into humans. There are no provisions that come from genetically modified animals that are sold in our grocery stores but according to the scientists, it is only a matter of time before it is done to make the food healthier, cheaper and more environmental friendly.

It is important to stop the ideas contained in these novels from becoming self-fulfilling prophecies. As written above, Göran Hägg claims that if one talks about the future (if one even should to that) it is important to call attention to the fact that it is not primarily something one should or can predict. He adds that it is, at least in its design, something one chooses or at least can choose

53

. But as the authors portray societal tendencies and trends that concern them, I believe that it is important to take their literature more seriously. We should not only regard them as great science fiction or futuristic fiction that has nothing to do with our society. And even though these two novels are fiction, the main characters’ destinies are

53 Louise Vinge, et al, 100

(27)

24 our business and their stories can teach us something. Perhaps simply: “Don’t let this happen.

It depends on us…”

54

54 --- 32

(28)

25 Bibliography

Primary sources

Atwood, Margaret. Oryx and Crake. London: Little, Brown Book Group, 2004 Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. London: Penguin Books Ltd. 2008 Secondary sources

Atwood, Margaret. Perfect storms: writing Oryx and Crake.

<http://www.oryxandcrake.co.uk/perfectstorm.asp?p=4>, 2003.

Cronin, Paul. Eternal Youth...mind, body and facial rejuvenation centre.

<http://www.eternalyouth.co.uk/index.php>

Charles’ George Orwell Links. Dystopia

<http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/articles/col-dystopia.htm > 1995-2010 Hanks, Patrick. Collins English Dictionary.

London: William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd, 1979.

Hermansson. Niclas. Exploring dystopia.

<http://hem.passagen.se/replikant/>

Justitiedepartementet. Nya regler för äktenskap i Sverige

<http://www.sweden.gov.se/content/1/c6/01/97/73/03d0c551.pdf>, 2004.

Kreis, Steven. An Orwell Chronology.

<http://www.historyguide.org/europe/orwell.html>, 2000.

Lindskog, Rune. Litteraturhistoria – för grundskolans senare skede.

Stockholm: Natur & Kultur. 1995.

Orwell, George. 1984.

Ove Pihl/Kristina Lundqvist. Höganäs: Bra Böcker. 1984 Sparknotes editors. Sparknote on 1984.

<http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/1984/context.html>, 2010.

Starendal, Monica. Djurorgan i människor. Är möjligheten att rädda människoliv värd risken för smitta?

<http://www.fof.se/tidning/1998/8/djurorgan-i-manniskor>, 1998.

Turner, Nick. Margaret Atwood.

<http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth03C18N390512635243>

,2009.

Vinge, Louise et al, Tankar kring Nittonhundraåttiofyra.

Lund: Kursverksamhetens förlag. 1984

References

Related documents

• Utbildningsnivåerna i Sveriges FA-regioner varierar kraftigt. I Stockholm har 46 procent av de sysselsatta eftergymnasial utbildning, medan samma andel i Dorotea endast

I dag uppgår denna del av befolkningen till knappt 4 200 personer och år 2030 beräknas det finnas drygt 4 800 personer i Gällivare kommun som är 65 år eller äldre i

Den förbättrade tillgängligheten berör framför allt boende i områden med en mycket hög eller hög tillgänglighet till tätorter, men även antalet personer med längre än

På många små orter i gles- och landsbygder, där varken några nya apotek eller försälj- ningsställen för receptfria läkemedel har tillkommit, är nätet av

Figur 11 återger komponenternas medelvärden för de fem senaste åren, och vi ser att Sveriges bidrag från TFP är lägre än både Tysklands och Schweiz men högre än i de

Detta projekt utvecklar policymixen för strategin Smart industri (Näringsdepartementet, 2016a). En av anledningarna till en stark avgränsning är att analysen bygger på djupa

DIN representerar Tyskland i ISO och CEN, och har en permanent plats i ISO:s råd. Det ger dem en bra position för att påverka strategiska frågor inom den internationella

Den här utvecklingen, att både Kina och Indien satsar för att öka antalet kliniska pröv- ningar kan potentiellt sett bidra till att minska antalet kliniska prövningar i Sverige.. Men