Daily Archives: November 3, 2014

Reflections

Oryx and Crake Provocation

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When looking at the major characters in Oryx and Crake, it seems somewhat apparent that they aren’t merely plot figures, but symbollic of greater overarching value systems. The title can be misleading in that the main conflict occurs between Jimmy and Crake, with Oryx laying somewhere in the middle ground in between the two. Though the in class discussions touched on the opposing forces of idealism and realism, along with the dichotomy of sensitivity and callous behavior towards society that Jimmy portrays versus Crake’s general pessimism, I’d like to look more in depth at this conflict especially in relation to the latter portion of the novel.

In the final parts of the book, we find Snowman trapped within the Rejoovenessence compound and simultaneously ensnared within the horrific past. As he traverses deeper into the pleeblands in this section, he travels further along in his own memories, recollecting information about the times and moments that led up to the destruction of the old world. At the beginning of Chapter 12, he focuses in on a few specific sexual encounters and can’t seem to escape his fantasies even when hurt and in danger. Snowman recalls a very intriguing comment Crake once made: “Nobody wanted to be sexless, but nobody wanted to be nothing but sex… Another human conundrum” (311). I think that this issue shows a much more grandeur importance throughout the novel than one might think, especially when analyzing the traits of the Crakers as the new human race. While Snowman has been also rendered sexless, Jimmy was the complete opposite and loved the trasient physical satisfaction he gained from sex, yet hated the implications involved with it.  The Crakers also end up sexless in a way (though they still must do it to reproduce, their is no emotional attachement with it), and where does that really leave them? They still seem to develop complex and meaningful relationships with one another, but in a manner that lacks most ulterior motives that are present today.

In recent times, sexuality has expanded in modern culture and become something essential to an individual’s personhood. For some people, it is the determining factor of their entire personality. To think that in this society, one that’s much more open, perverse, and grotesque in every way (especially sexually), Crake would render the new world sexless is incredulous. What are the implications for removing sex from the world? Are sex and love as intertwined as we may think? Is Atwood making a broader statement here about what should be done in society or is she merely attempting to point out our current confusion with infatuation and love and the vagueness surrounded with that word in particular?

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Reverse Outlining

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Reverse Outlining

Whether you are reading published scholarship or another student’s paper, reverse outlining can help you process information by distilling the main ideas of a text into short, clear statements. Put simply, when reverse outlining the reader tries to summarize each paragraph of a text in two sentences. This process will not only help you analyze the material you are reading, it will also allow you to organize your response. You may use reverse outlining to revise your own work, revise the work of others, or to annotate a text.

Reverse outlining follows a two-step, repeatable process:

  1. In the left-hand margin, write down the topic of each paragraph. Try to use as few words as possible.
  • When reading, these notes should work as quick references for future study or in-class discussion.
  • When revising your own work or the work of your peers, these notes should tell you if each paragraph is focused and clear.
  1. In the right-hand margin, write down how the paragraph topic advances the overall argument of the text. Again, be brief.
  • When reading, these notes allow you to follow the logic of the essay, making it easier for you to analyze or discuss later.
  • When revising your own work, these notes should tell you if each paragraph fits in the overall organization of your paper. You may also notice that paragraphs should be shifted after completing this step.

Remember to be brief. You should try to complete each step in 5-10 words. When reading a published text, you should be able to summarize the topic and the manner of support quickly; if you can’t, you should consult a dictionary, an encyclopedia, or other resources to help you understand the content. When reading your own work or the work of a peer, you should consider revising any section that does not have a clear point that is easy to re-articulate.

When reading a potential source, you should consider which points you agree or disagree with and make notes that help you formulate your opinion. However, when reading work with the goal of revision, the objective is to communicate an understanding of the writer’s main ideas, not to critique or correct these points. When reading your own work or the work of a peer, if the paragraph does contain an easily identifiable point, but it does not relate to the thesis or topic of the paper, it may be appropriate to remove this section entirely.

This exercise can be expanded by rewriting/typing your outline with comments or further suggestions, but writing in the margin might be sufficient.

 

This exercise is adapted from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/689/1/ by The OWL at Purdue