Echo of the Ruins
A Social-Ecological Reading of Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31973/9mqnmh26Keywords:
Social –Ecology, Bookchin, Snowman, apocalypse, Oryx, CrakeAbstract
The Present Study offers a social ecological reading of Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake (2003) through the lens of Murray Bookchin’s social ecological theory. The analysis of the novel highlights two significant aspects of the writer’s artistic accomplishments. First, Atwood creates a dystopian world of the novel, where Snowman finds himself in a genetically engineered, post-apocalyptic world where capitalism has astounded the universe and affected every single detail of human life. Second, through Bookchin social ecological perspective and through exploring relevant contemporary concerns including, animal abuse, women’s oppression and subjugation, the novel speculates a future destroyed by the unchecked exploitation of biotechnology and unbridled corporate greed that dominates society, leading to environmental collapse in the shape of species extinction, climate change, diminishing resources, failed genetic engineering and diseases.
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