The Veldt Literature Web

Oryx and Crake 1

Morality vs. Science

In Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, Oryx and Crake, she discusses the topic of morality versus science. Jimmy’s father works at two different pigoon research center’s. Some people think that these research and development centers are moral because the research is being done for the advancing of humanity. Others think that they are not moral because the research is altering the way human’s develop, and therefore changing the natural course of nature.

Jimmy’s parents are a perfect example of the struggle between morality and science. Jimmy’s mother believes that the research that Jimmy’s father is doing is not moral because she believes that humans should progress naturally and not be genetically engineered. Jimmy’s father believes that the research that him and his colleagues are doing is very important, and working towards a utopia, or a perfect society. In this perfect society, humans would not have physical disabilities or mental disabilities because science could fix all of their problems. This doesn’t mean that every human would be the same, everyone would remain unique, but no one would have any issues. 

In the world that Margaret Atwood creates in Jimmy’s story, most of society has the same general belief as Jimmy’s father. It seems like people who have the same moral beliefs as Jimmy’s mother are outcasts and viewed as people who do not want society to progress the way that it is. Most of the population is dedicated to furthering humanity in an un-natural way, and creating their idea of a utopia.

My picture represents the closest that you can get to a utopia in our current society. It is a drawing of Dubai which is a massive city, with low crime, low homeless rate, a good climate, no natural disasters, and a lot of wealth to be shared.  

Notes

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2566816/Untitled

Response

http://systwo-english20.blogspot.com/

Billy Budd Chapter 22 - 30

1.Describe what you think happened in the compartment as Captain Vere told Billy of the court’s decision.  Base your response as accurately as possible on the characterizations of the two so far.

Based on what we know about Billy’s personality, and how he has reacted to this situation so far I think that nothing much happened when Captain Vere told Billy of the courts decision. It is quite possible that Billy is so innocent and naive that he just is unable to register the fact that he is being sentenced to death. Also, judging by the way everyone and Captain Vere viewed Billy, Captain Vere probably felt very torn. He knew that Billy was guilty, but it was very hard for him to accept the fact that this perfect, innocent boy was capable of murder.

4. What is the significance of Billy’s last words? How does it connect to themes and symbolism in the text?

The major significance of Billy’s last words, “God Bless Captain Vere” is the fact that his last words emphasize his personality. This once again goes back to Billy’s inability to be truly upset with somebody for a long period of time. This is unique to Billy because Vere is essentially the person that caused Billy to be killed. He testified against him, told everyone what he did, and informed Billy of his fate. Because Captain Vere has always been so kind to Billy, he has an easier time forgiving him for everything that he has done to Billy. Billy’s last words connect to the theme of his innocence throughout the story. His last words connect to innocence through his relationship with Captain Vere. As said before, despite Vere’s actions against Billy, he still remains kind and friendly towards Vere, even with death lurking.

http://jiveturkey.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/cheers-jeers-i-am-actually-relieved-its-monday-edition/

Reason For Choosing Picture:
I believe this picture represents why Billy was hung because if you were to see someone that looked evil you would stay away from them. In this case he did something that was evil and in turn he was hung because the people around him could not understand his innocent inside.