Ashley D. Wrenn

11 July 2015

Speculative Fiction: A Commingling of Genres in Oryx and Crake (Part 1)

          As our class was exploring the genres of utopian and dystopian literature, we were soon able to pinpoint the particular conventions of both and categorize our books into its corresponding genre with ease. In short, utopian literature is about a perfect world, while dystopian literature is about a dysfunctional world. However, both of these genres can fall under a broader genre called Speculative Fiction, which can encompass so much more and cannot be neatly categorized into one genre over another. In fact, Speculative Fiction involves a blending of many different genres. Margaret Atwood’s novel, Oryx and Crake, falls under the genre of Speculative Fiction and offers a blending of genres that are similar and yet different from what we have read so far and add value to the ideas we have developed throughout the course.

Distinguishing what permits literature to be labeled Speculative Fiction has proven to be difficult. What distinguishes Speculative Fiction from other genres? In my opinion, Hannah Wells’s research post entitled, “Speculative Fiction: A Genre of Actuality,” hits the nail on the head when describing how readers can tell the difference. She describes Speculative Fiction as what “could happen,” Science Fiction as what “couldn’t happen yet,” and Fantasy as what “could never happen at all.” This definitely makes it easier for me to comprehend what permits a piece of literature to fall under Speculative Fiction.

          Speculative Fiction encompasses many different elements that are classic of the utopian / dystopian genre. For example, the novel takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where humanity has been destroyed by a “mad scientist” by the name of Crake. Although frightening, what makes this futuristic, horror-filled story a speculative fiction is how close to reality it is. As we have mentioned in class, Crake resembles a very well-known, charismatic villain that we are all too familiar with: Hitler. Therefore, as readers, we can imagine a future where eugenics plays a major role in the “production” and “destruction” of humans.  While Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia focuses on a goal to reconstruct society, Oryx and Crake is more about the reconstruction of people—which proves to be a disturbing subject.

Being that Speculative Fiction is a blending of numerous genres, there are certainly attractions and benefits that it has to offer. To start, it has the potentiality to appeal to a mass of different readers with different interests. For example, Oryx and Crake has the potential to draw in readers interested in not only utopian/dystopian topics, but also love and adventure. Oryx and Crake follows Jimmy’s journey through a dystopian world and his love triangle with characters Crake and Oryx.  Part of the attractiveness of this genre is also how close it is to reality. It blurs the lines of possibility and impossibility. Because this genre is labeled, “could happen,” a sense of angst is present as the reader is faced with the uncomfortable feeling that what they are reading is a futuristic possibility. For me, this was most prevalent with the creation of the ChickieNobs (Crake describes these as a sort of chicken hookworm). These concepts are not that far-fetched! This concept brings readers closer to the novel because it becomes more relatable and understandable.

Another benefit this genre offers is the development of in-depth characterization that we do not necessarily get when reading other utopian novels. For example, in Thomas More’s Utopia, there is no emotional connection to any of the characters. Instead, the reader plays the role of “the outsider looking in.”  In Oryx and Crake, we get an inside look at our main character, Jimmy and his thoughts and feelings throughout his entire journey. This is an attraction to this genre because we, as readers, start to care about the characters, become emotionally invested in their well-being, and therefore enjoy the novel so much more.

My favorite difference between Oryx and Crake and other utopian novels is the readability of it. While other novels, particularly Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland and Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia contain tract-like passages that consequently lose the reader, Oryx and Crake bounces from past to present, keeping the reader fully engaged. In Herland, the main character, Van, drearily lists all of the do’s and don’ts of the society. After a certain amount of time has passed, I found myself unconsciously and unsympathetically reading. Although our discussion about our utopian texts proved to be thought-provoking, the actual reading process was not nearly as alluring. However, in Oryx and Crake, the constant shift in time and setting kept me on the edge of my seat. I wanted to finish this novel and was even more excited to hear what my peers thought of it.

Although Speculative Fiction can encompass many different genres, its purpose remains the same. As I have previously said when describing the purpose of utopian / dystopian literature, what matters with Speculative Fiction is the ability to make us, as readers, critically think about the world we are living in. It serves as a critique of our world, and of humanity as a whole. This, I believe, was Margaret Atwood’s goal when writing this piece of literature—she wanted to make her audience, like the characters in her novel, constantly question the world around them. This also distinguishes Speculative Fiction as a worthy and prestigious genre when compared to Science Fiction. Speculative Fiction, more particularly, Oryx and Crake, served as a great finish to our seminar because it provided some of the classical conventions of utopian / dystopian literature while still maintaining the ability to entertain and educate in a fresh way!