Oryx and Crake

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Jimmy and Crake disagree about the ethics of genetic engineering.

• What set of ethics are at work in the novel and with what result? (topic sentence)
• Based on the novel, decide which character’s viewpoint proves correct. Describe the plot events that support this conclusion.
• In your closing sentences, discuss how the novel’s events develop the theme of Ethics.

2. In the novel, science and nature are at war.

• Which side is winning and why? (topic sentence)
• Discuss the success of genetic splicing in Snowman’s dystopia. How do the results of the genetic engineering differ from the goals of the scientists who developed the technology?
• In your closing sentences, discuss how the novel’s events develop the theme of Science Versus Nature.

3. Jimmy and Crake spend a great deal of their boyhood experiencing exploitation through internet voyeurism.

• What effect does this practice have on the adult Jimmy or Crake? (topic sentence)
• Discuss the role Oryx plays in Jimmy’s or Crake’s life.
• In your closing sentences, discuss the novel’s theme regarding Voyeurism and Exploitation.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Jimmy renames himself twice in the novel. He first calls himself Thickney and then Abominable Snowman, Snowman for short. Why doesn’t Jimmy want to be Jimmy? What is he running from or toward? Cite text evidence to support your claim.

2. While Crake represents science in the novel, Jimmy represents the humanities. Notably, Crake supplies Jimmy with immunity to the plague. Consider the theme of Family and Friendship. Why does Crake want Jimmy to survive? What message does Atwood convey by allowing Jimmy to survive the plague while Crake does not? Cite text evidence to support your claim.

3. Oryx is not a fully realized character. Readers know nothing about her beyond what the narrator relays through Jimmy’s memories. Essentially, her identity is based on what Jimmy and Crake need her to be. As such, what is her role in the novel? What theme might be developed through her character, if any? Cite text evidence to support your claim.