Oryx and Crake is a dystopian novel written by Margaret Atwood, exploring themes of genetic engineering, corporate power, and the consequences of unchecked scientific advancements. The book presents a bleak future where society has been devastated by a global pandemic and environmental destruction. Throughout the novel, Atwood weaves thought-provoking quotes that offer insight into the characters’ motivations and the world they inhabit. In this article, we have compiled a collection of powerful quotes from Oryx and Crake that will captivate readers and provoke contemplation.
Atwood’s writing in Oryx and Crake is filled with poignant and evocative quotes that shed light on the complex emotions and dilemmas faced by the characters. These quotes not only serve to advance the plot but also offer profound commentary on the human condition. Whether you are a fan of dystopian literature or simply appreciate thought-provoking quotes, this compilation from Oryx and Crake will surely resonate with you.
Without further ado, let’s delve into the mesmerizing world of Oryx and Crake through these carefully selected quotes:
Read these Oryx and Crake quotes
“The effect of piousness on the human personality is to breed a stunted and unemotional creature, as rigid and as wooden as the object of his faith.”
“Remember the story of Icarus? As he flew, he thought he could do anything, so he flew too close to the sun. And what happened? He came crashing down to Earth.”
“What’s worse, new diseases being made because of them, or the old ones that are still around?'”
“The truth is, there’s something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there? You can’t put your finger on it, but you sense it.”
“People need such things. They need to exercise their imaginations. They need to hope for something, to look forward to things. They need to be told stories that they know are not true. Strict realism isn’t enough. It’s too depressing. The whole thing is too depressing.”
“You can’t buy it back. You can’t make it go away. But you can try to learn from it.”
“The human race was not extinct. It was simply dormant.”
“Fantasies are like circuses, with all sorts of improbable acts going on simultaneously, and that’s what you need when you’re really down: you need a good circus act.”
“The trouble with a mask is it never changes.”
“The body is not a thing, it is a situation: it is our grasp on the world and our sketch of our project.”
“There’s the story, then there’s the real story, then there’s the story of how the story came to be told. Then there’s what you leave out of the story. Which is part of the story too.”
“The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn’t one.”
“But maybe boredom is erotic, when women do it, for men.”
“What’s the point of being human if you don’t know what it means to be human?”
“When any civilization is dust and ashes, he said, art is all that’s left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning—human meaning, that is—is defined by them.”
“Our society is not one of spectacle, but of surveillance; under the surface of images, one invests bodies in depth; behind the great abstraction of exchange, there continues the meticulous concrete training of useful forces; the circuits of communication are the supports of an accumulation and a centralization of knowledge; the play of signs defines the anchorages of power; it is not that the beautiful totality of the individual is amputated, repressed, altered by our social order, it is rather that the individual is carefully fabricated in it, according to a whole technique of forces and bodies.”
“A word after a word after a word is power.”
“We are all snowflakes, unique in every way.”
“You can’t let the past dictate the future. You have to learn from it and move on.”
“The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short.”
“The world is full of monsters with friendly faces.”
These quotes from Oryx and Crake provide a glimpse into the profound themes and captivating storytelling of Margaret Atwood. They offer readers a chance to reflect on the implications of our actions, the power of imagination, and the fragility of humanity. As you dive into the eerie dystopian world of Oryx and Crake, let these quotes guide you on a journey of introspection and contemplation.
