Origins of Humanity - Essay Example

In particular, the novel entitled Oryx and Crake employs several of these genesis themes including the creation of man, the fall of man, and the brother’s keeper. In the book of “Genesis,” the creation of man occurs on the sixth day of the Earth’s creation: “And God said, “Let us make a human in our image, by our likeness…And God created the human in his image…male and female He created them”(Lawall, 40). In addition to creating man, God also gives man enormous power over everything in the Garden of Eden: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and conquer it, and hold sway over the fish of the sea and the fowl of the heavens and every beast”(Lawall, 40).

Similarly, Margaret Atwood utilizes the creation of man in two different ways in Oryx and Crake. In a metaphorical sense of creation, man has been transformed in the novel in that science and technology has given humans more and more power over the world, similarly to how Adam was given power over every creature in the Garden of Eden. . They were naked…they were so beautiful. Black, yellow, white, brown…each individual was exquisite”(Atwood, 302). This example parallels the creation of man within the book of Genesis in a much more literal sense as an actual breed of humans is made from scientific means, which differs, of course, from the creation of man due to spiritual or supernatural means within the Bible, but both are essentially the same in that it showcases the origins of humanity or a type of humanity.

In addition to the creation of man, Oryx and Crake also clearly incorporates the fall of man. In “Genesis,” the fall of man occurs when Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the forbidden tree: ““From the tree I commanded you not to eat have you eaten?”And the human said, “The woman whom you gave by me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate””(Lawall, 41). Due to this sin, God banishes man from the Garden of Eden forever, and punishes humanity with childbirth, death, and separation from God.

Similarly, in Oryx and Crake, there is a distinct fall of man as well. In the novel, the character of Crake unleashes a horrible virus which essentially wipes out almost all of humanity because he wants to start humanity over with his Craker breed as he believes that his creation is far superior to the regular humans that exist in the world. “At first Jimmy thought it was routine, another minor epidemic or splotch of bio-terrorism…then the next one hit, and the next, the next, the next…Taiwan, Bangkok, Saudi Arabia, Bombay, Paris, Berlin.

The time from visible onset to final moment was amazingly short”(Atwood, 324-325). Due to this global catastrophe, civilization basically