Oryx and Crake Essay

Throughout the book we learn through flashbacks that Snowman was once jimmy, a young boy who was very different from Snowman. He was changed into the extremely depressed, negative, and socially lacking individual by certain hardships that occurred over his life time. He was abandoned by his parents, Lacked a social life, and his skills were grossly over looked in his society. All making Jimmy feel worthless and pointless spiraling him into the extreme state of depression that currently overtakes him as Snowman. All throughout Jimmy’s childhood there was an extreme lack of affection displayed. He eventually became completely abandoned by his mother and father. His mother with her running away and his father with marring Ramona and attempting to start a new family without him leaving him feeling alone and unwanted. â€Å"Things had changed a lot in the field since Jimmy came along! (came along, as if he hadn’t actually been born, but had just sort of dropped by for a visit. )† (302). Showing that Jimmy feels as though he is not wanted by his father and Ramona like he is not a part of their family at all. This caused Jimmy to avoid any time spent with his father and Ramona. Ramona invited Jimmy for the holidays, but he had no wish to go, so he pleaded overwork† (303). Since Jimmy did not feel as though he was wanted as part of their family he did not join them for normal family events. This caused Jimmy to miss out something everyone else had, a family. Jimmy has not ever really had a healthy social life. Apart from the women he slept with, he had not made friends other the Crake. This had a huge impact on Jimmy’s life, because Crake was away at another school and Jimmy was left to be by himself, causing Jimmy to become extremely lonely. He might go to the movie at the mall, just to convince himself he was part of a group of other people. † (307). When Jimmy worked at Anoo Yoo he did not make a single friend, he spent out his days alone only finding company over the internet or by pretend. He felt completely left out from all of his peers, like an outsider. â€Å"So this was the rest of his life. It felt like a party to which he’d been invited, but an address he couldn’t actually locate. Someone must be having fun at it, this life of his; only, right at the moment, it wasn’t him. † (305). Jimmy’s lack of social life and people skills caused him severe loneliness and depression. The society Jimmy lived in was completely focused on science, leaving no need for any other focuses. Because Jimmy’s talent was not with science but with words, it left his skill greatly underappreciated. He did not feel as though his skill was useful for anything important anymore. â€Å"He should have been pleased by his success with these verbal fabrications, but instead he was depressed by it. The memos that came from above telling him he’d done a good job meant nothing to him because they’d been dictated by semi-literates; all they proved was that no one at Anoo Yoo was capable of appreciating how clever he had been. (301). Although Jimmy was being praised he did not feel as he was being utilized properly, he felt as though he could do more. Overall making him feel useful and underappreciated. Overall Snowman’s personality is not without reason. He was never taught how to love by his parents, causing him to be incapable of a normal relationship with a woman. His lack of social life caused him to put himself down and make himself feel unwanted. He was never fully accepted for his talents even by his parents, because of the focus society had on science. Causing himself hatred, depression and loneliness.