Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Crake's Plan

Crake's plan ties in with, what I think are, the main themes of the novel. That people will do anything for money, as well as people want to be perfect. These two can be combined with one major theme: Humans become caught up in the material things in life.

The first part of Crake's plan is a pill. A pill that he knows everyone will want. The benefits of the pill include,
     
        a)    would protect the user against all known sexually transmitted diseases, fatal, inconvenient, or merely unsightly;
        b)    would provide an unlimited supply of libido and sexual prowess, coupled with a generalized sense of energy and well-being, thus reducing the frustration and violence, and eliminating feelings of low self-worth;
        c)    would prolong youth. (Atwood 355)

And with these points only, everyone would be lining up to buy the pill because you could pretty well do what you want with little to no consequences, as well as staying younger longer. This is not the end of Crake's plan though. What he would not tell people is that upon consuming the pill, it sterilizes you.

Crake's logic is that it will reduce the population in a positive way, but I find it horrible. I do not think he is visualizing how this will effect people in their everyday lives. People will not be able to start families when they are ready. They will have to go through all the heartbreak knowing they never will be able to.

But this is where the Crakers come in. All these people who consume the pill and now cannot have children can purchase the next best thing. The ones who have enough money anyways. They can buy a 'child' made in a lab and pick out what features they want to to have and how it will look. One thing is for sure, every one of them will be the parents ideal of perfection.

I find this very sickening. Would anyone actually want to buy one? They are not even humans. They do not look like humans. The way Snowman describes them in the wasteland, they seem more alien then anything. So, if people were that desperate to have a baby, would they succumb to one of these Crakers? That is what Crake is hoping for.

If I could ask Crake some questions, I would ask him:

Do you expect everyone to take the pill?
Are you expecting no one to catch on that your pill makes them sterile?
Are you trying to make your Crakers the dominate species?
Are the Crakers supposed to take over the world?
Why do you feel that every child has to be perfect?