A Studv On Spatial Narrative In Oryx And Crake

Margaret Atwood,known as the "Queen of Literature" of Canadian,is a famous novelist,poet and literary critic in Canada.Oryx and Crake,second futuristic novel of Margaret Atwood,mainly describes the protagonist "Snowman",formerly known as Jimmy,returned to the RejoovenEsence Compound to explore the survival goods after the destruction of the world.This novel has attracted wide attention since its publication.Scholars at home and abroad have conducted in-depth researches on the theme of the novel from different perspectives including ecocriticism,ethics of science and technology and feminism.In this novel,Atwood weakens the function of time,and promotes plot development through the change of the space and mental world of the characters,as well as the development of character relationships.In the context of the spatial turn,space has gradually attracted attention in the field of literary criticism as a new perspective.Thus,this thesis analyzes the form of space reflected in Oryx and Crake from the perspective of spatial criticism,in order to explore the warning significance of the novel to modern society,and also provide a new perspective for rereading this novel.This thesis is divided into five parts.The introduction briefly introduces Margaret Atwood and her work Oryx and Crake,the research status of Atwood and her novel at home and abroad,the development of spatial theory and its application in the field of literature.Chapter One mainly analyzes the relationship between the nature and science from the perspective of physical space.In this chapter,the author displays the conflicts between nature and science by the comparison between natural space and transformed living space,natural species and man-made species,reality and illusion space.Chapter Two explores the relationship between technology and civilization from the perspective of social space.It presents the conflicts between technology and civilization through the unequal status of art and technology,the decline of language and the lack of trust between people.The third chapter examines the conflict between technology and ethics in the mental space.By describing the spiritual world of the characters in the novel to demonstrate the mental processes of the characters.In a science and technology-dominated society,the ethical lines are crossed,leading to the destruction of the world.In this thesis,the author employs the spatial criticism to present the spatial forms reflected in the novel,including physical space,social space and spiritual space,as well as conflicts in various spaces,in order to explore the warning significance of the novel to human society and Atwood’s deep thinking on human society.Thus,the author draws the conclusion that only when the physical space,social space and spiritual space reach a harmonious and balanced state,can human society develop continuously.