Society has set different norms that are supposed to govern how people live. Men and women have specific roles that they should adhere to fit in society. Failure to follow the criteria established for each function may result in being looked down upon and even discriminated against (Margaret, 2023). These roles are sometimes excessively severe and unfair; males are supposed to be the leader of their households and provide for their families, and they are usually allocated more onerous responsibilities. On the other hand, women are expected to stay at home and look after their homes, and they should not work or perform tasks that need more physical energy. They should not take leadership positions because politics seems too harsh and rough, and thus women cannot withstand such an environment, and they are also obliged to be humble to their men. This article examines how well male and female literary characters mirror the roles of men and women in the novel “Oryx and Crake.”
In this novel, Jimmy’s mother tells him to leave his dad alone because he is thinking and does not have time for him. She then hauls him with a wrist and leaves the house. This is because his done was thinking about work, and his mother could not allow him to disturb his dad because he was the one who worked to provide for his family. In that case, she has to pick up his son and move out of the house to give his husband peace of mind to do his job. This shows that men are the ones who provide for society, and they should not be distracted by children because that is not their obligation.
When Ramona, Jimmy’s dad’s lab technician, asks him how his wife is doing, he says that his wife is not hot, and that is a problem that makes him get worried. This shows that he does not care about anything else about his wife except that the wife has to look good. This shows that his dad expects his wife to look beautiful. In society, women are there to be seen and not to be heard; thus, he expects his wife to look good.
Jimmy’s dad says that Ramona was talking like a shower-gel babe in an advertisement, yet she was a technology genius and not stupid (Margaret, 2023). This shows that women can be judged by how they look or talk. Society expects people with tough jobs to talk or behave a certain way, especially women because no one cares about how men talk; they are perceived to be intelligent. In society, women who seem beautiful, like Ramona, are expected to do jobs that do not need much professionalism and seem easy.
When Jimmy asks his mother why she left her job, she tells him that she had to quit to stay with him (Margaret, 2023). Her mother answers him this as he looks at her husband, and this is evident that she did not quit because she was coerced. Her mother seemed to like her job, but she was supposed to stay home because she was married and had a child. In society, women should take care of their homes and not go to work because providing for the family is not their responsibility. Women are only obliged to stay at home.
This novel shows the societal norms that are set to govern how men and women perform their duties (Margaret, 2023). Some of these perceptions should be terminated because they limit the country’s economy’s success because women are not supposed to work, and also, women’s personal goals cannot be achieved because they should only attend to their children.
Reference
Margaret, A. (2023). Oryx and Crake: a novel. (Pdf download) Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood Free Download. Web.