Children of Oryx, Children of Crake: Human-Animal Relationships in Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam Trilogy

Abstract

Climate change and industrialization have introduced new tensions to human-animal interactions in the United States—tensions explored in Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy (2003-2013). Tying the world of the novels to real-life trends, I examine MaddAddam’s portrayal of animals as commodities and objects of consumption, both literal and metaphorical; uncover sites of animal agency; and identify examples of liminality, “becoming-animal,” “becoming-with animal,” and symbiosis. I urge readers to move beyond both apocalyptic resignation and ecotopian naïveté, using MaddAddam as an inspiration for more thoughtful engagements among humans, animals, and the environment.