Oryx and Crake

As Snowman looks back on his time with Crake, he realizes that there were clues about Crake’s worldview and plans that he did not notice this at the time. Can you think of any interactions, dialogue, or events that may be read as warning signs?

How do you perceive Crake throughout this novel? Does he have any altruistic, honorable aims (as he claims) or is he merely a power-crazed villain?

What is Oryx’s function in this story? In what ways does she shape the action of the novel and the relationship between Jimmy and Crake?

While he believes that Crake released the virus on purpose, Jimmy states that he can only speculate about Crake’s motives. What are your thoughts on these potential motives? What might Crake have been thinking when he was formulating his plan?

Crake says that he does not believe in Nature “with a capital N.” What does he mean by this and how does it influence his actions?

Crake once posed a conundrum to Jimmy: “Can a single ant be said to be alive, in any meaningful sense of the word, or does it only have relevance in terms of its anthill?” How would you respond to this?

Given the novel’s open-ended final chapter, how do you think events might have panned out? What might the future hold for Snowman, his fellow survivors, and the children of Crake?

Oryx and Crake is a dystopian science-fiction novel, but can you think of any ways in which it reflects modern-day culture? Are the events that it depicts purely fantastical or does it tap into any contemporary, societal issues?