Cyborgs in Society.

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Issue Date
2016-07-01
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en
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Abstract
Donna Haraway's “A Cyborg Manifesto” reflects, among others, on the difference between man and animal, and man and machine. Key of these aspects is the grander and always relevant question of what makes a human, and this thesis will discuss how two novels written by contemporary author Margaret Atwood, namely Oryx and Crake and The Handmaid's Tale, represent the distinction between man and animal and the function of procreation, and how Haraway's framework reflects on the novels. Oryx and Crake will be analysed to consider whether the genetically engineered Children of Crake are human or animal, and how procreation in both pre- and post-apocalyptic society is represented. An analysis of The Handmaid's Tale on the other hand will consider whether Kate/Offred can still be defined as human in her role of a Handmaid, and how Gileadean society prioritises procreation. Both novels touch upon the subject of the function of reproduction and what it means to be human, and this thesis will compare and contrast the values of the reproduction cases, as well as their views on how humanity is defined as contrasted with animalistic characteristics.
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