It all starts with the uncanny. Unheimlich, or uncanny in english, is the opposite of heimlich. This is to say that heimlich always becomes unheimlich and that the two are linked with one another. Heimlich is defined as belonging to the house, not strange, familiar, tame, intimate, comfortable, homely, etc. “Thus heimlich is a word the meaning of which develops towards ambivalence, until it finally coincides with the opposite, unheimlich.”(Pg 4)
Freud goes on to mention an author by the name of Jentsch, with whom successful uncanny writing is associated with. Jentsch believes that one of the most successful ways in which to tell a story that has the effects of the uncanny in it is to leave the readers in a state in which they are unsure of whether or not a particular character is human or automation, but to do it in a way as such that the readers attention is not brought to that and as such they can not immediately clear up their misunderstanding. Refering to “The Sand Man” in Hoffmann’s Nachtstücken which contains the original of Olympia a doll in the first act of Offenbach’s opera, The Tales of Hoffmann. Olympia is used in a way that leaves the reader uncertain. It is further disguised by the rest of what is happening in the story with the fear of the loss of eyes. As such when the character Nathaniel falls in love with Olympia, whilst betrothed to another, it attributes to the belief that Olympia is human. However with Nathaniel’s constant encounters with the Sandman, whom has several different personas, it hides the fact that Olympia is an automaton. The importance of mentioning this piece of work is that Freud then relates the fear of losing eyes, which is very prevalent in this story, to that of castration.
Freud describes the thought behind what is known as a “castration complex”. The fear of losing one’s eyes, which is typically gained during one’s childhood, can be transferred to the same action on other parts of the body. By relating the uncanny effect of Nathaniel’s dread of the Sandman to the castration complex you can see how it is Freud arrived at the idea of the uncanniness of the castration complex. It is this feeling that can be attributed to feelings of uncanniness, and we can take this and attempt to apply it to other instances of the uncanny.
Another instance that Freud uses to describe this feeling is that of seeing the same number several time during a short period of time. Doing such would give us the feeling of uncanny and tempt us to give meaning to this number, an example used by Freud an indication of the life span allocated to the individual.The feeling of uncanny can be sparked from coincidence as seen with the numbers but also through words. Freud tells us of a patient with whom upon visiting a hydropathic establishment and believing that it was the situation of his room and not the water that lead to his improvement. It is important to note that this specific room was adjourned to an amiable nurse. When upon a later visit told that the specific room was occupied he wished the man in there to have a stroke and die, which he did a fortnight later. His patient described the feeling as uncanny. Freud says that that feeling would have been even stronger had those events happened closer to one another.
Freud focuses heavily on the idea of heimlich and unheimlich. Alternatively you can experience one without the experience of the other. Simply put if you did not know anything other that the current nothing would seem to be uncanny, and yet everything would seem familiar. This idea can be supported by the character Jimmy from Oryx and Crake. There are a vast amount of changes throughout the novel and yet Jimmy does not really believe it to be strange. Partially due to the location of his upbringing, the crazy genetic modifications that occur to animals throughout the book are not something that Jimmy sees as strange, that is until he sees the ChickieNobs. This sea anemone like chicken growing organisms foster the feeling of uncanny in Jimmy not because of what they are, but because they have no heads. It is this reason that causes the appearance of uncanny within the character, which until this point had been largely non-existent. It is important to try and perceive uncanny in this way as it is not something that is reliant, there are several different way towards reaching this feeling that Freud describes, but not one of them states there needs to be a feeling of familiarity first.
In relation to Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, one encounter that can be seen as very important inspires similar feelings of uncanniness within Jimmy. Shortly after going to work at Paradice with Crake, Jimmy realizes that the girl he has fantasized over for many years is there, but she is there for Crake. Soon after however, when Oryx visits Jimmy’s room in the middle of the night, things change. Jimmy constantly has an uncanny feeling and asks questions about Oryx’s childhood and frequently worries about Crake finding out. When in this situation that by Jimmy’s ideals should be near perfect for him, he can’t help but being worried and feeling uncanny. To Jimmy, the guy who has been with countless women and quite honestly has never been attached, it is a strange feeling to be with someone whom he wasn’t just with for the physical benefit. Furthermore Oryx is both familiar to Jimmy as well as unknown. This is easy to see with Jimmy’s fixation on the childhood of Oryx. Furthermore in Jimmy as a character when it comes to his relation with Oryx he typically has the feeling of uncanny and it can also be seen in the way he communicates with Oryx.
- Throughout Oryx and Crake there are many “technological advancements’.” Suppose you were living through the creation of these, is it something you would want to advance further for the potential of its medical purposes? Other reasons? Why?
- You see the number 13 frequently throughout a day, how does this make you feel and are you uncomfortable?
- Your Victor Frankenstein and you’ve just completed creature, it looks far from human. How do you feel about it and how does it relate to your view on the genetically modified organisms we see in Oryx and Crake?
Just as an aside: If any of you are familiar with the ballet Coppelia, it’s (loosely) based on the ETA Hoffmann story “The Sand Man,” about a doll so life-like that a young man falls in love with her (or it). In most of the texts that we’ve read so far, the creation has been, like the creator, male. How does it change the narrative if the creation is female?
You raise some interesting questions. I do believe that we have already begun some technological advancements that many are uncomfortable with in our own society. Although our chickens may still have heads we have used manipulation of growth hormones to speed up the process of maturation in animals in order to feed our growing population. Ironically we still have many that are starving and much food that gets thrown away. I am one of those that is uncomfortable with the way humans see themselves in a superior, God-like, light. I enjoy eating chicken for dinner but I would prefer the chicken that was raised on a farm where it could follow a natural growth pattern and live the proper life of a chicken before it came to my table. As for other technological advancements that may have medical purposes I think that we should continue to make such advancements that may cure painful and debilitating disease, replace limbs with prosthetics that look and feel as real as possible and ensure a quality of life that is necessary for basic human needs. Although I would not want to die at age 30 as Crake suggested I do believe death is necessary for life on earth to continue and therefore the idea of immortality, or something close to it, should not be created. This planet does not grow with the population so the selfishness and fear of those living today will exterminate the possibility of a future human race. Let your immortality be in the family lineage you create.
There is nothing wrong with the number 13. I was born on the 13th and find it does not bring me any good or bad luck. It is just a number same as any other.
Humans should always be advancing in the science and technology whether it is for medical reasons or making life better for people. If the method used then is not good, it could be further researched and perfected. In real life they are developing lab grown meat and I wouldn’t mind eating it. The chickie nobs in Oryx and Crake are beneficial as they would not feel any pain without a head.
I don’t have a superstition on the number 13, so I would not feel anything towards that, it’s just another number. If I saw it many times throughout the day, I would just feel it is a interesting coincidence. I was also born on the 13th as well.
Victor Frankenstein disdains his creation for it’s appearance, which did not meet his expectation. Whereas the genetically engineered creations in Oryx and Crake did what they were expected to do. The Crakers may not have rid of all of the negative traits Crake viewed in humans, their appearance was flawless.
If I saw the number 13 frequently throughout a day I would feel extremely paranoid. I would probably end up thinking that I am going to have some sort of bad luck that day. This would make feel uncomfortable because it is not a positive feeling. It brings my headspace into a negative whirlpool of thoughts. I would feel weird feel and scared because the number represents all the bad in the world. We even have superstitions like “Friday the 13th” and movies surrounding that number. We also associate death with the number 13. I would probably take it as a warning in my life. The number becomes a representation for me, a symbol because I familiarize it with something negative. Now, If I saw the number 7 I would headspace it into something positive because we have given that specific number a positive meaning rather than a negative one. When playing in a lotto scratch-off game it is good to get the 3 “Lucky 7s.”
I believe we are currently living out a era of technological advancement right now. The modern day of the internet and cellular devices is a primary example. It was only 20-30 years ago that super computers were block towers that took up most of the space in server rooms, now the power of super computer is so small that it can fit in your hand. Before to be connected to the internet, you had to be connected to a direct phone line. Now motor vehicles are carrying Wi-Fi signals making the internet as portable as ever. Medicine is rapidly improving as we are extending life rates with improved surgery techniques. I for one want to continue and support this era of advancement. It goes along with our daily goals, “never stop improving” I for one think its exciting to see the limitless potential of our species. Unfortunately Crake did not share my same sentiment, as he believed a new species must replace ours.
I personally do not feel uncomfortable with the number 13. I was born on January 13 and I have a personal affinity with the number. Superstitions are just made up. We are the product of our own destinies. We choose the outcome through our own actions.
If I were to go so far and play the role of god and reanimate a deceased being, I’d take full responsibility for it. Just the fact I was able to accomplish the impossible, I’d be very proud. My next plan would be to make modifications and refine the creature. Never have I seen any creator be 100% satisfied with the first creation. It would be like handing in the rough draft as the final paper. I do not believe it relates to the view of the artificial organisms in Oryx and Crake. It seemed like the pigoon and racunk were designed to be cute and enhanced pets. Creature was just an abomination to look at, horrifying on the exterior, but initially pure on the interior. With the pigoon, they look pure and innocent on exterior, but as we see later on the pigoon is a monster on the interior killing humans.
I don’t think the narrative would change if the uncanny character is a female. Regarding technological advancements, I’d also like science to be developed further in order to use prosthetics to replace damaged organs instead of taking off from someone whose lifestyle will be affected afterward.
Personally, I don’t believe in superstitions. Being said that, there’s nothing wrong with the number 13.
If I’m able to make a creature with no head which would look far from human, I’d relate this creature to something evil and wicked. Even by seeing a creature with no head can be scarier than seeing the real creature from “Frankenstein.” By having no head, this creature can be depicted as less living being. For instance, even though
the headless horseman had all his extremities except for his head looked like an evil scary ghost and not a human being. There are many levels in the uncanny valley. All these creatures are uncanny regardlessness they’re evil or not.
We constantly have advancement in technology every single day someone comes up with another brilliant idea to make life a little more easier and research things to make everyone a little more smarter. If we use the advancement of technology for medicine or to better us a a person then I’m all for it. But if its for us to become more and more lazy, then i don’t want it around our society. Everyday we see so many kids not learning valuable life lessons or experiencing life because they stick their head in iPads all day, not learning a single thing.
I probably believed in the 13 superstition when I was in elementary school because it was just a thing back then to creep people out. The superstition for 13 is just something someone just starting putting together, in my opinion. I don’t think theres any negative energy for that number. We are in control of what can go bad or right. if we do bad things with bad intentions then we feel the consequences.
Personally, I would not support the advancement of that technology without any form of regulation. I can see this having so many positive impacts on our society, technological advancements like these can be the key to longer human lifespans, but with every positive there has to be a negative and the story of Oryx & Crakes exposes those negatives.
If I were to see the number 13 every single day of my life, that would a very odd and uneasy experience. The first stage would be me trying to ignore it and not pay attention to it, the second stage would be me trying to figure out why I’m seeing it, and the last stage will possibly the developing of a strong fear towards the number 13 because it has now become “the unknown” in my reality.
Throughout Oryx and Crake there are many “technological advancements’.” Suppose you were living through the creation of these, is it something you would want to advance further for the potential of its medical purposes? Other reasons? Why?
No I will not recommend to further advance certain creations because certain creations like artificial intelligence today, has gotten far enough to raise a concern regarding the future of these creations and the effect it will have on society. Consider how far we’ve already gotten with artificial intelligence and how many capabilities these robotic prototypes have–they look human like, they are able to move like a human and are able to replicate some human emotions, so that is very far already. A few prototype robots have been created, one named Sophia (we ironically share the same name), who has been documented in interviews on television and even interviewed by a CNBC host in person, that exemplified human qualities. Without even being told what to say, no one needs to have control of these robots and they’re responses are autonomous. You can interact with one of these robots and ask them questions and they will answer based on what they already know in their system, based on what they’re constantly learning with every interaction.
Certain things I would be ok with such a chimeras for the use of harvesting organs for transplanting, however, it should be highly regulated for all innovations because technology and medical advancements have the potential to go very far.
In the study of Economics, our own U.S. economy has periods of rise and fall or boom and bust periods, such as in NY with the financial crisis in 2008, but we also came back up after every low period. After every fall, there is some kind of new innovation or technology introduced that helps us to come out of that decline period and back into an upward sloping rise period in our economy. Every single advancement that we’ve had, they’ve almost always had their ten year give or take life span of upward trending until it finally starts to decline and we stop getting as much utility from that major advancement and we go into another bust period. Technology has been the only thing that has been impervious to a boom or bust period. It’s been constantly upward sloping and that tells you that technology is something completely different that we’re dealing with. This means we should have very careful and thought out regulations.
You see the number 13 frequently throughout a day, how does this make you feel and are you uncomfortable?
No. The number 13 is supposedly found to be a “lucky number” so if I constantly saw this number, I would not feel uncomfortable. In fact, I think i would feel comfortable and excited because I would feel like something good is about to happen. I know this could be a myth, but just like seeing the number “666”. That is said to be the “devils number” so seeing this may make people feel “uncomfortable” whether or not it is true. This is what people grew up believing, so there feelings are going to be based on what they heard growing up, or simply based on what they think they know.
The novel titled “Oryx and Crake” has talked a lot about technological advancements. It refers to dangerous genetically engineered hybrid animals. This means technology had gone a notch higher to an extent of genetic engineering. It also talks of an online trivia game called Extinction. All these advancements are something that would be of help in human life for medical or other purposes. It can also used to make the production of food efficient.
With the case of technological innovations, I could potentially show support towards it. In the novel, there was this whole topic regarding artificially grown chicken and what not. We have something similar in our society, and I am not opposed to it. We have to keep in mind that our society has the obligation to serve millions of people, and artificial products and preservatives help accomplish that. That is not to say that I will go and eat a fake chicken, but if one chooses to do so, and is satisfied by it, I do not see the issue.
The number 13 does not make me uncomfortable at all. I don’t really believe in conspiracies and superstition so to me, the number 13 is just another number.
With the case of Frankenstein, If I created a creature I would definitely not act in a manner that Victor did. I would care for it, and I would teach it different things. Such an invention has never been seen, and I would be proud to have accomplished something so great, and would not run away in “disgust.” I don’t believe that we can relate the creature to the pigoons seen in Oryx and Crake. In fact, I think that they are opposite from one another. the creature is hideous on the outside, but shows purity on the inside. With the case of the pigeons, they appear innocent on the outside but are dangerous enough to kill.