Year of the Flood: Second Response

Two  recurring motifs in Year of the Flood are the environment and women. On face value these two might seem like two completely separate issues, but in reality they are actually very interrelated. Many feminist theorist argue that women inherently share a closer bond to nature than men. This is both defined by their physiology and their psychology. Rosser touched upon this in her piece that we read earlier in the year, stating that women live life with a more symbiotic, mutaulistic relationship to the environment, while men  have a more confrontational relationship, constantly trying to conquer and use for their own gain.

In the same light, Ecofeminists argue that the oppression and destruction that the environment faces is very similar to the struggle of women in our society. (If you would like to learn more about ecofeminism here’s the wikipedia link, to no surprise, it is quite short: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecofeminism)

It then becomes clear why Atwood decided to tie the struggles of women in with the experiences of a fringe group of ecowarriors. This intersectionality adds depth to the story, and also further Atwood’s novel from that of just a feminist focused piece of literature to a larger statement on the relationship between women, technology, and the environment.

The Year of the Flood Reading Response 1

I was never a big fan of science fiction books so I was really surprised that this book has really caught my attention. I think The Year of the Flood does a really good job of portraying real life issues especially issues that women face with futuristic elements. The book starts off by introducing Toby and Ren both who are women with less then ideal situations. Toby is forced to leave her old life behind due to the unfortunate events that happen to her family. You can see how this book also has very primitive ideas ingrained in it as well with Toby talking about how she can no longer be with her boyfriend because of how different they are now economically and how she didn’t feel she was in the same class as him so she decided to break off their relationship without his consent. It shows this idea of class structure and there being no social mobility in terms of marriage at least.

Toby eventually ends up at Secret Burgers where she ends up being a sex toy for her boss Blanco in order to keep her job and essentially not be killed. It’s sad to see that this also happens in reality where employers have this leverage over their employees especially in jobs where workers are more desperate to keep their job. It’s really horrifying to think how in their current society, no one is controlling these people and employees can end up dead in the parking lot with no questions asked. Ren on the other hand is at Scales and Tails which is basically a high end sex club. It’s quite interesting to see how for now she seems to feel that she’s quite fortunate to be there.

The newly innovated technology in this book intrigues me. I must have done a double take when Toby said she didn’t have enough money for a new identity since she needed to buy a DNA infusion and skin color change. Even in The Year of the Flood a lot of the advanced technology seems to only be commonly available to the rich. It’ll be interesting to see how technology is used as we get further in the book.

Year of the Flood: Post 2

As I got more deeply into the Year of the Flood, I began to take a closer look at the different female characters are how they are portrayed. Specifically, I was interested in Amanda and Lucerne, and of course, Toby and Ren.

Amanda interests me because thus far she seems to be a female in control of both her self and her sexuality. She knows how to get what she wants, and is not afraid to use her sexuality. She seems skilled at controlling the boys around her to get them to do what she wants. This outlook on life seems to be very commonly debated among feminists. Taking agency over one’s own sexuality is very good, but why must this be a world in which a woman’s sexuality is a commodity and something that can be traded?

Lucerne, I don’t think would be a particularly well-loved character. She seems selfish and only interested in what she can gain from a situation. I wonder how much she really cared for Zeb, or if he was just an adventure she wanted to partake in. Upon returning to the Compound, Lucerne quickly gives a story in which she was being sexually abused to make her appear even more so a victim – perhaps a reflection on how women and their sexuality are “owned” by men, who would immediately feel defensive if one of their own was used in such a way.

Toby’s experience with Blanco really hit me in that I saw how helpless she was with her situation. He decided he wanted her, and she had no choice but to comply, or else fear his wrath. Not only did she have to have sex with him, but she had to pretend that she enjoyed it. On the surface she may seem weak, but what could anyone do in that situation? No one could help her, or even cared to, so she had to do what she could by just complying.

Ren’s experiences when she returns to the Compound with her mother reflect her growing up. Something that bothered me was how she reacted to having sex with Jimmy. I found it quite stereotypical to assume that a girl would immediately become attached to the boy she first has sex with, and even fall in love with him. This is a very common myth in society now, but I didn’t see any of her early experiences would have taught her this. However, I understand perhaps Atwood was trying to make a point, as she may be with all of these characters.

Reading Response – 10/24

Margaret Atwood’s “Year of the Flood” presents a plausible situation (in my opinion) of biological warfare through corporate consumption of products. For this reading response, I wanted to focus on Toby’s history as it reflects situations for different women currently in the United States.

For example, when Toby works as a furzooter after the death of her parents, she is sexually assaulted by people with furry fetishes. While Toby did not consider it rape, she didn’t consider it sexual assault either. She was knocked to the ground and had people rub their pelvises against her body; IT WAS SEXUAL ASSAULT. However, because she essentially has no identity, she would not have been able to report it to authority. They would have found out about her father’s death and his illegal rifle and she would have had the blame placed on her. Her situation is similar to the reality of many sex workers in the United States. Many of them cannot report rape or sexual assault out of fear that they would be arrested for their illegal work.

Furthermore, Toby’s relationship with Blanco at SecretBurger resembles that between a pimp and the women they manage. Sex workers can get killed or injured due to angering their pimp (i.e. Dora’s death) and often end up being in abusive relationships with little means of being able to escape.

Prior to her work at SecretBurger, Toby later becomes an egg donor for pay. The complications that she experiences are like those of egg donors today. Female college students are often targeted for their eggs and many of the donors become infertile or suffer medical complications that make them ill just like Toby.

While “Year of the Flood” is a work of fiction, Toby’s experiences as a woman are very real.

Year of the Flood: Post 1

The first thing immediately notice about Year of the Flood, is the power that it wields compared to the Hunger Games. I think that although the Hunger Games was technically a protest piece of literature, it was largely a novel meant to sell and entertain a wide audience, ranging from pre-teens to adults. Year of the Flood on the other hand is much more direct and conveying with it’s political messages. A large part of this is because it’s far more frightening because of its realism. The dystopia that the book is set in is fueled by monolithic corporatism and corporate takeover of civilian life. Given the recent political trend of structuring government to support or give corporations more (a largely neoliberal agenda) that is exemplified in legislation and court rulings such as the Citizens United decision.

Uncanniness occurs when something is very close to reality, but slightly different. Magaret Atwood’s dystopia is uncanny because our future may not be far off. Because of this Atwood is  able to use fear as a very powerful tool in her literary arsenal to sway readers of her agenda.