In Oryx and Crake Jimmy has an infatuation with Oryx and a love for her that he was incapable of achieving with any other female in his life. Even the brief sightings of her before he really knew her became significant to him. The image of her as a young girl in the porn video became engrained in his mind. This is very different from how Jimmy saw Ren. In O&C Ren seems to be an afterthought.
When Jimmy realizes that Crake has formed a relationship, of whatever form of a relationship he is capable of, with Oryx we see a shift in his friendship with Crake. Even though Crake is his best friend and that is the only friend he can truly confide in, jealousy and anger brews within Jimmy. And this can be seen in the scene where Jimmy kills Crake. All the negative feelings about Crake stemmed from his love for Oryx and whatever delusional relationship they seemed to have. When Oryx tells Jimmy that what she and Crake have is not as important and not as special, we see Jimmy feel better about himself and his relationship with Oryx. This shows an unspoken tension between Crake and Jimmy.
In The Year of the Flood we learn more about Ren’s background and how her and Jimmy’s lives crossed paths. After leaving the Gardeners, Ren goes to high school in HelthWyzer and meets Jimmy. Their friendship grows into a more physical connection and Ren quickly falls in love with him. Her mind is almost consumed by Jimmy and her love for him. She is also convinced that she loves him back and that they have this bond up until she realizes that he is incapable of commitment.
Ren’s love for Jimmy, mirrors his love for Oryx. What started as a mere infatuation grew into a powerful and influential love. Just like how Jimmy’s love for Oryx affected his friendship with Crake, Ren’s love for Jimmy affected her friendship with Amanda. When she finds out that Jimmy is Amanda’s new boyfriend, she quickly becomes distant. What was meant to be a joyous reunion, turned into a quick and abrupt goodbye. After that, Ren feels jealousy and resentment toward Amanda who is her best friend. However her love for Jimmy has blinded her into distancing herself from her best friend. Similar to how Jimmy felt joy when he thought Crake’s relationship with Oryx was insignificant, Ren feels joy when she learns that Amanda and Jimmy are not longer together. This too, shows the unspoken tension between Ren and Amanda.
This makes me wonder how the book will end and if Ren’s relationship with Amanda will end on a sour note like Crake and Jimmy’s.
