The Desire for Immortality: A Reading of the Maddaddam Trilogy Anonymous 12th Grade

In the MaddAddam trilogy by Margaret Atwood, the human race is characterized by a constant desire to achieve immortality. For the scientists at the CorpSeCorps, this means creating the Anooyoo Spa and the genetically mutated pigoons—symbols of society’s need to preserve beauty and prevent death. This idea of immortality is also demonstrated through the Crakers, who have no understanding of the concept of death and as a result exist in an eternal present. Ultimately, through symbols in Oryx and Crake and in MaddAddam, Atwood demonstrates that the desire to escape death is what leads to the death of society in the end.

Society’s need to achieve immortality is first demonstrated through the Anooyoo Spa— a place where people go largely to escape the effects of aging. As Jimmy describes, it is filled with “Cosmetic creams, workout equipment…pills to make you fatter, thinner, hairier, balder, whiter, browner, blacker, sexier, and happier” (Atwood Oryx 248). The Anooyoo Spa therefore becomes a symbol of society’s need to prevent aging and remain young and beautiful forever. Perhaps that is why when Crake creates his Crakers, he makes them all so beautiful—so that they never feel the need to change how they look. In the first novel,...