The symbol of Outside in Oryx and Crake from LitCharts

The Pleeblands are “outside”—lawlessness, disease, and poverty abound. Contagion threatens to break into the body from air or water. Outside stands for fear, foreignness, dirtiness, poverty, and desolation. After the plague, the inside and outside are no longer separated, and the whole world becomes outside. Outside thus stands for the breakdown of order—social, economic, and cultural hierarchies are meaningless “outside.”

Outside Quotes in Oryx and Crake

The Oryx and Crake quotes below all refer to the symbol of Outside. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Scientific Progress & Its Costs Theme Icon

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Anchor Books edition of Oryx and Crake published in 2004.

How could I have missed it? Snowman thinks. What he was telling me? How could I have been so stupid?...
There had been something willed about it, though, his ignorance…he’d grown up in walled spaces, and then he’d become one. He had shut things out.

Related Characters: ,

Related Symbols: ,

Page Number and Citation: 184

Explanation and Analysis:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipLoremLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est lab

Unlock explanations and citation info for this and every other Oryx and Crake quote.

Plus so much more...

Already a LitCharts A⁺ member? Sign in!

Maybe the guards tried to get out of RejoovenEsense just like everyone else. Maybe they, too, hoped they could outrun contagion.

Related Characters: (speaker)

Related Symbols: ,

Page Number and Citation: 270

Explanation and Analysis:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui offi

Outside Symbol Timeline in Oryx and Crake

The timeline below shows where the symbol Outside appears in Oryx and Crake. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...clear that a new kind of virus had been introduced in the livestock population from outside. Jimmy’s father and the other man lament that their paid security forces failed to do... (full context)

...insular and secure community built for company employees and their families. Jimmy has never been outside, to a city, and has heard that the cities are dirty and dangerous. People within... (full context)

Oryx and Crake

Margaret Atwood

Outside Symbol Analysis

Outside Quotes in Oryx and Crake

Outside Symbol Timeline in Oryx and Crake