The relationship between society and the individual is presented in strongly different ways in the novels Oryx and Crake, The Brief Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao and The Woman in the Dunes. While Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake shows how the individual views society as a source of sadistic entertainment or wealth, Junot Díaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao shows a relationship in which society rejects the individual. In turn, Kobo Abe's The Woman in the Dunes shows a relationship in which society forces the individual into servitude. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Oryx and Crake presents a society in which individuals who lived before the "flood" (the apocalypse of this story) have lost all sense of sociality. ethics. The prevailing theme in this society seems to be sadism (in the non-sexual sense); the main forms of entertainment for people involve enjoyment of human suffering. The best examples of this are the two main forms of entertainment that Crake and Jimmy enjoyed as young people: Internet games and Internet shows. Games like "Barbarian Stomp", "Blood and Roses", and "Extinctathon" all put society on one side and total destruction on the other, with the total destruction side usually winning (77-81). The way they enjoy these games demonstrates the fascination that death and destruction have on individuals in this society. The example of their programs on the Internet, however, is even more disturbing. While the games Crake and Jimmy play are fantasy, the shows they watch are not. Shows like “Felicia's Frog Squash,” “hedsoff.com,” and “deathrowlive.com” all show acts of violence inflicted on real people for the viewer's entertainment (82-83). And demand for these shows is so high that Crake suspects some of the executions are staged; he says that “spectators wanted to see the executions, yes, but after a while they could become monotonous” (83). Individuals in this society have reached such a high level of corruption that it is necessary to produce acts of real violence to satisfy the demand. In addition to the enjoyment of violence, these individuals have also reached a new level of sexual depravity. Even something as simple as watching the news needs to have a certain level of sexual stimulation to entertain people; this is why there is “Noodie News”, a news program in which all the presenters are completely naked (81). The worst example of sexual depravity comes in the form of a website called “HottTots,” where tourists are filmed “doing things they would be put in prison for in their home countries” (89). The videos involve children as young as eight performing sexual acts for the viewer's entertainment; you only need to be 18 to legally view these websites, although Jimmy and Crake are able to bypass this obstacle to view the content at an even younger age. Another major theme in Oryx and Crake is elitism. Just as the individual in Jimmy and Crake's society has lost all appreciation for the value of human life, so too has the upper class lost all empathy for the lower class. Society is now divided into two classes: the elites, who live in the protective paradise of the compounds, and the plebates, who live in crowded, diseased and dirty cities. The elites of this society see the lower class as a way to make money, regardless of the cost in terms of human lives. The most disgusting example of this is the company “HelthWyzer”. This company develops cures for diseases, but at some point in history they ran into a problem: they understood thatif they cured all diseases, they would no longer generate any profit. To remedy this problem, they began hiding new man-made diseases in the vitamins they sold to the plebeian population; once the virus spread among the population, they put an antidote on the market...but in limited quantities "so high profits are guaranteed" (211). What is most terrifying about the sadistic and morally corrupt individuals of Oryx and Crake is that their unethical characteristics can be found in today's real-life society. People are already fascinated by violence in entertainment and games, and there are plenty of real websites where you can go to see horrific violence, physical and sexual, inflicted on real human beings. And this is Oryx and Crake's ultimate claim: that humans do not value the lives of other humans. The text asks questions: Is the society shown in Oryx and Crake the inevitable end point for our own society? And is humanity sadistic by nature? The text believes so, and its response to this problem is the supreme example of the devaluation of human life: Crake's decision that humanity is too flawed and cruel to continue, and must be swept away and replaced. Another book full of different human relationships is The Brief Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao. The most interesting relationship in the book is the one between Oscar Wao and society. One of the many questions this text asks us is: can an individual who is unable to build a positive relationship with society survive? The text shows us that a person who does not fit society's standards is not appreciated by society. Oscar is the quintessential nerd, growing up in a time when there was nothing cool about being a nerd; loves watching anime (Robotech and Akira); loves playing role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons; he is overweight, unathletic and unattractive. He is unable to understand and follow social rules. He speaks in a way that is unacceptable to society, using words found only in dictionaries or comics. Worse, due to his social awkwardness, he is never able to interact with a woman, a problem that constantly weighs on his soul. In addition to being ostracized by society as a nerd and a gamer, Oscar is also an outcast due to his race. Because he is of mixed ethnicity, “The white boys… treated him with inhuman cheerfulness. The black kids… shook their heads. You are not Dominican” (49). Unfortunately for Oscar, he is unable to adapt to society's standards in any way. It seems like the text is trying to show us that society itself is unethical in its harsh treatment of those who don't fit its mold. This rejection from society upsets Oscar so much that he feels forced to take drastic measures to eliminate the pain. He becomes so depressed and burdened by his outsider status that he tries to take his own life. This becomes somewhat paradoxical in trying to find an answer to our initial question; if Oscar had succeeded in taking his own life, then society would have won, and the answer would be that rejection by society is a death sentence for an individual. Fortunately, at least in this story, the individual is not killed by his rejection and is able to continue living. Unfortunately, Oscar ends up losing his life by the end of the story. Instead of losing his life to depression, however, Oscar is able to find his strength and stand up for what he believes in. Ultimately, Oscar is able to transcend society's rejection and accept himself for who he is. However, he has a little help in this regard by finally having a relationship with a woman. It seems, therefore, that an individual can survive without a positive relationship with.?