The Year Of The Flood (157-309)

Well, that really took a turn for the worse. The book started off so strong, introducing really interesting concepts and satirical humor reflecting our real world. Even though all these elements are still present, something happened to make the book really boring. Honestly speaking, I feel like I went through about 150 pages just to get maybe 50 pages of actual content. Even worse, I expected much more content revolving around the apocalyptic world after the Flood, whereas instead we’re still just getting a bunch of flashbacks into the pre-Flood world. Either way, let’s get into this week’s post.

Throughout this section of the novel, we really see how much the cult operates as a religion, even with all the science integrated into the group. Right at the start of the section, we learn that Toby has been keeping track of all the days after the Flood on a notepaper. “At the top of each fresh page she prints the Gardener Feast Day or Saint’s. She can still recite the entire list off by heart” (Atwood 163). She then proceeds to name a long list of very, very complex names. This isn’t like memorizing the months or something, most of those names are so complicated (“Saint Stephen Jay Gould of the Jurassic Shales”??), that you can tell she only remembered them upon reading and hearing them many, many times. This is very similar to religions in our real world, where many religious people memorize verses that stick with them for a long time. Once again, this really just reflects how Atwood creates this dystopian world where people literally eat other humans as fast food, yet still employs many real-life similarities.

One of the main events happening in this section is when Pilar, or the previous Eve Six, develops a form of incurable cancer; she ends up passing on her title to Toby. Pilar decides to end her own life, instead of slowly dying from cancer. As she is on her deathbed, we notice more similarities with real-life religions. “Pilar believed that she was donating herself to the matrix of Life through her own volition, and she also believed that this should be a matter for celebration” (Atwood 179). In the God’s Gardeners, they also believe that rather than a sad occasion, death is just a part of life and that it should be celebrated instead. This is very similar to other, real-life religions and their views towards death. For example, here is an article showing some different ways cultures perceive and celebrate death:

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-interesting-ways-5-different-countries-celebrate-death-2015-7

Something else I noticed through Pilar’s death was some indication of the author’s Canadian roots. The medicine she uses are called the Death Angel, and the Poppy. While the Death Angel is pretty straightforward in its name (really, I feel like this could have been a bit more creative), the Poppy is just a flower. However, as most of you probably know, the Poppy has huge significance in Canadian History. This flower is commonly associated with the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers in the First World War. It is a symbol of both remembrance and death. I found it pretty fitting that Atwood chose the Poppy for the name of the medicine that eased her pain. For more information regarding the significance of poppies in Canadian history, check out this page by the Canadian War Museum:

http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/after-the-war/remembrance/the-poppy/

The other significant event in this section of the book was the return of Blanco. Or… at least I hoped it would be. “Three heavyweights were muscling along the sidewalk. They had baseball bats. No sprayguns. Not CorpSeCorps then, just pleeb thugs: payback for the wreckage at SecretBurgers. One of the three was Blanco - she could spot him from any angle” (Atwood 253). At this point, I could feel all the tension rising. I was ready for a huge battle between God’s Gardeners and Blanco. Instead, we’re just left with “the fight didn’t last long” (Atwood 254). Well, all I have to say to that, is neither did my interest.

I really hope this book gets back on track towards my interests. I can see how people would like it, but this section at least, was really not suited towards my tastes. Did you guys find this part of the book significantly worse as well?

Works Cited

Birds, Angry. “Sad Disappointment GIF Angry Birds .” GIPHY, GIPHY, 28 Apr. 2016, giphy.com/gifs/angrybirds-angry-birds-movie-oh-ok-26AHLspJScv2J6P0k.

Hanewinckel, Sara Rose. “Science Vs. Religion: Do We Have To Choose?” The Odyssey Online, 13 June 2016, www.theodysseyonline.com/science-vs-religion.

“Remembrance Day.” Canada and the First World War, 16 Oct. 2017, www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/after-the-war/remembrance/remembrance-day/.

Nickelodeon. “Bored Spongebob Squarepants GIF.” GIPHY, GIPHY, 9 Aug. 2017, giphy.com/gifs/nickelodeon-funny-spongebob-squarepants-l2JhpjWPccQhsAMfu.