First, the group of castaways decides to tame an orangutan that was part of an invasion into their home, in order to make use of him. After a while it was this same orangutan, later given the status of master Joop, who “had taken readily to his new life in Granite House. He often accompanied his masters into the forest, never manifesting any desire to flee… If they needed some fruit to be plucked from the top of a tree, how quickly he scaled it!” (293). Master Joop thus becomes an essential part of the growing family on Lincoln Island and after his somewhat ragged acceptance, he is taught to live a more humane lifestyle and increases his intelligence vastly. The castaways accept other animals on the island, due to their optimism, because together they can produce more and have a better chance of surviving. On the other hand, Snowman in Oryx and Crake is a much more pessimistic character and always disregards the truth for the Crakers and presents them with vain conclusions as he doesn’t accept them. This is in stark contrast with how the castaways on Lincoln Island readily accept animals as new companions to their close environment. This optimistic attitude towards the orangutan helps them have a much stronger hope of survival than Snowman who doesn’t have such a positive stance towards the Crakers. In addition, the castaways go to Tabor Island to find a castaway with the intention of aiding this lonely person. After having rescued him, their leader Cyrus Smith replied in the to Pencroff that “‘this unfortunate no longer has his reason… But hardly several months ago this unfortunate was a man like you or me… It is a misfortune to be alone, my friends, and it seems that loneliness has quickly destroyed his sanity since you found this poor soul in such a condition.’” (Verne 367). Cyrus Smith and his companions together decide on aiding the outcast who has been on an abandoned Island for a long time. The castaways are nonetheless ready to help solve his problems and they approach him with a very strong belief that they can help cure him. This optimism gives them renewed hope in creating a better place for themselves and the outcast. Snowman, in Oryx and Crake on the other hand, responds to a very similar situation when he comes to understand that there are other human beings with very little optimism, therefore decreasing his hope for a better future. All in all, Jules Verne uses optimism highly in his characters to increase hope, whilst Margaret Atwood doesn’t allow the character much room for optimism leading Snowman to despair.
In order to survive and resurrect their hope, both Jimmy and Cyrus Smith and his comrades attempt to discover who has influenced their lives secretly. Primarily, Jimmy finds that he is in need of something better, and in agony calls upon Oryx to help him, as though she was present. Whilst very lonely, Jimmy wonders how “He used to take good care of himself…Now…he’s wasting away…”Say anything”, he implores her. She can hear him, he needs to believe that, but she’s giving him the silent treatment. “What can I do?” He asks her. “You know I …”” (Atwood 14). Due to his loneliness, Snowman tries to make himself feel better by convincing himself that Oryx is still alive and listening to him. Snowman believes in her presence and her control over him, because he doubts the fact that Crake and her had put together this future beforehand. Although he loves her to an extent, his recognition of her power over him shows how he believes that she is part of the mystery behind what has happened to his life so far, therefore showing his lack of hope for the better. Next, Jimmy ventures into his past to uncover how he ended up alone with the Crakers, and he blames himself for not being able to understand Crake, who had foreshadowed his future for him. Once at lunchtime Crake randomly told Jimmy “ ‘If anything happens to me, I’m depending on you to look after the Paradice Project. Any time I’m away from here I want you to take charge. I’ve made it a standing order’. ‘What do you mean anything?’ Said Jimmy. ‘What could happen?’ ‘You know.’” Later Jimmy asked him, “ ‘What about Oryx?’… ‘If I’m not around, Oryx won’t be either’, said Crake” (385). As Snowman tries to put the pieces of his past together; he realizes that Crake might have had a master plan all along to leave him with the Crakers. He feels guilty about the fact that he never picked up on these big hints and didn’t act whilst Crake was secretly planning the future, thus putting himself into anguish. Similarly, Cyrus Smith and his friends also search for the identity of the person who is responsible for their current well being, in order to increase their hope of escaping from the island.To begin with, Cyrus Smith and his companions know and feel the presence of this unknown person who has been helping them all the way, and inadvertently ask him for help. When the crew of the pirate ship Speedy approach Lincoln Island, Pencroff speculated, “ ‘do we have a chance of finding a way out of this, Mr.Cyrus?’ the sailor asked. ‘Yes, Pencroff’. ‘Hm, Six against fifty!’ ‘Yes…six!...Not including…’. ‘Who?’ Asked Pencroff. Cyrus did not answer, but he gestured towards the heavens.” (Verne 451). During this discussion it is alighted by Cyrus Smith that the mysterious being who is serving them for so long, will probably come to their rescue again in this very trying time. The group is now hoping not only to survive, but also to be able to unmask this profoundly caring character – after him coming to alleviate their greatest affliction. Unlike Snowman, these castaways do not know who is behind these unexplainable events, which has led to their fertility. Whilst Snowman represents a character that has lost his belief and tries to comfort himself with a false idea, the inhibitors of Lincoln Island comfort themselves with true faith in this unknown being. Both protagonists are in search of who has so cautiously controlled their lives, therefore hoping in them to be there when faced by a huge calamity. Secondly, Cyrus Smith and one of his companions Pencroff try and comprehend the unexplained outcomes in a long series of events after they learn of their misconception of Aryton. Although Cyrus Smith seems to know the answers to many of the castaways’ problems he admits, “ “I know nothing!” Cyrus Smith answered, …”I simply see this as yet another in a long series of incidents I cannot explain!”” He further goes on to explain to Pencroff, “ “I don’t believe in chance, no more than I believe in earthly mysteries. There is a cause for every inexplicable event that has happened here, and one day I shall discover that cause” ” (399). Cyrus Smith understands that there is no supernatural being controlling the outcomes of many of the problems they have faced, and chance alone cannot be the reason for all their luck. Cyrus Smith knows and is aware that there is someone out there helping them secretly, and wants to know who he is, because if this person can help them with so much, he could help them find their way home. And Cyrus Smith is convinced this person exists, therefore he is extremely hopeful of one day escaping from Lincoln Island. On the other hand Snowman in Oryx and Crake feels an enormous amount of guilt for not having picked up all the clues from both Oryx and Crake. This regret ultimately leads to his lack of hope, as Snowman is only searching into his past. It can thus be concluded that both the castaways in The Mysterious Island and Snowman in Oryx and Crake are in both in search for the reasons of their present status, and through different ways look for the person who is responsible for all these actions.
Jules Verne signifies the importance of hope much more than Margaret Atwood, in order to survive. In both novels, the protagonists try to attain this hope by trying to uncover who is liable for who they are at present, and by having an optimistic stance towards strange creatures. Both novels Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood and The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne represent hope as a necessary element for survival. In conclusion, for a human being to survive in the direst of circumstances, hope is the only factor which can inspire one on to succeed.