At school, he enacted a major piece of treachery against his parents. His right hand was Evil Dad, and his left was Righteous Mom. Evil Dad blustered and theorized and dished out pompous bullshit. Righteous Mom complained and accused. In Righteous Mom's cosmology, Evil Dad was the sole source of hemmoroids, kleptomania, global conflict, bad breath, tectonic-plate fault lines, and clogged drains, as well as every migraine headache and menstrual cramp Righteous Mom had ever suffered.
In "Oryx and Crake" by Margaret Atwood, a young boy navigates a complex emotional landscape at school, casting his parents in opposing roles. He portrays his father as "Evil Dad," who embodies bluster and arrogance, serving as a source of disdain. Conversely, his mother, branded as "Righteous Mom," vocalizes her grievances and holds the father accountable for a myriad of issues in her life, from personal ailments to global disasters.
This duality encapsulates the boy's inner conflict as he struggles with the perception of his parents, illustrating a child's tendency to externalize familial tensions. The exaggeration of their negative traits reveals deeper themes of blame and the impact of parental relationships on a child's development, setting the stage for the broader narrative of the novel.
