Snowman is one of the most heartbreaking characters I have encountered in fiction. Within the first few chapters, with no knowledge of Snowman’s history or even personality, I felt such pity for him. He can do nothing but waste away in his loneliness and gloom. While the character of Jimmy is hardly a vision of integrity, he is a good person. He is a confused, insecure man whose soul has been scarred since the day his mother disappeared. Considering Jimmy’s fascination with words, I found it interesting that his memory of his mother’s good-bye note consists of little more than blah, blah, blah. It is simply too painful for him to articulate the pain he experienced when his mother abandoned him. He constantly wants Oryx to verbally articulate her traumas and yet he is unwilling to come to grips with his own. Yes, he uses the story of his mother as a tool to land girls but his scornful apathy towards the incident is indicative of his buried pain. Not to psychoanalyze Jimmy too much, but his issues with commitment must somewhat stem from the fact that the most important woman in his life left him with nothing but a note. Jimmy may act as though he does not need his mother but she continually appears in the story long after her physical departure. There is of course something to be said about the fact that the final words that run through Snowman’s head before heading down to the beach are those of Oryx and his mother. Oryx says, “Oh Jimmy you were so funny.” His mother’s voice reiterates what she had said to him in the video: “Don’t let me down.” This command is symbolic of what Snowman understands to be his relationship with his mother. Even though this is never actually written, it is inevitable that Jimmy feels somewhat culpable for his mother’s departure. He disappointed her and never earned the chance to redeem himself.
Jimmy tries to replace this void with Oryx. Here is where I feel as though Snowman is not an entirely reliable narrator. Due to the lack of a maternal presence in his life, Jimmy quickly clings onto Oryx, who naturally invokes a motherly persona. She is brought on to Crake’s project to essentially raise the Crakers and Jimmy ends up needing her to take care of him as well. In many ways, Jimmy projects his insecurities onto Oryx. “There was Crake’s story about her, and Jimmy’s story about her as well, a more romantic version; and then there was her own story about herself, which was different from both and not very romantic at all” (114). Jimmy desperately needs Oryx to be a certain way so he creates his own image of her. He wants her to be this broken person that he can repair when in reality, he is the one who needs to be mended. I don’t know if Jimmy actually ever loved Oryx; it is obvious he was fixated with her but did this have more to do with the actual Oryx or Jimmy’s emotional problems? Perhaps the saddest part about the story of Jimmy and Oryx is that I doubt Oryx every truly cared for Jimmy. “‘Crake lives in a higher world, Jimmy,’ she said. ‘He lives in a world of ideas. He is doing important things. He has no time to play. Anyway, Crake is my boss. You are for fun” (313). While Oryx means everything to Jimmy/Snowman, he is little more than a means of entertainment. While Crake is busy, she passes the time with Jimmy. I could be completely off with this reading, but I do believe that Jimmy’s obsession with Oryx allows Snowman to remember their past through a filter.