The timeline shows Jimmy's life in a linear, chronological way, as compared to the nonlinear style of the novel. This timeline resource was created in the hopes of interpreting the story’s plotline more easily. ;xNLx;This timeline is part of the SCSU Common Reading Program's Oryx and Crake project for the 2015-2016 academic year. It was created by intern Chelsea Christman with collaboration from Dr. Christine Metzo and Dr. Sharon Cogdill. Please click the following link for more resources: [Link_text](https://commons.stcloudstate.edu/common-read/)
The year is unknown. He and his family live in the Modules (before age 5, pg. 26).
Jimmy and his family move becuase his father works as a genographer at OrganInc (about 5, pg. 26-27).
His father takes him to a bonfire of diseased animals from OrganInc Farms. This is Jimmy’s first memory (5, pg. 15).
His mother tries to explain the word’s meaning to him on a walk (5, pg.19-21).
His father takes him to OrganInc Farms, where he meets the pig-like animals. He eats lunch with his father and Ramona on these work trips (5, pg. 26).
She leaves her position as a microbiologist at OrganInc Farms when he is in second grade to stay home and take care of him instead (6 or 7, pg. 30).
Now his mother can take care of him alone (6 or 7, pg. 30).
When she doesn’t have lunch ready for him at the time he comes home from school, Jimmy senses the instability. She has sporadic moods of happiness and depression (6 or 7, pg. 31-32).
As he ages, he uses more extreme ways, such as asking her multiple questions, lying about issues at school, and degrading her (7 and up, pg. 32-33).
She is not introduced to the story yet, but becomes important later. Jimmy is seven to nine years older than her. She is sold from her home village, at about age six, to a man named Uncle En to unknowingly enter a life of sex trafficking (about 8, pg. 115).
Jimmy likes the gift, but his father always forgets the date of his birthday, and his mother always forgets his age (9, pg. 37-38).
Jimmy bonds with his pet rakunk right away and names her Killer (10, pg. 50-52).
Ramona moves jobs with him as his assistant. Jimmy’s family moves into the HelthWyzer Compound, since NooSkins is a branch of this company (10, pg. 53-54).
He uses his old jokes and eats better lunches at his new school. He brings Killer in for show and tell. The other students are jealous of his pet (10, pg. 54-55).
During lunch hour, he goes into the library and watches instructional videos with Alex the parrot as the host (10, pg. 54).
His father comes home drunk from work one day and Jimmy listens/spies on his parents from his room. His parents argue about the morality and ethics of the pigoon project at NooSkins (about 10 or 11, pg. 56-58).
He becomes moody and avoids his parents. He feels sexually frustrated, lonely, and pathetic. His best friend is Killer, and he spends much of his time watching educational videos with Alex the parrot, practicing his jokes, and developing the classroom “puppet argument” show (teenager, about 15, pg. 59-60).
Per his teacher’s request, Jimmy gives Glenn a tour of the school. Jimmy bonds with Glenn through an after-school trip to the mall. He likes Glenn’s sense of humor, self-assurance, and intelligence. He also recognizes his new friend is a numbers person (about 15, pg. 70-75).
When Wakulla Price, Jimmy's crush leaves the school, Glenn becomes his new lab partner in Nanotech Biochem. Glenn is easily the smartest student in the school and works well with Jimmy. The two soon hang out a few days a week after school—playing tennis, online chess or video games, and watching porn and other videos. They play Barbarian Stomp, Blood and Roses, etc. on the computer together (about 15, pg. 77-79).
She leaves Jimmy a goodbye note he that can barely process. Her escape occurs a few months after Jimmy meets Glenn (about 15, pg. 61).
The CorpSeCorps men investigate Jimmy for the first time about his mother’s disappearance, a search that will continue for most of his life. She leaves no evidence behind, even smashing her computer to bits before she escapes the Compound (about 15, pg. 61-63).
His friend assures him that people just need change sometimes. Glenn is not surprised at Jimmy’s mother’s disappearance. He acts like her escape is not too upsetting (about 15, pg. 70).
These sessions are set up to cope with the disappearance of his mother. The counseling fails to help Jimmy (about 16, pg. 64-65).
This is a virtual history game that involves recognizing extinct animals and vegetables. Here Glenn takes the code name Crake after the Red-necked Crake, a rare Australian bird. Jimmy is known as Thickney, another Australian bird (about 16, pg. 81).
The code allows him to enter the more extreme websites. Jimmy and Crake watch assisted suicides, wars, executions, and explicit porn. They also smoke weed together (about 16, pg. 87).
A few months after his mother leaves, Ramona moves into the house as his father’s new girlfriend. Jimmy feels invisible around the house, as the couple hardly notices him in the midst of their love affair (about 16, pg. 65).
Ramona tries to befriend Jimmy and assumes the role of his stepmother, although she knows she can never replace his real mother. The two bond over dinners and movies, and she laughs at his jokes (about 16 or 17, pg. 67).
Her cards arrive months after her disappearance. The letters are from all around the world, like England and Argentina. Her notes are short and are always signed with strange names like “Aunt Monica.” Jimmy assures the CorpSeCorps he doesn’t know who the letters are from (16 or 17, pg. 67-68).
They watch a video of porn-star children, one of whom is Oryx. She is only eight years old. The sight of Oryx for the first time affects Jimmy and remains buried in his mind forever. Crake prints out a picture of Oryx looking straight at them (about 16 or 17, pg. 90-91).
She died from a hot bioform, but sabotage was also rumored. Crake seems unaffected by her death (about 17 or 18, pg. 176-177).
The ceremony occurs about a month after Crake’s mother dies. The graduation event includes auctioning students off to colleges (about 17 or 18, pg. 173-176).
They travel to Hudson Bay, the HelthWyzer’s summer house. They watch the Happicuppa riots unfold on TV during this time (about 17 or 18, pg. 178-182).
She is as one of the rebels on TV. Crake and Jimmy talk about his mother’s rebellion and the mysterious death of Crake’s father (about 17 or 18, pg. 181-184).
Meanwhile, Crake attends Watson-Crick Institute for his Transgenics degree (about 18, pg. 185-191).
He spends lots of time investigating obsolete words in the library at Martha Graham (about 18, pg. 195-196).
Soon Crake invites him to come to Watson-Crick over Thanksgiving break. Jimmy accepts the offer instead of going home to visit his father and Ramona for the holiday (about 18, pg. 192-194).
He visits Crake for Thanksgiving. He tells the CorpSeCorps guards at the school that he is there to see a student (about 18, pg. 196-198).
Crake gives Jimmy a tour of Watson-Crick, showing him the highly advanced projects of many students, such as the wolvogs and ChickieNobs. Jimmy contemplates the morality of these projects (about 18, pg. 199-206).
Crake explains that it attends to the sexual desires of students by providing men and woman for companionship. Jimmy is shocked by this service (about 18, pg. 207-208).
Crake talks about the health/disease conspiracy and the truth of his father’s death, subjects which confuse Jimmy (about 18, pg. 208-213).
Crake plays Extinctathon and discovers the truth about Grandmasters, a secret he shares only with Jimmy. Turns out Grandmasters are really saboteurs of society’s current standards (about 18, pg. 214-217).
Crake says he doesn’t remember them (about 18, pg. 218).
Crake offers a hypothetical situation about the death of humans as we know them, which Jimmy doesn’t take too seriously (about 18, pg. 223).
They differ in perspectives about love. They also have opposing views on the meaning or necessity of art (about 21, pg. 166-168).
He lives with his artist girlfriend Amanda Payne at this time (22 or 23, pg. 242-247).
At work, sometimes invents his own words to be more persuasive; he doesn’t go home for holidays in favor of working more, and he soon gets promoted (about 23 or 24, pg. 248-251).
The CorpSeCorps meet with him and show him the graphic video. The tragic death of his mother throws Jimmy into depression (about 24, pg. 257-259).
Crake finds Jimmy and offers him a job at the RejoovenEsense This career opportunity raises Jimmy’s spirits a bit. Crake then takes Jimmy to the Pleeblands (about 24, pg. 284-287).
Crake gives Jimmy a tour of the Pleeblands and explains that companies’ products are being sold to commoners there (about 24, pg. 288-289).
He works for Crake as the ad campaign manager. Crake explains the BlyssPluss pill, its effects, and the need to market it correctly (about 24, pg. 291-296).
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