User:AprilGreeen/sandbox

Citation Practice

Octavia Butler was shy as a child. 

Bloodchild

Summary

While reading "Bloodchild" I was, confused. I began reading unaware of her writing science fiction. As I continued to read I began to have [what I think to be] a clear understanding of the story line. The children, whom were fertilized by their father, grow up on a reserve where they are “host animals” to “T’Lics” (aliens), and later bear their young. My perception of this story (as Butler mentioned in the Afterward) was the terrans (humans) being equivalent to slaves, and the T’lics being their slave master. Immediately after reading the mother receiving her “sting” as punishment by the T’lic, gave me the slavery connection. What did confuse me a little was the fact that the T’lis was so comforting after giving her punishment and even negotiating to finish the punishment the day after getting getting some rest. Therefore, gave me another connection to slavery whereas the “host animals” were house slaves.

Moreover, the youngest son, a terran, did seem to grow an emotion and sexually attraction to the T’lic, until he saw the actions that had to be taken as he matured. He witnessed the T’lic impregnate a terran, and see the cruel operation. He knew his time would come, and gave in that same name. However, his injection if eggs were different then the one he had witnessed, he shared a passionate connection with the T’lic while he was injected with the eggs. His perception of her changed again.

While reading the Afterwards, I got a vivid idea on why Butler wrote this short story. Butler’s connection between “Bloodchild” and a botfly was more than enough explanation of the life of a botfly.

Quotes

• "Her sting drew only a single drop of blood from my mother's bare leg. My mother cried out-probably in surprise. Being stung doesn't hurt.
• "The whole procedure was wrong, alien. I wouldn't have thought anything about her could seem alien to me."

• "Yes." I leaned my forehead against her. She was cool vel-

vet, deceptively soft. "And to keep you for myself,"

The Evening and the Morning and the Night

Summary

In the short story “The evening and the morning and the night” , there is normal society, but there is a hereditary gene that passes a disease on to children even if only one parent has it. Having this specific disease (DGD) means the person does not live a very long life and it is a matter of “sooner or later” before the begin to commit suicide [and homicide] through mutilation. Once the time comes, they become uncomfortable in their skin and start tearing through their flesh to “escape”. Lynn was born of two parents having DGD and that is rare; since she is a female, she already has a strong “scent’, but, since she is a pure breed of DGD, her scent is even stronger, which allows her to be controlling. Lynn is one of the many few of her kind, and is even able to have self control and live longer than most other DGDs.

Quotes

• “They wanted me to see, they said, where I was headed if I wasn’t careful. In fact, it was where I was headed no matter what. It was only a matter of when: now or later."
• “My father . . . killed my mother, then killed himself.”

“It’s only when two irresponsible DGDs get together and produce girl children like me or Lynn that you get someone who can really do some good in a place like this.” She looked at me. “We are very rare commodities, you and I.”

Speech Sounds

Summary

In the short story “Speech Sounds”, there is a disease going around that impairs communication abilities, such as speaking (and other aspects of the body). Speaking was [in my opinion, prohibited]. Rye, used to be a mom, daughter and sister until the disease ran its course killing her loved ones. Rye was on the verge of committing suicide until she decided to go on a journey to find a brother whom she had hoped to still be alive. Upon the beginning of her journey she faced some complications; the bus that she was on, went out of service due too a fight. While in the midst of deciding to try to walk to her destination, she met a man. This man tried to help her, despite what is going on and how limited the trust was for one another. The guy, whom she named Obsidian, used to be a cop before the disease and continued to help people after. Soon, Obsidian died and Rye came across two now, motherless children and took them in. she then realized the children were able to speak fluently and later remembered so could she.

Quotes

• “they must have been born after the silence. Had the disease run its course, then? Or were these children simply immune?”
• “The illness, if it was an illness, had cut even the living off from one another.”
• “And in this world where the only likely common language was body language…” 

Butler's Biography

Octavia E. Butler was born in Pasadena, California on June 22, 1947. Butler was born to a house maid, Octavia Margaret Guy and a shoe shiner, Laurice James Butler. At the age of seven, Butler lost her father. After her father died, she was taken care of by her mom and grandmother. Butler spent a lot of time going with her mother to the white family’s homes while she worked. While attending her mother at work, she noticed first hand the superiority whites had over African Americans. At school, she was an outcast due to her dyslexia and how tall she was. She turned to writing as a coping mechanism. By the age of twelve, she became interested in science fiction.

Octavia Butler was noticed as the first African-American woman to gain popularity and critical acclaim as a scientific writer. By 1984, Butler was recognized for her short story “Speech Sounds” and honored a Hugo Award for it. Butlers short story also won two more awards on behalf of her compilation of science fiction short stories “Bloodchild”. Blood child won a Nebula award in 1984 and another Hugo award in 1985. The “genius grant” [also known as the MacArthur Foundation] was granted to Butler in 1995, paying over $295,00 for over five years. Butler continued to do what she loved, and continued writing science fiction. She later Died on February 24, 2006 in Seattle Washington.

The Book of Martha

Summary

In the short story, Martha (whom portrayed Butler) met with God discussing what would make the human race better. God chose Martha specifically and gave her the oppertunity to have some of his power if that meant better living for humanmkind. Martha was skeptical but did not want to defy God. While in his Presence, his appearance kept changing, as if he were a shape shifter. God informed Martha that that was completely her doing and that he changes due to her perception of him. Throughout the story he changed from the traditional which man, to a black man, to finally a black woman, reflecting Martha herself. Eventually Martha agreed to God's request, she came up with changing the way people dream. Martha believed that if everyone were able to create and participate in their own Utopia at night, there would be no corruption in the real world. The people would be able to make up their own world, not interrupting the real world; also with no distractions of the real world day to day activities and family life.

Quotes

• "You see what your life has prepared you to see"
• "You will help humankind to survive its greedy, murderous wasteful, adolescence. Help it to find less destructive, more peaceful, sustainable ways to live."
• What about changing peoples... i don't know, their brain activity?"

Amnesty

Summary

In this short story, Noah (a Female) was abducted by a species whom took over mankind, and in the process of trying to understand the humans, tortured and killed them. Noah was held captive and experimented on for almost 12 years. After those 12 years she was able to be set free, but upon leaving the bubble, the government kidnapped, and tortured her thinking she was working with the aliens. After finally being set free Noah then realized that it was not the aliens whom hurt her, but her fellow humans. Noah knew then that she wanted to help both species to understand each other no matter what the aliens had done to all the humans they have captured, because humans were doing the same to each other. Noah went back to the bubble for a job, she is one of 30 people who can understand the aliens and can pass their message on to the humans due to their lack of human qualities and communication. Noah was considered a trader by her own people but being that she has been through it. Martha wants everyone to understand that the aliens are not bad and are here to stay, so getting along is something that must happen.

Quotes

• "Her employer had warned her that the job that would be offered to her would be unpleasant not only because of the usual hostility of the human beings she would face, but because the subcontractor for whom she would be working would be difficult."
• "I can, a little she sighed. Community by Community, Human by Human. I would work faster if i could."
• "This effect proves that humanity and the communities belong together."

Crossover

Summary

In the short story Crossover, Jane had low self esteem and she found herself unattractive. Jane was working a Job she did not feel appreciated nor recognized in. Jane hated her job but due to her lack of confidence, she did not want [nor think] to start over elsewhere, afraid that it would be much worse. Jane used to be depressed, but for three months she was in a better state of mind. She began getting her “headaches” again and was going back down her dark road again. As the story plays out, a man enters the scene as a boyfriend whom she left three moths prior and was avoiding. However, the boyfriend turned out to be a figment of her imagination, he was [metaphorically] the road she was trying to avoid.

Determined Agency: A Post Secular Proposal for Religion and Literature-And Science

Summary

In Determined Agency: A Post Secular Proposal for Religion and Literature-And Science Everett Hamner starts off by discussing religion and literature. Hamner believes confronting the neglect of scientific contexts and religion. Everett Hamner also makes a connection between differences in gender, race, ethnicity, and culture with the relationship between religion and secular. Hamner also argues that the warfare between science and religion will only do further damage within religion and science education. Hamner then goes on to make a connection with Octavia Butler’s “The Evening, the Morning and the Night”. After briefly summarizing The Evening, the Moring and the Night, he states the post secular connection and its significance. Hamner argues that Butler’s short story becomes post secular fiction without her connections with religion and science but by through a theological quest for an understanding faith. Concluding his essay, Hamner discusses Butler’s personal relationship and connection with religion and interest in science.

Quotes

• “those who regard religion as inherently anti-scientific are also like to vies secularism as anti-religious.”
• “The problem, though is that for many secularisms already describes a state of tolerance (even if only of the passive, politically correct kind) making post secularism sound like an attempt to tiptoe around the separation of church and state and reintroduce religion under a clever new guise.”    

• “Most impressive is that Butler avoids setting up religious commitments against scientific realities, instead drawing simultaneously on her Baptist roots and long fascination with genetics to show how freedom and limit constitute as much a biological as theological dialectic.”  

I Hugged Myself

Summary

In “I Hugged Myself:” First-Person Narration as an Agential Act in Octavia Butler’s “The Evening and the Morning and the Night, the writer, Florian Bast, starts off by summarizing Octavia Butler “The Evening, the Morning and the Night”. Bast argues about the complexity and what it means to be human with the support of Butler. Bast describes the first person narration as significant. Moreover, it is argued that a narrative perspective bespeaks the deconstruction of both the mind and the body. As the essay is continued, a connection with African American Literature is introduced. First person narration can also be linked to slavery time. The slaves whom wrote autobiographies, kept diaries or even told stories are considered self narratives. Lynn, the main character in Butler’s short story, is also the main character. She, throughout the story explains her disease, the tragic death of her parents and then is informed of what her future has in store for her.

Quotes

• “Explore the complexity of what it means to be human.”
• “In many ways, this story represents a prism of Octavia Butler’s work: like most of Butlers writings, it revolves around its character’s body.”    

• “Not only does the text address the gential potential of the multidimensional category of voice, but its narrative perspective also bespeaks the deconstruction of the mind/body binary at thhe heart of the enlightenments conception of the subject.”

Octavia Butler (1947-)

Summary

Lisbeth Gant-Britton’s chapter is “African American Writers” discusses who Octavia Butler was and the things that occurred in her life that lead up to her success. As the chapter began, Britton began to introduce who Butler was and what she is known for, and that is her writing, love and interest of science fiction. Britton goes on to mention Butlers success and the awards and recognition she received for her short stories. Butler lived and breathed writing what she loved that helped her escape reality, which we recognize as science fiction. Britton wrote a brief biography on Octavia Butler within this chapter. Butler was the only child to a widowed mother, she was raised by both her mother and grandmother. Butler grew interested in writing after reading numerous amount of books, she began writing at age 10. As her years continued she finished school, worked jobs she hated and continued writing; later being recognized for all of her hard work and dedication. Britton concludes her chapter with summaries of some of Butler’s short stories and explaining its significance to Butler.

Quotes

• “Butler, whose protagonist are primarily women, calls herself “a feminist always”, although her equal concern with non-gender-specific oppression resonates with Alice Walker’s idea of “womanism”, in which works highlight modes of domination for males as well as females.”

• “Butler’s speculation about humanity in the twenty-first century and beyond examines humans’ relationship to disease, genetics, and medicine and the impact advances in these fields could have on the evolution of the human race.”

• “The dozens of discarded books her mother brought home from the families for whom she did domestic work also kindled young Octavia’s vivid imagination.