Sabrina Gogna

Professor Dowd

Writing 39B 11

February 2019

Analyzations and Connections

        Octavia Butler, in her 1984 speculative fiction short story “Bloodchild”, conveys the recurring message that interdependence of two species is a crucial element of survival. To accomplishes this, she inserts symbols to portray partnership, power, and a “prolonged life”(1) between the human-like creatures and the insect-like aliens; She then incorporates a frustrated tone and describes the gender roles to illustrate the importance of it all; Lastly, she utilizes soft science fiction to be able to discuss multiple themes that wouldn’t be included in traditional science fiction. She does this in order to challenge the thoughts and ideas of her audience of science fiction readers. The thoughts she challenges include the reversal of gender roles, the importance that objects have on each other for survival, and the femininity take of the world.

        Although “Bloodchild” does not contain many symbols, one symbol that is present in this text is the eggs which are important to the overarching message of interdependence. The eggs signify a lengthened lifespan for the Terrans and a larger population for the Tlics: “‘You should take more,” T’Gatoi said. “Why are you in such a hurry to be old?’”(Butler 2). The human-like creatures are encouraged to consume the egg, so they can help reproduce the other species thus making both species become interdependent. Such simple food can help the growth of two communities that coincide with another. Additionally, in the science fiction genre as a whole, human and alien interactions are common; Aliens, though, interact with humans due to self-interest. “Bloodchild” is a clear representation of this overall conclusion because some Terrans are highly encouraged to eat the eggs--

T’Gatoi lifted her head and perhaps a meter of her body off the couch as though she were sitting up. She looked at my mother, and my mother, her face lined and old looking, turned away.

“Lien, I would like you to have what’s left of Gan’s egg.”

“The eggs are for the children,” my mother said. “They are for the family. Please take it.”

Unwillingly obedient, my mother took it from me and put it to her mouth (2).

Butler states that the eggs help prevent the Terrans from aging physically and mentally as it is seen when T’Gatoi looked over at Lein and observed that her face is “old looking.” The Tlic’s gain a greater benefit due to them obtaining many more Terrans for hosting to increase their fertility rates creating a larger population for themselves--self-benefit. This then compels the readers to ponder upon reality: how is the ecosystem or the environment dependant on humans and vice versa? In the article Ecosystem services or services to ecosystems? &c. by Comberti, Thorntona, Wyllie de Echeverria, and Patterson, the authors discuss how humans and ecosystems around the world assist one another to grow and prosper exactly how the eggs help the Terrans and Tlics. Many people assume humans are only consumers of what the environment provides for individuals, but unfortunately populous amounts of people fail to see that humans “also contribute to their development, maintenance, and flows” (Comberti et al. 248). Individuals, in this circumstance, evaluate the societal beliefs or stereotypes about how humans remain inconsiderate to nature and ecosystems around us. However, Butler embeds the egg in the story as a means of a connection between the two species similarly to how humans hold ecosystems accountable for oxygen and how ecosystems hold humans accountable for carbon dioxide. From “Bloodchild” to the article, the readers are mandated to consider how simple items hold a community strong together. With animals to nature and nature to humans, each community needs another community to withstand: interdependence.

        Adopting a frustrated tone throughout her short story helps describe family dynamics along with the reversal of gender roles. As she discusses how gender roles are reversed, she is also questioning the modern beliefs that her readers have on this topic. As gender roles are swapped in this story--males being impregnated, men sacrificing their bodies, and no official father figure being present--Octavia Butler develops interesting relationships between the fictional characters. Lomas, another impregnated Terran, is found by T’Gatoi and they realize he is about to go into labor. When this occurs, T’Gatoi demands Gan to “Go out and slaughter an animal that is at least half your size’” (Butler 6). This causes Gan to become frustrated and conflicted of his own decision to be a host because he had never been put in this type of situation to create such a sacrifice. He has also never seen another one of his own species birth a Tlic:

“I had never known a Terran to see a birth and take it well. Qui has seen one, hasn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“Terrans should be protected from seeing.”

I didn’t like the sound of that—and I doubted that it was possible. “Not protected , I said. “Shown. Shown when we’re young kids, and shown more than once. Gatoi, no Terran ever sees a birth that goes right. All we see is N’Tlic—pain and terror and maybe death” (2).

Gan becomes worried because he comes to the realization that no Terran has actually witnessed a birth of a Tlic and on top of that, Gan mentions how no one of his kind has seen a “birth that goes right.” This, again, leads him to question his own decision of whether he wants to accept or decline to become a host. After examining how worrisome Gan is, she builds a relationship with him through ensuring him that she will take care of him and will not allow anything to go wrong with him: “‘I’m healthy and young,’ she said. ‘I won’t leave you as Lomas was left—alone, N’Tlic. I’ll take care of you’” (Butler 20). Gan and T’Gatoi develop their trust increasingly through each event which allows her reassurance to Gan to be valid and accepted. Throughout this story, the readers begin to visualize how the relationships actually function. With observations from the story, T’Gatoi and Lein are the parent figures of the family: both are women, both overlook the family, both reassure them of safety. This leaves one person out of the family: the “father.” Lein is the biological mother since she birthed the kids, but T’Gatoi enters their life and begins to project her voice and actions upon the family making her play the father figure or the second mother. This forces the readers to ponder their personal beliefs and emotions regarding this topic: does each family need a man and a woman to be considered a complete family? When “Bloodchild” was published, the second wave feminist women's movement was descending and the third was rising. Many women, especially younger women who were reaching their years of pregnancy, encountered plentiful issues. In the article Multiracial Feminism: Recasting the Chronology of Second Wave Feminism by Becky Thompson, it is explained that many women of color and white women as well came together (at the time different times among various women) to discuss how feminists react to certain events and to see if they actually are feminists or not. Upon discussing many factors, the adults in this movement practically belied “the sex roles that had traditionally defined domestic, economic, and political relations [to the young adults]” (Thompson 338). Many women in the world believe they have the power to raise their own family without the male being present. In modern day, individuals witness single mothers raising their children to become independent, self-reliant, and strong characters. They know the stereotype that goes around: women cannot do as much without the male being present in the family. Butler purposely doesn’t include the father in this short story to compel her audience to consider their beliefs and understandings of this certain concept.

        Moreover, the idea of not having a father figure present relates to the new wave or soft science fiction. In the article The politics of morphing: Michael Jackson as science fiction border text by Victoria Johnson, she conveys how hard science fiction differs from soft science fiction. Hard science fiction includes factors such as “men and machines [colonizing] the galaxies” and soft science being the opposite: more femininity, more emotions, more validity (Johnson). With reading this article, “Bloodchild” falls under the softer side of science fiction due to the reversal of gender roles, the emotions of love and affection, and having females be the “head of the household” of the family. During the time of the original publication of the short story(1984), the second wave feminist movement was taking place which also influenced Butler to write in the more feminine aspect of science fiction. This correlates with the genre because Butler “connotes femininity and an alliance with both [Gan’s] natural mother and with notions of self-birthing or rebirthing through the reconstruction of visual markers of past identity” (Johnson). Not only does this new wave of science fiction point to the feminine aspect of the genre, it also includes reproduction and feelings being projected. All of these details are present within the story. With soft science fiction allowing Butler to include two mothers instead of a mother and a father, conveys that the masculinity aspect of the family is not a necessity in order for the survival of families. This relates to modern-day society and the story itself. In the everyday world, individuals are able to visualize many families who lack the presence of a father for various reason. It only goes on to illustrate that women are capable enough to uphold the responsibilities that are originally aimed for men. Additionally, hard (traditional) and soft science fiction also cover the technological aspect of the genre. Hard science fiction “focuses on technology” whereas soft science fiction not so much. Contrary to hard science fiction, soft science fiction “[focuses] upon social and cultural changes” (Johnson). Throughout the entirety of “Bloodchild,” it is seen that technology was not heavily discussed, but social and cultural differences were. Butler had many opportunities to discuss the technological aspects: how the egg was formed, how the Terrans got stranded on the planet with the Tlics, etc. However she passed those comments and went on to discussing the function of the genders and how feelings were involved.

        Through the use of symbolism, tone, and genre, Butler conveys the important message of interdependence to her audience whose social and cultural ideas are being questioned. She discusses the value of the eggs, gender roles, and soft science fiction genre to be able to challenge the ideas that are related to those topics: dependence of humans to ecology and ecology to humans, and the necessity of the masculinity involved in a family.

Works Cited

Butler, Octavia. Bloodchild. 1984.

Comberti, C., et al. “Ecosystem Services or Services to Ecosystems? Valuing Cultivation and

        Reciprocal Relationships between Humans and Ecosystems.” Global Environmental

        Change, vol. 34, 2015, pp. 247–262., doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.07.007.

• • • • The authors discuss how humans and ecosystems around the world help one
        another to grow. Many people think humans are only consumers of what the
        environment provides for individuals, but unfortunately many individuals fail to
        see that humans help the environment equally. This relates to how the egg
        connects the two species similarly to how certain aspects hold nature and human
        beings together.

Johnson, Victoria. “The Politics of Morphing: Michael Jackson as Science Fiction Border Text.”

        Velvet Light Trap, 1993, p. 58. Academic OneFile,

        link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A90190294/AONE?u=googlescholar&sid=AONE&xid=c

        c76478.

• • • • She conveys the differences of traditional science fiction versus soft science fiction. Bloodchild falls under the soft science fiction genre due to not having any father figure being present to make the ‘rightful’ decisions. Along with that main factor, hard science includes technology which Butler did not cover in her short story adding another reason as to why Bloodchild is a soft science fiction. She challenges social and cultural norms. Masculinity drives towards traditional science fiction while thc challenge of social norms, not including technology, adding love scenes drives toward to soft science fiction.

Thompson, Becky. “Multiracial Feminism: Recasting the Chronology of Second Wave

        Feminism.” Feminist Studies, vol. 28, no. 2, 2002, p. 336., doi:10.2307/3178747.

• • • The author of this article explains that many women of color and white women as well came together (at the time different times among various women) to discuss how feminists react to certain events and to see to what extent a female is a feminist. Many women in the world believe they have the power to raise their own family without the male being present as it seen more often in the modern world. This relates to Bloodchild because the father in this story died off early, so there was not a father figure present. Gan and his siblings practically were raised by Lein and T’Gatoi.