Bloodchild and Other Stories

"Bloodchild" redirects here. For the Tim Bowler novel, see Bloodchild (novel).
Bloodchild and Other Stories

First edition
Author Octavia E. Butler
Country  United States
Genre science fiction, horror
Publisher Four Walls Eight Windows, Seven Stories Press
Publication date
 Aug/Sep 1995
Media type Print (hardcover, trade paperback)
Pages 144 pp
ISBN 1-56858-055-X (1st ed.)

Bloodchild and Other Stories is the only collection of science fiction stories and essays by Octavia E. Butler. Each story and essay features an afterword by Butler. "Bloodchild," the title story, won the Hugo Award and Nebula Award.

Stories

"Bloodchild"

Winner of the 1984 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and the 1985 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.[1]

T'Gatoi, a lead female Tlic, reassures Gan, a young male Terran chosen as her partner, as to the safety of their mating:

"I'm healthy and young," she said. "I won’t leave you as Lomas was left alone, NTlic. I’ll take care of you."

Butler, "Bloodchild," 29.

"Bloodchild" describes the unusual bond between a colony of humans and the Tlic alien lifeforms. Inhabiting the Tlic planet, male humans are used as hosts for Tlic children. Gan, a young boy has come to the age where he will carry the children of T’Gatoi, the alien who has chosen him. All his life Gan and his siblings, except his brother Qui, perceived being a host as a privilege and having T’Gatoi around was wonderful for them. However, when a man named Lomas is separated from his Tlic while pregnant, Gan is forced to help T’Gatoi perform surgery on the man to retrieve the alien children. After witnessing the horrendous process that a male Terran must go through to give birth to the Grubs, Gan begins to question whether or not he actually wants to pursue being a host himself. Gan speaks with his brother about the horrors they both have witnessed. Qui tells Gan how he wants to get away and not be in the colony. Gan's fear of being a host clouds his mind and pushes him to challenge T’Gatoi and the purpose of his people to the aliens. He soon finds himself doubting his worth as a human, and the relationship he had formed with T’Gatoi. Gan then gets a gun that was hidden away and then threatens to kill himself to not be impregnated. Therefore, he realizes that he does not have the selfishness to attempt to save himself from carrying the alien eggs. T'Gatoi regains his trust by letting Gan keep the gun and trusting her life in his hands. T'Gatoi promises Gan that she will take care of him and will never leave him behind like Lomas who had been left in despair by the Tlic. Despite Gan being afraid of having to give birth and risking his life, he finds himself in a position where the love for T’Gatoi overpowers his fear to become impregnated.

Backgrounds

In several interviews as well as in her afterword to "Bloodchild," Butler explains the different situations that led her to write the story. To begin with, she wanted to "write out" her fear of her body being invaded by a parasitic insect, specifically the bot-fly. She also wanted to write about a human male becoming pregnant; about the risks to his body as well as what it would take for him to have maternal feelings towards his alien brood, and so she ended crafting a story about a symbiotic, loving relationship between two very different species. This is why, she insists again and again, critics read "Bloodchild" wrongly when they argue it is about slavery. Lastly, she wanted to write a story about "paying the rent"—of how a realistic depiction of human immigration into space would not just repeat the colonialist tropes of traditional science fiction but rather require some quid pro quo or "accommodation" from the part of humanity.[2][3][4][5]

"The Evening and the Morning and the Night"

The infected with (DGD) are known for self-mutilation and self harm. But some are willing for a change, instead of destroying they create to show the world, we can fight this disease: "They can create something beautiful, useful, even something worthless. But they create. They don't destroy."

Butler, "The Evening and the Morning and the Night"

"The Evening and the Morning and the Night"[6] depicts what it is is like for a genetic disease to impact individuals.The disease itself is characterized by signs of dementia, suicide and the need for self-mutilation, more-so because the affected individual wants to escape the prison they're in: their flesh. Introducing the main character Lynn Mortimer who is DGD positive and lived with two parents who were as well.The disease has no cure but only worsens , the life span is up to 40 years old .Having stayed late for graduation practice at school she came home to her parents mutilated and murdered , not by someone but by their very hands. That is where the character Alan is introduced (who she forms a bond with). During her college life she begins living with other DGD afflicted people.

Backgrounds

In her afterword, Butler's discusses her fascination with genetics and how it propelled her to invent a disease so debilitating that it dominates life from birth. She questions how our genetics influences our sense of being and behavior patterns in response to a discriminative society. Butler presents themes of segregation and social Darwinism. The thought that a single gene can change a person to the point it essentially changes who they are is the overall thematic foundation of her story. It intertwines the ideals of individuality verses our genetic legacy.

"Near of Kin"

"Near of Kin" reports a discussion between a girl and her uncle. The girl’s mother has recently died and she is talking to her uncle about the lack of relationship that she had with her mother. She felt abandoned by her mother because she was left to be raised by her grandmother. There was a family secret that that the girl felt was the justification of her abandonment. She felt as if she was the product of her mom and uncle rather than her mom and previous husband, so yes her uncle was also her father. Comparing her looks and personality with that of her uncle, she was just waiting for the confirmation that she was his child. Though this does not fully justify her mother neglecting her, it makes the situation as a whole and her relationship between her father/uncle more understanding.

Backgrounds

According to Octavia Butler, "Near of Kin" has no influences from her short story Kindred. Butler explains that given her childhood with a Baptist background, most of her influences in "Near of Kind" came from her childhood. Butler illustrates that "Near of Kin" had a rocky start during her college years. Stories from the bible enabled Butler to finish her work on "Near of kin". Butler states that the stories of Lot's daughters, Abraham's sister-wife, and the sons of Adam with the daughters of Eve, are that of incest and what influenced her the most in writing "Near of kin".

"Speech Sounds"

Published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in 1983; in Bloodchild and Other Stories by Four Walls Eight Windows in 1995; by Seven Stories Press in 1996 and 2005.

Winner of Hugo Award for Best Short Story, 1984.

- After a final violent scene in " Speech Sounds " the introduction of the two Literate children signified a new beginning. "She had been a teacher. A good one. She had been a protector, to, though only of herself. She had kept herself alive when she had no reason to live. If the illness let these children alone, she could keep them alive". A new found relationship with two orphans emerges.

Butler, Speech Sounds, 107.

"Speech Sounds"[7] explores a universe where a virus has eradicated speech. A girl named Rye is traveling across the city to visit a friend in Pasadena on a bus packed with people. Rye then notices two individuals arguing via grunting and exaggerated gestures. She senses that sooner or later some type of physical altercation will arise. Halfway to her destination a fight breaks out between the two individuals. One man hits another man and he starts to bleed, while this occurs, a third man gets involved with the fight and the bus breaks out into a brawl. The bus driver brings the bus to a sudden halt which causes everyone to fall on top of each other resulting in more quarrels. Once the doors open, Rye quickly leaves the scene to observe the situation. A car then approaches her and a man gets out. She is unsure who the man is, but she assumes that he may be a cop because he is armed and in uniform. This man takes action into his own hands to dissolve the altercation by throwing a gas bomb. This causes everybody to evacuate the bus. The man, Obsidian, an ex-cop, agrees to take Rye to Pasadena. Rye finds herself attracted to Obsidian and wants him to join her in Pasadena. While traveling they run into another altercation. A man is chasing a woman with a knife. Obsidian stops the car and both get out to confront the man. However, he had already stabbed the woman to death. Obsidian shoots the man to prevent any further harm. When he goes to observe the woman who had been stabbed, the man grabs his gun and shoots Obsidian in the head. Rye, who is armed herself, then shoots Obsidians’ murderer, killing him. Rye comes across the two children of the deceased woman. The children are not infected with the virus and are able to speak. Rye believes that the man who killed Obsidian, was the father of the children, and the woman was killed trying to protect her them from their father. Hearing them speak gave Rye hope for the future of humanity.

Backgrounds

In the short story Speech Sounds many believed they lost the ability to speak and some believed that it a disease that was incurable. Butler describe this situation very clearly when she says "The illness, if it was an illness, had cut even the living off from one another." (Butler page 95).In other words the disease, which is unfavorable and lead the society to live under a very inhumane conditions. "The illness, if it was an illness, had cut even the living off from one another."

Butler, Speech Sounds, 95.

In the afterword for "Speech Sounds" Butler depicts her personal experience on a bus with verbal and physical violence which led to her writing Speech Sounds, where similar actions took place without speaking. Butler hopes that society finds a better way of communicating with one another without the use of any violence. Both Butler and Rye encounter a physical fight on a bus which lead to different fights breaking out, turning it into a bloody scene. Butler's personal experience involves the death of personal friend due to a disease, whereas in Speech Sounds, the entire society was effected by a disease that prohibited them to speak, only allowing them to use gestures. The similarity between Butler and Rye is they began to lose hope for society while encountering such an ugly situation. At the end of Butler's Afterwords, she mentions how depressed and disappointed she was in mankind, however, Speech Sounds ends with hope and possibility for humanity, concluding with verbally communicating.

"Crossover"

"Crossover" is about a woman who has a lousy job working at a factory in which she hates and struggles with alcohol as well as staying with her criminal boyfriend. With her constant fear of loneliness and death, she suffers from low self esteem issues. During the 3 months that her boyfriend had been in jail she contemplated suicide many times but because of fear never went through with this plan. As the story continues, her actions and behavior become more self destructive, constantly visiting the liquor store and turning to alcohol to solve her life problems. She had been around drunks most of her life that she got used to this habit and the more she drank the less things would matter. Octavia Butler relates this story, written when she too was working in a factory, to her real life by stating that it was about her own fears of failing as a writer and not wanting to end up like this character.

"She had lived around drunks most of her life. She knew that if she could get enough down, nothing would matter"

Butler, Crossover, 119.

Backgrounds

In the afterword Octavia explains how she explains the writing Crossover. She explains how the characters in crossover were influenced by her old dull jobs that she worked at and the strange people she met there. The strange people in the afterword represented the negative side of her conscious that was the main character in the story. "She stared at the bottle for a moment, then almost snatched it from him. She drank without giving herself time to taste or think or gag." This represented the temptation that she would've had if she let the stress of her dull job get the best of her.

"Amnesty"

Published in SciFi.com in 2003; in Bloodchild and Other Stories, Seven Stories Press in 2005.

In "Amnesty" Noah was released from being held captive as an experiment by the aliens for years; she was then captured by the government who tortured her to get information out of her from the aliens: "...They knew what they were doing to me, and yet it never occurred to them not to do it."

Butler, Amnesty, 181.

In "Amnesty" Noah, a female kidnapped by aliens, talks to James Adio, one of the recruiters, as to the reason behind her actions: "No payback. Just what I said earlier. Jobs. We get to live and so do they. I dont need payback."

Butler, Amnesty, 181.

In "Amnesty," Noah, the main character, is in the middle of a meeting with possible employees for the Communities, an alien species that has taken over Earth’s desert areas. Noah who was abducted by the Communities when she was a child attempts to convince the group to overcome their fear of the aliens so they can prosper alongside the Communities. Noah discusses and compares the experiences she had with both the Communities and the humans. Despite being treated as an experiment and a lab rat by the aliens, Noah stated that she never once faced as much cruelty with the Communities as she did with her own government. This contributed to Noah’s positive involvement with Communities which gave her the power to take on the role of translator and collaborator between the two species. Noah has become one of thirty people to participate in the enfolding process with the communities which enforces her bond with them. It is because of her ability to communicate with both species that opens up the possibility of creating a more unified environment between humans and the Communities.

Backgrounds

In her afterword to "Amnesty," Butler explains the circumstances of how Amnesty came to life. She uses Dr. Wen Ho Lee’s negative experience with the US government when he was wrongfully imprisoned for espionage. In Amnesty, Noah is seen as a threat by the US government she is imprisoned and tortured in order to obtain information from her about the alien’s technology.

"The Book of Martha"

Published in SciFi.com in 2005; in Bloodchild and Other Stories, Seven Stories Press in 2005.

"What, exactly, do you want? A utopia? Because I don't believe in them. I don't believe it's possible to arrange a society so that everyone is content, everyone has what he or she wants."

Butler, "The Book of Martha," 202.

In "The Book of Martha," humankind is slowly killing itself and its environment. Their way of living is destructible. God gives Martha the task of finding a way to improve mankind reminding her she has all the time in the world to come up with an idea. Unfortunately, after fulfilling this task Martha is to return to her normal life as the lowest level of society. Frightened and confused she is reminded about the stories of Jonah, Job and Noah. They had to complete their jobs given by God and so did she. Martha is imbued with a small portion of God’s power and quickly finds herself creating her own world within this grey canvas around her. Martha used her hands to cover her broad black face in fear and confusion and also whispered to herself if only if she could wake up. Throughout the story, God slowly shrinks down to her size as well as turning darker in skin pigment. This transformation throughout the story also showed a sign of equality. Eventually, she comes up with the idea to make dreams more potent, that way humans can achieve their needs in their sleep, overwhelming them with pleasure and instant gratification so that when they are awake, they are much more peaceful people.

Backgrounds

In the afterword to "The Book of Martha," Butler realizes that everyone has a different idea of perfection, making the task from God seemingly impossible. Each person's utopia would be another person's hell due to the different wants and desires. Butler wrote "The Book of Martha" to express her belief that utopia's can only exist in our individual dreams.

Essays

"Positive Obsession"

Positive Obsession though not the original title is one of the pieces Octavia Butler did not enjoy writing because it was about herself and her life. Her life was filled with reading and writing which to her is quite dull to write about. Her stories are the most interesting part of her life. When she started reading on her own at age 6 because of her mother making her, was when she started on her journey. At age 10, she found what she could do better than anyone else that of course is writing. She wrote down the stories she would read and when she would not have stories to read, she would write them down. She created a world however she wanted in her notebook because of her extreme shyness. Despite her aunt telling her being a writer is a nice hobby and not a job; her mother supported her passion by buying her a typewriter and bringing her books. Through tons of rejections, she pursued her writing. While trying to sell her stories she had many jobs that she would quit but she would find new ones. “Positive Obsession” is how she kept pursuing her goal of making writing a career and being the only black woman writing science fiction at that time. “Positive Obsession” is about obsessing over something that regardless of what may alter it whether it be doubts or other people’s insights, you keep doing what you enjoy to achieve your ultimate goal.

"Honey ... Negroes can't be writers."

Butler, Positive Obsession, .

"I saw positive obsession as a way of aiming yourself, your life, at your chosen target. Decide what you want. Aim high. Go for it."

Butler, Positive Obsession, .

"Furor Scribendi"

Octavia Butler’s “Furor Scribendi" is a writer’s guide from Butler's perspective to all those who wish to have their writing published and become an established author in the writing industry. She thoroughly explains the process of what it take to becoming a writer and the difficulty behind the art of writing. What you should do to improve and how important it is not to give up. Butler emphasizes how complicated the process of writing truly is; no matter how good or experienced you are. People will face many failures, and rejections throughout this process, which has led her to the belief that it is crucial to develop an obsession for writing. It allows for them to continue through all the hardships, and rejection they may face. Overall, Butler relies on the idea of persistence. If someone wishes to write, then they will do so. As long as a person remain persistent, then anyone is capable of accomplishing much more than they could ever possibly imagine, just as she did.

Backgrounds

The Afterword of Butler's "Furor Scribendi" discusses the encouragement behind the essay; it for people who want to write. She talks about how arduous writing is, and why persistence should always be a word to keep in mind. She gives an example of why you should never give up, and tip never to forget. Such as not be discourage if you don't have wild ideas, just have fun with it. And why you should not take yourself too seriously in writing.

"Write. Write every day. Write whether you feel like writing or not."

Butler, Furor Scribendi, .

"Persistence is essential to any writer - the persistence to finish your work, to keep writing in spite of rejection, to keep reading, studying, submitting work for sale."

Butler, Furor Scribendi, .

References

  1. ↑ included a. o. in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Second Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois (1984)
  2. ↑ McCaffery, Larry and Jim McMenamin. "An Interview with Octavia Butler." Across the Wounded Galaxies: Interviews with Contemporary American Science Fiction Writers. Ed. Larry McCaffery. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1990.
  3. ↑ Kenan, Randall. "An Interview with Octavia E. Butler." Callaloo 14.2 (1991): 495-504.
  4. ↑ Potts, Stephen. "’We Keep Playing the Same Record’: A Conversation with Octavia Butler." Science Fiction Studies 23.3 (1996).
  5. ↑ McGonigal, Mike. "Octavia Butler." Index Magazine. (March 1998).
  6. ↑ included a. o. in Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora edited by Sheree Thomas (2000)
  7. ↑ included a. o. in A Woman's Liberation edited by Connie Willis and Sheila Williams (2001)

Further reading

Reviews

Scholarship

"Bloodchild"

"The Evening and the Morning and the Night"

"Amnesty"

"Speech Sounds"

"The Book of Martha"

External links

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