I meant to post this yesterday but never got around to it..
Anyway, did any one see the article, "Save Humanity, Design your Baby" in the opinion section of the Pitt News yesterday? It relates perfectly to McKibben and Silver in discussing genetic modifications and it's rather humorous.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Basic Human Wants and Fears
Lauren Fisher
Dr. Adam Johns
ENGCMP 0200 – Seminar in Composition
October 30, 2008
Basic Human Wants and Fears
Human nature is defined as the concept that there are a set of logical characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling and acting that all “normal” human beings have in common. This means that humans all share the same basic wants and needs, as well as fears. Humans crave social interaction and view solitary confinement as a type of torture. Human beings are also curious creatures and yearn for knowledge because it enhances their intelligence. However, humans share the same fear of the unknown and will act wary and cautious if they are unfamiliar with something. In Octavia E. Butler’s novel, “Lilith’s Brood,” the author explores the very core of human nature and describes the wants and fears of the Awoken people as they interact with the Oankali.
Humans are naturally social creatures, and require real life, personable interactions with others to be happy. After Lilith is Awoken, she is placed in a white windowless, doorless cubicle with just a bed and bathroom. The only interaction she has is from her captors who only speak when they are ready. After Lilith meets Jdahya she tells him, “You shouldn’t have isolated any of us unless your purpose was to drive us insane. You almost succeeded with me more than once. Humans need one another” (Butler 19). Lilith confirms that humans are not just biological creatures. We are the most social creatures on earth. The ways we deal with each other, from personal to international relationships, can have as much an influence on our behavior as our instinctive reactions.
In my Intro to Psychology class, we are learning about this same concept: humans being social creatures. My textbook says, “People have a motive for affiliation which is the need to be with other people and to have personal relationships. Some believe that affiliation motivation is an inborn need that is based on natural selection. Others believe that each human learns the motive to affiliate through his or her learning experiences” (Lahey 368). Lilith considered the child that they put in her room, Sharad, a blessing because she “could not remember when she had last touched someone. She had not realized how much she had missed it” (Butler 10). Also, “The motive for affiliation may be related in some way to the greater chance that humans who affiliate – flock together – will survive receives some support from the fact that affiliation motivation appears to be stronger when we are frightened about our well-being” (Lahey 369). This is especially true when the group of Awoken people meet the Oankali for the first time. Everyone was frightened of the presence of the Oankali and Butler writes, “Victor Dominic and Hilary Ballard were awake and together, holding one another, though they had shown no interest in one another until now. […] Elsewhere in the room, small groups of people, supporting one another, confronted the ooloi without panic” (184). A further example of humans craving interaction with each other is after Lilith Awakens the first ten people or so. She has a talk with Leah and Gabriel and Leah says, “These people don’t know each other. What do they care if they have to start again?” Gabriel answers, “They care. They’ve made personal ties here. Think what they had before: War, chaos, family and friends dead. Then solitary. A jail cell and shit to eat. They care very much. So do you” (Butler 166). All of these examples show that humans need one another for their own personal sanity and as a means of survival.
After Lilith explains to Jdahya about humans need for one another, Jdahya tells her that humans’ bodies are fatally flawed. The first incompatible characteristic is the fact that we are intelligent. Jdahya explains, “That’s the newer of the two characteristics, and the one you might have put to work to save yourselves. You are potentially one of the most intelligent species we’ve found, though your focus is different from ours” (Butler 39). The Oankali believe that no matter where humans are, they will eventually destroy themselves with their intelligence. Jdahya tells Lilith that, “Yes, intelligence does enable you to deny facts you dislike. But your denial doesn’t matter” (Butler 39). The fact that we are intelligent people and the fact that humans are innately curious are very much related. Psychologists believe that we are curious because we are intelligent. Some believe that curiosity is a compass of knowledge. An example of this was when Peter Van Weerden and six followers seized Lilith and held her while a seventh follower, Derrick Wolski, swept some food from one of the food cabinets and climbed into it before it could close (Butler 171). This shows human beings’ innate curiosity. Curt tells Lilith that Derrick is “finding out what’s really going on. There are people refilling those cabinets and we intend to find out who they are. We want to get a look at them before they’re ready to be seen – before they’re ready to convince us they’re Martians” (Butler 171). Derrick’s curiosity costs him because he was not sent back. This is further evidence to Jdahya’s prediction that the human race has the means to destroy itself because of its intelligence.
The second characteristic is that we are hierarchical. Jdahya again elaborates, “That’s the older and more entrenched characteristic. We saw it in your closest animal relatives and in your most distance ones. It’s a terrestrial characteristic” (Butler 39). The Oankali believe that humans were doomed from the start, because of their aggressions and hierarchical behavior. Lilith however argues against this and doesn’t think that it could be that simple. Again in my psychology class, we’ve been learning about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. “It should be obvious that we are creatures of many and varied needs. Abraham Maslow put forward an interesting theory about our many motives” (Lahey 373). The lowest level of needs is physiological which include: breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, and homeostasis. The Awoken people depend on Lilith for food and water and she realizes that they are entirely dependent on her because they cannot open the food cabinets on their own. A higher up level is love/belonging which includes: friendship, family, and sexual intimacy. Lilith realizes that the Awoken people will pair off and mate with another. An example of this is “a man named Wray Ordway and a few days after his Awakening, he was sleeping with Leah with her full consent” (Butler 171). One of the highest levels on Maslow’s pyramid of needs is esteem which includes: self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, and respect by others. Lilith knows that to insure her survival and the survival of the others, they are going to have to learn to see her as a trustee and a leader and learn to respect her because she is very valuable to them. Only through this mutual respect will they be able to get to the training floor.
A dominant fear that most humans share is fear of the unknown. This fear can be used to explain why people are so afraid of aliens, in our society today and in Lilith’s society in the future. Humans have never met an alien race before. Therefore, aliens fall into the unknown category and the unknown has always been something that inspires fear in humans. Lilith has a very hard time with Jdahya the first time she meets him. “She did not want to be any closer to him. She had not known what held her back before. Now she was certain it was his alienness, his difference, his literal unearthliness” (Butler 13). Lilith tries to express her fear in words and says, “I don’t understand why I’m so…afraid of you. Of the way you look, I mean. You’re not that different. There are – or were – life forms on Earth that looked a little like you” (Butler 17). This demonstrates that the unknown scares many people.
We as humans like to know things about the past, present and future. Once we know things, we are no longer afraid of them. Consequently once Lilith interacts with Jdahya and his family, she starts to not be so afraid of his grotesque sea-slug appearance and no longer runs away from him in panic and revulsion (Butler 26). After Lilith begins to Awaken people, they find it very hard to believe that they are on a living ship, that they’re orbiting around the moon, and that their captors are aliens. In addition, after Joseph meets Nikanj for the first time he admits to Lilith, “I didn’t believe. I couldn’t, even though you said it” (Butler 152). Once an unknown thing arrives, humans tend to get defensive and behave ignorantly. Perhaps it is a survival technique, survival of the fittest mentality. As I stated earlier, people grouped together during their first interaction with the unknown Oankali. The ones who had somebody with them remained awake while the others who panicked and fought collapsed and were unconscious. Being provided with concrete evidence and having others with us, makes it easier for humans to need be so afraid of the unknown.
Octavia Butler effortlessly weaves the very essence of human nature into her science fiction novel about a race of aliens who save these human beings and wish to help them restore the earth. The Oankali learn from the humans and the humans, in turn, learn a great deal about the Oankali. Butler shows us how human tendencies can sometimes help or inhibit our chance of survival. In order to survive on the training floor, Lilith’s group of humans must be able to cooperate with another and work hard to reach a common goal. Butler invites the reader to question her grim view of human nature and wonder if humanity’s fate is a continuation of the wars that have plagued civilization since recorded history. Through studying basic human wants and fears, we are better able to understand the human race and visibly see our many strengths and weaknesses.
Dr. Adam Johns
ENGCMP 0200 – Seminar in Composition
October 30, 2008
Basic Human Wants and Fears
Human nature is defined as the concept that there are a set of logical characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling and acting that all “normal” human beings have in common. This means that humans all share the same basic wants and needs, as well as fears. Humans crave social interaction and view solitary confinement as a type of torture. Human beings are also curious creatures and yearn for knowledge because it enhances their intelligence. However, humans share the same fear of the unknown and will act wary and cautious if they are unfamiliar with something. In Octavia E. Butler’s novel, “Lilith’s Brood,” the author explores the very core of human nature and describes the wants and fears of the Awoken people as they interact with the Oankali.
Humans are naturally social creatures, and require real life, personable interactions with others to be happy. After Lilith is Awoken, she is placed in a white windowless, doorless cubicle with just a bed and bathroom. The only interaction she has is from her captors who only speak when they are ready. After Lilith meets Jdahya she tells him, “You shouldn’t have isolated any of us unless your purpose was to drive us insane. You almost succeeded with me more than once. Humans need one another” (Butler 19). Lilith confirms that humans are not just biological creatures. We are the most social creatures on earth. The ways we deal with each other, from personal to international relationships, can have as much an influence on our behavior as our instinctive reactions.
In my Intro to Psychology class, we are learning about this same concept: humans being social creatures. My textbook says, “People have a motive for affiliation which is the need to be with other people and to have personal relationships. Some believe that affiliation motivation is an inborn need that is based on natural selection. Others believe that each human learns the motive to affiliate through his or her learning experiences” (Lahey 368). Lilith considered the child that they put in her room, Sharad, a blessing because she “could not remember when she had last touched someone. She had not realized how much she had missed it” (Butler 10). Also, “The motive for affiliation may be related in some way to the greater chance that humans who affiliate – flock together – will survive receives some support from the fact that affiliation motivation appears to be stronger when we are frightened about our well-being” (Lahey 369). This is especially true when the group of Awoken people meet the Oankali for the first time. Everyone was frightened of the presence of the Oankali and Butler writes, “Victor Dominic and Hilary Ballard were awake and together, holding one another, though they had shown no interest in one another until now. […] Elsewhere in the room, small groups of people, supporting one another, confronted the ooloi without panic” (184). A further example of humans craving interaction with each other is after Lilith Awakens the first ten people or so. She has a talk with Leah and Gabriel and Leah says, “These people don’t know each other. What do they care if they have to start again?” Gabriel answers, “They care. They’ve made personal ties here. Think what they had before: War, chaos, family and friends dead. Then solitary. A jail cell and shit to eat. They care very much. So do you” (Butler 166). All of these examples show that humans need one another for their own personal sanity and as a means of survival.
After Lilith explains to Jdahya about humans need for one another, Jdahya tells her that humans’ bodies are fatally flawed. The first incompatible characteristic is the fact that we are intelligent. Jdahya explains, “That’s the newer of the two characteristics, and the one you might have put to work to save yourselves. You are potentially one of the most intelligent species we’ve found, though your focus is different from ours” (Butler 39). The Oankali believe that no matter where humans are, they will eventually destroy themselves with their intelligence. Jdahya tells Lilith that, “Yes, intelligence does enable you to deny facts you dislike. But your denial doesn’t matter” (Butler 39). The fact that we are intelligent people and the fact that humans are innately curious are very much related. Psychologists believe that we are curious because we are intelligent. Some believe that curiosity is a compass of knowledge. An example of this was when Peter Van Weerden and six followers seized Lilith and held her while a seventh follower, Derrick Wolski, swept some food from one of the food cabinets and climbed into it before it could close (Butler 171). This shows human beings’ innate curiosity. Curt tells Lilith that Derrick is “finding out what’s really going on. There are people refilling those cabinets and we intend to find out who they are. We want to get a look at them before they’re ready to be seen – before they’re ready to convince us they’re Martians” (Butler 171). Derrick’s curiosity costs him because he was not sent back. This is further evidence to Jdahya’s prediction that the human race has the means to destroy itself because of its intelligence.
The second characteristic is that we are hierarchical. Jdahya again elaborates, “That’s the older and more entrenched characteristic. We saw it in your closest animal relatives and in your most distance ones. It’s a terrestrial characteristic” (Butler 39). The Oankali believe that humans were doomed from the start, because of their aggressions and hierarchical behavior. Lilith however argues against this and doesn’t think that it could be that simple. Again in my psychology class, we’ve been learning about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. “It should be obvious that we are creatures of many and varied needs. Abraham Maslow put forward an interesting theory about our many motives” (Lahey 373). The lowest level of needs is physiological which include: breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, and homeostasis. The Awoken people depend on Lilith for food and water and she realizes that they are entirely dependent on her because they cannot open the food cabinets on their own. A higher up level is love/belonging which includes: friendship, family, and sexual intimacy. Lilith realizes that the Awoken people will pair off and mate with another. An example of this is “a man named Wray Ordway and a few days after his Awakening, he was sleeping with Leah with her full consent” (Butler 171). One of the highest levels on Maslow’s pyramid of needs is esteem which includes: self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, and respect by others. Lilith knows that to insure her survival and the survival of the others, they are going to have to learn to see her as a trustee and a leader and learn to respect her because she is very valuable to them. Only through this mutual respect will they be able to get to the training floor.
A dominant fear that most humans share is fear of the unknown. This fear can be used to explain why people are so afraid of aliens, in our society today and in Lilith’s society in the future. Humans have never met an alien race before. Therefore, aliens fall into the unknown category and the unknown has always been something that inspires fear in humans. Lilith has a very hard time with Jdahya the first time she meets him. “She did not want to be any closer to him. She had not known what held her back before. Now she was certain it was his alienness, his difference, his literal unearthliness” (Butler 13). Lilith tries to express her fear in words and says, “I don’t understand why I’m so…afraid of you. Of the way you look, I mean. You’re not that different. There are – or were – life forms on Earth that looked a little like you” (Butler 17). This demonstrates that the unknown scares many people.
We as humans like to know things about the past, present and future. Once we know things, we are no longer afraid of them. Consequently once Lilith interacts with Jdahya and his family, she starts to not be so afraid of his grotesque sea-slug appearance and no longer runs away from him in panic and revulsion (Butler 26). After Lilith begins to Awaken people, they find it very hard to believe that they are on a living ship, that they’re orbiting around the moon, and that their captors are aliens. In addition, after Joseph meets Nikanj for the first time he admits to Lilith, “I didn’t believe. I couldn’t, even though you said it” (Butler 152). Once an unknown thing arrives, humans tend to get defensive and behave ignorantly. Perhaps it is a survival technique, survival of the fittest mentality. As I stated earlier, people grouped together during their first interaction with the unknown Oankali. The ones who had somebody with them remained awake while the others who panicked and fought collapsed and were unconscious. Being provided with concrete evidence and having others with us, makes it easier for humans to need be so afraid of the unknown.
Octavia Butler effortlessly weaves the very essence of human nature into her science fiction novel about a race of aliens who save these human beings and wish to help them restore the earth. The Oankali learn from the humans and the humans, in turn, learn a great deal about the Oankali. Butler shows us how human tendencies can sometimes help or inhibit our chance of survival. In order to survive on the training floor, Lilith’s group of humans must be able to cooperate with another and work hard to reach a common goal. Butler invites the reader to question her grim view of human nature and wonder if humanity’s fate is a continuation of the wars that have plagued civilization since recorded history. Through studying basic human wants and fears, we are better able to understand the human race and visibly see our many strengths and weaknesses.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Ignorance
Lauren Dodds
There’s an old and well known English proverb that says “where ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be wise.” In Lilith’s Brood, one of Lilith’s many battles is against the ignorance of those she chooses to Awaken. They act upon two forms of ignorance: lack of knowledge, and the choice to disregard knowledge that they find disturbing or don’t want to believe. The Oankali have attributed humans with two traits, one being intelligence. Jdahya said that humans are “potentially one of the most intelligent species . . . [they’ve] found” (Butler 39) but he goes on to express the negative side of this characteristic by adding that “intelligence does enable you do deny fact you dislike” (Butler 39). Butler portrays ignorance as an instinctive cognitive tool to cope with unpleasant or unbelievable situations by depicting the use of ignorance in those Lilith decided to Awake. In their case, ignorance is not bliss, but rather dangerous.
In one way, the humans have no choice but to be ignorant. They have been Awakened after centuries to find their environment completely changed and insufficient information as to what will become of them. The Oankali answer Lilith’s questions but they do not tell her everything and they are very careful about their timing when it comes to disclosing certain information. Lilith confesses to Tate, Gabriel and Leah that she is sure she’s been lied to “by omission, at least” (Butler 167). In this way the humans are kept ignorant, no fault of their own, however, some of them don’t exactly dig for knowledge either. When Tate is first Awakened, she avoids asking Lilith who her captors are because she thinks she will be happier not knowing. She is afraid that once she knows the answer she will have wished she didn’t so he tries to ignore the subject for as long as Lilith will allow her (Butler 131). It is in this way that humans use ignorance in hopes of delaying the knowledge information that has the potential to cause harm or force action. Lilith puts an end to her ignorance by telling her about the Oankali because she needs to be prepared. Ignoring the subject might work for Tate for a little while. In the long run her ignorance would hurt her when she saw the Oankali for the first time, completely unprepared and never warned. Ignorance might work as a short term fix, but eventually you must face the situation. Not knowing is more dangerous than not knowing.
Lilith Awakened forty people and provided them with the information she knew about their circumstance. This group divided itself into two groups: individuals who choose to follow Lilith and individuals who followed Peter. The contrast between these two groups shows the struggle between accepting and ignoring the facts and the consequences that result from the latter. Everyone had a hard time believing the information Lilith was telling them but the Peter-followers not only chose not to believe the information, but to act in such a way as if the information were false. This is what became dangerous. Lilith knew that they would have trouble believing and for this reason she tried to tell them early enough that they had time to reject the idea and then gradually move passed it (Butler 143). Lilith’s followers were able to grasp this aspect. Joseph said, “I think our best bet now is to learn all we can. Get facts. Keep our eyes open. Then later we can make the best possible use of any opportunities we might have to escape (Butler 143). This is the ideal, rational, non-ignorant way to go about the situation. This is the ideology Lilith hoped the others would pick up on as well. However, Peter’s followers show how humans would rather fall back on ignorance. They choose to ignore what Lilith is telling them because they don’t like what they’re hearing. Derek refused to believe that the ship could restock the food and after climbing into the cabinet his ignorance resulted in being put back to sleep (Butler 171). They aren’t content just sitting back and collecting the facts, waiting for opportunities like Lilith wants them to do. It frustrates them to not be taking action. Lilith becomes the target of their frustrations. They don’t believe she’s human, they think she’s a man, they think she’s withholding information. By believing these things or acting as if they believe these things they can protect themselves by hiding from the truth. This choice to remain ignorant despite the knowledge Lilith is providing them is not at all helpful. It causes hostility and violence between the groups and puts Lilith in a dangerous position. Gabriel expressed a fear that Peter would “tell [his followers] the only way to get out of [t]here is to knock [her] around until [she] tell[s] all [her] secrets. He’ll say [she] know[s] the way out. And by the time it’s clear that [she] [doesn’t], [she]’ll be dead” (Butler 174). People think that ignorance will make them feel better but it’s not the case. The girl whose boyfriend cheated on her blamed the other girl instead of her boyfriend. Maybe she can feel better about her situation by attributing the blame to another party but at the end of the day her boyfriend still cheated on her and ignoring the truth can only work for so long. Blaming Lilith for the situation will not help the people when the Oankali come. In fact, when the Oankali come, the ignorant Peter followers are the ones that run away or attack and the Oankali make them unconscious. Followers of Lilith, those that accepted the knowledge Lilith shared, where the calmest during their first encounter with the Oankali, proving that ignorance came back to hurt Peter’s following.
Ignoring information because it’s not to one’s liking is never constructive in the long-run. Eventually, the time will come when one must face the facts and Butler would argue that humans have an easier time dealing with something if it’s spread out over time. Knowledge is what will allow the humans to escape from their captors. Though the Oankali have considered humans to be an intelligent species, this group of humans is having a bit of trouble realizing this.
There’s an old and well known English proverb that says “where ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be wise.” In Lilith’s Brood, one of Lilith’s many battles is against the ignorance of those she chooses to Awaken. They act upon two forms of ignorance: lack of knowledge, and the choice to disregard knowledge that they find disturbing or don’t want to believe. The Oankali have attributed humans with two traits, one being intelligence. Jdahya said that humans are “potentially one of the most intelligent species . . . [they’ve] found” (Butler 39) but he goes on to express the negative side of this characteristic by adding that “intelligence does enable you do deny fact you dislike” (Butler 39). Butler portrays ignorance as an instinctive cognitive tool to cope with unpleasant or unbelievable situations by depicting the use of ignorance in those Lilith decided to Awake. In their case, ignorance is not bliss, but rather dangerous.
In one way, the humans have no choice but to be ignorant. They have been Awakened after centuries to find their environment completely changed and insufficient information as to what will become of them. The Oankali answer Lilith’s questions but they do not tell her everything and they are very careful about their timing when it comes to disclosing certain information. Lilith confesses to Tate, Gabriel and Leah that she is sure she’s been lied to “by omission, at least” (Butler 167). In this way the humans are kept ignorant, no fault of their own, however, some of them don’t exactly dig for knowledge either. When Tate is first Awakened, she avoids asking Lilith who her captors are because she thinks she will be happier not knowing. She is afraid that once she knows the answer she will have wished she didn’t so he tries to ignore the subject for as long as Lilith will allow her (Butler 131). It is in this way that humans use ignorance in hopes of delaying the knowledge information that has the potential to cause harm or force action. Lilith puts an end to her ignorance by telling her about the Oankali because she needs to be prepared. Ignoring the subject might work for Tate for a little while. In the long run her ignorance would hurt her when she saw the Oankali for the first time, completely unprepared and never warned. Ignorance might work as a short term fix, but eventually you must face the situation. Not knowing is more dangerous than not knowing.
Lilith Awakened forty people and provided them with the information she knew about their circumstance. This group divided itself into two groups: individuals who choose to follow Lilith and individuals who followed Peter. The contrast between these two groups shows the struggle between accepting and ignoring the facts and the consequences that result from the latter. Everyone had a hard time believing the information Lilith was telling them but the Peter-followers not only chose not to believe the information, but to act in such a way as if the information were false. This is what became dangerous. Lilith knew that they would have trouble believing and for this reason she tried to tell them early enough that they had time to reject the idea and then gradually move passed it (Butler 143). Lilith’s followers were able to grasp this aspect. Joseph said, “I think our best bet now is to learn all we can. Get facts. Keep our eyes open. Then later we can make the best possible use of any opportunities we might have to escape (Butler 143). This is the ideal, rational, non-ignorant way to go about the situation. This is the ideology Lilith hoped the others would pick up on as well. However, Peter’s followers show how humans would rather fall back on ignorance. They choose to ignore what Lilith is telling them because they don’t like what they’re hearing. Derek refused to believe that the ship could restock the food and after climbing into the cabinet his ignorance resulted in being put back to sleep (Butler 171). They aren’t content just sitting back and collecting the facts, waiting for opportunities like Lilith wants them to do. It frustrates them to not be taking action. Lilith becomes the target of their frustrations. They don’t believe she’s human, they think she’s a man, they think she’s withholding information. By believing these things or acting as if they believe these things they can protect themselves by hiding from the truth. This choice to remain ignorant despite the knowledge Lilith is providing them is not at all helpful. It causes hostility and violence between the groups and puts Lilith in a dangerous position. Gabriel expressed a fear that Peter would “tell [his followers] the only way to get out of [t]here is to knock [her] around until [she] tell[s] all [her] secrets. He’ll say [she] know[s] the way out. And by the time it’s clear that [she] [doesn’t], [she]’ll be dead” (Butler 174). People think that ignorance will make them feel better but it’s not the case. The girl whose boyfriend cheated on her blamed the other girl instead of her boyfriend. Maybe she can feel better about her situation by attributing the blame to another party but at the end of the day her boyfriend still cheated on her and ignoring the truth can only work for so long. Blaming Lilith for the situation will not help the people when the Oankali come. In fact, when the Oankali come, the ignorant Peter followers are the ones that run away or attack and the Oankali make them unconscious. Followers of Lilith, those that accepted the knowledge Lilith shared, where the calmest during their first encounter with the Oankali, proving that ignorance came back to hurt Peter’s following.
Ignoring information because it’s not to one’s liking is never constructive in the long-run. Eventually, the time will come when one must face the facts and Butler would argue that humans have an easier time dealing with something if it’s spread out over time. Knowledge is what will allow the humans to escape from their captors. Though the Oankali have considered humans to be an intelligent species, this group of humans is having a bit of trouble realizing this.
Dana Schaufert
Dr. Adam Johns
ENGCMP 0200- Seminar in Composition
29 October 2008
In Octavia E. Butler’s novel Lilith’s Brood, humans are placed in a world foreign to their own. This unfamiliarity is what exposes human nature at its purest. The Oankali now rule and humans are inferior. But this does not take the focus off of the humans; it more so puts them under a magnifying glass. Although Butler’s novel Lilith’s Brood is centered around the lives of the Oankali, several features of human nature are portrayed throughout the book.
From the beginning of Lilith’s Brood, Butler portrays human nature as being destructive. War had destroyed Earth, so in a sense, humans had destroyed Earth. “Humanity in its attempt to destroy itself had made the world unlivable. She had been certain she would die even though she had survived the bombing without a scratch. She had considered her survival a misfortune – a promise of a more lingering death” (Butler 15). According to the ooloi, this destructiveness is derived from the human body being “fatally flawed.” Jdahya expanded on ooloi’s statement by saying, “You have a mismatched pair of genetic characteristics. Either alone would have been useful, would have aided the survival of your species. But the two together are lethal. It was only a matter of time before they destroyed you” (Butler 38). These two characteristics are that humans are intelligent and also hierarchial at the same time. Intelligence enables us to deny unfavorable facts and being hierarchial is a terrestrial characterstic, which is clearly demonstrated by Paul Titus when he beat and almost raped Lilith. Paul saw himself above Lilith since he had been awake longer than her. He felt that she owed him something; that something happened to be sex. Paul told Lilith, “I never got to do it before,” and continued, “They said I could do it with you. They said you could stay here if you wanted to. And you had to go and mess it up!” (Butler 96). In concurrence with harming someone else, human’s demonstrate destructiveness through self-harm, or suicide. Although Lilith chose not to end her life when Jdahya offered to, many humans in her position did resort to suicide. The reasoning behind many of the suicides was isolation. It is true that many humans need time to themselves, but too much time alone can be damaging.
The need for contact, preferably human contact, is another factor that Butler uses to portray human nature in her novel. Lilith’s isolation put her on the edge of going insane. “‘So far,’ she said, ‘only boredom and isolation have driven me to want to die’” (Butler 25). However, when Sharad appeared in her room, Lilith felt more content and at ease. “She could not remember when she had last touched someone. She had not realized how much she had missed it” (Butler 10). This statement that Lilith had said truly demonstrates a human’s need for contact. Even when Jdahya, who Lilith initially feared, came into the isolation room, she enjoyed the company. Luckily, for the sake of Lilith’s sanity, she was not caged in this room forever.
Surprisingly, even after being in isolation for so long, Lilith was hesitant to leave her “box” and go outside. “She took a step backward, away from all the alien vastness. The isolation room that she had hated for so long suddenly seemed safe and comforting” (Butler 30). Although this happening is surprising, it can easily be explained through another factor Butler used to portray human nature. Human’s naturally fear the unknown. Not only is Lilith dealing with the fear of this unknown world among creatures unlike herself, but the Oankali only answer about half of the questions she asks them. For example, when Lilith questioned Jdahya if the Oankali were planning on testing her desire to live on page 26, Jdahya remained silent. Lilith responded to the silence by saying, “If you knew anything at all about human imagination, you’d know you were doing exactly the wrong thing” (Butler 26). Questions that remained unanswered terrified Lilith, as if the sight of the Oankali was not enough. She had no reliable source for answers, which made matters all the worse. As human beings we need answers or else our fear of the unknown will heighten.
In conclusion, in Lilith’s Brood, Butler portrays human nature as being destructive, in need of contact, and fearful of the unknown. These factors are demonstrated through character’s actions, thoughts, and behavior throughout the novel. The experiences Lilith endures creates a canvas for defining human nature. Butler, in these aspects, sums up human nature to tee.
Dr. Adam Johns
ENGCMP 0200- Seminar in Composition
29 October 2008
Defining Human Nature
In Octavia E. Butler’s novel Lilith’s Brood, humans are placed in a world foreign to their own. This unfamiliarity is what exposes human nature at its purest. The Oankali now rule and humans are inferior. But this does not take the focus off of the humans; it more so puts them under a magnifying glass. Although Butler’s novel Lilith’s Brood is centered around the lives of the Oankali, several features of human nature are portrayed throughout the book.
From the beginning of Lilith’s Brood, Butler portrays human nature as being destructive. War had destroyed Earth, so in a sense, humans had destroyed Earth. “Humanity in its attempt to destroy itself had made the world unlivable. She had been certain she would die even though she had survived the bombing without a scratch. She had considered her survival a misfortune – a promise of a more lingering death” (Butler 15). According to the ooloi, this destructiveness is derived from the human body being “fatally flawed.” Jdahya expanded on ooloi’s statement by saying, “You have a mismatched pair of genetic characteristics. Either alone would have been useful, would have aided the survival of your species. But the two together are lethal. It was only a matter of time before they destroyed you” (Butler 38). These two characteristics are that humans are intelligent and also hierarchial at the same time. Intelligence enables us to deny unfavorable facts and being hierarchial is a terrestrial characterstic, which is clearly demonstrated by Paul Titus when he beat and almost raped Lilith. Paul saw himself above Lilith since he had been awake longer than her. He felt that she owed him something; that something happened to be sex. Paul told Lilith, “I never got to do it before,” and continued, “They said I could do it with you. They said you could stay here if you wanted to. And you had to go and mess it up!” (Butler 96). In concurrence with harming someone else, human’s demonstrate destructiveness through self-harm, or suicide. Although Lilith chose not to end her life when Jdahya offered to, many humans in her position did resort to suicide. The reasoning behind many of the suicides was isolation. It is true that many humans need time to themselves, but too much time alone can be damaging.
The need for contact, preferably human contact, is another factor that Butler uses to portray human nature in her novel. Lilith’s isolation put her on the edge of going insane. “‘So far,’ she said, ‘only boredom and isolation have driven me to want to die’” (Butler 25). However, when Sharad appeared in her room, Lilith felt more content and at ease. “She could not remember when she had last touched someone. She had not realized how much she had missed it” (Butler 10). This statement that Lilith had said truly demonstrates a human’s need for contact. Even when Jdahya, who Lilith initially feared, came into the isolation room, she enjoyed the company. Luckily, for the sake of Lilith’s sanity, she was not caged in this room forever.
Surprisingly, even after being in isolation for so long, Lilith was hesitant to leave her “box” and go outside. “She took a step backward, away from all the alien vastness. The isolation room that she had hated for so long suddenly seemed safe and comforting” (Butler 30). Although this happening is surprising, it can easily be explained through another factor Butler used to portray human nature. Human’s naturally fear the unknown. Not only is Lilith dealing with the fear of this unknown world among creatures unlike herself, but the Oankali only answer about half of the questions she asks them. For example, when Lilith questioned Jdahya if the Oankali were planning on testing her desire to live on page 26, Jdahya remained silent. Lilith responded to the silence by saying, “If you knew anything at all about human imagination, you’d know you were doing exactly the wrong thing” (Butler 26). Questions that remained unanswered terrified Lilith, as if the sight of the Oankali was not enough. She had no reliable source for answers, which made matters all the worse. As human beings we need answers or else our fear of the unknown will heighten.
In conclusion, in Lilith’s Brood, Butler portrays human nature as being destructive, in need of contact, and fearful of the unknown. These factors are demonstrated through character’s actions, thoughts, and behavior throughout the novel. The experiences Lilith endures creates a canvas for defining human nature. Butler, in these aspects, sums up human nature to tee.
Butler on Humans
Nick Lubic
Dr. Adam Johns
Seminar in Composition
28 October 2008
Humans for Change
A famous American writer and futurist, Alvin Toffler, once said, “Change is the process by which future invades our lives”. This is the very essence of change that Lilith fears but also embraces in Octavia Butler’s book, Lilith’s Brood. Lilith often has trouble in dealing with change that the Oankali present to her, whether it is a change in location or a physical change. However, often times she finds herself loathing for change in any way that she can find it. It is this view on change that Butler tries to portray as a key characteristic which sets humans apart from any other species. Adapting and fearing change is one characteristic of humans that Butler believes is the essence of human nature.
Butler introduces Lilith as a human longing for freedom and change. The Oankali give her little answers as far as where she is and why she is there. This frustrates her and adds to her overall sense of confinement. Butler stresses her inability to deal with being locked away, a trait she feels is exclusive to humans alone. Oankali have no problem with being change or not being changed. They seem numb to the ideas of familiarity or change from the very beginning.
This theme becomes apparent in Lilith’s case, mostly because she is manipulated so much by the Oankali. Towards the beginning of the novel, Lilith is kept in a room with no contact with the outside world. She begs and pleads for answers as to why she is there and when she can leave. When the time comes for her to leave her prison-like confinement, she fears the thought of change and clings to the place she once hated. She expresses her fear of a change in scenery when saying, “This isn’t working. Just put me down on Earth with other human’s. I can’t do this” (Butler 21). Shortly after getting used to being outside of her cage, she is confronted with a situation involving Nikanj and its friend. They begin to sample her by prodding and poking her, which makes her uncomfortable. She tells Nikanj, “I want to go back” (Butler 57). The room that she once wanted to escape from had become her new home and was the only thing familiar to her. Nikanj does not understand why Lilith is acting this way because this is a human characteristic that is unique to humans alone. It is this conflicting relationship between wanting change and wanting familiarity that makes humans unique according to Butler.
Not only does Butler portray the fear of change in scenery, she also tries to focus on physical change as something that humans both embrace and fear. The initial thought of physical change greatly fears Lilith. Just before Nikanj performs the operation which will change Lilith’s brain chemistry forever, she expresses her fear when saying, “What frightening is the idea of being tampered with. Listen, no part of me is more definitive of who I am than my brain” (Butler 76). Physical changes like these are hard for humans to grasp, mostly because we see change as irreversible and different, which scares us. The Oankali have no fear in making these changes, in fact they want to make them in order to better others and themselves. Nakanj expresses this alien idea when saying, “Would it be so bade to remember better? To remember the way Sharad did- the way I do?” (76). Oankali feel that physically changing the body is progress and should be welcomed. This idea can be connected to Silver’s views on bettering the human race. He would agree that changes to the human body should be made in order for our race to progress. This idea is terrifying to humans, perhaps even to Silver, which is why his writing seems so alien and difficult to grasp. McKibben takes a more human like approach when discussing physical change on the human body because he fears permanent changes, such a germline therapy, much like Lilith does. Fear of physical change is yet another asset of humans that Butler feels is unique.
Octavia Butler’s book uses the interactions between humans and aliens as proof that change and the fear of change is a key aspect which separates the two species. Humans, she feels, act uniquely to changes is setting or physicality and add to her overall idea of what it is to be human. She uses Oankali to contrast their personalities to those of humans, using their numbness towards change as a spotlight for the fear that humans feel. In any case, Butler’s views on the essence of human nature are truly unique
Dr. Adam Johns
Seminar in Composition
28 October 2008
Humans for Change
A famous American writer and futurist, Alvin Toffler, once said, “Change is the process by which future invades our lives”. This is the very essence of change that Lilith fears but also embraces in Octavia Butler’s book, Lilith’s Brood. Lilith often has trouble in dealing with change that the Oankali present to her, whether it is a change in location or a physical change. However, often times she finds herself loathing for change in any way that she can find it. It is this view on change that Butler tries to portray as a key characteristic which sets humans apart from any other species. Adapting and fearing change is one characteristic of humans that Butler believes is the essence of human nature.
Butler introduces Lilith as a human longing for freedom and change. The Oankali give her little answers as far as where she is and why she is there. This frustrates her and adds to her overall sense of confinement. Butler stresses her inability to deal with being locked away, a trait she feels is exclusive to humans alone. Oankali have no problem with being change or not being changed. They seem numb to the ideas of familiarity or change from the very beginning.
This theme becomes apparent in Lilith’s case, mostly because she is manipulated so much by the Oankali. Towards the beginning of the novel, Lilith is kept in a room with no contact with the outside world. She begs and pleads for answers as to why she is there and when she can leave. When the time comes for her to leave her prison-like confinement, she fears the thought of change and clings to the place she once hated. She expresses her fear of a change in scenery when saying, “This isn’t working. Just put me down on Earth with other human’s. I can’t do this” (Butler 21). Shortly after getting used to being outside of her cage, she is confronted with a situation involving Nikanj and its friend. They begin to sample her by prodding and poking her, which makes her uncomfortable. She tells Nikanj, “I want to go back” (Butler 57). The room that she once wanted to escape from had become her new home and was the only thing familiar to her. Nikanj does not understand why Lilith is acting this way because this is a human characteristic that is unique to humans alone. It is this conflicting relationship between wanting change and wanting familiarity that makes humans unique according to Butler.
Not only does Butler portray the fear of change in scenery, she also tries to focus on physical change as something that humans both embrace and fear. The initial thought of physical change greatly fears Lilith. Just before Nikanj performs the operation which will change Lilith’s brain chemistry forever, she expresses her fear when saying, “What frightening is the idea of being tampered with. Listen, no part of me is more definitive of who I am than my brain” (Butler 76). Physical changes like these are hard for humans to grasp, mostly because we see change as irreversible and different, which scares us. The Oankali have no fear in making these changes, in fact they want to make them in order to better others and themselves. Nakanj expresses this alien idea when saying, “Would it be so bade to remember better? To remember the way Sharad did- the way I do?” (76). Oankali feel that physically changing the body is progress and should be welcomed. This idea can be connected to Silver’s views on bettering the human race. He would agree that changes to the human body should be made in order for our race to progress. This idea is terrifying to humans, perhaps even to Silver, which is why his writing seems so alien and difficult to grasp. McKibben takes a more human like approach when discussing physical change on the human body because he fears permanent changes, such a germline therapy, much like Lilith does. Fear of physical change is yet another asset of humans that Butler feels is unique.
Octavia Butler’s book uses the interactions between humans and aliens as proof that change and the fear of change is a key aspect which separates the two species. Humans, she feels, act uniquely to changes is setting or physicality and add to her overall idea of what it is to be human. She uses Oankali to contrast their personalities to those of humans, using their numbness towards change as a spotlight for the fear that humans feel. In any case, Butler’s views on the essence of human nature are truly unique
Preservation of humanity
Katherine Delle
Dr. Adam Johns
Seminar in Composition
10/29/08
Choices regarding the preservation of humanity
Most everyday decisions that modern day humans must focus their attention toward are trivial choices such as “what restaurant shall we eat at tonight?” or “what shirt should I wear today?” The aspect of choice is what interested me right from the start of “Dawn” by Octavia Butler. However, the main difference between the choices that the humans must make in the novel and the choices that people today make on an everyday basis is that the decisions they make in the novel will affect all of humanity. The captured humans must decide if they will succumb to the Oankali, agreeing to be their “trade partners” before returning to Earth or if they will simply refuse. Although humans today aren’t faced with this exact decision, they are faced with the choice of accepting or rejecting controversial new technologies that will affect humanity as we know it such as germ line- engineering. Overall, I have noticed there to be many similarities in the choices that humans today must make and the choices that the captured humans in the novel must make regarding the preservation of humanity.
After being captured/rescued by the Oankali and learning that she as well as the other captured humans are to be cross- bred with the ooloi, Lilith Iyapo is faced with many difficult decisions regarding humanity. She had to decide if she should cooperate with the Oankali, knowing that if she did the future of mankind would be dramatically altered. Pure -bred humans would become extinct because the captured humans (the only humans left in existence) would become “trade partners” with the ooloi, meaning that some of the ooloi’s genetic information and genetic qualities would be transferred into them. This would eventually result in children who are essentially alien creatures, having some ooloi traits and abilities. Lilith was made the leader of the humans on the Oankali ship and it was her job to convince the rest of the humans to trust the Oankali. This was a massive choice that Lilith had to make: should she agree to be this leader, therefore supporting the idea of the trade partnership?
In the book, Lilith definitely was conflicted about what she should do right from the start regarding her situation. When she was first awakened, she refused to answer any of the Oankali’s questions, as she didn’t want to help them in anyway if they wouldn’t give her answers in return. However, after meeting with Jdhaya and learning about the Oankali’s plan for the humans she surprisingly became more agreeable. She says, “I’m willing to learn what you have to teach me, but I don’t think I’m the right teacher for others (33). Lilith learned that the captured humans where going to be bred with the ooloi which would “make sure of a good, viable gene mix” (40). This gene mix was what would help the humans survive when they were put back on Earth to rebuild it. Lilith was initially very shocked and offended by this plan that the Oankali had for humans and she seemed adamant towards to agreeing with it. However, she made the decision to go along with it as soon as Jdaya gave her the offer of killing herself right then and there by touching one of his lethal tentacles. Her choice not to do so showed that she would rather live in the strange new world of genetically engineered alien-human creatures, than die. As she became more comfortable on the ship she became more supportive of the Oankali’s plan. She was also given the choice of staying on the ship forever and not returning to Earth, an option that she decided to be unthinkable.
There is a major similarity between Lilith’s choice to support the Oankali’s plan and the choices that modern humans are faced with today regarding germ-line engineering. There has been much controversy regarding it because of its ability to make “improvements” on reproductive cells, passing on these improvements to the next generations. The ability to do this frightens and angers some people as well as excites and is supported by other people. For couples to be able to choose certain traits for their offspring including their IQ, personality, and even gender would change humanity drastically. The argument is would this change be for the better or for the worse? This is very similar to what the Oankali plan on doing to the humans they have captured. Their genetic makeup will be altered when they are bred with the ooloi so that they would be faster, stronger, easily healed, and more prepared for what they must face on Earth. However, it is my personal opinion that these kinds of changes in humans would eliminate much of the diversity that we value so much today. Also, since after the “trade” humans will have lost some of what makes them who they are, I feel as though they could lose the ability to show emotion including the ability to love or the feeling of being loved. The Oankali and the ooloi certainly don’t show, much emotion in the novel and they don’t seem to take into account the feelings of others. For example, Lilith says to Ahajas, “I’m surprised to realize how good it is to hear your voice” and there was no response from Ahajas. “There was no answer. Nothing more to be said” (179). The Oankali seem to be very systematic and business like, only caring about what will make them survive to the fullest extent. They are unwilling to display feelings because they feel they are unimportant. For example, Jdhaya says, “it renews us, enables us to survive as an evolving species instead of specializing ourselves into extinction or stagnation” (40). In my opinion however, if humans lost any of this it would be a massive tragedy for mankind because emotion is what makes life so wonderful.
As the novel continues, Lilith seems to become even more supportive of the genetic engineering that has begun being done to her and will also be done to the rest of the humans. However, she also contradicts this support as well. An example of her support is when she admits to enjoying the feelings of sex with Nikanj and also likes that it is able to enhance some of her physical qualities. Joseph asks her why she lets Nikanj touch her and she answer by saying, “To have changes made. The strength, the fast healing” (169). Lilith also seems to fight to keep humans the way they are saying, “nobody here is property…we stay human, we treat each other like people, and we get through this like people” (178). Whether or not Lilith’s feelings toward the Oankali are actually conflicting can’t be determined for certain; however, she does seem to be indecisive regarding supporting them or not. This is very similar to the way many people today feel about germ-line engineering. On one hand they may believe that it would destroy humanity as we know it, but on the other hand it would be able to give us many advantages.
In conclusion, modern humanity is on the verge of many technological advances that have the potential to drastically change our definition of what is human. This is mirrored in Lilith’s situation on the Oankali ship because she must decide if she supports or rejects the plan that the Oankali have to genetically alter all the captured humans. Although it seems as though Lilith is a bold and outspoken person, either she does fully support the genetic modifications or she isn’t as audacious as we may think. This is because if she truly cared about preserving humanity she would try to think of a way to plot against the Oankali. Because she doesn’t do so, we must assume that she either supports the Oankali or she simply has given up on trying to stop them. Similarly, people today must choose what is important to them to preserve about humanity. If we would like much of our children’s features and traits to remain being produced somewhat randomly and if we would like to keep diversity among humanity intact then we must fight against germ-line engineering We must not stay indecisive regarding germ-line engineering such as Lilith is because it will be among us sooner than we may think.
Dominance or Not: Karmas a ...
Chris Gorham
Seminar Eng/Comp.
Dr. Adam Johns
29 October 2008
For as long as mankind has existed, humans have fed on things that were more or less helpless to their power. Humans hunted and they were fed. Humans tested and they were informed. Even today humans utilize animals for the most part to test things as trivial as various shades of makeup. In the long run, these actions on those beneath us yield no consequence mainly because we are the dominant species and see our actions only as a way of life. Octavia Butler introduces a new scenario in which humans are no longer dominant. It brings upon an important question of whether or not the will of a non dominant species should mean anything, or is their existence only to suit the progression of a dominant species. Lilith’s experiences show that the non-dominant species existence should not revolve around the progression or continuance of a more dominant species even despite barriers such as communication or general appearance.
In our society today we see animals as a sub species to us. Wild animals we hunt either for food or for pure fun. House pets are treated differently of course, but still as a sub species. Many times they are caged and given only the necessary food and water to survive. In Lilith’s Brood, the human captives are treated much like animals. This is especially evident at the beginning of the book when Lilith is held captive with an isolation room acting like a cage. She is given only the necessities to live; food, water, a running faucet, and clothes on an eventual basis. Lilith even takes the mindset of an animal in a zoo by retreating into the isolation room when Jdyaha first enters showing that her cage has become a safe haven. Lilith, while captive in this room is full of despair, frustration and anger, sometimes even approaching insanity. Other humans reach this point of insanity leading them to self injury and suicide at worse. To think that humans do the same thing to animals beneath us brings upon a huge moral dilemma. How is it fair that we treat animals this way simply because they cannot communicate with them for them to tell us that they are feeling the same way as Lilith did in captivity.
Not only do humans abuse animals with captivity, they also abuse them with testing. Humans have continued to utilize animals for various physiological and psychological testing. We stray from doing this to our own kind because we feel that the non dominant species is less important and thus are perfect for the job of being a lab rat. They help us in progressing our technology and understanding of nature. As is true in Lilith’s Brood, Lilith and the other humans are the lab rats for the Oankali. The Oankali have already used humans to use cancer as a resource as well as capturing their genetic identity. They plan to use the humans to enhance and continue the existence of themselves by creating a new species, derived from the humans. The existence of this breeding is already existent when Paul Titus reveals that he has over 70 children and that many of the females have been altered to bear the first generation of this new species. It is very similar to how humans breed, cross breed, and now clone animals for testing. Our interest in genetics comes at the expense of the animals, not us. Similarly, the tests Oankalis have performed on the humans yield them no consequences. The trade the Oankali speak of is more a ploy on a less dominant species to further its own progression. They lack concern in the welfare of humans, and more in the welfare of their own species.
Possibly it is karma to humans that the events in Lilith’s Brood are happening. None the less, it can be agreed upon that the way the humans are treated is unjust. If they do not go insane while in captivity, they are expected to cooperate with the Oankali for the progression of the Oankali species only because they are now the less dominant species. Humans continue to do the same thing to those non dominant species that reside on Earth. We continue with the testing, the caging and even the killing. Why is it right that a dominant species can treat those lesser than it this way? Ultimately, there is no reason. Yes, there are communication barriers between the Oankali and the humans as well as humans and animals. This does not grant the right to the dominant species, however, to treat those beneath it with such a domineering presence. The golden rule known to all Catholics is treat as you would want to be treated. Mankind has misinterpreted this rule by applying it only to its fellow species. Instead we should treat those species below us with the same care we would treat our brother or sister. It is inhumane to think that someone or something should be treated any other way. The power of the dominant species should not be abused for self progression rather utilized to promote fairness and equality among all the inhabitants of one specific place.
Seminar Eng/Comp.
Dr. Adam Johns
29 October 2008
Dominance or Not: Karmas a ...
For as long as mankind has existed, humans have fed on things that were more or less helpless to their power. Humans hunted and they were fed. Humans tested and they were informed. Even today humans utilize animals for the most part to test things as trivial as various shades of makeup. In the long run, these actions on those beneath us yield no consequence mainly because we are the dominant species and see our actions only as a way of life. Octavia Butler introduces a new scenario in which humans are no longer dominant. It brings upon an important question of whether or not the will of a non dominant species should mean anything, or is their existence only to suit the progression of a dominant species. Lilith’s experiences show that the non-dominant species existence should not revolve around the progression or continuance of a more dominant species even despite barriers such as communication or general appearance.
In our society today we see animals as a sub species to us. Wild animals we hunt either for food or for pure fun. House pets are treated differently of course, but still as a sub species. Many times they are caged and given only the necessary food and water to survive. In Lilith’s Brood, the human captives are treated much like animals. This is especially evident at the beginning of the book when Lilith is held captive with an isolation room acting like a cage. She is given only the necessities to live; food, water, a running faucet, and clothes on an eventual basis. Lilith even takes the mindset of an animal in a zoo by retreating into the isolation room when Jdyaha first enters showing that her cage has become a safe haven. Lilith, while captive in this room is full of despair, frustration and anger, sometimes even approaching insanity. Other humans reach this point of insanity leading them to self injury and suicide at worse. To think that humans do the same thing to animals beneath us brings upon a huge moral dilemma. How is it fair that we treat animals this way simply because they cannot communicate with them for them to tell us that they are feeling the same way as Lilith did in captivity.
Not only do humans abuse animals with captivity, they also abuse them with testing. Humans have continued to utilize animals for various physiological and psychological testing. We stray from doing this to our own kind because we feel that the non dominant species is less important and thus are perfect for the job of being a lab rat. They help us in progressing our technology and understanding of nature. As is true in Lilith’s Brood, Lilith and the other humans are the lab rats for the Oankali. The Oankali have already used humans to use cancer as a resource as well as capturing their genetic identity. They plan to use the humans to enhance and continue the existence of themselves by creating a new species, derived from the humans. The existence of this breeding is already existent when Paul Titus reveals that he has over 70 children and that many of the females have been altered to bear the first generation of this new species. It is very similar to how humans breed, cross breed, and now clone animals for testing. Our interest in genetics comes at the expense of the animals, not us. Similarly, the tests Oankalis have performed on the humans yield them no consequences. The trade the Oankali speak of is more a ploy on a less dominant species to further its own progression. They lack concern in the welfare of humans, and more in the welfare of their own species.
Possibly it is karma to humans that the events in Lilith’s Brood are happening. None the less, it can be agreed upon that the way the humans are treated is unjust. If they do not go insane while in captivity, they are expected to cooperate with the Oankali for the progression of the Oankali species only because they are now the less dominant species. Humans continue to do the same thing to those non dominant species that reside on Earth. We continue with the testing, the caging and even the killing. Why is it right that a dominant species can treat those lesser than it this way? Ultimately, there is no reason. Yes, there are communication barriers between the Oankali and the humans as well as humans and animals. This does not grant the right to the dominant species, however, to treat those beneath it with such a domineering presence. The golden rule known to all Catholics is treat as you would want to be treated. Mankind has misinterpreted this rule by applying it only to its fellow species. Instead we should treat those species below us with the same care we would treat our brother or sister. It is inhumane to think that someone or something should be treated any other way. The power of the dominant species should not be abused for self progression rather utilized to promote fairness and equality among all the inhabitants of one specific place.
Jim Abbott Stay or Go
Jim Abbott
Seminar in Composition
Dr. Adam Johns
10/28/08
Go Home or Stay
Humanity has known only Earth as its residence for existence. Humans have dabbled with space travel, but never with the intention to actually live outside of their planet. Lilith Brood is faced with a crucial decision of whether to stay on the ship or return to Earth. As a human, she has a duty to return to her former planet and restore life. To stay on the ship means that she has given up on not only her planet, but also her species. In order to have her own humanness, she must save humanity.
The ship that Lilith awoke on has made many advancements in technology and genetics that’s would allow for a interesting and busy existence. Lilith could forget that she is in fact, a human, and choose to live among Ooli and Oankali. She could give up the features that made her human, and opt to have all the genetic changes that would make her more like her captors. The longer that she has been awake, the more this possibility seems like a reality. She originally woke up stubborn and resistant to anything inhumane. As she grows more comfortable on the ship, she is becoming more willing to accept the changes that the Oankali suggest. Though it contradicts with her original beliefs, she is happy that she is able to better understand the language, and Nikanj in particular. The ability to open walls has also enabled her to me more and more like the species that she once viewed as drastically different from herself. The humanness that she had when she first had when she first entered the ship is quickly dissolving, as she is becoming alarmingly like Oankali. Humans that stay on the ship for too long become indistinguishable from the Oankali, besides the glaring physical differences. Paul Titus had accepted his new life on the ship, and had no intentions of going back to Earth. When Lilith and Paul were in the same room together, they could not act like normal humans. Paul became so outraged from lack of human contact, that he immediately tried to engage Lilith in sexual activities. When she refused he beat her. Humans are a sociable species, they need social engagements in order to function properly. Without interaction with other humans, a person loses their human traits. Paul was so accustomed to being alone that when he finally was able to talk to a fellow human, he did not know how to handle himself. By staying on the ship, Lilith would be surrendering her humanity.
Life on Earth would no doubt be difficult. The challenge would be much more rewarding than staying on the ship without human contact. The Earth is completely barren, and Lilith and the other humans would have to remake civilization. The task is would force the humans to work together in order to save humanity. Earth belonged to humans, and it would be up to them to make sure that it would remain in human hands. The job would be dangerous since there would be no order on Earth. People would be able to get what they want simply by applying physical force, since there would be no police system originally set up to prevent crime. The humans would be forced to trust one another, and to make collective sacrifices for the greater good. Selfish needs would have to be placed on the back burner, and the needs of the group would be first priority. Without an infrastructure to rely on, the humans would have to start from the ground up. Without cooperation, the task would be impossible. Like the civilizations of the past, Lilith and the other people will have to organize, and provide a job that will help make their civilization successful.
Human culture is a culture that depends and relies on other people. Humans need interaction with their own kind in order to stay sane, and remain productive. To stay on the ship, void of human contact would mean that Lilith is surrendering her the traits that made her human. The differences between her and the Oankali would continue to decrease, and she will hardly be a human.
Kristine Latham
October 29, 2008
Dr. Adam Johns
English Composition
Human and Oankali Nature
In Lilith’s Brood, Octavia Butler very clearly expresses that she believes that it is human nature to be aggressive, hierarchical and afraid of change. It is through her expression of these human traits that she makes it clear that she does not favor human nature and thinks that we are in desperate need of a transformation as a species.
Lilith was an anthropologist before the war. In the human culture she would be considered the most accepting of other cultures, of other ways of life that are different from her own. Yet, Lilith is initially shocked and disgusted when she sees Jdahya for the first time. When she first meets him she thinks privately to herself that, “she did not want to be any closer to him. She had not known what held her back before. Now she was certain it was his alienness, his difference, his literal unearthliness” (Butler 13). It is change that humans are uncomfortable with. Change is never a bad thing entirely. Often, the newness is pretty neutral if not positive. Yet, when the creators of Facebook tried to change the layout 1,689,005 people joined the group entitled, “Petition Against the new Facebook.” (Facebook.com). Eventually, Lilith got used to Jdahya, but had trouble with the thought of being surrounded by Oankali. It seemed that with each new thing that Lilith came across it took her some time to accept it. It had to become more familiar before she could be comfortable with it entirely. By the time that Lilith is opening walls and Awakening people herself she has to remind herself to explain to people that she is human. She has to take special precautions so that they do not become afraid when they realize that she is not quite like them or people that they have known.
Humans tend to be very aggressive and dominating. The very first time that Lilith is alone, after her final Awakening, with another human, she is beaten so terribly that she is almost killed. She went to find comfort, contact and understanding; three things that humans cannot life without. Lilith chastises the Oankali for putting humans in isolation for so long because of their need for these three things. And yet, their need to have dominance is always stronger than their need for support. The Oankali explain to Lilith that originally they had humans together, but that too many of them were harming one another. When Lilith is alone with Paul Titus he states his dominance with physical violence when she refuses to engage in sexual activities with him (Butler 96). Aggressiveness as human nature is shown again when Lilith Awakens Leah who immediately “leaps onto [Lilith’s] back and began strangling her” (137 Butler). Leah does not know the extent of Liliths strength. She only acts in a way to redeem complete control over her life. It is clear that there are many motives behind aggression in humans and that the need for dominance is the main motive.
The Oankali originally could not stand to be in the same room as humans because it was too painful. The negativity that humans give off was causing the very perceptive Oankali to have physical pain. One of the main traits of human nature that the Oankali credit this negativity to is their tendency to be hierarchical. The Oankali mate in threes, there is the male, the female and the Ooloi. Unlike in human culture where there is the unpleasant stereotype that the man is the leader. Men are allowed dominance in everywhere from the household, to politics, to religion.
Humans are by nature hierarchical, resistant to change, aggressive and dominating. These traits are all portrayed by Octavia Butler as being horrible and in need of revision. It is her book that imagines a species that is so completely different in a world that allows for a world of equality and unyielding growth.
October 29, 2008
Dr. Adam Johns
English Composition
Human and Oankali Nature
In Lilith’s Brood, Octavia Butler very clearly expresses that she believes that it is human nature to be aggressive, hierarchical and afraid of change. It is through her expression of these human traits that she makes it clear that she does not favor human nature and thinks that we are in desperate need of a transformation as a species.
Lilith was an anthropologist before the war. In the human culture she would be considered the most accepting of other cultures, of other ways of life that are different from her own. Yet, Lilith is initially shocked and disgusted when she sees Jdahya for the first time. When she first meets him she thinks privately to herself that, “she did not want to be any closer to him. She had not known what held her back before. Now she was certain it was his alienness, his difference, his literal unearthliness” (Butler 13). It is change that humans are uncomfortable with. Change is never a bad thing entirely. Often, the newness is pretty neutral if not positive. Yet, when the creators of Facebook tried to change the layout 1,689,005 people joined the group entitled, “Petition Against the new Facebook.” (Facebook.com). Eventually, Lilith got used to Jdahya, but had trouble with the thought of being surrounded by Oankali. It seemed that with each new thing that Lilith came across it took her some time to accept it. It had to become more familiar before she could be comfortable with it entirely. By the time that Lilith is opening walls and Awakening people herself she has to remind herself to explain to people that she is human. She has to take special precautions so that they do not become afraid when they realize that she is not quite like them or people that they have known.
Humans tend to be very aggressive and dominating. The very first time that Lilith is alone, after her final Awakening, with another human, she is beaten so terribly that she is almost killed. She went to find comfort, contact and understanding; three things that humans cannot life without. Lilith chastises the Oankali for putting humans in isolation for so long because of their need for these three things. And yet, their need to have dominance is always stronger than their need for support. The Oankali explain to Lilith that originally they had humans together, but that too many of them were harming one another. When Lilith is alone with Paul Titus he states his dominance with physical violence when she refuses to engage in sexual activities with him (Butler 96). Aggressiveness as human nature is shown again when Lilith Awakens Leah who immediately “leaps onto [Lilith’s] back and began strangling her” (137 Butler). Leah does not know the extent of Liliths strength. She only acts in a way to redeem complete control over her life. It is clear that there are many motives behind aggression in humans and that the need for dominance is the main motive.
The Oankali originally could not stand to be in the same room as humans because it was too painful. The negativity that humans give off was causing the very perceptive Oankali to have physical pain. One of the main traits of human nature that the Oankali credit this negativity to is their tendency to be hierarchical. The Oankali mate in threes, there is the male, the female and the Ooloi. Unlike in human culture where there is the unpleasant stereotype that the man is the leader. Men are allowed dominance in everywhere from the household, to politics, to religion.
Humans are by nature hierarchical, resistant to change, aggressive and dominating. These traits are all portrayed by Octavia Butler as being horrible and in need of revision. It is her book that imagines a species that is so completely different in a world that allows for a world of equality and unyielding growth.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Jessica Rhodunda
10/28/08
10/28/08
Views of Sex
Throughout time, sex wasn't a talked about thing. People didn't really disclose what they experienced with it. In Lilith's Brood by Octavia Butler, she writes about Lilith's experience with sex with extraterrestrials. In the Oankali lifestyle, they use an ooloi that is neither male or female to connect to have sex. Lilith is introduced to this and rejects it at first, but later enjoys the sensation that it gives her.This is different than human sex that people enjoy. Butler suggests with these ideas that people's views of sex are too limited.
There are multiple differences between human and Oankali sex. One of the major differences is the physical connection between the people. During Oankali sex, there is no connection between the male and female except through the ooloi. This is shown when Lilith and Joseph are connected to the ooloi Nikanj. Lilith tries to grab for Joseph's hand and Nikanj says, " No, only through me." (162) This suggests that people's ideas are limited to sex because of the idea of having to have physical connection during sex.
Another difference that Butler brings up is having a third being involved. She writes:
"They've done it to you before?"
She nodded.
"With...other men?"
"Alone or with Nikanj's mates."
Abruptly, he got up and began to pace.
" They aren't human," she said.
"Then how can they...? Their nervous systems can't be like ours. How can they make us
feel...what I felt?"(169)
This is considered different because multiple beings were involved in having sex. In our society, this is considered a taboo, and if people do it they really don't talk about it. This suggests that our views are too limited and we are too traditionalist. We only believe in a two person sex and that it's the only way it should be done.
Our views of sex are challenged with Octavia Butler's book Lilith's Brood. She suggests different views of sex with no physical connection and involving a third being. This breaks our taboos and makes the reader's views broaden. It gives the reader a unique in sight of what sex could be.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Assignment for Wednesday
Called it Wednesday at midnight, if you wish.
I'm groggy and feverish, but not so groggy and feverish that I didn't notice that people did very well last week writing about whatever they felt like.
So, write an essay about any aspect of Lilith's Brood that interests you. You are welcome to use or ignore the anthropological material we talked about today; you are also welcome to use other texts from earlier in the semester, or not. You can certainly do something relating to human nature - but you don't have to.
One warning: the pitfall with this kind of assignment is that you can set yourself up to argue something which is simply too obvious to bother with. Reviewers especially should spend a minute asking themselves if they are dealing with an obvious argument, or with an argument that takes some of risks.
I'm groggy and feverish, but not so groggy and feverish that I didn't notice that people did very well last week writing about whatever they felt like.
So, write an essay about any aspect of Lilith's Brood that interests you. You are welcome to use or ignore the anthropological material we talked about today; you are also welcome to use other texts from earlier in the semester, or not. You can certainly do something relating to human nature - but you don't have to.
One warning: the pitfall with this kind of assignment is that you can set yourself up to argue something which is simply too obvious to bother with. Reviewers especially should spend a minute asking themselves if they are dealing with an obvious argument, or with an argument that takes some of risks.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
No Class Tomorrow...
There will be no class tomorrow, and you should definitely check the blog before class on Monday. I hope to be better by then, but we'll see. For Monday, we'll be discussing the reading originally scheduled for Friday (part 2/page 112). I'm off to try to figure out my medications...
I apologize for this being late, long week
Jonathan Doron
Seminar in Composition
Dr. Adam Johns
October 21, 2008
One of the persistent themes which we have been discussing in class (particularly since reading of Bill McKibben’s “Enough”) has been the loss of a sense of community. Most would argue that in the United States today, goals have steered away from the old sense of community onto a much more individualistic point of view. Generally speaking, there are very few people who continue to consistently act in a way which focuses on the betterment of his or her community as opposed to those people who lead their lives more self-interested or to try to rise above the rest. Community is defined as, “a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.” (dictionary.com) According to this definition, couldn’t a family be defined as a small community? Much like the larger-scale sense of community, the average American family has drastically changed over the years as well.
Chris Ware makes this point a consistent theme in his book, “Jimmy Corrigan.” The book’s plot is largely consisted of a few generations of “Jimmy Corrigan’s” relationship with his mother/father. Throughout the first thirty or so, the eldest Jimmy’s mother consistently calls him over the telephone. This can be taken as proof that Jimmy and his mother probably live far away, considering that she has to call all the time instead of visiting him. In America today, you often see families being spread out throughout the country. For example, I have family in Virginia, California, and Florida. In the past, families used to stay close to each other and grow up together. You would often see grandparents living in the same house as their children; or several generations of a family showing up to Sunday mass together. Now, individuals within the family spread out and pursue their own goals, whether it’s to seek out riches or live in their dream home. This has taken away from people the core values that growing up as a family offers. Especially now, with divorce rates well above 50%, you often see children growing up several hours, or even plane flights away from one of their parents. The family community is steadily dwindling down to the point where your family is just there for Christmas dinner, and maybe sends you a check on your birthday.
One of the interesting points about the general changes in the concept of “family” is that the United States is much more guilty of it than most other countries. Both of my parents are immigrants from Chile so it’s not too rare for me to take a trip down to see the roughly 75% of my family that remains within ten miles of each other. Much unlike the families in the United States, families in other countries tend to remain much closer (physically) to each other, and tend to get together much more than they do here. It took twenty years in the United States for my parents to finally realize that my immediate family was steadily becoming more and more distant from my overseas relatives, so earlier this summer, they decided to move the entire family back to Chile. Now, instead of receiving phone calls from my grandparents a couple times a week, they get together for dinner several times a week and get to enjoy the pleasure of having the rest of the family nearby. Being the oldest child in my family and a college-bound student, unfortunately I don’t get to experience the joy of having my extended family around all the time like my younger sisters do. But then again, this also makes me a victim of the same tendencies that I’m criticizing in this paper.
In a nutshell, there’s a lot of valuable experience being lost due to the separation of families, and even if your mother calls as much as Jimmy Corrigan’s does, that doesn’t provide you with the family interactions that are extremely valuable in growing up as a child. I’m not saying that you should throw all your possessions into a box and fly overseas to get back together, but definitely cherish the moments you have as a family.
Seminar in Composition
Dr. Adam Johns
October 21, 2008
One of the persistent themes which we have been discussing in class (particularly since reading of Bill McKibben’s “Enough”) has been the loss of a sense of community. Most would argue that in the United States today, goals have steered away from the old sense of community onto a much more individualistic point of view. Generally speaking, there are very few people who continue to consistently act in a way which focuses on the betterment of his or her community as opposed to those people who lead their lives more self-interested or to try to rise above the rest. Community is defined as, “a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.” (dictionary.com) According to this definition, couldn’t a family be defined as a small community? Much like the larger-scale sense of community, the average American family has drastically changed over the years as well.
Chris Ware makes this point a consistent theme in his book, “Jimmy Corrigan.” The book’s plot is largely consisted of a few generations of “Jimmy Corrigan’s” relationship with his mother/father. Throughout the first thirty or so, the eldest Jimmy’s mother consistently calls him over the telephone. This can be taken as proof that Jimmy and his mother probably live far away, considering that she has to call all the time instead of visiting him. In America today, you often see families being spread out throughout the country. For example, I have family in Virginia, California, and Florida. In the past, families used to stay close to each other and grow up together. You would often see grandparents living in the same house as their children; or several generations of a family showing up to Sunday mass together. Now, individuals within the family spread out and pursue their own goals, whether it’s to seek out riches or live in their dream home. This has taken away from people the core values that growing up as a family offers. Especially now, with divorce rates well above 50%, you often see children growing up several hours, or even plane flights away from one of their parents. The family community is steadily dwindling down to the point where your family is just there for Christmas dinner, and maybe sends you a check on your birthday.
One of the interesting points about the general changes in the concept of “family” is that the United States is much more guilty of it than most other countries. Both of my parents are immigrants from Chile so it’s not too rare for me to take a trip down to see the roughly 75% of my family that remains within ten miles of each other. Much unlike the families in the United States, families in other countries tend to remain much closer (physically) to each other, and tend to get together much more than they do here. It took twenty years in the United States for my parents to finally realize that my immediate family was steadily becoming more and more distant from my overseas relatives, so earlier this summer, they decided to move the entire family back to Chile. Now, instead of receiving phone calls from my grandparents a couple times a week, they get together for dinner several times a week and get to enjoy the pleasure of having the rest of the family nearby. Being the oldest child in my family and a college-bound student, unfortunately I don’t get to experience the joy of having my extended family around all the time like my younger sisters do. But then again, this also makes me a victim of the same tendencies that I’m criticizing in this paper.
In a nutshell, there’s a lot of valuable experience being lost due to the separation of families, and even if your mother calls as much as Jimmy Corrigan’s does, that doesn’t provide you with the family interactions that are extremely valuable in growing up as a child. I’m not saying that you should throw all your possessions into a box and fly overseas to get back together, but definitely cherish the moments you have as a family.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Sean Osterman
Dr.Johns
10/22/08
When I think of a comic strip, I usually imagine some sort of super hero defeating the villan after a series of tedious, yet entertaining battles. Chris Ware, author of Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth, uses a unique method through comics to get his main idea across to the reader. Ware doesn’t use any sort of superhero. In fact he uses a socially awkard character named Jimmy Corrigan. Jimmy is depressed due to many reasons, mostly due to never having a father figure in his life. Without the use of comics, Ware would not have been able to show the reader how poor Jimmy’s life is.
Throughout the course of the story, there is a constant theme of dark, ugly colors that give the book a depressed feel. By using pictures, the reader can constantly see how depressed Jimmy is and how depressing the environment is. It would be difficult and almost impossible to have this effect on the reader through text. The author would have to constantly remind the reader of setting and the color(s) involved in the setting. Not only would this be tedious, it would also be extremly annoying for the reader.
Ware incorporates dreams, flashbacks and thoughts in the story as if these events were actually happening. At times I would become confused and wonder if that actually happened. For example, towards the beginning of the story Jimmy meets his father. When he meets his father, Jimmy has a thought of killing his father with a glass cup. Jimmy didn’t actually kill his father; he had an extremly violent vision. Ware does this to show the reader how mentally sick Jimmy is. Without the use of pictures, the reader would be perplexed thinking that Jimmy actually killed his dad. Ware uses a change in background color to show the viewer that it is a possible dream. The scene changes from the airport bar to a room with a bed and a window with green background. This was a big hint that Jimmy was thinking this instead of it actually happening.
For most of us, when we were young our parents took us to theme parks and fairs. Towards the end portion of the story, Ware is showing us events that occur in Jimmy’s grandfather’s life. Jimmy’s grandfather, James, is taken to the Worlds Columbian Exposition by his neglecting father. This is a very surprising move because his father hates James and would never take him anywhere especially. James is almost in a dream like daze throughout this whole scene. Ware constantly shows James in a night gown because he feels that this is actually is a dream. At the end of the scene James finally realizes why his father actually let him tag along. His father abandoned him at the Worlds Columbian Exposition. Without uses pictures, the reader cannot realize how awful James’ father is. Pictures were the best way to give the reader an idea of James’ father. This also leads to the reader making connections of why Jimmy is depressed today.
Ware does a very good job of giving the background to why Jimmys is so depressed and how his condition isnt completely his fault. Without the illustration, Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth would have been boring and very difficult to follow.
Dr.Johns
10/22/08
When I think of a comic strip, I usually imagine some sort of super hero defeating the villan after a series of tedious, yet entertaining battles. Chris Ware, author of Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth, uses a unique method through comics to get his main idea across to the reader. Ware doesn’t use any sort of superhero. In fact he uses a socially awkard character named Jimmy Corrigan. Jimmy is depressed due to many reasons, mostly due to never having a father figure in his life. Without the use of comics, Ware would not have been able to show the reader how poor Jimmy’s life is.
Throughout the course of the story, there is a constant theme of dark, ugly colors that give the book a depressed feel. By using pictures, the reader can constantly see how depressed Jimmy is and how depressing the environment is. It would be difficult and almost impossible to have this effect on the reader through text. The author would have to constantly remind the reader of setting and the color(s) involved in the setting. Not only would this be tedious, it would also be extremly annoying for the reader.
Ware incorporates dreams, flashbacks and thoughts in the story as if these events were actually happening. At times I would become confused and wonder if that actually happened. For example, towards the beginning of the story Jimmy meets his father. When he meets his father, Jimmy has a thought of killing his father with a glass cup. Jimmy didn’t actually kill his father; he had an extremly violent vision. Ware does this to show the reader how mentally sick Jimmy is. Without the use of pictures, the reader would be perplexed thinking that Jimmy actually killed his dad. Ware uses a change in background color to show the viewer that it is a possible dream. The scene changes from the airport bar to a room with a bed and a window with green background. This was a big hint that Jimmy was thinking this instead of it actually happening.
For most of us, when we were young our parents took us to theme parks and fairs. Towards the end portion of the story, Ware is showing us events that occur in Jimmy’s grandfather’s life. Jimmy’s grandfather, James, is taken to the Worlds Columbian Exposition by his neglecting father. This is a very surprising move because his father hates James and would never take him anywhere especially. James is almost in a dream like daze throughout this whole scene. Ware constantly shows James in a night gown because he feels that this is actually is a dream. At the end of the scene James finally realizes why his father actually let him tag along. His father abandoned him at the Worlds Columbian Exposition. Without uses pictures, the reader cannot realize how awful James’ father is. Pictures were the best way to give the reader an idea of James’ father. This also leads to the reader making connections of why Jimmy is depressed today.
Ware does a very good job of giving the background to why Jimmys is so depressed and how his condition isnt completely his fault. Without the illustration, Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth would have been boring and very difficult to follow.
Are You Saying I'm More Pathetic Than Jimmy Corrigan?
Although I have read more depressing comics in my lifetime than Jimmy Corrigan, none had the length and quality of craftsmanship that Chris Ware puts into his work. Why read and create such comics? Is it really to make one sad, is Chris Ware trying to make depressed nerds kill themselves? At the end of the book, Jimmy’s Dad is dead. At the end of the story, all we see is a grey building, lifeless, useful only for the soul destroying cubicle dweller and those who wish to be turned into sidewalk pancakes. Jimmy never has a real relationship with his father, and he never will. Why make this comic? Jimmy is Charlie Brown, he exists as an example to us all in a book that is not as depressing as it first seems, but is in fact an inspiration. Few people see themselves as pathetic as Jimmy does, and even Jimmy never gives up.
First I would direct your attention to the back cover, to the Corrigenda. “Metaphor- noun - A tightly fitting suit of metal, generally tin, which entirely encloses the wearer, both impeding free movement and preventing emotional expression and/or social contact.” This means that Ware wants us to think of Jimmy Corrigan as the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz.
Check out page 21 where we first see Jimmy in his tin man suit. At the top of the page, we see the two women in his life, his mother and Peggy (from work), written as if from work is her last name… Jimmy doesn’t even know her well enough to call her by her real name. He calls her up to tell her he is going away for awhile, but we find that he has another purpose for this phone call. At the top right of the page we have a series of frames. In the first there is only the can of soup, next we see the can with one bowl. Finally, when Jimmy is awkwardly ending his call we see two bowls and two spoons- Jimmy was looking for company, He was trying to invite Peggy over, but is unable. He hangs up, and puts the second bowl back into the cupboard, and then starts hallucinating into his Tin Man suit. He believes he has been rejected, when in fact he never even gives it a good shot… which is in fact even worse that being turned down.
So Jimmy retreats into his Tin Man suit, and immediately thinks about his father. He is not prepared to meet his father, not prepared to open up and accept this stranger. In fact, he imagines his father pant less- he thinks his father is comprising himself. Jimmy is embarrassed for his father, as if his father is opening himself up to a stranger.
It isn’t that jimmy doesn’t want to have friends. He tries to get with Peggy all through the book- he even buys her a heart keychain and drops it off at the closed mailroom. We see pointless actions, but he is trying as hard as he can.
On the inside rear dust cover, Giant Jimmy Head is thinking about his normal day. He wakes up alone, eats alone, rides the train alone, works alone, eats lunch alone, rides home alone, eats dinner alone, returns to his apartment alone. What is Jimmy thinking when he finishes his day of loneliness? He sits by the phone, waiting on a telephone call. Jimmy might be useless, but he does not lose hope in his last connection to the outside world.
Even if Jimmy’s life is sad, I still take heart in his story. I keep in mind this pathetic kid who had nothing, but still has never given up. If Jimmy can keep his spirits up despite his overwhelmingly depressing life, what is to stop me? Surely I am not as pathetic as Jimmy- If he can survive, then we all can keep our life going, with the hope that one day we will be part of the great exposition.
First I would direct your attention to the back cover, to the Corrigenda. “Metaphor- noun - A tightly fitting suit of metal, generally tin, which entirely encloses the wearer, both impeding free movement and preventing emotional expression and/or social contact.” This means that Ware wants us to think of Jimmy Corrigan as the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz.
Check out page 21 where we first see Jimmy in his tin man suit. At the top of the page, we see the two women in his life, his mother and Peggy (from work), written as if from work is her last name… Jimmy doesn’t even know her well enough to call her by her real name. He calls her up to tell her he is going away for awhile, but we find that he has another purpose for this phone call. At the top right of the page we have a series of frames. In the first there is only the can of soup, next we see the can with one bowl. Finally, when Jimmy is awkwardly ending his call we see two bowls and two spoons- Jimmy was looking for company, He was trying to invite Peggy over, but is unable. He hangs up, and puts the second bowl back into the cupboard, and then starts hallucinating into his Tin Man suit. He believes he has been rejected, when in fact he never even gives it a good shot… which is in fact even worse that being turned down.
So Jimmy retreats into his Tin Man suit, and immediately thinks about his father. He is not prepared to meet his father, not prepared to open up and accept this stranger. In fact, he imagines his father pant less- he thinks his father is comprising himself. Jimmy is embarrassed for his father, as if his father is opening himself up to a stranger.
It isn’t that jimmy doesn’t want to have friends. He tries to get with Peggy all through the book- he even buys her a heart keychain and drops it off at the closed mailroom. We see pointless actions, but he is trying as hard as he can.
On the inside rear dust cover, Giant Jimmy Head is thinking about his normal day. He wakes up alone, eats alone, rides the train alone, works alone, eats lunch alone, rides home alone, eats dinner alone, returns to his apartment alone. What is Jimmy thinking when he finishes his day of loneliness? He sits by the phone, waiting on a telephone call. Jimmy might be useless, but he does not lose hope in his last connection to the outside world.
Even if Jimmy’s life is sad, I still take heart in his story. I keep in mind this pathetic kid who had nothing, but still has never given up. If Jimmy can keep his spirits up despite his overwhelmingly depressing life, what is to stop me? Surely I am not as pathetic as Jimmy- If he can survive, then we all can keep our life going, with the hope that one day we will be part of the great exposition.
Meaningless Progression
Kate Sisk
Pictures on postcards are usually beautiful, happy pictures of places. The postcards on page 168 in “Jimmy Corrigan” are not quite the same. The descriptions on their backs are sarcastically positive and Chris Ware is poking fun at American society. Through these postcards, Ware questions whether progress was worth it if these postcards are what it has led to, just many sad little towns just like Waukosha. Each postcard’s title is grandiose and filled with similar language because that is how people envision America. But is our progression really any good?
The main thing that stands out when you look at these postcards is their ugliness. “The broad sweep of power lines, the delicate articulation of poles, signs, and warning lights, and the deep forest of advertisements all conspire to occasion countless views of complicated beauty, conceiving wonder in the curious onlooker at man’s great achievement, however ductile” (Ware 168). This is what has become of the land in America. Ware sarcastically calls this scene “complicated beauty,” and uses the word forest when talking about the advertisements. Really, there are no forests in any of these postcards. One postcard’s title is Murmuring Pines, but the forest that once was there is now a shopping facility. People look at what the country has accomplished as achievements, but Ware illustrates that these are not achievements; they are just the results of meaningless progression.
Ware also states the land pictured in the postcard titled Vista has “rich heritage” (168). What he really means by this is that the land can now never have any sort of heritage or personal meaning to it and the only history being left behind is the trash people throw out their window. All the land is is asphalt, power lines, and a gas station. It is not possible for anyone to find any personal meaning in any of these settings. Another postcard this comes up in is Sun’s Farwell Kiss. It pictures a restaurant, like any other restaurant. The darkened “space between the ceiling tiles and the concrete above… which no one ever thinks or cares about” is like the restaurant and the whole town itself. The restaurant is so impersonal it is just a space. People stick their gum under the table because no one cares about it. There is litter all over Waukosha because it feels so impersonal that people just don’t care about it. America has become many little towns just like Waukosha and now people cannot find any personal attachment to this land of asphalt, power lines and chain stores.
The postcard called Silhouette of History is describing the historical events of the start of the town and the importance of the “Treaty Rock,” but all we see is a Dairy Queen. The town is named Waukosha after the Indians who once inhabited the area. The rock is from when the townspeople subdued the Indians who “came from nowhere” with “no regard to society” who were “unruly invaders.” Basically, the town’s history is based on a lie made up to make the townspeople feel better about cruelly taking over land that rightfully belonged to the Indians. It is a false history, but no one seems to care about history anymore anyway, considering the “Treaty Rock” is not even in the picture. Then there is the question: was it worth taking over the land from the Indians? In this picture, we see nothing useful or profound has been done with the land that was taken from the Indians. The Indians were slaughtered and had their land stolen, forests were cut down, and for what? Ware suggests this was all for commerce. In the postcard called City of Perpetual Moonlight, the artificial light can extend the hours of when commerce can take place. Was it worth all the trouble if all that we end up with is a Dairy Queen that no one really even cares about?
Ware is illustrating in these postcards that our country has been mindlessly progressing and therefore, actually declining because of it. Other authors also argue this as well, such as Bill McKibben in “Enough.” We are going too far in technological advances and McKibben is afraid life will start to lose its meaning. Ware shows that this is already happening. Serene Panorama shows that life now is becoming more and more meaningless. It talks about how “intoxicated teenagers have fallen to their deaths” from the water tower. The idea of drunken teenagers recklessly and accidentally killing themselves strongly shows how much more meaningless life has become. The water tower itself represents progress, but what do people do with it? They are not grateful; they cover it with graffiti and litter all around it. Therefore, the progression we value so highly has not brought about anything necessary or much good. We are just pushing blindly forward, but we need to think that maybe another McDonalds isn’t a good idea.
Dana Payne
Seminar in Composition
Dr. Adam Johns
10/21/08
Chris Ware’s graphic novel “Jimmy Corrigan” is not only the story of a sad, lonely, pathetic man, but the story of how people like him are reared. It is a story of how the failings of people carry on through time via their offspring--one of how incomplete parenting can lead to incomplete people. In this story, it is made very clear that the shortcomings of one’s parents during childhood are irreparable in adulthood. Jimmy is made to suffer, unknowingly or not, his entire life because of the absence of the important idol in a young boy’s life: his father. Though his mother is no better because she treated her young son as more of a burden than a blessing. The effects of poor or absent parents in childhood inevitably carry on to the future and cannot be rectified.
Through the very first pages of the graphic novel, we get a glimpse of an interaction between Jimmy and his mother, which is remarkably one-sided. It consists mostly of Jimmy’s mother berating him and nagging him constantly while the boy had barely said or done anything worthy of punishment. She is cold to him, and even though it is in print, one can almost hear the harshness in her voice. As a child, it means the world to impress their parents or to make them happy in anyway they could just so they could feel the joy of their parents’ approval. Or at least this was the case for me. Parents like Jimmy’s mother do not consider their words or the manner in which they are speaking to their children. Jimmy’s mother did not nurture him in anyway as a mother should. She subdued him in order to make him less of a hindrance for her. This carries on into adulthood with Jimmy, making him a submissive, spineless man. Then we see when Jimmy is an adult, his mother is constantly calling him to the point of being just plain annoying. As evidenced in about pages fifteen through twenty, though Jimmy had insisted that she not call him at work, she does anyway. I consider this consistent contact that his mother has with him an attempt at repentance for her lack of motherly love during his childhood: the motherly love that would have aided him in developing into a socially adept adult. The reader can easily see that Jimmy’s choice of clothes have not changed since he was a child. Also after analyzing his physical mannerisms closely, the reader can see that he has the habit of holding his hands close to his mouth when he is worried or uncomfortable (which admittedly is most of the time). These small nuances in the graphic novel are all proof that Jimmy has never really developed out of childhood mentally.
Even if his mother had been the greatest nurturer on the planet, I do not believe it would have been enough to help develop Jimmy into a complete person mentally and socially. Were he a female rather than a male, it would have been, but the fact is a boy needs a father around to emulate. Young boys learn a great deal of knowledge from their fathers. They find coinciding interests, learn to bond with others, and how to be an independent and socially acceptable person. One of the most important things that young boys learn from their fathers is how to treat women. Because of the absence of Jimmy’s father he never acquires this knowledge, and the only female he knows how to treat is his mother. This leads to an evident case of the Oedipus complex: a desire that boys sometimes have to kill their father and mate with their mother. Jimmy portrays this aggression most evidently on the page in which he brutally attack his father who had just finished having intercourse with who was assumed to be Jimmy’s mother. He uses a broken glass to slice open his father’s back. It’s so brutal that I cannot even look at the image without cringing and looking away. When Jimmy has a fantasy while eating with his father in the diner, it is of he and an unknown female in bed together. In this fantasy his is verbally cruel to the woman and leaves her. This is a portrayal of how he has come to think of woman as fleeting forms of entertainment and pleasurable, even worse they are disposable. In his fantasies, he puts himself in the position of power with him denying the woman, while it is reversed in real life. This fantasy is a glimpse of how he sees women--a view that would be completely different had he had a decent father figure. As previously stated, Jimmy is very much a push over in every aspect. Had his father been around and had he been a good father, Jimmy would have learned strength of will and character from him, but now it is too late. Jimmy has already become the person he will be for the rest of his life by the time he is contacted by his father.
Both Jimmy’s father and mother are at fault. His mother made him into a simpering, spineless being that truly never developed into an adult. His father’s absence left him to grow without social skills, confidence as a man, and the knowledge of how to associate with and treat women as more than fleeting fancies. Both of his parents try to fix their mistakes when Jimmy is an adult. Also, both of their attempts are worthless because the damage is already done.
Colin Conner
Dr. Adam Johns
Seminar in Composition
22 October 2008
Alienation Investigation
Everything we value as humans revolves around building relationships between ourselves and other humans. When we feel isolated, it can be in the physical sense, by being on our own in a remote cabin in the woods. Or, we can be isolated in the metaphysical sense, on our own in the wilderness of our thoughts and ideas. In both situations, it is easy to completely lose that connection to our fellow human beings and become alienated from society. Alienation is a theme that runs through all of the texts we have read in this course, from Hawthorne's “House of the Seven Gables” to McKibben's “Enough” to Ware's “Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth.” The protagonist Jimmy Corrigan is alienated from society as a result of his estrangement from his parents during childhood.
Throughout Jimmy’s life, his mother has been neglectful and often absent. We see her call him all the time, but it seems to just be to nag Jimmy because she is lonely and needs someone to talk to. His mother’s careless nature is summarized in one particular sequence of drawings; her failure to have ever cooked a Thanksgiving dinner, the most American symbol of family togetherness. Pages 113-114 show Jimmy’s father mentioning turkey dinners, and Jimmy imagines a real turkey until his mind changes it to his reality, a bland plate of restaurant food. We then see a flashback of Jimmy in a car late at night, when he is awakened by his mother who tells him that they will be eating Thanksgiving dinner at the Chuck Wag’n restaurant. When I see this sequence of frames, I can’t even imagine having Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant without my extended family. Thanksgiving is special as it allows for bonding with family, and engaging in those intimate conversations and situations that make us feel our humanity. Jimmy’s lack of experience in basic human interactions makes it hard for him to understand when people care about him, or to allow him to share his true feelings.
Jimmy was bound to be alienated from birth because his father walked out on him and his mother. This drastically changed how Jimmy would turn out as an individual. Having a fatherless childhood hindered Jimmy not only mentally, but socially as well. Usually a father is the one who introduces a child to sports and gets them involved with teams. This is always a good way to meet and interact with your peers at a young age. I know most of the kids who I am best friends with I played sports with as a child. Having friends is not only important as a child, but also as you grow up. If Jimmy had friends that he could talk to and go out with, maybe he could find himself a girl so his life could amount to something.
Another thing that a father can teach to a son is how to approach and talk to a girl. In Jimmy’s case he is barely able to muster the courage to approach a girl unless he has to. Also having a real conversation with a girl is like climbing the tallest mountain for him. Around page 109-110 we see Jimmy’s father bring up the idea of a girl friend and Jimmy get really embarrassed. We also see Jimmy get insulted by the mailroom girl, Peggy, and he apologizes to her. If he knew how to talk with girls, he may have been able to have normal relationship and even a normal life. And not only are his father’s mistakes impeding Jimmy’s progress, but also the progress of the Corrigan name. On about page 87 we see the Corrigan family tree, which has been hacked to pieces because of all the mistakes and alienation of the past Corrigan family. Jimmy’s head is seen as a leaf just barely hanging on. Since Jimmy cannot have a relationship with a girl, he will be the end of the Corrigan line and will end their pitiful ancestry.
A person’s childhood is like the roots and trunk of their entire life. For many people it is seen as a very important and also one of the most memorable times of their life. In psychology, many people believe that depending on what happens in a person’s childhood will determine who you will become as an adult. In the early years the physical, cognitive, and socioemotional processes develop and are a basis for the adult processes. Because of his family’s alienation of him, some of Jimmy’s processes, such as the socioemotional ones, were under developed. He was at a disadvantage for having a fulfilling life because of his parent’s neglect. The importance of family is summarized with this quote from Winston Churchill, “There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues, the most dominating virtues of human society, are created, strengthened and maintained.”
Growth, A Descending Spiral
Andre Cedeno
Dr. Adam Johns
Seminar in Composition
October 21, 2008
The circular part of the spiral comes from the fact that the whole Corrigan family seems to relive much of the same dismal history and share many of the same traits. All of the Corrigan males have few accomplishments in their lives and have made many mistakes. These mistakes range from abandoning their children to not taking advantage of opportunities that arose in their life. James William Corrigan even says, “What… you thought you were the only mistake I ever made?” (118) Each generation also has unsuccessful relationships with women whether it is being a womanizer or being completely unable to talk to them as in the case of Jimmy. Another similarity they have involving women is the lack of significant others. William Corrigan’s wife died in childbirth, James Corrigan’s wife died in a car crash and James William Corrigan’s second wife died from a smoking related illness. The biggest similarity in the Corrigan family is their resemblance to one another. This is similar to the resemblance that is shared between many of the members of the Pyncheon family in “House of the Seven Gables”. The similar looking characters in both stories tended to act the same way as the ancestors they were a replica of.
While the development of the Corrigan’s seems to be repeating much of itself it also is moving in a somewhat linear pattern as each generation progressively gets worse. The level of success is one of the things that diminishes with each generation. William Corrigan was involved in building important things such as buildings at the Exposition in Chicago, James Corrigan was in the military but ended up as a lonely old man, James William Corrigan was also in the military but ended up serving drinks at an airport, and Jimmy simply works in an office were he receives little respect and has thoughts of suicide. The linear de-evolution is represented in the comic with a picture of the Corrigan family tree (91). As the tree goes out from the limb it gets thinner but also fails to branch out in more than one direction. The tree grows to become more pathetic instead of prospering and becoming lush.
While there are some similarities in the direction of mankind in “Jimmy Corrigan” and those of “Enough”, “Challenging Nature” and “The House of the Seven Gables”, Chris Ware’s comic does not have the same type of growth as the other works. In “Enough” Bill McKibben discusses mankind moving in a cyclic motion with humanity repeating the same things that drove us in our earlier days, such as competition and the will to succeed. Ware depicts many of the same things in his comic such as mediocrity but the Corrigan’s also seem to change some with each generation. Lee Silver’s work also has similarities too that of Ware. Silver talks of the linear progression of mankind where people keep improving upon things and change. In “Jimmy Corrigan” there is some movement in a linear direction where changes our made with each new generation but, this is decay and not growth. Each generation has new problems instead of solutions to old ones. “The House of Seven Gables” also is similar to the work of Ware. Early into the story Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts life as moving both in a cyclic motion and as a linear progression. In the end a combination of the two is formed to create an ascending spiral where people use the past to progress. This is similar to the movement of progression in “Jimmy Corrigan”, where both a cyclic and linear form of growth our combined to create a spiral in which the family is trapped. However, this spiral is descending where each generation shares the failures of the past generation and also gets worse.
The Corrigan’s are trapped within this vicious spiral. Most of their lives are filled with the same failures and mistakes and the majority of change that occurs in the book seems to be in a negative direction. This is another view on growth different from those of Hawthorne, Silver and McKibben. In “Jimmy Corrigan” Chris Ware presents the future of human nature being de-evolution.
Dr. Adam Johns
Seminar in Composition
October 21, 2008
Growth, A Descending Spiral
In books such as “Enough” by Bill McKibben, “Challenging Nature” by Lee Silver and “The House of Seven Gables” by Nathaniel Hawthorne the growth of humanity is discussed. Whether it was humanity going in a cycle as discussed in “Enough”, moving in a straight line in “Challenging Nature” or a combination of the two in “The House of the Seven Gables” there was some form of growth. The book “Jimmy Corrigan: the Smartest Kid on Earth” by Chris Ware breaks from this pattern. In the story there seems to be de-evolution of humans. While the family of the protagonist seems to repeat much of their history in the form of a cycle they also seem to be getting worse and moving backward. This whole de-evolution of mankind in “Jimmy Corrigan” can be described as a descending spiral.The circular part of the spiral comes from the fact that the whole Corrigan family seems to relive much of the same dismal history and share many of the same traits. All of the Corrigan males have few accomplishments in their lives and have made many mistakes. These mistakes range from abandoning their children to not taking advantage of opportunities that arose in their life. James William Corrigan even says, “What… you thought you were the only mistake I ever made?” (118) Each generation also has unsuccessful relationships with women whether it is being a womanizer or being completely unable to talk to them as in the case of Jimmy. Another similarity they have involving women is the lack of significant others. William Corrigan’s wife died in childbirth, James Corrigan’s wife died in a car crash and James William Corrigan’s second wife died from a smoking related illness. The biggest similarity in the Corrigan family is their resemblance to one another. This is similar to the resemblance that is shared between many of the members of the Pyncheon family in “House of the Seven Gables”. The similar looking characters in both stories tended to act the same way as the ancestors they were a replica of.
While the development of the Corrigan’s seems to be repeating much of itself it also is moving in a somewhat linear pattern as each generation progressively gets worse. The level of success is one of the things that diminishes with each generation. William Corrigan was involved in building important things such as buildings at the Exposition in Chicago, James Corrigan was in the military but ended up as a lonely old man, James William Corrigan was also in the military but ended up serving drinks at an airport, and Jimmy simply works in an office were he receives little respect and has thoughts of suicide. The linear de-evolution is represented in the comic with a picture of the Corrigan family tree (91). As the tree goes out from the limb it gets thinner but also fails to branch out in more than one direction. The tree grows to become more pathetic instead of prospering and becoming lush.
While there are some similarities in the direction of mankind in “Jimmy Corrigan” and those of “Enough”, “Challenging Nature” and “The House of the Seven Gables”, Chris Ware’s comic does not have the same type of growth as the other works. In “Enough” Bill McKibben discusses mankind moving in a cyclic motion with humanity repeating the same things that drove us in our earlier days, such as competition and the will to succeed. Ware depicts many of the same things in his comic such as mediocrity but the Corrigan’s also seem to change some with each generation. Lee Silver’s work also has similarities too that of Ware. Silver talks of the linear progression of mankind where people keep improving upon things and change. In “Jimmy Corrigan” there is some movement in a linear direction where changes our made with each new generation but, this is decay and not growth. Each generation has new problems instead of solutions to old ones. “The House of Seven Gables” also is similar to the work of Ware. Early into the story Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts life as moving both in a cyclic motion and as a linear progression. In the end a combination of the two is formed to create an ascending spiral where people use the past to progress. This is similar to the movement of progression in “Jimmy Corrigan”, where both a cyclic and linear form of growth our combined to create a spiral in which the family is trapped. However, this spiral is descending where each generation shares the failures of the past generation and also gets worse.
The Corrigan’s are trapped within this vicious spiral. Most of their lives are filled with the same failures and mistakes and the majority of change that occurs in the book seems to be in a negative direction. This is another view on growth different from those of Hawthorne, Silver and McKibben. In “Jimmy Corrigan” Chris Ware presents the future of human nature being de-evolution.
Father Can You Hear Me?
Giovanni Serrapere
Dr. Adam Johns
ENGCMP 0200- Seminar in Composition
21 October 2008
Father Can You Hear Me?
Today I read an article in the Wall Street Journal that said my generation; the Millennial Generation has a sense of “entitlement”. “The millennials were lavishly praised and often received trophies when they excelled, and sometimes when they didn’t, to avoid damaging their self-esteem.”(D4 Alsop) This is a far cry from the type of parenting that Jimmy’s grandfather received while growing up. As a child Jimmy’s grandfather was put under a lot of emotional stress because of his authoritarian father. Jimmy Corrigan shows us that we should be mindful of the way we communicate with our children because Jimmy’s Grandfather’s turmoil as a child, his loneliness, and Jimmy’s reliance on his mother.
Jimmy’s great-grandfather was a mean son of a bitch, he was so critical that when little James didn’t answer a history question right, he was sent to bed hungry. “Th-three hunthousand and s-seventy h-hundred…hundd. (Swallow) Three thousand seven hundred and forty four men were killed at the battle of Shiloh. May! You may clear Master James’ dishes—and he will not be joining me for dessert this evening.” What message does this send to Jimmy? It tells to not open his mouth unless in appeasement because he might be yelled at for not saying the right thing. Not only this, but James held in him a great resentment and hatred of his father. He fantasized about murdering him for not answering a question right. Being this critical will not be conducive to a healthy parent-child relationship. I also believe parents should actually pay attention to what little kids are saying; they should take the time to engage them. It is not good when a parent brushes off a child’s feelings as foolish, thinking you have better things to do. If it is indeed foolish then explain to them why. Jimmy cries out for help by crying at the dinner table because the bullies he is going to face. His father’s reaction is “James I don’t know what you’re doing but stop it right now... we’re eating a meal.” Although we can look back at all the trivial things we worried about as children, when we were kids to us those things were monumentally important. Jimmy is so worried about getting beat by bullies that he believes they are going to kill him. So he prepares for his death, and embraces it. The fact that this child has no one to turn to is a major reason for this.
Imagine being in Jimmy’s shoes, you have alienated all of your friends and your father hates you. You probably fell like the loneliest person in the world; in fact you are so lonely that you have to escape to your fantasy world. If Jimmy’s father conversed with Jimmy then this wouldn’t have happened to him. Children will have a different relationship with the authority figures in their lives if they are taught not to speak to adults and to stay quiet. In the book Jimmy was surprised to meet an adult who was warm to him. “Especially this boy’s father, who seemed as kindly thoughtful and gentle, In short unlike any grown-up I’d ever met before.” He was happy while he was at the Italian boy’s house because he didn’t have to be afraid of speaking. “The bemused face I was used to hiding behind every day of my life melted away.” This shows the contrast in parenting styles and their effects on children. Of course we cannot lay the blame of Jimmy’s loneliness solely on his father’s shoulders but on his absent mother’s as well. Having only one mother or only one father is hard on a kid, and it can cause some problems like we see in Jimmy.
Jimmy was raised by his mother, who was flawed at best. We see an example of this when he goes to a car show as a child, and Jimmy’s hero Superman is there. His hero ends up taking his mother out, and then screwing her. His mother is more interested in meeting guys than Jimmy’s well being; Jimmy ends up being left alone. She is selfish and only thinks about herself, she always asks him to call at a certain time, and when he doesn’t she raises hell. She was probably overprotective of him as a child and now it shows to have stifled his growth. She was frustrated because she couldn’t find a husband, so she took out her frustrations out on him, and made him into a meek shy individual. But alas, Jimmy still loves his mom unconditionally, because she is everything to him. In fact he can’t function without her, we see an example when he is in the diner and he sneaks off to go call her. He is even too afraid to tell her where he really is.
Fodder to the fact that respect and honesty are key with parents and their children are Jimmy’s Grandfather’s troubled childhood, his alienation, and Jimmy’s dysfunctional relationship with his mother. If you treat your children as equals and not as subordinates then a lot of the bullshit of childhood can be taken away. Listen to what they have to say, that way they will reciprocate. Instead of saying “Do as I say, not as I do” lead by example. Don’t just tell a child to do something tell him why so he can understand things better. We’ve seen in the book what pains children go through because of bad parenting.
Dr. Adam Johns
ENGCMP 0200- Seminar in Composition
21 October 2008
Father Can You Hear Me?
Today I read an article in the Wall Street Journal that said my generation; the Millennial Generation has a sense of “entitlement”. “The millennials were lavishly praised and often received trophies when they excelled, and sometimes when they didn’t, to avoid damaging their self-esteem.”(D4 Alsop) This is a far cry from the type of parenting that Jimmy’s grandfather received while growing up. As a child Jimmy’s grandfather was put under a lot of emotional stress because of his authoritarian father. Jimmy Corrigan shows us that we should be mindful of the way we communicate with our children because Jimmy’s Grandfather’s turmoil as a child, his loneliness, and Jimmy’s reliance on his mother.
Jimmy’s great-grandfather was a mean son of a bitch, he was so critical that when little James didn’t answer a history question right, he was sent to bed hungry. “Th-three hunthousand and s-seventy h-hundred…hundd. (Swallow) Three thousand seven hundred and forty four men were killed at the battle of Shiloh. May! You may clear Master James’ dishes—and he will not be joining me for dessert this evening.” What message does this send to Jimmy? It tells to not open his mouth unless in appeasement because he might be yelled at for not saying the right thing. Not only this, but James held in him a great resentment and hatred of his father. He fantasized about murdering him for not answering a question right. Being this critical will not be conducive to a healthy parent-child relationship. I also believe parents should actually pay attention to what little kids are saying; they should take the time to engage them. It is not good when a parent brushes off a child’s feelings as foolish, thinking you have better things to do. If it is indeed foolish then explain to them why. Jimmy cries out for help by crying at the dinner table because the bullies he is going to face. His father’s reaction is “James I don’t know what you’re doing but stop it right now... we’re eating a meal.” Although we can look back at all the trivial things we worried about as children, when we were kids to us those things were monumentally important. Jimmy is so worried about getting beat by bullies that he believes they are going to kill him. So he prepares for his death, and embraces it. The fact that this child has no one to turn to is a major reason for this.
Imagine being in Jimmy’s shoes, you have alienated all of your friends and your father hates you. You probably fell like the loneliest person in the world; in fact you are so lonely that you have to escape to your fantasy world. If Jimmy’s father conversed with Jimmy then this wouldn’t have happened to him. Children will have a different relationship with the authority figures in their lives if they are taught not to speak to adults and to stay quiet. In the book Jimmy was surprised to meet an adult who was warm to him. “Especially this boy’s father, who seemed as kindly thoughtful and gentle, In short unlike any grown-up I’d ever met before.” He was happy while he was at the Italian boy’s house because he didn’t have to be afraid of speaking. “The bemused face I was used to hiding behind every day of my life melted away.” This shows the contrast in parenting styles and their effects on children. Of course we cannot lay the blame of Jimmy’s loneliness solely on his father’s shoulders but on his absent mother’s as well. Having only one mother or only one father is hard on a kid, and it can cause some problems like we see in Jimmy.
Jimmy was raised by his mother, who was flawed at best. We see an example of this when he goes to a car show as a child, and Jimmy’s hero Superman is there. His hero ends up taking his mother out, and then screwing her. His mother is more interested in meeting guys than Jimmy’s well being; Jimmy ends up being left alone. She is selfish and only thinks about herself, she always asks him to call at a certain time, and when he doesn’t she raises hell. She was probably overprotective of him as a child and now it shows to have stifled his growth. She was frustrated because she couldn’t find a husband, so she took out her frustrations out on him, and made him into a meek shy individual. But alas, Jimmy still loves his mom unconditionally, because she is everything to him. In fact he can’t function without her, we see an example when he is in the diner and he sneaks off to go call her. He is even too afraid to tell her where he really is.
Fodder to the fact that respect and honesty are key with parents and their children are Jimmy’s Grandfather’s troubled childhood, his alienation, and Jimmy’s dysfunctional relationship with his mother. If you treat your children as equals and not as subordinates then a lot of the bullshit of childhood can be taken away. Listen to what they have to say, that way they will reciprocate. Instead of saying “Do as I say, not as I do” lead by example. Don’t just tell a child to do something tell him why so he can understand things better. We’ve seen in the book what pains children go through because of bad parenting.
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