Wednesday, October 29, 2008

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.

 

3 comments:

Sean Osterman said...

sorry for this being so late. I talked to Jim and he said it is fine if i posted it later. Anyways, Jim First and foremost i found that your thesis is a little confusing. I had to read and reread it to understand it. I would go about your thesis as relating it to human nature in some sort of sense.
I find as i kept reading i found the essay very confusing. I believe that this relates back to your thesis. You have some good ideas, but i think that your thesis needs to be redone to agree more with your paper.
Your closing paragraph is not bad. I felt that it was a good way to close out the paper.
Most of all i think that your thesis needs to be redone or reworded. I felt that the rest of the paper was confusing due to the fact that your thesis is confusing.

jim abbott said...

Jim Abbott
Seminar in Composition
Dr. Adam Johns
10/28/08

Go Home or Stay

Human beings are a rare and powerful species. Earth has housed humans for their entire existence, and in doing so, has allowed Humans to become the most dominant species on the planet. Human beings have become accustomed to reigning supreme on Earth, and living among their fellow humans. Without contact with other humans, humans forget how to live, and regress to a lower species. By staying on the ship, and living among the Oankali, humans are no longer the dominant species. In order to remain human, Lilith and her fellow people must return to Earth, to rebuild the Earth and humanity.
The ship that Lilith awoke on has made numerous 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 the 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. This contradicts with her original statement, “I don’t have a disease! Forgetting things is normal for most humans! I don’t need anything down to my brain!” (Butler 74). 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 to participate, 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 work cooperatively to make their new civilization successful. If they succeeded, these people would save humanity, by restoring people to their natural habitat of Earth.
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 the traits that made her human. The differences between her and the Oankali would continue to decrease, and she would become more like Paul Titus than human. The fate of humanity depends on whether she can learn enough from the Oankali, while remaining human.

jim abbott said...

Jim Abbott
Seminar in Composition
Dr. Adam Johns
10/28/08

Go Home or Stay

Human beings are a rare and powerful species. Earth has housed humans for their entire existence, and in doing so, has allowed Humans to become the most dominant species on the planet. Human beings have become accustomed to reigning supreme on Earth, and living among their fellow humans. Without contact with other humans, humans forget how to live, and regress to a lower species. By staying on the ship, and living among the Oankali, humans are no longer the dominant species. In order to remain human, Lilith and her fellow people must return to Earth, to rebuild the Earth and humanity.

The ship that Lilith awoke on has made numerous 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 the 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. This contradicts with her original statement, “I don’t have a disease! Forgetting things is normal for most humans! I don’t need anything down to my brain!” (Butler 74). 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 to participate, 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 work cooperatively to make their new civilization successful. If they succeeded, these people would save humanity, by restoring people to their natural habitat of Earth.

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 the traits that made her human. The differences between her and the Oankali would continue to decrease, and she would become more like Paul Titus than human. The fate of humanity depends on whether she can learn enough from the Oankali, while remaining human.