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.