Evan Kelly
Dr. Adam Johns
Seminar in Comp
3/22/09
The Power of One
The classic alien created by producers in Hollywood is a grotesque and evil creature sent to destroy or take over Earth. Octavia Butler’s portrayal of aliens in Lilith’s Brood is an astonishingly different view on what life beyond Earth could be like. In fact, the aliens (Oankali) are so anti-violence, that they will imprison anybody that is violent, for the rest of their lives. The Oankali take pleasure almost solely in the reproduction and breeding of children. Akin, the son of Lilith and the late Joseph is the first boy born to a human woman after the war. He is clearly not human, but I believe that this is a good thing. In a world so utterly destroyed by humans, it is clear that a change was necessary.
Akin is the product of the changes that the humans required. He is neither human nor Oankali, but a hybrid. His twisting, gray tongue and sensory spots are evidence that he is not fully human, but he possesses all of the human organs and even though his memory is perfect, it is human. It is just genetically altered; the way that we could soon become in real life. Early in the book Nikanj says, that when it enhances a human’s body, nothing is added. The chemical make-up is just altered and used to it’s full potential.
Akin is a blessing to the world. He is normal enough to continue being called a human. One could argue that since he does have Oankali qualities, that he is a different species, but I think of Akin as the next pillar of human evolution. Humans were no longer able to survive on Earth once the war came. Akin is the result of human evolution. Just as humans today are believed to evolve from apes and chimpanzees, Akin evolved from us. He is better adapted to survive on Earth than any pre-war humans. Not only can he sense potential danger in plants and people, but also he is appalled by war and death. When Tilden died from his ulcer, Akin could not comprehend why he wouldn’t accept healing from an Oankali. He also did not understand how humans could kill each other. This thought process was implanted in him from birth and it comes from the need to leave war and destruction behind, just as the Oankali do.
A lust for wealth and power is consistent in almost all pre-war humans. They demonstrate this by continuing to kill, rape, and steal even after their world had been destroyed by the war. It is part of human nature to always want more, and the humans would inevitably destroy themselves again if the Oankali did not cross breed. The result, Akin, though not completely human is an improvement. The question of morals is a different topic completely, and many humans would be strongly opposed to what the Oankali do with genetics, but then again, after the world destroyed itself once, genetic alterations may have been the only viable option to save humanity.
Akin’s value to people is astounding. Lilith, the Oankali, the raiders, and even the resistance villagers value him. One can only wonder how a child can be so valuable to such different groups of beings. Lilith values Akin because he is her child, and the Oankali love him because he is one of their own as well. He is also the first boy that they mixed that thrived on Earth. The raiders value Akin for completely different reasons. He can be traded for a woman and many trade goods that will make them rich. At one point they even wonder is they should trade him because he is almost priceless. The villagers yearn to have a male child of their own, because they could not produce any after the war. Their future depends on Akin. Though Akin is not the same as Lilith, Nikanj, Iriarte, or Tate, they all admire him and see themselves and their loved ones in him. Akin is a combination of all beings. He can communicate with people, Oankali, and his environment. In turn, he is loved by all of them.
Though I do not believe that the human race will wipe itself out, at least for a very long time, I do believe that Akin represents at least a base for what humans should try to become. Even though he is not human, he is peaceful, intelligent, loving, and truthful. These are all admirable traits that would make Earth a much safer place. Change is frightening to many humans and is one of the reasons that so many resisted the Oankali, but once people learned to adapt, they tended to be much more peaceful and cohesive in the village of Lo than they had been previously. Lilith’s Brood clearly relates to the reader that money can’t buy happiness, but love and unity can. Akin is the symbol of that love, with a few useful physical enhancements as well.
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3 comments:
Evan,
This was very well-written, had a strong argument, and just numerous references to the text that worked so very well. Your argument was VERY consistent throughout. You addressed the counterargument and very effectively explained why your argument was credible. I had never even thought about Akin (in particular) as the direction towards which human nature should turn until reading this. This paper is my favorite of yours, which is going to make it difficult to critique. Here goes:
First of all, just be sure to pay attention to minor details, such as the pronouns you use when describing characters. A few times, you referred to Akin as “it,” when Akin is actually a “he.” Also, although you describe why you believe Akin is a representation of what humans should try to become, I would like to know how the Oankali fit into the grand scheme of things in your mind. In other words, why aren’t they the model for the future of humanity? They possess the same (and even more) qualities and capabilities that Akin possesses. An additional counterargument could be that if human nature is so bad, that the model for the future of human nature should be something totally unhuman (Oankali), not something half-human and half-nonhuman (Akin).
Another small detail: in the first paragraph, you say that Akin is “clearly not human,” but in the third you say that he is “normal enough to be considered human.” It sounds somewhat contradictory, so consider restating one of those two statements.
I think the paragraph on Akin’s value to everyone around him was genius. This is really all I have for you.
Evan Kelly
Dr. Adam Johns
Seminar in Comp
3/22/09
The Power of One
The classic alien created by producers in Hollywood is a grotesque and evil creature sent to destroy or take over Earth. Octavia Butler’s portrayal of aliens in Lilith’s Brood is an astonishingly different view on what life beyond Earth could be like. In fact, the aliens (Oankali) are so anti-violence, that they will imprison anybody that is violent, for the rest of their lives. The Oankali take pleasure almost solely in the reproduction and breeding of children. Akin, the son of Lilith and the late Joseph is the first boy born to a human woman after the war. He is clearly not human, but I believe that this is a good thing. In a world so utterly destroyed by humans, it is clear that a change was necessary.
Akin is the product of the changes that the humans required. He is neither human nor Oankali, but a hybrid. His twisting, gray tongue and sensory spots are evidence that he is not fully human, but he possesses all of the human organs and even though his memory is perfect, he is human. He is just genetically altered; the way that we could soon become in real life. Early in the book Nikanj says, that when it enhances a human’s body, nothing is added. The chemical make-up is just altered and used to it’s full potential.
Akin is a blessing to the world. Even though his genetic make-up is not human, he is normal enough to continue being called human even by resisters. One could argue that since he does have Oankali qualities, that he is a different species, but I think of Akin as the next pillar of human evolution. Humans were no longer able to survive on Earth once the war came. Akin is the result of human evolution. Just as humans today are believed to evolve from apes and chimpanzees, Akin evolved from us. He is better adapted to survive on Earth than any pre-war humans. Not only can he sense potential danger in plants and people, but also he is appalled by war and death. When Tilden died from his ulcer, Akin could not comprehend why he wouldn’t accept healing from an Oankali. He also did not understand how humans could kill each other. This thought process was implanted in him from birth and it comes from the need to leave war and destruction behind, just as the Oankali do.
It may seem that all of Akin’s better qualities are products of the Oankali; so one could wonder why an original Oankali isn’t the ideal model for the future of humanity. There are many benefits of being Oankali, but to become them would literally be stripping people of their humanity. Akin has the best of both worlds, in that he is more adapted to survival like the Oankali, but also because he has morals and feelings for those that suffer, such as the resisters.
A lust for wealth and power is consistent in almost all pre-war humans. They demonstrate this by continuing to kill, rape, and steal even after their world had been destroyed by the war. It is part of human nature to always want more, and the humans would inevitably destroy themselves again if the Oankali did not cross breed. The result, Akin, though not completely human is an improvement. The question of morals is a different topic completely, and many humans would be strongly opposed to what the Oankali do with genetics, but then again, after the world destroyed itself once, genetic alterations may have been the only viable option to save humanity.
Akin’s value to people is astounding. Lilith, the Oankali, the raiders, and even the resistance villagers value him. One can only wonder how a child can be so valuable to such different groups of beings. Lilith values Akin because he is her child, and the Oankali love him because he is one of their own as well. He is also the first boy that they mixed that thrived on Earth. The raiders value Akin for completely different reasons. He can be traded for a woman and many trade goods that will make them rich. At one point they even wonder is they should trade him because he is almost priceless. The villagers yearn to have a male child of their own, because they could not produce any after the war. Their future depends on Akin. Though Akin is not the same as Lilith, Nikanj, Iriarte, or Tate, they all admire him and see themselves and their loved ones in him. Akin is a combination of all beings. He can communicate with people, Oankali, and his environment. In turn, he is loved by all of them.
Though I do not believe that the human race will wipe itself out, at least for a very long time, I do believe that Akin represents at least a base for what humans should try to become. Even though he is not human, he is peaceful, intelligent, loving, and truthful. These are all admirable traits that would make Earth a much safer place. Change is frightening to many humans and is one of the reasons that so many resisted the Oankali, but once people learned to adapt, they tended to be much more peaceful and cohesive in the village of Lo than they had been previously. Lilith’s Brood clearly relates to the reader that money can’t buy happiness, but love and unity can. Akin is the symbol of that love, with a few useful physical enhancements as well.
Anthony - this is a good response, especially the second paragraph, which was quite interesting in its own right.
Evan - I liked your introduction, but I would have liked - even in the thesis - for you to move beyond the novel. If Akin is a desirable model for within the world of the novel, what is he in relationship with *our* world?
The answer to this question becomes clear toward the end of your paper, of course, where you list the various ways in which Akin could prove to be a desirable model for us. I suppose I'm zeroing in on this moment in the paper because, as Anthony points out, you have quite a few solid details and a good focus throughout: the main point where you waver is on the question of whether Akin is desirable or good within the book or within the world at large as well, while also addressing the problem of his humanity.
For what it's worth, I found your actual discussion of his humanity/inhumanity a mixed bag: a clearer initial understanding of how you define humanity would have helped in this area. Your thoughts on the subject are all good and pertinent, but your understanding of what humanity *is* is entirely implicit, which is problematic in a borderline case such as this.
Good paper, but clear definitions and a little more clarity on *your* evaluation of Akin (which only becomes clear toward the end) would have improved it.
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