Melanie Siokalo
Big green body, multiple eyes and arms, raspy voice are all characteristics of an alien created by Hollywood and more so our imaginations. But in the book Liliths Brood, by Ocatavia Butler, the aliens, or the Oankali, are anything but the Hollywood description. Not only do are they able to see everything around them, but they also have to power to mate two human beings without having the humans physically touch each other. Now, say this human becomes pregnant and delivers a child. At first thought the child is human, after a second thought, you reconsider. But was exactly does being human mean?
Physically, the child is not human, but if brought up in the correct way, it can transform to be exactly that. I believe that a human being does not have to be traditionally conceived to be considered a full and correct human being. This theory is not so far fetched. In Lee Silvers book, Challenging Nature, the ideas of cloning, and stem and embryonic cell research, can all back up this theory. Cloning and the idea of cell research, are not traditional in any way. But in this modern day, we consider the outcomes of these experiments to be full humans. Why should Akin, the product of two humans mating through the Oankali, be any different? It is fair to say that Akin is human, just a more enhanced version.
Part of being human, is having human characteristics. These non-physical characteristics are something that can not be passed down genetically, but rather learned throughout time. These characteristics include compassion, weakness, confusion, and hostility. All four of these traits can be seen in Akin, a non-human in the traditional sense. As Ankin feeds on his mothers breast, it feels her pain, a sign of weakness. " But it was the familiar presence that touched him, held him. It stayed with him and helped him endure the rubbing without fear" (Butler 254). He feels compassion and pleasure even while still in the womb. Akin is able to recognize his maternal bond, something only a human is able to do. It can be argued that this maternal bond is a product of the Oankali, but I disagree. This bond is something that only a mother can have with her own child, no matter how it was conceived. I do agree that the bond is something unknown and new, but it is not wrong just enhanced. The feeling is stronger and the bond is tighter. In no way, is it not real.
The Oankali, need not only the physical attributes to survive but also the cultural aspects of a human. For the "trade" to be complete the Oankali strive for how exactly the humans act or interact. Being human does not have to be traditional, but a thing that strives for feeling. Whether a child is conceived in a traditional sense or in a enhanced sense, it does not really matter. As long as it mirrors someone like Akin, it is a human.
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4 comments:
Stephanie,
I need help! I know the paper is short but I guess I just need some help in organizing my thoughts and ideas. Any thoughts?
Melanie,
I really like the way you describe the Hollywood version of an alien at the beginning of your paper, I think it really sets the scene. I can see that your argument is that a human can be a human no matter how it is conceived as long as it has 2 human parents and humaa like characteristics.
I think maybe you could add a little more evidence from Lilith's Brood as well as adding some quotes from Challenging Nature that you're thinking of to back up your point.
I think that your conclusion is lacking a little in restating your main argument and points to back you up. Your final thought is okay, doesn't really leave me wondering though, maybe you could add something that makes people rethink their stance.
I think that the evidence you provide is pretty good. I just think some more quotes would be good from both texts.
Other than that, I think you have a good start. Good luck!
Melanie Siokalo Eng. Comp. Tues
Big green body, multiple eyes and arms, raspy voice are all characteristics of an alien created by Hollywood and more so our imaginations. But in the book Lilith’s Brood, by Octavia Butler, the aliens, or the Oankali, are anything but the Hollywood description. Not only do are they able to see everything around them, but they also have to power to mate two human beings without having the humans physically touch each other. Now, say this human becomes pregnant and delivers a child. At first thought the child is human, after a second thought, you reconsider. But was exactly does being human mean?
Physically, the child is not human, but if brought up in the correct way, it can transform to be exactly that. I believe that a human being does not have to be traditionally conceived to be considered a full and correct human being. This theory is not so farfetched. In Lee Silvers book, Challenging Nature, the ideas of cloning, and stem and embryonic cell research, can all back up this theory. Cloning and the idea of cell research are not traditional in any way. But in this modern day, we consider the outcomes of these experiments to be full humans. Why should Akin, the product of two humans mating through the Oankali, be any different? It is fair to say that Akin is human, just a more enhanced version. In my opinion, to be a human three things must be true: you are alive, you have a conscious, and you can eventually survive on your own. Akin passes this test without a problem. He knows what is wrong and right, he can survive on his own, and thirdly, he is in fact alive. He is able to continue living without his parents.Another example, that may sound strange at first, is the idea of adopting a child. This process can be compared to the idea of Oankali conception. The child you adopt is not your own, nor conceived by you, yet it is still a human. If you adopt a child and raise it as your own, it is not any different from an Oankali, excluding the additional tentacles and what not.
Part of being human, is having human characteristics. These non-physical characteristics are something that cannot be passed down genetically, but rather learned throughout time. These characteristics include compassion, weakness, confusion, and hostility. All four of these traits can be seen in Akin, a non-human in the traditional sense. As Akin feeds on his mother’s breast, it feels her pain, a sign of weakness. “But it was the familiar presence that touched him, held him. It stayed with him and helped him endure the rubbing without fear" (Butler 254). He feels compassion and pleasure even while still in the womb. Akin is able to recognize his maternal bond, something only a human is able to do. It can be argued that this maternal bond is a product of the Oankali, but I disagree. This bond is something that only a mother can have with her own child, no matter how it was conceived. I do agree that the bond is something unknown and new, but it is not wrong just enhanced. The feeling is stronger and the bond is tighter. In no way, is it unreal. Another human characteristic is the ability to adapt and learn, like any human has the power to do. As any child grows, it is taught not to steal, not to cheat and not to use violence. All these things are learned through experiences. In Lilith’s Brood, Akin learns from Tate not to touch the stove at any time. Akin states “All right. I wouldn’t touch anything hot by accident, though. And I’m finally too old to poison, so-“(Butler 390). Akin learned by mistake what it felt like to poison himself. He now knows what not to do in that situation. Akin is not perfect in anyway, otherwise he would have been able to avoid the whole situation in the first hand. Part of being human includes making mistakes, something Akin does on occasion. Akin shows all signs of human characteristics and should be considered nothing but a human.
The Oankali, need not only the physical attributes to survive but also the cultural aspects of a human. For the "trade" to be complete the Oankali strive for how exactly the humans act or interact. Being human does not have to be traditional, but a thing that strives for feeling. Whether a child is conceived in a traditional sense or in an enhanced sense, it does not really matter. As long as it mirrors someone like Akin, it is a human. Part of being a human includes making mistakes, learning new things, and adapting to any environment. Say a product from cloning was able to survive, make mistakes, learn new things and adapt to any environment, wouldn’t you consider it a human?
Stephanie - This was an ok response, but a little short on detail.
Melanie - Stephanie is right that your introductory paragraph sets the scene in a fun way. But especially given that your paper is so short, it doesn't actually *do* that much.
Your definition of humanity is provocative, but you don't bother to defend it from the obvious questions. By your definition, for instance, a bioengineered organism with no human dna and no resemblance to the human form would be human if it could care for itself (which not all biological humans can do!) and could distinguish right from wrong (which I would argue not all mentally ill people, at least, can do!). That isn't to say that your definition is bad - just that it lacks detail.
In the following paragraph, you add some additional, secondary characteristics to your understanding of humanity. That's fine, but not as desirable as explaining those primary characteristics in more detail... To me, that's the subject of a missing paragraph, at least - explaining the relationship between the primary and secondary characteristics.
I thought your idea of a human being as something that "strives for feeling" could beautifully combine all of what I currently see as disconnected ideas - but rather than actually doing so, you stop a page or so short. This paper has a lot of incompletely connected ideas and unrealized potential.
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