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Introduction
Introductory Material: In a literary analysis, we typically provide a brief plot summary and introduce the major characters or concepts the reader would need to understand our paper.
Thesis
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Topic Sentence:
First Piece of Evidence from Book + Citation:
Discussion of How the Evidence Supports Your Thesis:
Second Piece of Evidence from Book + Citation:
Discussion of How the Evidence Supports Your Thesis:
Wrap-Up Sentence:
Body Paragraph 2
Transition & Topic Sentence:
First Piece of Evidence from Book + Citation:
Discussion of How the Evidence Supports Your Thesis:
Second Piece of Evidence from Book + Citation:
Discussion of How the Evidence Supports Your Thesis:
Wrap-Up Sentence:
Body Paragraph 3
Transition & Topic Sentence:
First Piece of Evidence from Book + Citation:
Discussion of How the Evidence Supports Your Thesis:
Second Piece of Evidence from Book + Citation:
Discussion of How the Evidence Supports Your Thesis:
Wrap-Up Sentence:
Body Paragraph 4
Transition & Topic Sentence:
First Piece of Evidence from Book + Citation:
Discussion of How the Evidence Supports Your Thesis:
Second Piece of Evidence from Book + Citation:
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Conclusion
Restate your main points AND “move beyond” your thesis, perhaps by reflecting on how this conversation connects to the concept of agency. In general, you will answer one of the following questions: “Why is this discussion important?” “Why does this discussion matter?” “Who can be impacted by these ideas?”
Works Cited
AuthorLastName, Author First Name. “Title of Chapter.” Title of Book, Name of Publisher,
Publication Year, pp. #-#. (these are the first and last pages of the chapter)
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Dr.
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29 September 2020
From Family to Foes
A human and alien coexistence, along with a system of exchange that benefits both of their kind: this is one way to describe the basic plot of Octavia Butler’s short story, “Bloodchild.” Humans, referred to as Terrans, are tasked with having their men carry and birth Tlic – the aliens’ – babies. In return, the Tlic provide the Terrans with a place to live and eggs that take away pain and provide a more enjoyable life for the humans overall. As the narrative unfolds, however, the complex relationship between the Tlic and Terran leads readers to ask: “Is the Tlic/Terran relationship equally beneficial? Can the oppressed not know they’re being subjugated?” In fact, “Bloodchild’s” main character, Gan, is conflicted as to whether or not this relationship is actually an equal partnership at all. For the duration of the story humans are limited by the Tlic because they are the ruling species. T’Gatoi, a Tlic who acts as family to Gan’s, is portrayed first as loving and caring but upon closer examination is also limiting Gan’s decision-making. The humans have little agency throughout the story, but Gan’s actions at the end suggest that speaking up against the powerful is the first step towards taking back their agency.
The Terrans, or humans, in this story are seen merely as objects to the Tlic species, leading them to have limited personal agency in terms of their bodies and actions. The Tlic act as though they are superior to the humans and control what they are allowed to do because they feel that they know better. At the beginning of the story, T’Gatoi is feeding the children eggs; however, the mother Lien does not want to have one. Lien knows that in reality Tlic are not the kind and caring friends they portray themselves as, she knows what really happens on the outside. However, T’Gatoi thinks that she knows what’s best for Lien and tells her, “tomorrow you’ll resume your suffering-if you must. But for now, lie here and warm me and let me ease your way a little” (Butler 38). This may seem like a kind gesture, yet this is limiting Lien’s agency as she does not wish to consume these eggs as it goes against her morals. If she felt as though she would rather suffer then T’Gatoi should have respected that. T’Gatoi forces this on Lien while also providing her children with them to try to show how much she cares though she knows what is really going on between the two species. She is in a superior and privileged position and she acts accordingly. The Tlic force the humans to consume the eggs and even convince them to have their babies in an attempt to portray the relationship between them as equal, though it is not.
The Tlic not only control the human’s bodies; they also control the actions they are allowed to partake in. While Tlic are large beings with many lethal tentacles and claws, the humans are rendered powerless as “firearms were illegal in the preserve” (Butler 43). The Tlic limited the actions humans could take demonstrated by this ban on firearms. Tlic could easily kill a human with the swipe of an arm or claw, humans were limited with their resources thus causing them to become submissive and inherently weaker. This restricted their agency and humans were forced to follow Tlic orders to survive. Gan reveals that “no one had shot a Tlic in [his] lifetime or [his] mothers, but the law still stood” (Butler 43). Though there seemed not to be casualties in recent times, Tlic felt the need to control Terrans’ use of firearms. This limitation is dangerous as humans were weakened and forced to play into Tlic requests. They used their bodies and if Tlic babies were compromised they had no problems killing the human host, so why were Terran not given the equal chance to jeopardize Tlic lives?
Because the humans were limited in their actions, they were forced to obey Tlic even if they were being impaired in the process. As the story goes on, a human, Lomas, is having trouble birthing Tlic babies. T’Gatoi enlists the help of Gan to help her retrieve them from him. Gan had never actually seen how Tlic babies were retrieved from their human hosts. The way it was described and taught was that it was a safe experience and humans remained unharmed. However, Gan describes the birth in a different way. He confessed, “I felt as though I were helping her torture him, helping her consume him” (Butler 45). Terrans sometimes had to put aside morals in order to be of assistance to the Tlic, even if going against their own people. Tlic, however, help save each other’s children as T’Gatoi did with Lomas while completely disregarding his feelings and pain in an attempt to save the babies. The unequal relationship seemed to be blind to Gan; however, it was very much present despite his naive attitude. After he witnesses this gruesome scene, he is shocked and seems more receptive to the allegations that others made which accused the Tlic of being controlling of humans. T’Gatoi did not humanely remove these baby Tlic from Lomas. Gan describes that “She cut his throat. One swipe of one claw. I saw the grubs eat their way out, then borough in again, still eating” (Butler 48). The Tlic try to say it is an equal balance: humans have Tlic babies while Tlic provide these “magic eggs” to humans. It’s not as simple as that. Tlic have no problem with sacrificing a Terran for their own. This is an abuse of power and an abomination to the deal that was cut between the two species. If humans were to do the same, it would throw the whole system off and potentially start a big conflict.
T’Gatoi liked to describe Gan and his family as her own and even acted as their grandmother, but in reality, it was just another ploy to control them. She tried to portray herself as very caring towards them and their needs, sometimes while disrespecting Lien’s authority. This caused Lien to confront T’Gatoi and tell her “he still mine, you know” and remind her that “nothing can buy him from me” (Butler 38). The Tlic seem to think that they own the humans they embraced as their “family.” Lien is not blind to the unequal power distribution in the relationship between the humans and Tlic. She reminds T’Gatoi that she is not Gan’s mother and never will be. T’Gatoi put on a facade that she has the kids’ best interest and is a part of their family. Lien of course knows that this is not true. T’Gatoi is first things first a Tlic while they are humans; this is a big deal though she acts as though it is normal. She will never have the relationship with Gan that his mother has, no matter how nice she is or how naive he is.
At the end of the story Gan speaks out against T’Gatoi despite highly respecting her in an effort to gain back some of his agency. This was a huge turning point in the story as Gan followed T’Gatoi’s orders and valued her throughout the beginning of the story. He even turned a blind eye to the accusations against her and the rest of the Tlic species. He seemed naive throughout most of the story, however he had been soaking up all the information and finally saw the truth in the end. By the end of the story Gan had become just as manipulative as her. He notes, “I had planted the thought in her mind. Chances were it would grow, and eventually she would experiment” (Butler 54). Gan decides to act as T’Gatoi and manipulate her for a change. He saw her as a respected figure, and a grandmother. After seeing the injustices against humans, he decides to test this. He saw her as family while she pretended to do the same, but after seeing that she will always put her own kind first this causes him to think if she ever actually cared for them or if it was just a mind game in an effort to control them. He also tells her, “I don’t want to be a host animal…not even yours” (Butler 51). Gan throughout the story is very naive and submissive towards T’Gatoi and respects her. At the beginning he may have reacted differently but after seeing the truth he has opened his eyes and actually speaks up for himself rather than blindly following whatever order she gives him. Not only is he speaking up for himself, but for the rest of the humans, and more importantly he speaks against T’Gatoi and the Tlic species. He not only sees the truth about Tlic but also his beloved T’Gatoi. He finally realized that she was devious and “She knew how to manipulate people. Terran and Tlic.” (Butler 51). Gan was finally able to see that T’Gatoi is manipulative; he saw a glimpse at the beginning when his mother wouldn’t take an egg or when his brother spoke of witnessing the terrible actions Tlic had committed against humans. These things mixed with witnessing T’Gatoi ripping open Lomas led to this moment. Gan had enough and finally spoke up. This is major as he is part of the oppressed group and is trying to win back some of his agency for both himself and the rest of the humans. At the end when he orders T’Gatoi to implant him, this is purely his choice and one of the first times we see a Tlic obey a human’s orders.
Throughout the story humans and Tlic have a symbiotic relationship which sometimes can seem unbalanced, or parasitic. Humans are used as hosts for the Tlic babies while in return they are given a pain-relieving injection. In the story humans have little agency and the main character Gan is finally fed up at the end and speaks up against his oppressor taking the first step towards increasing their personal agency. This story raises the question of agency and how groups who have had their personal agency limited by a group they trust and respect try to regain some of their personal choice back.
Works Cited
Butler, Octavia. “Bloodchild.” Asimov Science Fiction Magazine, 1984, pp. 36-54.
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