.jpg)
Lilith - 1892 by John Collier
Lilith, the storm god, is known as the bearer of illness and death. One of a few biblical themes the book plays on.
Your goal for this comment is to articulate the most profound theme you found in the book and consider your favorite section or instance in the book. Cite examples, describe characters and situations, and provide a quote or two to back up your claims.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTo me the most profound theme in the book is experimentation. I focused on captivity in my presentation but after further analysis of the book, I think that Experimentation is the biggest theme. In the book, there is a lot of talk about changing things genetically. On page 53, Paul says “ We altered them genetically- changed some of their requirements, enabled them to respond to certain chemical stimuli from us.” Here he is referring to the plants that the Oankali had genetically altered. Also, later in the book it becomes a little bit obvious that the motive of the oankali may not have been to bring the human race back, but rather to breed with the humans to create a new race. If this is the case then I think experimentation could possibly be the main theme of the book altogether. LIlith realizes that she is pregnant and knows it is not a human baby! This illustrates that experimentation of breeding is a hugh point to the book!
ReplyDeleteA theme that I found profound in Dawn was the theme of manipulation. In my opinion the oolio took every advantage they could to literally strip the humans of their basic beliefs and ethics. As I read the text I became disgusted with the teachings and alterations made on the human captives.
ReplyDeleteSo in a sense the reoccurring theme of alteration was another profound theme in the novel. "Our children will be better than either of us," it continued. "We will moderate your hierarchical problems and you will lessen our physical limitations. Our children won't destroy themselves in a war, and if they need to re-grow a limb or to change themselves in some other way they'll be able to do it. And there will be other benefits" (Butler 247). Nikanj says this to Lilith after it tells her she is pregnant. He is not only manipulating her to agree that she is ready to have a child but it is also pressing that they are generating a new and better species. I was personally disgusted with this predicament, not only with the thought of what the child would look like, but that they are also beginning to put an end to humankind.
Throughout the Book, Dawn, there were several interesting themes, sections, and instances. My favorite section was the very beginning when Lilith was Awakened. She was scared and had many questions, just like how anyone would be in her situation. My favorite (and what I found most profound) theme throughout the book was experimentation. The Oankali ran many tests on the humans. They altered their genes, and even made a few of them have traits similar to their own. That was what I thought to be the most profound theme in the book.
ReplyDeleteThe most profound theme i drew from this book was human nature. Human nature has always fascinated me and i think it was especially well demonstrated towards the end of the book when the humans are left up to their own devices and revert to savagery. "there was nothing in her world but a dead Joseph and an obscenely alive Curt" (243). This shows what can happen when basic laws break down in a society, and there is no one to stop it.
ReplyDeleteI think the Lilith reference is not entirely fair, but perhaps that is the point that Butler was trying to make; characters in the book essentially put blame on her for something she is not entirely responsible for. While Lilith has to Awaken and educate humans for integration with the Oankali and future life as they know it, she really has no choice in the matter if she wants to stay Awake and perhaps "learn and run."
ReplyDeleteLilith is not soley responsible for the nuclear war, the Oankali's plan of genetic integration, and certainly not the mistrust and distopia of the Nursery and thereafter. Lilith may be the bearer of the first Oankali/human child, and therefore the bearer of disease, but how much of it was malice or even her own arrogance? Not much.
This shows that Lilith doesn't quite fit the biblical reference, and I believe Butler made it an unfair representation on purpose. In this way, the book perpetuates a theme that we can get carried away on how we assign blame to one another and scapegoat others when we face situations that we don't like.
One theme I picked up on in the end was overcoming challenges or obstacles. Lillith from the beginning had to overcome challenges, intervening with the Oankali, doing what they asked, etc. Once the humans are put into the “training room” they basically have to start from scratch. They were only given tools and a few other things and had to go from there. They are only given necessities and basically have to survive because the Oankali are just observing them now and not really intervening. This was like a test for them, especially Lillith. Lillith references a tribe ritual, “Boys of a certain age who had been taught how to live in the environment were sent out to prove what they had learned” (211). This reminded me of the movie 300, they sent the Spartan boys into the wilderness at age eight or ten; their challenge was to remain alive so they could become “men”. It was like her challenge to watch over these people and to help them survive. Overcoming obstacles it is theme that seems to be reoccurring, especially for Lillith.
ReplyDeleteThrough out the novel the book presents different concepts, ideas, and themes; the one that I thought to be most prominent was the functions of human nature. From the very beginning, after Lilith was Awakened and was introduced to her first Oankali she was frightened. Humans have always feared the unknown. Some fear results in hatred while other fear results in exploration.In Lilith's case she chose the path of exploration, but they may or may not have to do with the fact that she had little choice. Another example of exploring the unknown would be the function of the Oankali, even though they are not human nor would one typically represent human nature by means of an aliens actions. Regardless, the Oankali decided to explore the human race because it was an unknown to them. Another overwhelming show of human nature was the drive for sex shown through a handful of different characters (again including the extra terrestrials). As a result of not being intimate in a long time, the men become starved for sex and it often time resulted in violence. The two most potent examples happened to be from three male characters; Paul Titus, Peter, and Curt. Paul Titus goes as far as to beat Lilith when she doesn't immediately consent to having relations with him. Peter and Curt stole away Allison with intent to rape her because Curt decided, "Nobody has the right to hold out, it just causes trouble," (177). In a way this also brings up a third and final example of human nature, when a human doesn't get what they want right away- they try to find a way to do just that. Whether it be embodied in Lilith attempting to compromise with the Oankali in order to go home, or Curt and Peter trying to rape a woman in order to get what they want, humans know what they want, and will do what they will to get it.
ReplyDeleteThe most profound theme that i found in this book would probably be dependency. We can see this in a few crucial ways. First we can see how the humans depended upon the Oankali not only to save them, but to keep them alive, and to save the whole human race. We can see how the Oankali kept them alive with the example of Lilith having her cancer "cut out". "When it had finished, it induced your body to reabsorb the cancer" (Butler 21) We can also see that the Oankali depended upon the humans so that they could have a successful trade, and keep prospering as a race as well. We can also see how the humans depended upon each other, in a sense. During much of the beginning of the book we hear Lilith talk about how much she wants human interaction and how the solitude drives a person insane. These all send a pretty profound message of dependency.
ReplyDeleteI think that a major theme not brought up in the presentations as aggression. When everyone in was in the training room, it was almost as if instincts drove this separation between the humans. What does this say about humans in general? Are we a race that is dominated by instincts that cause us to fall apart?
ReplyDeleteI feel, also, that Peter represents the dominant male that challenges any control one may have over them. I begin to wonder if we all have a feral instinct to aggression
I think that a major theme of this novel has to do with the power of denial in the process of manipulation. The story is pivotal around Liliuth's actions; the Oolio depend on her as well as the humans. In the beginning of the section of the book called "nursery", the confused humans are awakened to a new world. They are placed in the room, and told (by Liluth) to listen to what she says, because she is their leader. By listening to Liluth, however, they are actually listening to the Oankali; she is just a "tool for control" packaged in a way that the humans will not fear. The connection between the humans and their captor's is mostly dependent on Liluth's beliefs about the Oankali, and the situation around her.
ReplyDeleteLiluth is completely convinced that everything the Oolio has told her is true. When she is in the nursery, she unstoppably preaches about how they all have to stick together to get back to earth. The more that she tries to convince them of this, the more of herself that is invested in the truth of the statement. It seems that when the Oolio date rape the humans, she begins to doubt the Oankali deep down inside, but is in denial.
"She sandwiched Nikanj's body between her own and Joseph's, placing it for the first time in the ooloi position between two humans. For an instant, this frightened her. This was the way she might someday be made pregnant with an other-than-human child. Not now while Nikanj wants other work from her, but someday." (161) The way that she refuses to belief Nikanj is deceiting her shows she is in denial of being used.
The Oankali used Liluth because they knew she would focus on getting the humans together and may look past some of the sketchiness of the situation.
A theme I noticed to be quite profound in Dawn was relationships and trust. Throughout the book, the fate of Lilith and the rest of the humans basically depended on the relationships they built with each other and trusting one another. Lilith says, "They won't trust me or my help. They'll probably kill me" (110). This quote explains Lilith's fear of her position as leader. Knowing how humans act, Lilith is afraid that it will be hard to build trusting relationships with the humans she awakens. This proved to be true. The humans she awakened quickly formed their own opinions and grouped themselves with people who thought similarly about their position as captives.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite section of the book was Lilith's thought process while she tried to choose whom she would awaken. I liked how she weighed out all the pros and cons of every person, hoping that the dossiers she was given were indeed accurate.
Relationships:
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of Dawn, there were no human-to-human relationships at all. There was only Lilith and the Oankali. Once Lilith awakened humans to help them learn about the Oankali so the humans can all go back to earth, new relationships were formed between them and they started to take sides on whether or not they believed Lilith. There were a few intimate relationships between some of the humans as well. The main relationship in the book was with Lilith and Joseph, who ended up being killed in the end of the book. I always thought that their relationship was kind of awkward, especially when they would mate with Nikanj. Which bring me to that relationship of Nikanj, Lilith, and Joseph. Lilith found out that she was pregnant with Joseph’s child after he died. She became pregnant through mating with Joseph with Nikanj. Lilith was very upset and said she wasn’t ready to be a mother. She felt like Nikanj betrayed her and she could no longer trust it anymore because she was like an experiment to it.
In conclusion of the book, everyone ends up going back to Earth except for Lilith and Kurt. Kurt does not go back because he killed Joseph because Joseph was trying to protect Lilith from getting killed by him. Lilith will end up going back once she gives birth to her baby girl.
The most profound theme depicted in the novel, would have to be human nature. This theme has been seen from the first chapter. Lilith is forced into a situation that most people have nightmares about, captivity. Thus, her captivity caused much disorientation and confusion seen throughout. The instance where this theme is most prevalent would be in the final chapters, The Training Room. All of the humans are given the opportunity to have freedom among them to prepare for Earth. Instinct took over and Curt demands control of the situation by force and literally knocking Lilith out completely in order to be in total control. Power is a goal found in human nature that most people strive for in life. However, the feeling that something unknown is trying to take this power from the humans, made them try to win it back through whatever deemed necessary. This is a quote from Gabe about the humans feelings toward Lilith, “We’re nervous. We don’t know what’s going to happen. We’re scared. You shouldn’t have to take the brunt end of our feelings, but…but you’re the different one. No body knows how different” (Butler 228). As seen, the humans did what was necessary to break free of their boundaries, in order to seek their desired power even if that meant killing aliens or each other, which is a direct correlation with human nature.
ReplyDeleteThe most profound theme to me was captivity. The whole story is about Lilith trying to just figure out whats going on and how things work. It's a nightmare for all humans. We aren't used to being the ones in the cage. We think that the world revolves around us and we have the right to manipulate anyone/thing that is under us. When we are put in the position of being the "rat", we hate it and don't find it fair. Lilith is angry and doesn't understand how another kind (Oankali) can just come and take over. Lilith feels like se is being watched and played with like she is some kind of toy. She states, “Don’t let them play you like a puppet” (Dawn 91). She is used to humans being the most powerful. If we went through what Lilith went through we may all be more thankful for who we are. Maybe we wont abuse the power that we have. This should be a wake up call to humans who think the world revolves around them.
ReplyDeleteCaptivity. Captivity is the most evident theme that is displayed in the book. This idea is depicted time and time again. First and for most the book starts off with Lilith being alone, captivity, and over all unsure of her surroundings. Later in the book, Butler shows that Lilith's liberty was not only withheld physically but also on a mental level. This idea is evident when Lilith is in pursuit of human contact, and continues to depart on journeys in sight of finding someone one to communicate with. When she finds that the one in which she has been looking for is dead she is emotionally crushed. After this time she says “I am more discourage than I thought possible” (P. 65). I believe this is a sign of mental captivity. Later in the book she is in much distress when she has trouble teaching her fellow humans about the Oankali. She feels isolated by this and yet again is captivity by this thought of failure. This mental aspect drives her to be alone.
ReplyDeleteThe most profound theme that I found in the book is the theme of isolation and being captive. I think that this theme has a major part in the book and is reoccurring all throughout the book. For example, Lilith is captive from the rest of the world and doesn’t know what to do with her self. She begins to wonder what is happening and going on with her. “She did not know what they would do to her. She was terrified that she would be hurt, punished” (Butler 6). I think that being isolated and being alone definitely starts playing with your mind and you began to trust no one but yourself so it would only be human nature to be scared of others around yourself. I know if I was isolated and by myself, I wouldn’t want to trust anyone because you don’t know what he or she will do. My favorite situation in the book is when Lilith actually gets the courage to trust someone like Nankji because that shows that she still does have a little bit of feeling not so isolated. This situation gives her some reasoning and begins to answer some of the questions that she has regarding what is going on with her.
ReplyDelete