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Citation Practice

Octavia Butler was shy as a child.

Research Assignment 1

Born on the 22 of June in 1947, Octavia E. Butler was a writer who grew up around the times of segregation. She liked to write stories especially science fiction and wanted to become a writer. Although around that time, people like her, being African American, weren't believed to become writers. But that didn't stop her, even with the slight bit of dyslexia that she had that made her insecure, she kept writing. She worked with others in her field, wrote more stories and won awards for her great novels. But the stress of writing soon weighed on her when starting another novel, The Parable of the Trickster didn't go so well. Later on she wrote another novel called, Fledgling, which was her last, but it had been easy and an enjoyable novel for her to write. Even after struggling with the side affects of her high blood pressure medication, she kept writing and taught at a writers workshop. On the 24 February, 2006, Octavia soon passed away at the age of fifty-eight, outside from her house in Lake Forest Park, WA from variable possible causes. Some saying it being a head injury, a stroke or maybe even both.

Journal Entries

8/21: Today I learned how to set up a Wikipedia account. I learned how to write on this site and how to include my references, basically how to work on this site. Like how to write things and edit.

10/5: Today I learned how to correctly paraphrase and summarize parts of an article.

10/26: Today we continued to summarize articles on Octavia Butler's Patternist Saga, especially on Wild Seed.

11/2: Today we discussed the main points in four of the article about themes in Octavia Butlers book Wild Seed and in her Patternist Saga.

11/16: Today we got into groups to work on paraphrasing/quoting/summarizing sources on topics in Wild Seed. We also went over our proposals in beginning our papers on certain topic(s) we chose in Wild Seed.

11/23: Today we got into groups again to revise our article sections of the sources on topics in Wild Seed.

11/30: Today we did the same thing we did last week, including evidence from the book to support the topic we wrote on. After, we focused on revising our first drafts of our paper.

Chapter Summaries

Wild Seed Chapter 7-10: After fifty years, Door comes back to his town, wanting to see Anyanwu and her daughter Nweke. After meeting with Nweke, she started to go into her transition. While her daughter was in transition, Doro sends Anyanwu to breed with an ill man, name Thomas. This was to punish her for holding a grudge against him but to also make more wild seed. After talking with Thomas and getting to know him better, it didn't bother Anyanwu anymore to breed with him. Although Doro put them together, it angered him that this didn't effect her so he kills Thomas and takes over his body. Soon after barring Doro's old body, under his orders, Anyanwu goes to comfort her daughter in her transition. While Issac and Doro talk about what will become of Nweke and her powers, the much use of Anyanwu is to Doro and how foolish it would be to kill her.They hear the cries of Nweke in her transition stop and instead hear Anyanwu scream. To their shock they had seen that Nweke has lost control of her mind and powers and has hurt her mother, destroying her body from the inside. To stop her they slap her awake, this scares her making her trip on Issac who in pain, pushed her off of him, with the force of his powers. Sending Nweke up to the ceiling, hitting her head, killing her instantly. Anyanwu then, tired to tend to Issac's wound but it was not enough, he died soon after, but left Anyanwu with a favor. Even after all Doro has put her through, Issac wanted her and Doro to have peace between them. But Anyanwu wanted to be alone, she wanted to be able to grieve the lost of her loved ones. She wanted to be free to transform and start a new life, but to also be free of Doro's orders.

Wild Seed Chapter 11- Epilogue: After the war of 1812, Doros settlement had become a mess, some people were taken by war or fled to Canada. But he managed to make little settlements across the country to repair the damage. Still looking for Anyanwu, he tracks her down to a big house and what looks to be appear to be her own settlement. But to Anyanwu these were people who needed her and people she cared for. Doro is angered by this and gives Anyanwu and ultimatum, for her to either give over her settlement to him or her life, she chose the first option. But all goes wrong when Doro brings over a young man name Joseph, who used his mind to control on Helen and her brother Stephen into committing suicide, fortunately Helen was saved early enough. Joseph was killed by Anyanwu once she found that this was his doing.

Doro later comes back again with two young boys, aware about the news. He askes Anyanwus daughter Margret, who he had paired Joseph with, about the situation. He had asked her what had happened and she admitted that he went into transition, which was pretty late for someone his age. This late transition caused him to become dangerous, with his new powers he had killed Anyanwus son. All started to weigh on Anyanwu, wither he loosing her two children, her friend and with Doro killing his own people, she became tired and had thoughts of suicide. Doro was deperate to save Anyanwu, he couldn't live without her. So to keep her alive he made a promise with her that he would stop killing his people, that he would leave her settlement alone and let her live and let her people live free and at peace. To Anyanwu, this was enough for her to stay.

Research Assignment 3

(In Class Summaries)

Govan, S. Y. “Connections, Links, and Extended Networks: Patterns in Octavia Butler’s Science Fiction,” pages 82-84:

     The first part of his journal is on power struggle which is shown through the four to five books in the "Patternist Saga" by Octavia Butler. These power struggles are of a super race/mutant/Panasonic. The creation of the super race is controlled by Doro with Anyanwu as his wild seed. Doro's agenda on breeding is that they taste good when he kills them but that also he is looking for an immortal companion, which he tries to find with Anyanwu. Anyanwu is a nurturing healer, Doro needs her genes to create his colony. At the end of the story what changes this struggle is love. 
    The second part is about how Octavia Butler is writing a new type of science fiction. She uses a black protagonist. She also covers topics like the Middle Passage, Slavery in America and West African History culture in her book. The idea of kinship, replicated in relationships of mutants. Butler creates her own myth, a new genesis like Adam and Eve (Doro and Anyanwu), superhumans versus regular humans both also with erasing racism.  

Govan, S. Y. “Homage to Tradition: Octavia Butler Renovates the Historical Novel,” pages 79-88; 94-95:

    In this journal Govan explains how Octavia Butler is playing homage to the tradition in this historical novel. Reshaping slave/historical narrative by linking fantasy/science fiction into it, specifically related to the African American experience. Using Africa as a cultural background plus cultural kinship network. And Anyanwu's "maternal" side as a cultural legacy.   

Salvaggio, R. “Octavia Butler and the Science-Fiction Heroine,” pages 78; 80-81:

    In this journal Salvaggio argues that science fiction has predominantly been white male based, with sexism and racism. But that Octavia Butler has turn the tables with sci-fy with her strong black female protagonist character, Anyanwu. Anyanwu's world is male dominated and her goal is freedom. But since that isn't possible she is forced to compromise and negotiate with Doro in order to live a peaceful life. This also has a feminist point of view with how the females have to fight within the power structure to change it. The females are survivors because the save themselves by compromising.

Research Assignment 4

(In class summaries) Holden, R.J. “‘I began writing about power because I had so little’: The Impact of Octavia Butler’s Early Work on feminist Science Fiction as a Whole (and on One Feminist Science Fiction Scholar in Particular).”:

    In this article, R.J Holden explains how she sees Anyanwu as an earth mother. That her point of view is the only way to a healthy life is to take care of people but for Doro, his is to breed for himself. Holden fells that butlers character opposes the vision of a hero gives a new narrative on how to be liberation, she feels Butler has changed the way sci-fy is written with the way shes written her characters.

Research Assignment 5

Schapper, A. “Eugenics, Genetic Determinism and the Desire for Racial Utopia in the Science Fiction of Octavia E. Butler,”:

    The three main points in Schapper's article is eugenics, genetic determination and racial utopia. The conflict in eugenics is the moral lens in reference and also the recalcitrant about messing with genes (warning about genetic manipulation). She explains that Doro is the proponent of genetic manipulation and that Anyanwu embraces the sanctity of life(human rights). For genetic determinism, whats important is not physical but behavioral traits. Doro breeds people that can be controlled, people that taste but also he breeds for companionship. A race of people like him is his ultimate goal. for racial utopia (ideal society)as a consequence of manipulation, Doro's off-springs are diverse and the racial difference is erased. Schapper also argues that Doro is like Prometheus, trying to make humans evolve into something more god like. And that there's a patriarchal desire to replace/control the female body.