Bloodchild Rhetorical anaylsis

Student’s Name:
Professor:Course:
Date
Rhetorical Analysis of Bloodchild
In her science fiction story titled Bloodchild, Octavia Butler uses a dystopian society to highlight the dynamics of a master and servant relationship. In this society, human beings find themselves amidst more superior beings by the name Tlics. Tlics reduce human beings to vessels of giving birth to the future generations of the species. There are many parallels between man’s life in the Tlic’s dominated society as well as the life during the era of slavery during which many people of African descent were viewed as mere commodities with commercial value (Hampton 10). The story also draws many parallels between the dystopian society and the real-life patriarchal societies in which there are clearly defined gender roles. Butler illuminates the way Europeans viewed human bodies as commodities during the slavery period as well as the traditional gender roles as far as childbirth and human gestation are concerned. The story heavily relies on dystopian elements as evidenced in the utilization of science fiction that incorporates disoriented characters, the plot as well as setting to present themes that are universally human.
The human life as portrayed in Bloodchild is in many ways similar to the life during the slavery period. The Terrans, who take the form of human beings, are limited to certain sections of the land. They cannot move freely as they wish and each household is assigned to a Tlic “master” whose say is final.

The Tlic’s “master” in Gan’s household is T’Gatoi. We see her correct every other deviant behavior of the members of the family with the authority of a figure that occupies a dominant position. Just like the slave masters, the Tlic maintain both symbolic and physical dominance over the Terrans (Pierce and Mondal 93). The Tlic also come out as being manipulative, encouraging the Terrans to be complacent as means of ensuring that their own reproduction remains successful. The Tlics forcefully intoxicates the Terrans by giving them sterile eggs which have narcotic effects. The Terrans are given these eggs on quite a regular basis, with the narcotic effects serving as means for the Terrans to escape the perils of their daily lives. By coercing the Terrans to feed on their sterile eggs, the Tlics are also able to prolong their lives which in turn allows them to use the Terrans for longer (Hampton 22). For the Terrans, the gift of a simple egg might come out as a gesture of kindness from their masters, but when closely analyzed, it is just, but an act of deception meant to restrain them within the institution of slavery.
The Terrans are more of slaves to the Tlics as were the people of African descent to the White colonialists in America. Gan points out that as Terrans, they were “necessities, status symbols, and an independent people (Butler 2).” This is the same situation that slaves in America found themselves in. The white colonialists took direct control of the bodies of individuals of African descent and treated them as objects to be commercialized and used. The Tlics are effectively positioned as being very different from the Terrans who have human-like features. Through descriptors such as stings that can be used to sedate the Terrans and multiple limbs that have claws extending from them, Butler is able to position the Tlics as being very different from the Terrans and nothing close to human beings. This way, the author is able to successfully reinforce the notion of the Tlics being more ferocious and parasitic in nature while the Terrans are more of slaves. The Terran’s family structure has many elements of the human family structure. This together with Butler’s utilization of the first-person narrative makes it possible for human readers to relate with the Terrans closely. The fact that the subjugation of the Terrans is in many ways similar to the slavery as practiced in the Americas is also acknowledged by Lillvis who posits that the action of forcing Terrans to be reproduction vessels of the Tlics “evokes the horrors of slavery, reservation systems, and internment camps (Lillvis 11)”. This way, readers who are not familiar with or who have never experienced any form of oppression are able to have a clear understanding of the perspective of oppressed groups and even empathize with them.
Through utilization of fiction and dystopian elements, Butler is also able to evoke the idea of traditional gender roles as it relates to humans’ gestation and giving birth. The Terrans are kept as captives for the sole purpose of hosting the Tlic eggs and delivering the grubs once they mature. This is in many ways similar to the traditional human society where women were largely viewed as vessels of ensuring the human species continues to exist by getting pregnant and giving birth to more offspring. In Butler’s story, the Tlic have the upper hand when it comes to both political and physical power. However, they are in no position to have children without involving the Terrans. This is in many ways similar to the traditional human society in which men have more physical and political power. However, the men, on their own, cannot bear children and require women to accomplish the task. The eggs that the Tlics lay inside the Terrans are parasitic. They depend on the Terrans for both heat and nutrients. The grubs that emerge after the eggs hatch are even more parasitic since they feed on parts of the host. Readers see this in Gan’s description of the birthing process involving Lomas. He narrates that once the young Tlics hatch, they eat any flesh including that of their host, a fact that increases the risk of the Terran hosts dying if the young ones are not removed on time (Butler 9). Similarly, Axtel (n.p) views a human child as a parasite to the mother. She argues that just as the eggs have an opiate effect on the Terrans, so does the notion of motherhood to many women. Axtel (n.p) opines that the story as narrated by Gan reflects the real-life human situation where women have to bear the biggest physical and emotional burden during gestation and giving birth but still remain undermined by gender roles that give men more power and control.
The utilization of human beings as a mere means to an end and the fact that human beings are controlled by a much superior species in a faraway planet are some of the key dystopian elements in the Bloodchild. Humans, represented by the Terrans, are reduced mere functions meant to facilitate the continuity of a much superior species. Through Bram Lamas, readers are able to see how humans have been reduced to a simple technology meant to facilitate the Tlics’s reproduction process. Lomas comes out as being an unwilling party to the entire birthing processes. He is dehumanized both figuratively and physically. Physically, the dehumanization is done by the Tlic larvae that never hesitate to burrow through their hosts as well as T’Gatoi who does not hesitate to cut open Lomas’ body in a bid to extract the parasitic larvae. Butler makes use of formal science fiction strategies such as estrangement, extrapolation, reversal as well as the reconceptualization of issues such as reproduction, love and the intersections between genders to create a dystopian society. According to Pierce and Mondal (122), the utilization of these strategies creates a way for readers to think about man’s natural perceptions critically. The story’s ending is not consolatory happy, but an open one where there is a lot of space for hope and change.
In conclusion, Octavia Butler, in her fictional story Bloodchild, uses a dystopian society to highlight the dynamics of a master and servant relationship. There are many parallels between man’s life in the Tlic dominated society as well as the life during the era of slavery during which many people of African descent were viewed as mere commodities with commercial value. The story also draws many parallels between the dystopian society and the real-life patriarchal societies in which there are clearly defined gender roles. The story heavily relies on dystopian elements as evidenced in the utilization of science fiction that incorporates disoriented characters, the plot as well as setting to present themes that are universally human. The utilization of human beings as a mere means to an end and the fact that human beings are controlled by a much superior species in a faraway planet are some of the key dystopian elements in the Bloodchild. Butler makes use of formal science fiction strategies such as estrangement, extrapolation, reversal as well as the reconceptualization of issues such as reproduction, love and the intersections between genders to create a dystopian society.

Works Cited
Axtell, James. “A Feminist Reading of Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild.” jimaxtell. N.P., 2012. Web. 31 Jan. 2018.
Butler, Octavia. “Bloodchild.” University of Puget Sound Moodle, 1995. PDF File.
Hampton, Gregory Jerome. Changing bodies in the fiction of Octavia Butler: Slaves, aliens, and vampires. Lexington Books, 2010.
Lillvis, Kristen. “Mama’s Baby, Papa’s Slavery? The Problem and Promise of Mothering in Octavia E. Butler’s “Bloodchild.” MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the U.S. 39.4 (2014): 7-22. Project MUSE. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
Pierce, Alexandra, and Mondal, Mini. Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler. New York, Twelfth Planet Press, 2017