Paper details
Read the short story by Octavia Butler, “Bloodchild” in the collection Bloodchild and Other Stories. In a
short essay response of 2-3 well-formed paragraphs (with a thesis, textual evidence, and explanation),
answer one or more of the following questions:
What is the speculative function of the main characters in “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler and how might this
story compare to the earlier “alien” story you read this semester, “The Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang?
How are these stories related thematically? What do these stories tell us about humanism, futurism, liberal
humanism and–most importantly–how science fiction represents difference?
You are encouraged to refer to any of the resources that are posted on Canvas (e.g. the “Apocalyptic
Empathy and Racial Ecologies essays”) as well as the Butler interview and the information included after
the Parable of the Sower print edition (e.g. Butler interview and Reading Group study questions). Although
not directly about the Bloodchild story, Butler’s responses may offer important insight for responding to this
prompt. There are also some good YouTube Octavia Butler interviews. Here is one of the best (from the
Charlie Rose show) that I often show in class:
here are the links to the youtube videos:
