IN CLASS RESPONSE: Bloodchild

1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?

The text we just read reminds me a lot of Dawn, that I read for this week. Though it is a short story, Butler packs a lot of context and information. I think her main goal with this piece was to make the audience realize that cooperation/relationships with beings from other worlds would require "give and take" from both parties. The two become co-dependent, making drastic changes to their otherwise normal individual ways of life, so that both may live in the new climate. While there is a dependency both have with each other, there are times in Bloodchild where the humans seem to be in a pseudo-slavery relation with the Tlic. Do the Tlic use humans for breeding grounds and nothing more? We can't be sure. Some of the Tlic seem to have developed real feelings for the humans, but the ambiguity of the situation is what makes the story so compellingly foreign. In the grand scheme of the universe, our position may not be anything we could imagine, which makes Butler's world building skills so intriguing to look at.

2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements in the story with which you were able to connect... 

I connected most to Gan, Bloodchild's protagonist. We follow him through his personal realizations that his world are not what it seems. I connected with his frustration, anger, shock, and confusion at the Tlic's techniques of working with humans. The humans are, as even Gan described them, like animals in a farm. While Gan has lived his whole life seeing the Tlic and humans' amicable relationships, he now sees that everything is not what he thought. Too, I connected with Gan's compassion for this other being even in the face of repulsion. He refuses to leave her side in order to protect his sister and to protect her children.

3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What media would you use? What changes would you make?

I don't think there are many things about this story that would need changing in order to be adapted into another medium. I might expand on Qui's story to include more background in the family's life. I think there's a lot hidden beneath the surface with his character to be explored. Because I am an illustrator, I would probably choose to adapt the tale into an illustrative piece. Given the nature of the story's pacing, characterizations, and brevity; I think that a comic or graphic novel would be an appropriate way to adapt Butler's story. There may have to be more information given into the narrative/setting in order to add to the length, but in all, I think Butler gives us enough to start with to create something that could be quite interesting to see illustrated.