Layered Question from Dawn
In Dawn, the concept of hybridity is a recurring theme within the text; the goal of the Oankali is to create a new race composed of genes that originate from humans and Oankali. By the end of the novel, Lilith is disgusted by the fact that the baby she is carrying is derived from the ooloi and refers to any human/Oankali hybrids as monsters because “they won’t be human.” (248) However, in the context of hybrid races, Lilith herself is not altogether human anymore; she has inherited abilities from the Oankali and can no longer be regarded as human. What is Butler suggesting about American society both today, and in the past, through Lilith’s hybridity and her aversion to bearing any children that is a combination of the two species?
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