Literature of Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Bloodchild

Discuss how the text(s) you read for this week's assignment did or did not reflect the values and perspectives of majoritarian culture. This piece did not reflect the values and perspective of majoritarian culture in the ways that it was portrayed as distinctly alien, and that humans were the invaders of another planet, and that in order to survive, humans had to have relationships with alien creatures that laid eggs inside of our intestines and organs. This storyline specifically is not something that people tend to think of on an everyday basis. The young main character of the story being chosen as the one to carry the alien babies, and going back and forth on whether to go through with it or not, is ultimately somehow a little bit closer to how we think. If there is any major decision we have to make as humans, it is often dragged out and thought over the possibilities many times before finalizing anything, let alone if other people's lives are at stake. This piece does re...

Bloodchild

Bloodchild by Octavia Butler What is your reaction to the text you've just read? My reaction to Bloodchild by Octavia Butler is a mixed one. It seems as though there's a boundary between the so-called alien or Tlic's perspective and the human or Terran perspective. People that had witnessed the transformation of the society from it's original state to one that lives symbiotically with the Tlic's are much more resistant to the idea of the Tlics and may even despise them. Particularly the brother in the story that had seen the pain and even death that can come as a result of them implanting into people. The implanting itself is a very disturbing image that can result in a nauseous feeling. The image that comes to mind when they describe the worms crawling inside of people as Tlic's young babies is revolting. Although it begs the question of whether it's possible to have symbiotic relationships to this extent with other species, and is this something that ...

Interview with a Vampire

In this weeks reading, Interview with a Vampire, something that stood out to me was the way the author depicted what was considered good versus evil. Since the majority of the book is told from Louis's perspective, through dialogue in his interview, we get to learn about his beliefs as a vampire versus the other vampires around him. For example, Louis is depicted as a generally good character at the beginning. This is shown through his squeamish and hesitant nature about killing humans and his empathy towards their lives. He also points out that he doesn't realize he is able to take animal's blood rather than a humans. This appears as a sense of morality. This morality is directly contradicted with the personality of Lestat. He is depicted as a tough vampire who doesn't feel empathy and will hunt anyone he pleases. Later in the book he turns a little girl into a vampire which leads to his "death." He later comes back to life on more than one occasion to get h...

Allyssa Ellis

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