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Duryea-Gode Disease In Octavia Butler's The Evening And The Night

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Of all the characters who are suffering from the harmful Duryea-Gode disease in Octavia Butler’s “The Evening and the Morning and the Night”, Alan Chi seems to be the one who wants to live the least. He admits to the main character, Lynn, that if his mother and father “had any sense they would have had me aborted the minute my mother realized she was pregnant” (Butler, 175). His morbid sense of the world fuels his disdain for reproduction. He states that “as soon as I was old enough” he had been sterilized (Butler, 176). Although Chi would rather not give into “mindless urges” like animals, his encounter with Lynn the following evening questions the verity and validity of his sentiments. Why does Chi contradict himself? There is a tension between Chi’s sterilization to prevent reproducing and participation in sex -- the main …show more content…

It is the body subconsciously driving itself to reproduce to ensure that the species does not die out. Our bodies were made to reproduce. While the reader may believe that Chi is being overtaken by animalistic and human desires, it is obvious that Lynn has great influence in his decision to go to bed with her. Later in the short story, the reader learns that Lynn possesses pheromones which the reader learns later in the story are “sex-linked scents” (Butler, 189) that allow the possessor certain control over other DGD sufferers. Pheromones can only be inherited if both parents have DGD. Through the language in this scene, Octavia Butler emphasizes the importance of Lynn and her pheromones in Alan’s decision to go to bed with her. Although some readers may argue that the pheromones only serve as controls for patients in the DGD ward, this is incorrect because they actually serve as an important form of communication between DGD sufferers, specifically Lynn and Alan. This form of communication is important because it provides DGD sufferers with a reason for “staying alive” (Butler,

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