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Lilith's Brood Literary Analysis

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Octavia Butler was an African American science fiction author who produced several novels that allows readers to dive into a new world with an entirely new perspective. Lilith’s Brood, one of Butler’s most award-winning novels, contains a collection of three trilogies: Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago. In the book of Dawn, Lilith is one of many who was saved by an alien species, known as the Oankali, after a fatal war that has destroyed all life on Earth. All humans were expected to make huge lifestyle changes and ultimately help create a new generation of species that were half human and half Oankali. Throughout the book of Dawn, Butler depicts the conflict of being so accustom and adamant towards societal norms where the thought or action …show more content…

In this book, Octavia Butler gives her readers the chance to live in a world where many of our human customs are erased or altered in some unfamiliar way. In the scene where Lilith meets Paul Titus, Paul represents an individual who has willingly altered most of his views on societal customs and traditions. Lilith, in this scene, represents an individual who is adamant about change and deviating from societal norms. Paul’s decision classified him as a person who was “thoroughly enough divorced from his humanity” (Section 2 Chapter 7). In other words, adhering to the customs and traditions of human society is what makes someone human. Octavia Butler used parts of the book of Dawn to depict the world we live in today where change is welcomed by some and feared by others. From the beginning of her last Awakening, Lilith has gone through physical and mental changes that has called into question her humanness and loyalty. Similarly, in the U.S., there has been many changes to the customs and traditions of society. Dawn introduces a new world that mirrors the way humans are quick to counter modifications or transformations that may seem alarmingly unfamiliar. However, Butler uses Dawn to create a new platform where new ideas are heard, discussed, and implemented rather than ignored, criticized, or

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