African-Americans Representation in Science Fiction and Postcolonial Science Fiction
An evaluation of the African American community reveals that they continue to portray themselves as significantly different compared to other races and ethnicities in American society. The reason why African Americans have set themselves apart as a distinct community can be attributed to their history in the country where a substantial percentage of them have relatives who had been enslaved in the United States. Even though slavery was abolished long ago, African Americans continue to be undermined since diversity is yet to be embraced wholeheartedly. To have an understanding of otherness among African Americans, this analysis will look into how they have been presented in science fiction and postcolonial science fiction novels.
Parable of the Sower is one of the most noteworthy science fiction novels that have been written to depict the lives of African Americans. The primary themes in the novel include social criticism, change, freedom, and the horrors that African Americans were subjected to during the slavery era. First published in 1993, The Parable of the Sower is set in the year 2024 and is based on the life of Lauren (Butler 3). Lauren depicts how she was born into a world full of misery since her nation was facing a drought, something that had made water scarce. The drought that was being experienced had resulted in societal contrast where inequality had become the order of the day (Reynolds 58). Being part of the African American community that is a minority group in the nation, Lauren suffered significant challenges fitting in (Butler 10). Even though Lauren and her family struggle to remain safe, they are faced with the risk of attacks and robberies (Reynolds 58). Throughout the novel, Lauren is depicted reminiscing on the harsh treatment the less fortunate were being subjected to at the time. Through the story, the reader gets an idea of the significant challenges African Americans continue to encounter even in the future (Butler 13).
Kinder is also one of the most noteworthy novels by Butler and which she uses to continue to demonstrate the oppression African Americans continue to be subjected to at the expense of the white supremacists (Elia 20). One of the characters in the novel “Rufus” who is a white young man seems to show some compassion to the African Americans around him, he soon changes his ways and turns into the oppressing nature of most white supremacists that were behind slavery (Butler 27). While Rufus did not let the fact that his skin color gave him dominance over black people, the moment he was given the authority over his family land in which they had slaves, he carries on with the slavery legacy (Butler 32).
He is seen turning against his African American friends who were slaves on their property by starting to take control over their lives and punishing them whenever he felt he believed they had undermined his authority (Behrent 795). To warrant their safety, the slaves lived in constant fear and made sure to abide by everything their masters required of them (Butler 32). The slaves remained subjects of their masters in light of all the oppression they were subjected to out of fear of being separated from their families (Farley 3). This is because the slave masters had designed a plan where they would keep slaves that had family ties with each other to keep them in check (Behrent 795). In instances where the slaves appeared rebellious, the slave owners would separate them from each other by selling to other slave owners in far off places (Butler 33).
The hardship of slavery and the impact family ties had in influencing the commitment of the slaves to abide by their master’s wishes is manifested through how Alice takes her own life when Rufus informs her that he had sold off her children (Butler 72). Alice’s decision to commit suicide is influenced by the fact that her commitment to the plantation was influenced by the need to ensure that her children were safe and within sight (Elia 20). Thus, when she realized that her master had taken her children away, she lost hope in staying alive since her children were her only source of motivation (Butler 72).
Based on these two novels by Butler, it is clear that African Americans continue to face significant challenges in the future due to the culture of oppression that has been established regarding minority communities in the western world. For example, in Kinder, one might have assumed that since Rufus had come to outgrow the idea of slavery and inequality by developing a bond with the African Americans in their property, he would have discontinued the legacy once he got authority over the property (Elia 24). However, the real taste of power sent him down the path his ancestors had followed long before him, where oppressing racial minorities had become the norm. Parable of the Sower also does a significant job in highlighting the inequalities that African Americans continue to face in the future long after the abolition of slavery (Elia 27). The central concept behind these novels is to emphasize the need to come up with practical solutions that will result in the inequalities that the African American community has been subjected to for centuries.
Work Cited
Behrent, Megan. “The Personal is Historical: Slavery, Black Power, and Resistance in Octavia Butler’s KINDRED.” College Literature 46.4 (2019): 795-828.
Butler, Octavia E. Parable of the Sower. Vol. 1. Open Road Media, 2012.
Butler, Octavia. Kindred (novel). Doubleday. 2015.
Elia, Adriano. “Old slavery seen through modern eyes: Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred and Haile Gerima’s Sankofa.” Altre Modernità (2019): 20-30.
Farley, Audrey. “Physiology Gone Wild”: Oliver Sacks’ Clinical Tales and Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower.” MOSF Journal of Science Fiction 2.3 (2018).
Reynolds, Clarence V. “Parable of the Sower.” Network Journal 27.1 (2019): 58-58.