What lies in the mind of an author as he or she begins the long task of writing a fiction novel? This question can be answered if the author’s life is studied and then compared to the work itself. Octavia E. Butler’s life and her novel Kindred have remarkable comparisons. This essay will point out important events of Butler’s life and how they link to the mentioned novel.
Octavia Estelle Butler was born on June 22, 1947 in Pasadena, California (Voices From 1). She began her life with many hardships as an only child and having her father die when she was very young (Voices From 1). She grew up in a location that had a wide variety of racial backgrounds, however Butler never felt like she lived in a world of segregation (Notable Black 144). She describes the situation best when she states, “I never…lived in a segregated neighborhood nor went to segregated school; the whole community was an economic ghetto” (Notable Black 144). The lack of money sometimes creates a humble atmosphere and that must have been the case with Pasadena throughout her childhood.
Until this point it seems as if Butler had a very unhappy childhood, but the life that she was living was shaping her to become the great author that she is today. Trials can become positive experiences for one to grow and mature and this was definitely her case. Having been an only child, Butler spent most of her time surrounded by an adult crowd, presumably the acquaintances of her mother (Notable Black 144). Thus, she grew up as a “very solitary individual” (Notable Black 144). She was also inflicted with dyslexia, which made it very difficult for her to keep up with the rest of the children her age (Notable Black 144)….
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…utler, Octavia E. Kindred. Boston: Beacon Press, 1979.
Doerksen, Teri Ann. Into Darkness Peering : Race and Color in the Fantastic. Ed. Elisabeth Anne Leonard. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1997.
Gates, Jr., Henry Louis, and Dorothy Allison. Reading Black, Reading Feminist: A Critical Anthology. Ed. Henry Louis Gates. New York: Meridian Book, 1990.
Jackson, Jerome H. “Sci-fi Tales from Octavia E. Butler.” The Crisis 101.3(1994): 4-5,10.
Smith, Jessie Carney, Ed. Notable Black American Women. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992.
Stevenson, Rosemary. Black Women in America: an Historical Encyclopedia. Ed. Darlene Clark Hine, Elsa Barkley Brown, Rosalyn Terborg-Penn. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Carlson Pub., 1993.
“Voices From the Gaps — Women Writers of Color.” July 31, 1998. October 14, 1998. http://english.cla.umn.edu/Ilkd/vfg/Authors/OctaviaButler.
The Role of Women in Homer’s Iliad
The Role of Women in Homer’s Iliad
Homer’s Iliad is undoubtedly focused on its male characters: Achilles, primarily, but also Hector and Agamemnon. Nevertheless, it seems that the most crucial characters in the epic are female. Homer uses the characters of Thetis, Andromache, and Helen as a basis for comparison to the male characters. Homer wants his audience to see and understand the folly of his male characters in choosing war over peace, aggression over kindness, and honor over family. While the behavior of these characters clearly speaks for itself, the contrasting attitudes and behaviors of the female characters proffer an alternative; in comparison, the reader can hardly fail to concur with Homer’s message that war, aggression, and honor are misplaced and self-defeating values.
The men of the Iliad are very emotional individuals; however, the emotions they express are consistently rage, pride, and jealousy. Achilles and Agamemnon jealously bicker over Briseis, a war prize that neither man particularly values. Agamemnon eventually returns her to Achilles with the admission that he never actually coupled with her; Achilles is less-than-enthused to have her back. Not only is Briseis, as a woman, regarded less as a human being as she is chattel, but the real issue dividing Agamemnon and Achilles is petty jealousy and pride. This is symptomatic of a general attitude among men that “might makes right,” and the only priority is to exert a dominance over others whenever possible and at any cost. Achilles is willing to risk the lives of his compatriots and eventually forfeits his own life in pursuit of glory. Hector also loses his life and fails his family and country for glory despite having weighed the alternatives and con…
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… remembered for their great glory. Kindness, to them, is a weakness; yet ironically, it is their kindness for which they are remembered and mourned by those who loved them best. One role of the women of ancient Greece was mourning for the dead; the lamentations of the women in the Iliad are a role well fulfilled.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Calame, Claude. Choruses of Young Women in Ancient Greece : Their Morphology, Religious Role, and Social Fucntion. Trans. by Derek Collins and Jane Orion. 1997.
Sissa, Giulia. 1990. Greek Virginity. Trans. by Arthur Goldhammer. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Orig. pub. as Le corps virginal. 1987. 000: Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin.
Steiner, George, and Fagles, Robert, eds. Homer: A Collection of Critical Essays. Twentieth Century Views, ed. Maynard Mack. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall, 1962.