Humanity In Octavia Butler's Dawn

Historically, governments around the globe have favored the majority over the minority. The majority latch onto a perception that if someone has a characteristic different from those in it, or has a smaller representation in any given demographic, they are immediately part of a lesser group, a “minority” to the majority. Throughout history, we see minority groups such as women, African-Americans, and homosexuals being treated unfairly because their genetics do not fit with the “majority” in the United States and in other parts of the world. Octavia Butler’s Dawn gives an inverted insight into humanity’s treatment of minorities by making the minority humankind itself. In Dawn’s representation of humanity, every person is a minority, and the …show more content…
Lilith portrays physical characteristics so much like those of the Oankali that those of her own species cannot trust her, nor can they acknowledge her humanity. Leah Bede, before even speaking to Lilith, lunges at her due to her foreign appearance. The awakening of the humans is to see which ones will be “fit” for the rebuilding (Butler 137-138). In order to be fit, the humans must be obedient to the Oankali. In being obedient to the Oankali, the humans must allow the Oankali to perform tests on them. The humans, essentially, must agree to be like Oankali in order to survive under the Oankali’s pressing conditions. This paradox echoes a real-life problem of women and African Americans in the United States, who feel like they have to act a certain way (not only in being submissive to the majority, but by assimilating to the traditional roles that are assumed of them) in order to limit their