Chapter 8
It is dinnertime among the captives and some of the people that have been Awakened are expressing their disdain for Lilith. Peter Van Weerden and Jean Peler in have openly criticized Lilith. At dinner, Lilith tells the group she will be Awakening 10 more people the next day and that everyone will be helping. Peter makes a comment about how the walls are designed to separate everyone so their captors can keep them from revolting. Lilith responds by warning them of the repercussions of a revolt, saying “that would mean all of you put back into suspended animation so that you can be separated and put through all this again with other people” (Butler 166). She then joins Tate, Gabriel, and Leah, where Lilith reaffirms the truth of the situation by telling them what she knows.
Some of the Awakened have been very critical of Lilith, accusing her of not being a man and making other crude comments. What would you have done in Lilith’s situation? What would you have done to regain control?
Chapter 9
Lilith goes back to the room where Joseph is. He expresses his opinions about the experience with Nikanj. Lilith says she liked the neural stimulation while Joseph says, “that thing will never touch me again if I have anything to say about it” (Butler 170). Joseph didn’t wanted to accept Nikanj as male and this reminded Lilith of Paul Titus. They argue before she leaves the room.
RESPONSE:
Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t want to accept the truth? Why didn’t you want to believe and how did that make you feel and how did you overcome your disbelief to finally accept what happened?
Chapter 10
A small group of people led by Peter, Jean, and Curt hold Lilith captive while Derek climbs into the cabinets to see who is actually refilling them. Derek disappears and the group gets angry with Lilith, asking what has happened to him. She doesn’t know Derek’s fate but knows the Oankali will not harm him. The group does not trust or believe anything she says. She returns to her room and Joe, Tate, and Gabriel follow. They explain to her that she is losing the battle against the others and she needs the Oankali help to make them cooperate. Lilith likens the situation to Earth by saying, “Let’s play Americans against the Russians. Again” (Butler 175). Gabriel, Tate, and Joe tell her she needs allies and she can start by asking the Oankali.
Are the actions of the humans that have been Awakened what you expected? How did you expect them to act toward Lilith? What do you think can happen that will change their attitudes toward her?
Chapter 11
Peter and a man named Gregory Sebastes grabbed Allison Zeigler with the intention of pair her up with Gregory to have a physical relationship. Allison has not chosen a mate and the men feel she needs to choose. Allison says, “maybe you want to give whoever’s holding us prisoner a human baby to fool around with but I don’t!” (Butler 177). She cries for Lilith’s help and she come to observe a stand off between Peter’s followers and her own. Gregory and Peter start beating Allison and Lilith decides to take action. She fights with Peter, Gregory, and Curt and ends up breaking Peters arm. After everything has settled down she for the Oankali to help the injured and they agree. Allison asks if Lilith is really human after her display of strength. Lilith responds by asking Allison that if she weren’t human, why would she have cared if she were about to get raped?
Peter has been causing a lot of trouble lately. What do you think motivates his actions? What is his mindset? Why is he so determined to rebel against Lilith and not actually take in his surroundings to better understand the situation?
Chapter 12
The ooloi had drugged the humans and came into their dinner area. Some people were frightened and others accepted their presence. Joe was not frightened at the presence of the ooloi and he questioned his reaction. Nikani responsed by saying, “different is threatening to most species” (Butler 186). Then Nikanj took Joseph and Lilith into her room to experience the neural stimulation and as Lilith put it, seduce someone. First Nikanj lay with Joe and then Lilith joined.
RESPONSE:
Do you think the ooloi made a smart decision in drugging the humans before the revealed themselves? If not, what should they have done?
I think the Ooloi made the right choice by druging the humans before they revealed thenelves I think the Ooloi made the wrong choice by drugging the humans before the revealed themselves. I believe it was wrong because the Ooloi were unable to get the true reaction out of the humans. The drugs made the humans calm and you didn’t get to see the true emotions that the humans were feeling because their feelings were being altered by drugs. I believe the Ooloi should have just walked in to the dinner without the drugs and revealed themselves so they could develop a better perspective on how a large group of people will react to the Ooloi.
ReplyDeleteThe actions of the Awakened humans are exactly what I would have expected. The humans are scared, untrusting and hostile. I’m actually more surprised that some of the humans, Tate and Joseph, have taken Lilith’s side. I didn’t think any of them would trust her based on her "powers". I think when the humans finally have to come face to face with the Oankali their attitudes will change. They will be forced with no other choice but to believe Lilith. I also think contact with the Oankali will finally force the humans to trust each other. The will finally have a common foe to bond aginst, the Oankali.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the ooloi made a good choice in drugging the humans. When Lilith was first exposed to Jdahya, she lived in fear for weeks. There were many before her that attempted to kill the Oankali, and since the Oankali were much stronger, these humans were either accidentally killed or put back into suspended animation. The ooloi wanted to prevent these circumstances so they took to calming the humans. At first I wondered why the ooloi didn't just change the humans body chemistry so that they are more calm and accepting. But then I reasoned that in the future, when the the humans are fighting to survive in the woods, complacency wouldn't be a good trait. I support the actions of the ooloi, because the humans will eventually adjust and accept them, and this is a less strenuous way of accomplishing that.
ReplyDeleteI think the Ooloi made the right choice in drugging the humans. They had responded negatively to Lilith due to the fact that she could do things they could not, and judging by this reaction to someone who was slightly different but still human, it could be assumed how they would react to something completely different. Yes, they would attack the Ounkali but more importantly if weren't drugged and had reacted more strongly to the Ounkali, there is the idea that they would have been less accepting of the Ounkali and so more opposed to Lilith, as she was the facilitator in the whole process of awakening. One thing Lilith had said is that they would be disgusted by the Ounkali, and in this they would be united, yet they would turn against her. In this way, there would be more of an acceptance of the Ounkali and they would be more on Lilith's side.
ReplyDeleteFor the humans' own good I agree with the Ooloi's choice to drug the humans before revealing themselves. The humans at this point are much like young children who don't understand everything about the world and need guidance. I'm starting to agree more with the Oankali's acts towards the humans because as we are seeing more and more in this book, humans are hard to control and are often unpredictable to the point where they harm themselves. I do however think it is very weird and wrong that Nikanj connects to lilith and joe to simulate sexual pleasure.
ReplyDelete