User:James.johnson21/sandbox

Citation practice
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

Clute, John. "Butler, Octavia E." The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Eds. John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls and Graham Sleight. Gollancz, 25 Oct. 2014. Web. 6 Mar. 2015. .

Octavia Butler. Birth of a writer Birth of a writer

Entry #1
March 6, 2015

Going more in-depth with wikipedia, today i learned about the special properties this site has over other. Mainly, I learned how to edits and use the system to make citations and research information regarding said topic. Using MLA format, i learned how to make proper citations of other people's work. throughout today's class, we took a closer look at how to post, edit and find different articles using the encyclopedia and references posted by other users

Entry #2
March 20, 2015

After looking through other people's work based on Butler, I then see the different themes and importance she has put into her writing to draw the reader's attention. Some of the themes she clung to is feminism and the African American race. Reading through some of Butler's stories, I see that she has made the main protagonist in her own image, her image being a young black female.

Entry #3
March 27 2015

While we took a quick look at thew rules of Wikipedia including how to correctly site, quote and paraphrase to avoid plagiarism, we then started our draft based on Octavia Butler's life, education, childhood, college experience career and death. we'll continue editing the work we've done so far and look for more info to add regarding her life. We begin to look further into Butler's biography and she just becomes increasingly interesting.

Entry #4
April 17 2015

After reviewing Octavia Butler's biography even further, we then begin to edit and develop a rough draft as a replacement for her current biography. We've looked at multiple sources to put together different sections of Butler's life and create a fluent, coherent biography that captures the noticeable and important aspects from her family, to her childhood, to her education and career, all the way to her death

Entry #5
April 24 2015

Going more in detail with Butler's life, we shared our responses towards editing her biography. after carefully proof reading each others work, we made both minor and major suggestions in regards to how we can improve our work even more. Then we had to continue editing and post our work along with all the references that match the info we use to expand her biography even further.

Entry #6
In regards to preparing ourselves to draft "The Fledgling", we look into technique and examples of paraphrasing, to help each other avoid plagiarism. We are still in need of more practice, but we do learn quickly. After reviewing paraphrasing, we take time to edit butler's biography even further, using the ideas and information from past interviews and reports based her work. Finally, after all the editing and researching we've done for Butler's life using multiple sources, we posted the reedited version of her biography.

Entry #7
While researching different book reviews from multiple authors centered around "Fledgling", we edited the wiki and went over the main ideas the authors went over and presented what we knew about both the book and the reviews.

Entry #8
After hearing a lecture from one of the people who closely analyzed Butler's work, we then practiced combining our efforts to create a topic sentence that clearly explains the goal of our section of the Fledgling draft. While dong so, we look into the main idea's that are emphasized throughout the book and work together to elaborate on them even further using outside sources as well. Later on we plan to continue editing the first draft.

Entry #9
Now that we approach the end of this semester, we've pooled our efforts together to create a draft that covers all the detail regarding Fledgling (by Octavia butler). Using peer reviews and advice given by our professor, we've successfully edited the next draft and we'll continue to edit until we are ready to unveil our work for Wikipedia.

Entry #1
During chapter 7, Renee and Wright explore the ruins in search of a suspicious man who might have some information regarding Renee's kind. though Wright was uneasy, for he was in fear of losing Renee to that same man and had a rifle with him should the situation worsen. Shortly after they were ready to leave the ruins, a tall, blond man with pale skin emerges out of the copter who bares an extremely similar resemblance to her kind who called the name "Shori" (the main protagonist's name) and as he said it, Renee (also known as Shori) felt a sense of comfort and safety, while Wright lowered his rifle. Then this man introduces himself as Losif, Shori's father. After coming in contact with him, he then begins to explain what exactly Shori's kind is, the abilities they possess, the lifestyle of the vampires (also known as Ina) and a vampires necessities.

Later on in chapter nine, Wright shows his possessive personality as his anger sparks at the fact that Shori needs multiple symbionts to survive. Wright just becomes increasingly angry with Shori as the chapter continues. Going back to the Ina, she's then taken to a room with books and poems scattered all over the place and ets the idea (possible even a memory) that she wrote those.

In Chapter 10, trouble arises. Although I have yet to fully understand the situation, I do know that Shori and Wright sounded as if they're in a hurry to find Losif's community. That's when Shori was ready to use her abilities to find him, but Wright demanded that she take his blood to give her strength for later on, in case she has to deal with any obstacles. Along the way to the community, she picks up on multiple different scents, both human and ina and some of which should be nowhere near that area. Both her and Losif come to discover that someone had been hunting and successfully killing the ina communities. The story continues to build in both drama and suspense and now there seems to be an unknown enemy that not only the main and secondary protagonists face, but also this same enemy poses a threat to the main character's entire race.

Entry #2
Going into chapter 16, unknown visitors arrive in quiet cars while making little to no noise. At the time, The only one awake was Shori, who then called two other houses and had the symbionts alert everyone. Now the Ina are in a state of emergency where they are likely to attack at the sight of lighters, containers and guns. The moment Shori smell the gas the men had ready at the guest house she then called Wayne, telling him to shoot the men. As she heard one of the raiders running along the side pf the house leaving gasoline in his trail, Shori then chased after him only to kill him shortly after he was away from his group. During this raid, all the symbionts had the task to protect their Ina so they rapped them in blankets head to toe and carried them to the nearest house that wasn't being burned since this raid was happening during the daytime. although the attacks stopped, there was still one raider left who tried to disguise himself as one of the Ina, even though he had the smell of gasoline all over him. Shori then chased after him only to catch up to him moments later she tripped him just as he came to a building that housed studios and offices. Shori main goal at this time was to have this man (known as Victor Colon) alive and cooperate so she can get answers from him. Shori and a Group of Ina begin to interrogate him. During the investigation, he then shouted a rather unfriendly phrase and made it seem as if it was against his will to say it along with his answers as to why he was targeting the Ina.

In the beginning of chapter 17, Shori develops a deeper connection with her symbionts. Shortly after another Ina, Daniel whispered to Shori and told her to bring Victor to his house for further questioning. As the series of question continued, Victor reveals that he had potential information. His group originally started at 23 but then dropped to 18 as the raids progressed. Victor then began to develop a dependency towards Shori's bite, as he tries to resist but part of him wants to have that same pleasure again. Going further into the investigation he then states that he had done at least 3 other jobs before this one in Washington. Those in charge payed for his travel expenses where they rented cars as his team landed. only after revealing this information did Victor scream as loud as possible then pass out from the venom Shori had in her bite. Shori had to aid him as she knew that if the Silks were to question him. they could have venom that is just as strong, if not then stronger than her own, which could kill Victor.

During chapter 18, Shori then finds out about the Ina of the past. Turns out, Ina and humans have been living together ten thousand years ago, where the Ina have been protecting the humans from physical harm for those that have accepted them. At the time, this was the most comfortable way of life for the Ina. Apparently there was an illness that spread among the Ina only that wouldn't allow them to use the meat and blood they already consumed and this illness caused the death of numerous Ina though there were the very few who were resistant to it.

By chapter 21 Shori had decided to mate with Daniel while entertaining the idea that she wanted to bite him, a fellow Ina.

My Impression of Octavia Butler
At first, I thought this was going to be another writer discussing her early life before they had a career and how easy-going their lifestyle was, turns out i couldn't be more wrong. I see Butler as the type of person who has insecurities (mainly shyness, fear, or anti-social behavior) that other people share but she still found a way to work past those obstacles. What surprised me even more is that she was one of the very few people who started their work in the sci-fi genre that early even though at the time, there was little interest in that category of literature. Reading through the article "Positive obsession", Octavia talks about how she started getting into writing about science fiction and how she would consider the library her "...second home..." as she went as often as possible to look through other works of literature to see what else she can learn from the other writers. She also carried a notebook with her to write about her imaginative stories. Maybe this was her means of escape from reality when she was alone with nothing but a book and a pen in hand (this is just opinion based). Going through the written interview with her and Rowell, she also states that the library was her "...second home.". She definitely is a woman full of surprises and now I'm interested in some of her work. If anything what really makes her stands out in my eyes is how determined she was to become a well known writer and even after having her earliest work negatively judged, she gave inspiration to a certain aspect of the sci-fi genre (which explains some of the later works of sci-fi that could have some connection with her work).

Butler, Octavia E.

Butler, Octavia E. "

Research Assignment #4
1. According to Bhabha, the idea of hybridity could lead to "social uncertainty and instability"

2. Brute force (focused on control and dominance) and human endurance (those who compromise and survive). Shori cold be a combination of these 2 types, seeing as how she can easily overtake her fellow Ina and she shows both perseverance and compassion throughout the story.

3. The term "speciesism" could relate to the social issues that we deal with today (mainly black against white).

4. Brox states that Butler's version of vampires don't embody all the fear and anxiety of human but rather they resemble the "anti-human rhetoric" directed towards the symbionts and Shori's mixed blood.

5. The three strategies Butler used in the fledgling:
 * 1. keep Shori's racial identity hidden until the reader is more involved in the book
 * 2. Explains how shori was "made black"
 * 3. challenged the social structure (focused on hybridity)

6. Shori's capability to reproduce would prove that Ina ans humans are a single species.

7. The Silk's insistence on Ina purity would be threatened by shori's very existence, seeing as how she possesses both strengths of Ina and Humans (heightened senses and rapid healing abilities along with walking in daylight. according to Butler, the Ina hold more power over the Humans.

8. The true challenge the Ina face would be the challenge to change. If shori was to breed, the they would have to redefine social norms reconsider Ina purity and possibly disrupts the Ina's "claim to power".

9. Milo emphasizes on the idea that he is a pure blooded Ina as shori is only partially blooded. He uses that to make sure that the protection under the Ina law does not apply to shori. In the eyes of the Silk family, pure blooded Ina are superior to any and all humans and their symbionts.

10. Shori could be the bridge between two completely different worlds. She could revolutionize both the human and ina communities as she has the strengths of both societies without their weaknesses.

Fledgling Review
"Strong. Resilient.  Formidable.  Vulnerable.  Sexy.  Determined. Black.  A caretaker. A child. A crime solver and a “damn good ally” . Vengeful. A vampire.  These descriptions fit the profile for the heroine of Fledgling"

"The first of her kind. Genetically engineered to be “less vulnerable during the day”

"Defining her, identifying her kind, who they are and what they do, is part of the novel’s ability to hold our attention."

Theme #1: Racism/speciecism

Theme #2: Feminism

Theme #3: Hybridity

Obsidian III Literature in the African Diaspora. Vol. 6, No. 2/Vol. 7, No. 1  Fall/Winter 2005–Spring/Summer 2006