Octavia Butler's Bloodchild

1) Uneasy is the best way that I can describe my reaction to Butler's "Bloodchild". The premise of the story reminds me of the Alien movies but the approach to which the creatures impregnate their eggs inside humans is quite less violent and a little less grotesque. When the high-inducing eggs were first introduced, my initial thought was that they were drinking from a chicken's egg - not some strange, alien creature's egg.  T'Gatoi's character is the main reason for my uneasiness because of the unfamiliarity of her character and her relationship with Gan. The thought that a creature with several limbs and a 'stinger' has constantly been interacting with and cuddling an infant into their adolescence feels very unnatural and wrong. Three minutes after birth, a baby should be in contact with the birthmother's skin - not wrapped up in the tentacle limbs of an alien.

T'Gatoi has a very strong hold over the family and basically can control what everyone does. The deal that T'Gatoi creates with Gan's mother seems very one-sided as Gan's mother basically had no choice but to say yes in order to protect her family from death. Gan definitely seems to be a victim of Stockholm Syndrome due to growing up with T'Gatoi attached to her hip. At most times, Gan sees T'Gatoi as a positive figure and Gan thinks they hold strong feelings for them, but it is clear that Gan is not entirely into the deal as they question killing themselves to avoid the impregnation. T'Gatoi uses their power over Gan to manipulate Gan into a false sense of consent by making him feel as if they have power over his body and uses his sister as ransom for not going through with the deal. This manipulation makes T'Gatoi come off as very lewd and toxic; They remind me of people today that manipulate and guilt their partners or others into giving them unwanted sexual favors. On that note, the actual impregnation ritual was very uncomfortable and gross. There was nothing truly intimate about it and felt entirely one sided. The fact that Gan consented out of guilt really just makes the entire situation feel like rape which is of course an incredibly uneasy topic and a horrific act that people unfortunately inflict on each other every day.
     

2) One of the aspects of the story I can connect with is Gan's aversion to killing and watching someone be cut open. I'm not super queasy at just the sight of blood - but I am someone who feels like they need to puke after coming across videos of really gory surgeries. I also hate bugs and refuse to ever watch any of the videos circulating out there of spiders being removed from people's ears or botflies being removed from under the skin. Having to simultaneously watch someone's stomach be sliced open, while also holding that person still, and painstakingly seeing giant grubs being removed from said stomach would cause me to lose my breakfast, lunch, and dinner all at once. Even though I am a meat eater, the thought of actually killing or watching the animals I eat be killed puts me on edge. There is no way I would be able to kill one of the creatures I eat (or don't eat either!) in real life, so I can relate to Gan on this level as well.

I also understand the feeling of wanting to protect your loved ones from harm at all costs. Although I will hopefully never be in a situation such as Gan's, I relate the the fact that they put the well-being of their sister before themselves. Although Gan was scared and hated the idea of being impregnated by T'Gatoi, they knew that they were already chosen from birth and felt it would be wrong to pawn the inevitable unto their family out of fear. Gan sacrifices their own wishes and perhaps their own life in order to protect their sister.

Gan's decision to 'consent' after T'Gatoi manipulates Gan's feelings is relatable as well. There have been times where I have felt compelled to make a decision or to partake in something that I felt really strongly against. Language can be very influential and can cause people to feel they have no choice but to submit to things that they truly don't want to do.

3) I think this story would have quite an impact as a graphic novel. The universe that Butler establishes is only briefly presented to set the story into context and could make for some very disturbing and intriguing illustrations. For starters, I would make the story longer by either including what happens after the impregnation of Gan or perhaps showing some of Gan's life from birth to the impregnation. In the form of a graphic novel, I would definitely emphasize the dominance that T'Gatoi has over the entire family by illustrating T'Gatoi to look threatening, as their entire presence in the house is inherently sinister.