Irene Magdon
Seminar in Composition
Dr. Adam Johns
October 29, 2014
Superiority
and the Golden Rule
In Lilith’s Brood by Octavia E. Butler, the Oankali view the humans of
Earth as their trade partners even though we are not entirely sure what the
objects of this trade are at this point. Throughout the first part of this
reading, one gets the feeling that the Oankali carry themselves in a manner of
superiority over the human species for their advanced knowledge and virtual
rescuing of mankind. On page 81, we are given the view shared by many of the Oankali
when Nikanj tells Lilith, “Ooan says humans – any new trade partner species –
can’t be treated the way we must treat each other,” (Butler). This statement
inverts our society’s Golden Rule; one must treat others as they would want to
be treated themselves. I wholeheartedly disagree with Ooan’s belief on this matter
and do not think that this is something we, as a society, should aspire to.
Ooan’s view of the treatment of trade partners is brought
up when Lilith has difficulty learning the Oankalis’ ways and language. When
this difficulty becomes too much of an inconvenience to them, Lilith’s
wandering away from Kaal for example, they pressure her to have her brain altered
to enhance her memory and make their lives and the process of teaching her
easier. This issue of communication is often found in the United States, not
only between its trade partners, but also with its high influx of migrants from
South American counties.
While immigration, both legal and illegal, is a hot topic
in current politics; there is a general consensus on how these people are
treated. The United States of America is a melting pot of cultures and has been
such since its founding. While there are requirements to become a citizen, we
do not force our traditions on people. You are not entitled to pledge your allegiance
to our flag or given a deadline to learn English. Instead, to make it easier on
a large number of Spanish-speaking people coming into the country, we provide
many Spanish translations on almost everything. Take a stroll through a
supermarket and you are guaranteed to find translations on almost every box and
set of instructions along with a Spanish food isle.
Since we are viewed as one of the leading world powers,
and one with such cultural diversity, we are expected to have to resources to
teach our citizens the ways of other cultures. When participating in foreign
trade, the American trader is most likely the one communicating in the foreign language
or has a translator to assist them with their partner. Though in theory America
may be superior to other countries, we do not treat others as inferior as the
Oankali may.
The Oankali’s technology is vastly advanced beyond that of
the human species. It is this advancement that makes them superior to other
species at least in the eyes of Oankali like Ooan. They are the heroes saving
the day for humans and we are automatically indebted to them because we are
inferior. Is this how the United States treated Haitians after their country
was almost leveled by natural disaster? Or those suffering from the enormous
influence of HIV/AIDS in Africa? No. They are given what help the US can
provide in the hopes that if such tragedy befell America, the international
world would lend a hand in any way they could. But we are not big bullies in
the playground holding our assistance over the heads of the smallest kid. Worst
yet, the humans being influenced by the Oankali don’t even know what the price
for their assistance is.
Ooan’s view of the treatment of trade partners is not something
that we should adopt. Instead we should, as Nikanj stated, “find ways through
most our difference,” (Butler, 82). We as a society should hold to the Golden Rule
of treating others as we would want to be treated and not hold our influence
over others who are less equipped. As Americans, we believe that every human
being is entitled to the same human rights no matter their geographic origin or
level of intelligence in comparison to ourselves and this is the moral stance
that we should keep.
Works Cited:
Butler, Octavia E. Lilith's Brood. New York: Warner, 2000.
Print.
Irene,
ReplyDeleteI found that you counter argue the statement made by the Oaan's, "humans – any new trade partner species – can’t be treated the way we must treat each other" and essentially make your argument stating we humans should always follow the "Golden Rule". Although I think some of the information in your body paragraphs are useful, I would try and connect it to your main argument in a way that would incorporate more analysis from the novel.
I feel like your essay seemed very similar to last weeks prompt and if you were to revise this, then I would suggest that you follow last weeks prompt and use academic articles to support your argument that we should keep this Golden Rule. But overall, I think this is really well written and you have a good foundation to make this a revision if you decide to do so.
The prompts concerns Oankali *values*, which presumably must be broadly agreed upon. But what you’re focusing open is a dispute: Nikanj has one point of view about how humans should be treated, but its ooloi parent has a different point of view. Note also that Ooan is a title (like mother or father), not a name - although that’s an easy point to miss.
ReplyDeleteMaybe our values surrounding integration aren’t quite as universally held as you assume, but nonetheless, it’s a reasonable example of a shared value. But then you say something very curious: “When participating in foreign trade, the American trader is most likely the one communicating in the foreign language or has a translator to assist them with their partner. Though in theory America may be superior to other countries, we do not treat others as inferior as the Oankali may.” This is basically totally untrue. How untrue? We might differ on that. But the business language of the world is English, and that’s because it’s our language. When Chinese people visit Italy, they talk in English. When Thai people do business in Saudi Arabia, they are awfully likely to use English. I’m not sure how much it matters to your overall essay, but you’re basically just wrong on this point.
Nitpicking over how we view America isn’t the point here, though. Opinions will vary, and I tried to zero in on the things (like the usage of English vs. other languages) which are just factually untrue. The big issue is that you rely on generalizations about the U.S. and its behavior rather than anything resembling close reading of the novel. The essence of your argument, in fact, doesn’t make a lot of sense, because you haven’t explained how you get from the fact that one Oankali believes that humans don’t have equal rights to any sort of *values*. A value is normally something positively held. What do the Oankali, in general, or as a whole, believe about morality? What is right or wrong to them? It’s like jumping from the true point that there are lots of racist people in America to claiming that racism is an American value.