Bloodchild by Octavia Butler Week 12 Response/Assesment

1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?

       I was greatly uncomfortable by this work. Aside from the somewhat disturbing plot, the language also aided in creating an uneasiness. For reasons, probably deep and physiologically based, sentences like "sipping from my egg now and then, wondering why my mother denied herself such a harmless pleasure" and "probing me with six or seven of her limbs" were just gross. That being said, I was very engaged with the piece and felt completely submerged in the world Butler created.

2. What connection did you make with the story you read? Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect?

The thing I connected with most, from other novels I’ve read- particularly the Divergent trilogy- was the mother character. She is not the focus, not particularly exciting. But her presence and role guides the protagonist through the entire story. The last thought Gan has is something their mother said to them.

3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?

      If I were to adapt this story into another medium, my initial suggestion would be as a graphic novel. This way there would be strong pictorial elements, while keeping the integrity of every little detail (even thought the physical descriptions are lacking), maintaining the authors vision of their work. Graphic novels work well when adapting a story due to their ability to fit more information than film adaptations, mostly because there are fewer restrictions. Some changes I would make to the story to have it better fit for the graphic novel medium would be to simplify some of the dialogue,  and try to make sure that there is enough action going on while the characters are speaking to make the "panels" not seem monotonous.