Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Spring 2012

Publication Title

Extrapolation

Volume

53

Issue

1

First Page

45

Last Page

59

ISSN

2047-7708

DOI

10.3828/extr.2012.4

Keywords

science fiction, captivity narrative, alien abduction, slave narrative, hybridity, Lilith's Brood

Abstract

Octavia E. Butler’s novel Adulthood Rites incorporates an enduring genre of American literature, the captivity narrative. By drawing on the familiar tale of a civilized protagonist held captive by brutal savages, Butler echoes traditional themes of spiritual growth and identity formation. Manipulating the trope of “going native” allows her to hold several opposed values in tension: oppression and protection, appreciation for a native culture and betrayal of it, difference and identification. A hybrid creature, Akin must bridge a variety of opposites as he matures, a theme Butler reinforces by making a hybrid structure of the captivity narrative itself.

Rights

This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with the policies of Liverpool University Press, which holds the copyright.

Comments

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Magedanz, Stacy. "The Captivity Narrative in Octavia E. Butler's Adulthood Rites." Extrapolation: A Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy, 53.1 (2012): 45-59, which has been published in final form at http://liverpool.metapress.com/content/c07j5hmg71866713/

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