Most recent public comments by Denali Pomerville https://nowcomment.com/users/130455 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964685 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964685 In this moment Carrie shows Dana why her choices don’t make her “more white than black”. She has had to choose for her survival and because just like everyone else, she is human and is perfect. Butler shows how Dana - like many other women in real life - have had to make hard choices and no matter what they choose, someone will be there to scorn them. Fri, 02 Dec 2022 18:09:56 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964684 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964684 Butler does this by showing enslaved families and how they are connected to one another rather than individuals. She also shows the danger of having a family if you were enslaved, all of Sarah’s children were taken away except for one, who she protects so Fri, 02 Dec 2022 18:04:54 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964614 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964614 Fri, 02 Dec 2022 13:21:52 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964610 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964610 The interesting conundrum to all of this is that Dana doesn't want to betray Rufus eventually. Instead of feeling this responsibility and requirement, she begins to feel at home with the people there. Butler's choice to not have Dana hate Rufus is interesting because it makes her feel guilty for forgiving him every time he does something wrong. This is another aspect of the book that would not have been different if her main charecter was male. Fri, 02 Dec 2022 13:18:59 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964595 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964595 I hadn't thought of this before, but Butler is correct that a male protagonist who performed the same actions as Dana would have been killed. Dana is able to get away with more than she should because early in the book she is considered weak and while intelligent, she is still a woman. Later in the novel, Rufus regards Dana with more affection because of her gender, if she was male and challenging him, he would have found it threatening and likely sold/killed him. Both of these actions show how men in the story misjudge Dana for her gender, if Butler had stuck to the original protagonist she would have created a very different story. Fri, 02 Dec 2022 13:14:04 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964584 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964584 I think that is what makes Octavia Butler and her characters (especially Dana) so unique. Dana is shown as an independent character who does not get saved but saves others. Butler also shows how women that were enslaved were frequently raped not only because they couldn't fight back, but because they knew they can not escape for fear for their lives or their children's. Fri, 02 Dec 2022 13:08:31 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964562 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964562 I am curious at how many people watched Roots when it premiered and realized/acknowledged that America was founded on the labor of enslaved people. Before this point, but after the surge of the civil rights movement (the mid-1900s) how history of enslavement taught/acknowledged? Fri, 02 Dec 2022 13:00:57 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964540 https://nowcomment.com/documents/335213?scroll_to=2964540 In the novel, we can see how Dana's life has been impacted by the feminist and civil rights movements in both the 1970 and 1820s. She would have fought very hard up until when the plot starts to be recognized for her work that traveling back to a time that ignores her opinions and existence, even more, is not necessarily a change, but a stab in the heart for everything she has worked for to be torn away again. Fri, 02 Dec 2022 12:52:22 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/334246?scroll_to=2956750 https://nowcomment.com/documents/334246?scroll_to=2956750 Wed, 16 Nov 2022 13:22:32 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/334246?scroll_to=2956727 https://nowcomment.com/documents/334246?scroll_to=2956727 This line is a stark comparison to all of Smith’s other poems in Counting Decent. Instead of giving an object a negetive connotation while explaining society’s views of Black boys, he is using a word that is typically used with a negative connotation the opposite meaning. Wed, 16 Nov 2022 13:19:22 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/334246?scroll_to=2956706 https://nowcomment.com/documents/334246?scroll_to=2956706 Fri, 02 Dec 2022 12:39:02 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/334246?scroll_to=2956693 https://nowcomment.com/documents/334246?scroll_to=2956693 The use of the word “vast” caught my attention. Vast means something more than just “big”, it means to take up an immense amount of space. That is what i believe Smith is tying to explain, that these Black children do not just exist, they take are important. Wed, 16 Nov 2022 13:10:33 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/334246?scroll_to=2956646 https://nowcomment.com/documents/334246?scroll_to=2956646 Wed, 16 Nov 2022 13:01:58 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/334246?scroll_to=2956615 https://nowcomment.com/documents/334246?scroll_to=2956615 This comparison reminds me of when a child asks their parents who much they are loved. When they parent responds with this much (their arms outstretched) they are really showing that their love is unending. That is what Smith seems to be showing, that the lake is unending and filled with love. Fri, 02 Dec 2022 12:39:02 -0500