生物学论文代写_专业高分essay代写范文

发布时间：2020-12-13 热度：

生物学essay代写_专业生物学essay代写_高分论文代写
Analysis of Body and Power in Octavia Butler’s Dawn
As the first book of Octavia Bulter’s Lilith’s Blood series that was initially published in 1987, Dawn narrates the experience of Lilith Iyapo who is awakened by the Oankali 250 years after a destructive nuclear war that almost led to the extinction of humans. Despite her disliking of the Oankali, she reaches an agreement with them so as to awaken the human beings on the condition that she creates a hybrid with the Oankali. However, the awakened humans rebel against the agreement and kill Lilith’s mate but are sent back to the earth as they fail, inclusive of Lilith who gets pregnant. After an overview of the plot of Dawn, it is easy to observe that one apparent feature of Dawn is the connections between body and powers at the center of the whole novel. In 1976, M. Foucault proposes the concept of biopolitics to describe the connections between bodies and powers. According to Foucault, biopolitics “deals with the population, with the population as a political problem, as a problem that is at once scientific and political, as a biological problem and as power’s problem” (245). Here the interpretation of Foucault reveals that the biopolitics actually concerns the interactions between life and power as two interdependent elements. This paper will examine Bulter’s Dawn from the perspective of biopolitics. Overall, by setting Lilith as the protagonist who negotiates with the Oankali who have control over humans’ fate and the objectification of humans’ bodies, Butler well reflects the theme of biopolitics and reveals the issues with humans’ development. 
An Overview of Foucault’s Biopolitics
Foucault’s illustration of biopolitics focuses on the concept of power over life. In the mind of Foucault, the power over life already has been in use since in the 17th century, initially in the form of the disciplinary power and then in the biopolitics. Unlike the disciplinary power that comes into use when the individuals start to internalize the social norms at the individual level, the biopolitics regards the population as the subject and resources at the population level. Especially with the development of capitalism, biopolitics concerns controlling and modifying life. In addition to distinguishing the biopolitics from the disciplinary power, Foucault also discusses the connections between biopolitics and sexuality as well as race. He especially attaches importance to sexuality as one that allows power-knowledge to influence both the individuals and the social population and thus create both the disciplinary effect and the regulatory effects (Foucault 252). As for the connections between power and race, Foucault points out, it is highly likely for a society to develop the principle of racial exclusion and segregation based on the biopolitics, as the power owners will define what is the normal races based on their racial identity (Foucault 61). After developing a basic understanding of the statement of Foucault over biopolitics, then it is easy to make sense of Butler’s Dawn.
Power over Life
One apparent reflection of the biopolitics in this novel is controlling and modifying of humans’ body as subjects, which actually lays the foundation for the separation between mind and body that used to be perceived as one. In The Will To Knowledge, Foucault describes the biopower as a power that plays a positive role in shaping humans’ future by making efforts to “administer,” “optimize,” and multiply” humans’ body (23). Here based on the statement of Foucault, under biopolitics, humans’ bodies have become the subject of social control and regulation just like money, natural resources, and the infrastructure. This point can be easily observed in the identity of the Oankali as genetic collectors and controllers. Instead of experiencing the traditional pregnancy and childbirth process, as these aliens manipulate the genetic materials to perpetuate their kinds, the bodies then become the most important resources to ensure their survival. Here it is quite apparent that the control of bodies is at the population level that concerns the survival of the Oankali. In fact, in this novel, there are numerous details regarding the control of human bodies as objects. For instance, since the beginning, the humans’ bodies have been under the control and regulation of the Oankali (Tracey). The objectification of the female’s body is best reflected in the conversation between Paul Titus and Lilith. At the same time of admitting that he has at least 70 children, Paul says, “he [doesn’t] know who they mixed the stuff with” (Butler 99). Based on the statement of Paul, it is quite apparent that for the Oankali, giving birth is merely a biological process. But this process is not limited to the individual level. Instead, it serves as the first attempt between humans and Oankali as two different races. It has lost the social meanings in humans’ society that perceives childbirth as an extension of the romantic love and a significant family affair.
Biopolitics and Racism
The presence of the biopolitics can also be well reflected in the interracial connections between the humans and the Oankali. In his book The History of Sexuality: The Will to Knowledge, Foucault proposes the concept of the “state racism” to give a re-interpretation of the wars between two nations. According to Foucault, with the extension of the biopower at the social level, then the meaning of wars also change from the conflicts of two sovereign nations to the conflicts between two races that include the entire population (31). Foucault is actually indicating that with the progress of the biopolitics, the conflicts between two nations also become the conflicts between two races. In Butler’s Dawn, it is also easy to notice the presence of the state racism, especially in the interactions between the rebellions of the humans against the Oankali. At Curt’s camp, violence between humans and the Oankali erupts finally. As Lilith tries to persuade Nikanj from using violence, Curt says, “It’s off limits to you and your
animals” (225). Here the words of Curt fully reveals the physical boundaries between the humans and the Oankali in the mind of humans. The word “animal” also reveals the discrimination of the humans towards the latter, since animal indicates uncivilization and brutality. Based on the statement of Curt, it is quite apparent that although humans recognize the contributions the Oankali make in reviving the humans, they still maintain a high sense of superiority. The remarks of Curt also indicates that their conflicts is not merely at the individual level. It is also at the racial level.
  Biopolitics and Sexuality