Arafat Djobo

Kati Lewis
English 1100
04, June 2018

Final Project
Part 1:

In Fledgling, Octavia Butler exposes a lot

about social ambiguity, race, sexuality and the
impacts it could have on individuals. She
illustrates how an eleven years old vampire
that is in reality; fifty-three years old, African
American vampire struggle for survival among
the white vampire that is considered pure. The
vampires where more symbiotic there was a
relationship being developed between the
vampires and humans unlike other vampire text
where the vampires killed their pray.
(The New Yorker, 26 July 2017)
In True Blood, the vampires where civilized because hey
where open with the public, working with the government,
but also had their own government inside the vamp
population and their own governing rules. There was a lot of
sexuality also, the vamps are cooler in the sense that people
wanted to become vamps themselves. It was very
compelling. They were stronger and had higher abilities
than most humans. Their blood is more like a drug, it has an
addictive property and there was a marker for it. We could
relate this in many ways such as the opioid addiction issues
in the US and how the addiction affects people around you.
In the TV series, the sheriff, Andy Bellefleur was under
influence and became very reckless to his own family and
people he loves. The difference between True Blood and
other vampire stories is that when the vampires die they
usually leave a bloody disgusting residue and in blade they are usually dust. This is an example
of description or imagery.

Blade was more about a half human – half vampire

and African American. They feed on blood just like
other vampire stories, the difference was that they
can go out into daylight unlike other vamps. The had
fangs and abilities beyond human competence. Their
anatomy was different from human and they require
blood to live. It was more like a biologic
experimentation to become a vampire. The
characters were more in the modern era and used
technology, and listened the modern music like
techno.
The vampire could be killed with special silver
hollow point garlic bullets, UV lights, allium spray
and usually disappear in dust after they die. They see
human more like pray there is no alliance between
humans and vampires.

(Google image)

I am legend, a
novel based movie
with the actor will
smith was a bit
different thinking
about how the
people can
become vampires
through infection
and
contaminations
where in fledging
they bread just like humans to procreate. The picture above is an illustration of the world after
being damaged by our actions, things we have done to ourselves. There was not a symbiotic
relationship between the monster and the human like in fledgling.

The characters in Dracula are a more

classic time, he also has fangs and feeds
on blood like other vampires. Dracula
in the plot, is in association with a
diabolic interpretation with satanic
practices and a spiritual origin with the
vampires. This unlike how in the
Fledgling, they have sex to procreate, in
Dracula a bite can turn you into a
vampire. This has to do with that
specific time in England and the beliefs
people had back then. Science was not
primordial at all and Christianism was
dominate in Europe. Dracula was based
in the year 1879.

Part 2:

In a very deep analysis we will review few literally elements that we touched in this course.
We make allusions to Marxism and Dialectical Materialism that is one of the very valuable point
that Karl Marx has insisted on through his doctrine. It is defined as a way of understanding
reality whether thoughts, emotions or the material world (Marxism.org). In Fledgling, Shory was
basically a reflexional of Butler in a mirror. She was premade in a system, the ideology that
flows her veins through Fledgling. The author mapped her childhood and what she went through
in her lifetime, being an African woman during civil right movements and segregation racial
times that has impacted her writing. We can see it clearly how even the language use by some of
the characters where pure racist. Racism was pointed all over fledgling. Shory was more likely to
be attacked because off he colored skin. She was called “dirty little nigger bitch “(Butler 2014)
by victor even after she spared him life and Victor trying to justify not meaning to call her that
because him having in law from Dominican Republic. The eggs were fried already now, the
feeling of ignorance and guilt on his face after saying those word and continue letter arguing “I
did not mean to call you those words”. This for example is how the environment that Shory grew
up in could have an impact in her writing.
Another aspect is the fact that she did not forgot about her people’s history that she is connected
to. Ideologies basically shapes everything we do, and Butler expressed in her expose. Ideologies
are structures that are presented by society and automatically becomes part of us, our decision
making, our thinking, and actions. I found fascinating how Butler highlights impacts of slavery
at the opening of Fledgling, she retraces the feeling black people had when they were shipped
from Africa. As Shory woke up clueless “I awoke to darkness. I was hungry—starving! —and I
was in pain. There was nothing in my world but hunger and pain, no other people, no other time,
no other feelings. I was lying on something hard and uneven, and it hurt me.” (Butler 2014) Not
knowing anything about herself or her past given a new name and attribution.” She makes
illusion to the fact that black people where disconnected from their roots and brought into a new
world, beaten, hungry, apart from their families. She relates to Shory’s character by not knowing
where you are from and how affects your identity. She exposed how black people’s history was
not really told and that impact on the upcoming generation as Shory woke up disoriented. That is
an example of a structural intersectionality, the fact that she is from the lowest class and she
described how being poor and not having anything right at the beginning of Fledgling. This part
could also be assimilated to the unconscious part of her then the psychanalytic.
We also saw pastiche in Fledgling and she had a mixture of all genre from science friction to
horror, adventure, sexuality to social anomalies this a combination of genres and multiples
things. Interpolation is also another literal element that we can talk about. Looking at how her
story collapsed very well with the plotting in the movie Blade, the vampires has the same
characteristics and feeds on blood for survival. They had superhuman abilities and could not be
killed easily just like in other vampire texts.
The context in the movie blade is slightly different, the vampires did not have a symbiotic
relationship with their humans instead they kill them after feeding off them, there was sort of
predation going on. Blade was more like a human and vampire hybrid when in Fledgling Shory
was a hybrid African American and vampire. Both vampires had the ability to be in the sunlight,
Shory because of the melanin in their skin but Blade because of him being partially human. Both
vampires originated through a scientific experimentation but in Fledgling, vampires can
procreate through sexual intercourse but in Blade, you have to be bitten to become one. Blade is
the exception to this as his mother was attacked while pregnant with him changing his biological
make up; making him the other.
Fledgling also incorporates a few monster theses that we will look through. Monsters polices
borders of the possible (Monster Thesis), they stand as symbol of punishment for going against
social taboos. In other monsters texted like the Windigo where the author describes a flesh eating
wintery demon that is basically the imperial domination (Erdrich), he used the Windigo as what
will happen if we repeated thing like exploitation of the land, colonial exploitation and in
fledgling the author was warning against social norm that are harming us, things like racism and
as a monster text is warning people to punish them if the same mistake is repeated again. We
have the same exact issue recurring with the Dakota Access Pipelines in 2016 when the
government or power holder decide to choose the most vulnerable as impact according to the
sources, the local tribe was protesting because” the pipeline will adversely impact drinking water
and disturb sacred tribal sites.” (NBCNews).
Monsters texts as police, we have seen it even in the us horror stories, haunted places like The
Myrtles plantation in Louisiana, converted into a hotel, have witnessed tragedies that are still
haunting memories until today assimilate in this story to is that in the story, when people heard
that she killed the kids they did not know her motive or intent, but everyone included; all races
gather together with no hesitation and killed her. It just reminded me of some social norm and
structuralism common humans have.

The Myrtles plantation shows America is still haunted by issues like slavery and classes. A ghost
is something that always comes back and haunts the present. This is a cultural monster theory
that inflict that the monster never dies, they always come back even after years, they are hard to
kill. Looking at the background of the Myrtles plantation and the how the ghost stories appear to
me, it looks like how we could say there is no more slavery these days, but the seeds still remain
and haunt black people all the time. From police brutalizing black folks, racial treatment that we
have seen in some areas. We could admit that slavery still hunts people till this days and not to
forget the mental trauma and sickness a people had to remain with.

In a well-polished poem, about the Boogeyman, I introduce 2 component that make it unusual.
There is the first part which I by personification was the boggy man, I have assigned myself
some deep roles such being the police that patrols border. I am the one that punishes
irresponsible parents, make them aware of the dangers children are left with, as a child they are
unable to express themselves, they cry when they are in pain, hangry, sick but until they reach
the age when they can speak, we can not tell. We need to make sure they are safe and not ignore
them when they need us. I imagined Boogey man as the parents. I used the expression “I’m the
ghost in the back of your head” meaning I made the monster part of myself, the monster is us,
humans. I assigned a doubled personality to the Boogeyman. One that is the adult that is made of
ideologies responsible and want a child, the other is also me but the unconscious part of the
parent that doesn’t want to take responsibility of the child or the part that want the child to die so
I can be set free that is where the psychoanalytic part that comes to play.
I believe when you start saying words, there are actions that are often made toward those words
and it’s like a dream becoming reality. Word speak for themselves. This first part of the writing
goes to the parent. I also use ‘’I’m the fury in your bed ‘’ and this is meaning of nightmares and
going to the psychoanalytic explanation given by Freud, they are wanted desires that comes back
and hunts us in our sleep.

In the Windigo the author is warning against Imperial colonialism, exploitation of lands like she
mentioned “I stole you off, a huge thing in my bristling armor” (Erdrich). She exposed conflict
with native battling to prevent invasion of the west. Ecocriticism which is an element of the
postmodern literature will argue about protection of lands and how government will choose the
weak in the society to endure the insanity and where the rich are well protected in his habitat.
Therefore, we need to be aware and speak for nature.
In the second part I give a purpose to the Boogeyman, I explained what kids do often to make
their parents angry even though they do not mean to sometimes. Parenting is a very hard thing to
do and requires a lot of patience. I bend my story so that is sound like a taboo for kids, a story to
frighten children so they can become better people in the future. In the Boogeyman there is the
cultural monster that goes and protects against social disruption, also awareness.

Part 3 poem:
Call me B
I’m the Bully, I will come for you
I will to set you free,
I’m the ghost in the back of your head
I’m the scary in your head
I’m the fury in your bed
I’m the theory in your memories
I’m your other that want things to happen by contradiction
I’m your pure desire
I’m your deepest Svengali intentions
I’m your dreams come true
I’m the police that patrols your boarders
I’m the stop sign.
I’m ugly and I’m the monster, call me BOO
I’m the one that will do the dirty job for you
I’m the one who will show when no one is there for it
I’m ready and I’m going to be the bad man
Hold on to me in the need times
Children will rest in peace
May be what you wanted
You know they are victims
They are innocent
They are consequences of what we have done
They are the future
They are hope for a better world
They are hope for a new world
Deception it is for me to punish
Disgraceful it is to see that humanity so messed up
I’m ugly and I’m the monstrum, call me GEYMAN
But for now, your devoir as a child is
To be quit at bedtime
Obey your parent
Make them proud
Go to bed on time
Do your school work
Eat veggies and be grateful
Do not make me eat your soul.

Part 4
In summary off this class, I can say that everyone, no matter what career field you are going into,
you should take this class. My perception of monster movies and text have been impacted as I
could think more critically toward zombie shows, vampire movies such as True Blood. One other
things that I took from this class is some literal words for example the meaning behind calling
someone disable and this class offered me an opportunity to explore cultural Monster Thesis and
that was very interesting. Growing up in Africa I used to enjoy American zombie and vampire
movies. To me it was just a horror movie at the time but after taking this class it was more than
just the videos, I had to go back and re-watch some of them again because its more meaningful
now. The zombies in each culture had a meaning which had to do with the background of the
author, the social and cultural environment the author grew up in and their sexual orientation.
I will end my paper with my favorite quote from the cultural monster’s theories “The fear of
monster is really a sort of desire”. The desire for death, self-destruction, blood and horror.
References:

“Dracula Triumphant.” DeviantArt, www.deviantart.com/markwilliams/art/Dracula-Triumphant-

171465179.

“True Blood Magazine Photo Comparison.” TrueBlood-Online.com, 18 Aug. 2010,

www.trueblood-online.com/true-blood-magazine-photo-comparison/.
NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/storyline/dakota-pipeline-
protests.

“Di.” Introduction to the Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel Kant,

www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/d/i.htm.

Erdrich, Louise. “Windigo by Louise Erdrich.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation,

www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43086/windigo.

Travel Channel. “Haunted Destination: The Myrtles Plantation.” Travel Channel, Travel
Channel, 19 June 2012, www.travelchannel.com/interests/haunted/articles/the-myrtles-
plantation.

Butler, Octavia E. Fledgling. Headline, 2014.

Aguirre, Abby. “Octavia Butler's Prescient Vision of a Zealot Elected to ‘Make America Great
Again.’” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 26 July 2017,
www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/octavia-butlers-prescient-vision-of-a-zealot-
elected-to-make-america-great-again.