Date of Award
5-1-2011
Degree Type
Thesis
University or Center
Clark Atlanta University(CAU)
School
School of Arts and Sciences
Degree Name
M.S.
Department
English
First Advisor
Dr. Susan P. Wright
Second Advisor
Dr. Viktor O. Osinubi
Abstract
This study examines the prototypical female leader as constructed by Octavia Butler in her science fiction novels, Dawn and Fledgling. The premise of the study relates to the protagonists’ capacity to undergo arduous tasks in extraordinary circumstances so that they can ultimately lead their people into a revolutionized society. Overcoming enormous obstacles, including the rejection of the very people they must lead, proves that both protagonists, Lilith Ilypo, in Dawn, and Shori Matthews, in Fledgling, are the women of the future, created to lead human beings into a “brave new world.”
The study further examines Butler’s portrayal of the “othemesses” that continue to plague societies, despite the societies’ “higher” evolution, and concludes that only through continuous compromise will the world become unified. Butler indicates that the onerous task of achieving this ultimate unification lies on the shoulders of women who will serve as, what I term, the future’s “female Adams.”
Recommended Citation
Payne, Kimberly Ellen, "Examining the female leader in Octavia Butler's dawn and
Fledgling" (2011). ETD Collection for Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center. Paper 235.
http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/235