To start things off, Dawn by Octavia Butler is the first book in a long time that has captured my attention. This genre style feels right up my alley, and in the first book of this trilogy, I draw many connections to one of my favorite shows, The 100. After finishing this read, I was left with many questions—some general, like how vast this universe is and how widespread the Oankali race is, and some specific, like what will become of Lilith’s offspring and what the true intentions of the Oankali are. During group discussions, a perspective was brought up that the Oankali are “colonizing” what is left of the human race, and that’s something that lingered in my mind as I was reading. What throws me off is the interbreeding between humans and Oankali and how Joseph’s autonomy over his own body was disregarded toward the end of the book. To me, at this point in the trilogy, the Oankali have the power over the humans.
It feels as if the Oankali have an agenda, and humans are just part of their experiment. I understand that the “trade” must happen for their race to survive, but it feels off to call it a trade when only one side makes the offer. The Oankali dictate the terms of the exchange: “Join us, mix with us, or your species will go extinct.” For this reason, the power dynamic between the two races troubles me, and it makes me feel as though humans are just pawns in the Oankali’s larger goal, thrown breadcrumbs to gain their trust. While they offer longer life, disease resistance, and stability, they strip away human autonomy and cultural identity, ensuring that humanity, as it once existed, will cease to be. They neutered humans without their consent, which is insane. The power dynamic felt like humans were livestock and the Oankali were the ranchers. I remember in the book, someone said to Lilith that her child would be more Oankali than human. So, they saved humanity only to end it anyway? They aren’t ending it in the typical alien takeover style, but instead, they’re breeding it out of existence.
Consent is a major factor in human society, and for the Oankali to claim they know what humans want more than humans know for themselves is absurd to me. Their vast knowledge doesn’t give them the right to bypass consent. The Oankali are extremely intelligent, yet they fail to understand human emotion. They operate on a deeply biological and evolutionary level, prioritizing survival and genetic trade over individual desires. While they study humans closely and recognize their emotions, they often dismiss or override them when they conflict with their own goals. Returning to my point that humans are pawns in the Oankali mission, I feel Paul Titus and Joseph were used by Octavia Butler to represent both ends of human resistance to the Oankali. Paul grew up with the Oankali and feels lost because he doesn’t fully belong to them or to other humans. This makes him frustrated and even violent, especially toward Lilith, because he blames the Oankali for taking away his chance at a normal human life. Joseph, on the other hand, meets the Oankali as an adult and fights to maintain control over his body and choices. Paul wants to connect with other humans but has been changed too much to do so, while Joseph refuses to change but is too weak to fight back. In the end, both suffer because of the Oankali—Paul loses his sense of identity, and Joseph loses his life. So, those who stay with the Oankali end up losing their sense of identity, while those who resist end up dying and having their genetic material taken anyway. Niceeeee.
The last thing disturbing me in the book right now is the interbreeding between the Oankali and humans. First, I have so many questions that need answering: How many other species have these trades been done with? Are the Oankali just a combination of all these species? Is there diversification among the different Oankali ships in the universe? I ask this because I wonder if humans will eventually lose everything, including what it means to be human. An Oankali-human hybrid… I’m not sure if that sits right with me. But in this position, it wouldn’t even matter what humans want, as seen with Lilith’s pregnancy—a decision made by Nikanj.
In Dawn, the Oankali’s actions raise unsettling questions about autonomy, consent, and the true cost of survival. While they claim to offer a trade for humanity’s future, it feels more like a forced transformation, where humans lose their identity and agency. The interbreeding and disregard for personal choice leave humans as pawns in the Oankali’s plan. The story reflects a deeper power struggle, where resistance leads to death, and submission erases what makes humans human. The Oankali’s actions, though rooted in survival, ultimately dehumanize those they seek to save, creating a morally complex and troubling situation.