Part II: Family

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

Share your thoughts on Part II of Dawn! What do you like? What don't you like?

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

This section was interesting. Really enjoyed meeting some new characters: Kahguyaht, Nikanj...even Paul Titus, though he greatly disturbed me.

So far, I really like the comparisons Lilith is making between herself and animals. She is so self-aware, as a human, that humans have been treating animals poorly: for food, for entertainment, whatever. Her meeting with Paul really emphasized that: "Animals get treated like this. Put a stallion and a mare together until they mate, then send them back to their owners. What do they care? They're just animals!" That whole scene with Paul attacking her, was hard to read, and yet Lilith, in pain with broken limbs, is still willing to understand his actions and place the blame on the Oankali.

When it comes to food, I liked how Lilith thinks: "She had missed meat occasionally, but once the Oankali made it clear they would neither kill animals for her nor allow her to kill them while she lived with them, she had not minded much." It's really that simple. I just came from a family gathering and overheard my brother's wife saying she couldn't explain what veganism was to her daughter because she would be too disgusted by it, so Lilith being so cool with not eating animals was very welcome.

I was unsure of Nikanj at first. It was probably because Lilith and it couldn't understand each other properly, but Nikanj now comes across as very warm. Lilith defending Nikanj against Paul, who tried to immediately gender it, was cool, and I like how Nikanj must have Lilith's back as well: it doesn't want to do anything without her consent, which is wildly different from what the others seem to think.

Very interested in seeing how Nikanj develops, as it is reaching maturity. I though Jdahya would be seen more, but now he is rarely there. Will the same happen with Nikanj in the next part?

[Deborah]

Tessa wrote: "This section was interesting. Really enjoyed meeting some new characters: Kahguyaht, Nikanj...even Paul Titus, though he greatly disturbed me.

So far, I really like the comparisons Lilith is makin..."

I agree. Really interesting comparisons between Lilith's treatment/experience and the way we treat animals.

Apart from the issue of eating animals or breeding them, I was struck most by how Lilith compared herself to a pet animal a few times:

"Picking and choosing, she made herself a meal. She had intended to take it outside to eat - the first meal she had not had to ask for or wait for. The first meal she would eat under the pseudotrees without first having to be let out like a pet animal."

I found myself looking at my two cats in a new light. This morning they were meowing at 4AM to be fed as I mustn't have left quite enough out for them before going to bed. It was annoying to be woken up in the middle of the night, but at the same time they're completely dependent on me for everything - from when I feed them to whether I open the door of a room they want to get into or out of, etc. We keep them indoors to protect both them and the songbirds and one of them in particular hates being an indoor cat. We take them out on leashes once a day and they love it but I think it's made them even more antsy when they're inside now.

Even though I love them and treat them kindly, at the end of the day they're at the mercy of my decisions, so it was interesting to see myself in the Oankali/ooloi role :)

[Deborah]

Also, there was mention in this section of cassava, so I looked up some recipes out of curiosity and happened across this article about making some dishes related to the trilogy. They're all vegan, and she even makes an edible bowl out of cassava flour! That's way beyond my cooking skill level, but I might try the sweet potato coconut pie this fall :)

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2...

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

Deborah wrote: "Also, there was mention in this section of cassava, so I looked up some recipes out of curiosity and happened across this article about making some dishes related to the trilogy. They're all vegan,..."

That's so cool! Now I'm really hungry :)

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

Deborah wrote: "Tessa wrote: "This section was interesting. Really enjoyed meeting some new characters: Kahguyaht, Nikanj...even Paul Titus, though he greatly disturbed me.

So far, I really like the comparisons L..."

I agree! I've seen some vegans (probably on Reddit or something similar) that really don't like the idea of "pets" because it implies ownership, and I've seen others say owning and adopting animals are selfish acts. Personally, I don't agree with the latter, but the idea of ownership is a problem, and I can definitely see that with regards to the Oankali's relationship with humans. They saved the humans and now feel as if they can control them, even if the humans want something different.