The Evening and the Morning and the Night

As we have seen, one of the major concerns of the story is the question of free will. Do any of the main characters (Lynn, Alan, and Beatrice) seem to have free will, or are their choices ultimately dictated by their nature as determined by their genetics? What evidence do you see for your view?

To what extent do Naomi and other symptomatic DGDs have free will and the ability to determine how they live their lives? How is this influenced by their care and the kind of institution they find themselves in?

Explore the ways in which Butler uses understatement and subtext in dialogue to develop relationships between characters. Analyze instances in which she does this and explain how she accomplishes this.

Relate the title of the story, “The Evening and the Morning and the Night,” to the themes it explores. How does the title connect to the story?

Beatrice comments to Lynn that the door to the ward of DGDs at Dilg “has seemed like a wall to a great many people” (54). What does she mean by this, and what specifically does it mean to Lynn?

How would the story change if it were told from Beatrice’s or Alan’s perspective? What effect would this have on the themes of the story and how they are interpreted?

In her “Afterward” in the second edition of Bloodchild and Other Stories, Butler indicates that one of her interests in the story is exploring social Darwinism. Take some time to get a general sense of what this group of ideas means and then analyze how Butler explores it in this story.

In an interview, Butler famously said, “I made up my own stories to put myself in them” (Gross, Terry, and John Powers. “Pioneering Writer Octavia Butler on Writing Black People and Women Into Sci-Fi.” NPR, 14 Dec. 2022). In the same interview, she also goes on to say that writing “allow[s] you to be other people without being locked up for it.” To what extent do you think Butler is putting herself in the story and/or being other people? Explain with evidence from the text.