![]() ![]() The Silks fear the genetic “marriage” of human and Ina DNA, which is the basis of Shori’s existence. Although America’s anti-miscegenation laws were struck down in 1967, widespread fear of interracial relationships and the “tainting” of the white race still exist today. Shori must decipher clues about who and what she is in order to stop the people who are trying to kill her. ![]() Far from the 11-year-old girl she appears to be, she’s actually a 50-something vampire and someone wants her dead and gone. The novel tells the story of Shori Matthews, a young Black vampire who awakens injured and alone with no memory. Butler drops you into the middle of the story along with her protagonist Shori, who wakes up alone, injured, and suffering from amnesia in a cave. This alludes to the historical fear of miscegenation, which led to the criminalization of interracial marriage. Fledgling (2005) is a science-fiction novel by Black American author Octavia E. In a racist twist on the “slippery slope” fallacy, the Silks also believe that Shori’s Blackness will somehow lead to harmful genetic modifications of their species. Although Shori’s dark skin allows her to stay awake during the day and withstand the sun longer than pale Ina, the Silks denounce the genetic experiments that made her possible. They consider humans-even symbionts who are needed for Ina survival-to be beneath Ina and no better than animals. The Silk family, Katharine Dahlman, and their sympathizers believe that Shori Matthews’s (Black) human DNA goes against the very fabric of the “superior” Ina species. ![]() ![]() Butler uses the Ina, a vampiric species closely related to humans, to show how racism is so systemic that it can even transcend species. Fledgling is primarily an allegory meant to illustrate the deadly power of white supremacy in our society. ![]()
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