Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Dagbovie-Mullins, Sika A.

Abstract

This project focuses on race and gender in the works of author Octavia Butler. The primary texts analyzed are Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. In these novels, Butler alludes to slavery in antebellum America by drawing strong parallels between the roles race and gender played in the survival of the escaped slaves of America’s past and the role they play in the survival of the main character of Butler’s apocalyptic future. The themes of race and gender frequently intersect and maintain an important role throughout the novels. I argue that, by reading Butler’s novels within this significant historical context, Butler’s use of passing as a tool for subverting both racial and gendered identity as a means to secure the safety and privilege necessary for survival emerges. Further, the parallels between racial and gender passing serve to expose the performative nature of these identifying characteristics.

Extent

64 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00004996

Format

pdf

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